Even with inflation and most retailers now closed on Thanksgiving itself, the upcoming holiday weekend is expected to garner more shoppers than before the pandemic.

According to the National Retail Federation, 166.3 million consumers are expected to shop this weekend, breaking 2019’s record of 165.3 million shoppers.

Black Friday remains the overwhelming top day for shopping, drawing 114.9 million consumers. Thanksgiving itself is expected only to have 32.9 million.

In 2019, when many retailers opened on Thanksgiving in the evening for shoppers, Thanksgiving garnered 39.6 million customers that year.

Cyber Monday is also not expected to be the draw it once was. In 2019, Cyber Monday drew 68.7 million customers. This year, it’s expected to garner 63.9 million.

There are also signs more Americans are starting their holiday shopping early. The National Retail Federation reports that 60% of U.S. consumers began their holiday shopping by the first week of November this year. That number has gradually increased, from 56% in 2019 and 48% in 2009.

“While there is much speculation about inflation’s impact on consumer behavior, our data tells us that this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will see robust store traffic with a record number of shoppers taking advantage of value pricing,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “We are optimistic that retail sales will remain strong in the weeks ahead, and retailers are ready to meet consumers however they want to shop with great products at prices they want to pay.”

Government data indicates that inflation has not impacted non-essential items as much as things like food, energy and shelter.

Commodities have gone up 5.1% in the last year, compared to 10.9% for food, 17.6% for energy and 6.9% for shelter. Apparel, which is generally one of the top holiday gifts, saw a 4.1% increase in prices in the last year.

Did you know Americans will waste about 305 million pounds of food this Thanksgiving? That’s according to information from food waste nonprofit ReFED.

ReFED calculated that this year, approximately $15 in food waste will be generated by each dinner for 10 people. Production of this wasted food generates greenhouse gas emissions equal to driving 169,000 cars for a full year.

But there are some ways you can reduce your waste, according to ReFED.

One is to plan ahead by calculating the food for each person. Another tip is to develop a strategy for your leftovers by making sure you have the proper containers. Finally, it’s helpful to clean out your freezer and make room for everything you're saving.

Remember, most leftovers can stay in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. These items should be refrigerated within two hours after being cooked in a container that’s airtight, according to the USDA. Composting your food scraps is also a better option than throwing it in the trash.

If you do happen to have any cans or unopened items you didn’t use, the USDA recommends donating to your local food bank.

The hunt begins in darkness. Les Giese and his son Thor make their way through a public forest in Annandale, New Jersey to a tree stand where they’ll wait for dawn and if they’re lucky — a deer. We settle in, 25 feet above the ground, watching the sun rise through the trees. 

NEWSY'S SAM EATON: So what's the secret? You just. It's a matter of just waiting?

THOR GIESE: It's getting in between where they live and where they eat.  

After about four hours and no deer, we call it a day. We meet again on the trail with Thor’s dad, Les, who also came up empty. 

"They’re either running through the woods like a freight train or they’re like a ninja, you know," said Thor Giese. 

Les Giese and his son aren’t hunting deer for themselves. They’ve already filled their freezer with enough venison for the year. Any deer they get from now on will instead feed families in need. It’s a program run by the New Jersey chapter of Hunters Helping the Hungry and Giese is the president. 

"Right now, we're doing roughly 25,000 pounds of venison a year. Pretty close to 100,000 meals across the various food banks and pantries of New Jersey," said Les Giese. 

In the two and a half decades since he founded the non-profit with friends, Giese says it’s become one of the top three game meat donation programs in the country. But he says it’s not just about providing food for the hungry. It’s also about saving these forests. 

"A forest, a healthy forest like you see behind me here can handle 15 deer per square mile. This particular forest has probably got close to 150 deer, 10 times the carrying capacity of this forest," said Les Giese. 

And with one in 10 U.S. households struggling to feed their families Giese says hunting more deer as a source of lean, healthy protein is a no brainer. It’s also become a lifeline for New Jersey food banks. 

The problem of deer overpopulation in the forests of states like New Jersey is getting worse, but so is hunger. And it's places like this where the solutions to those two crises come together. 

Shannon Williams is interim director of Norwescap Food Bank in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. She says the warehouse we visited distributes two million pounds of food a year to food banks, soup kitchens and homeless shelters all over the state.  

SEE MORE: Inflation, Surge In Prices Impacting Food Banks

"This is the Norwescap Food Bank. This is our warehouse," said Williams. "And this is some of the venison that we received through the processors and through hunters helping the hungry and that we distribute to our agencies." 

Williams says the venison is in high demand, especially as the cost of providing meat to families has soared. 

"With the pandemic and now with the food inflation and the costs rising on everything, it's been very difficult and the need has just continued to rise. And we're we're doing our best to to keep food coming in and out as quickly as we can," she continued.  

From the rockies to New England and the deep South, white-tailed deer populations have exploded in recent decades. After being decimated by hunters in the 1930s, deer have made a stunning recovery, increasing one-thousand-fold in less than a hundred years. 

But the process has imperiled the same ecosystems that have sustained their recovery. 

Jay Kelly is a biologist at Raritan Valley Community College. He says more and more deer squeezing into smaller and more fragmented forests is sending the entire ecosystem into free fall. 

"So this is a typical forest in central New Jersey. What you see here, you'll find pretty much throughout the region. And what's noteworthy is the absence of any living things in the understory." 

"[At} about 15 [deer] per square mile regeneration starts to decline. The, you know, waist high seedlings will begin to disappear. And above 20 per square mile, everything begins to shut down in the forest with loss of bird populations, all components of the vegetative understory, arthropod, amphibian densities and so forth," said Kelly.  

In New Jersey deer densities usually exceed a hundred per square mile, creating what Kelly calls a zombie forest. Not only is the biodiversity lost, the only thing replacing the older trees as they die are invasive species like this Japanese angelica tree. 

"The canopy of leaves will come out of these angelica trees are these enormous compound leaves that have thorns on the stems of the leaf thorns and the leaf leaves and leaflets themselves. It's just armed with all sorts of defenses on every inch of the tree. It's really incredible," said Kelly. 

The good news is that once deer populations are reduced, the forest recovers.  

Duke Farms Nature Preserve in Hillsborough, New Jersey is a stark example of how quickly that change can happen.  

"So what you see here is about 15 to 17 years worth of regeneration since deer were initially managed aggressively at the site," said Kelly

Kelly says deer densities here reached 250 per square mile. After installing deer fencing and maintaining deer populations at much lower densities, the invasive species disappeared and the forest regenerated. 

"The trees that you see growing up, these are ash trees. There are hickory trees and oaks all growing in this understory," said Kelly. 

Kelly says short of reintroducing predators like wolves to these forests, hunting is the most effective means of reducing deer populations. But the number of hunters in the U.S. has been in steady decline since its peak in the 1980s. 

And in order to process the meat for food banks you need USDA certified butchers like J.B. Person’s family-owned Game Butchers in Lebanon, New Jersey. 

Person says his father started the business back in the 1960s.  

SEE MORE: Hunters Keep Food Pantries And Stomachs Full

"It's a pretty unique business — unfortunately. It's a dying trade," said Person.  

With grants now covering the cost of butchering for food banks, Person hopes more butchers will come online to help the program expand. In the meantime, he struggles to keep up. 

"And it doesn't last long. I mean, they come, they come pick up the meat — it sits in in their freezers for only maybe a week or two. And it's distributed and it's gone," said Person. 

That venison ends up at food banks. Flemington Area Food Pantry Executive Director Jeannine Gorman says they’re busier now than they’ve ever been. 

"We see anywhere from 50 to 70 clients, which pretty much means since COVID. And now in the height of financial inflation and everything else, we can see on average a person every three minutes," said Gorman.  

Cars line up to load pre-ordered food items. This is what the food insecurity crisis in America looks like. Bob Flanagan is one of them.  

"I'm self-employed, I'm a contractor. The bottom fell out after I got COVID because I can't work. I couldn't work," said Flanagan. 

Flanagan also used to hunt. But since COVID wrecked his lungs, forcing him to carry an oxygen tank with him at all times, he’s had to rely on the donations. 

"There's the venison. This is hamburger. I'll mix it up with the tomato sauce and make a spaghetti," said Flanagan.

It’s a rare thing for one crisis to help solve another. But Les Giese hopes the partnership he’s created between the state, the hunters, the butchers and the food banks offers a glimmer of hope. 

"We're trying to make the herd healthier. We're trying to make the forest healthier. We're trying to make some of the less fortunate people have some protein, low fat meat. Win win all the way around," said Les Giese. 

That night Giese, his family and friends gather to grill venison backstrap and share a meal.  

He says he grew up on a dairy farm in Illinois where sharing with neighbors was a way of life. And as the forests suffer, and more of his neighbors struggle to feed their families, Giese hopes that spirit of sharing will catch on. 

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A family thanked staff at a New Hampshire hospital for allowing them to see a relative hospitalized on Thanksgiving, albeit at a distance.

This was the first time in 92 years that Joseph Doherty of Plaistow was not at the table for Thanksgiving dinner, so, his family came to him.

“I didn’t want him to fell alone on Thanksgiving Day,” said son Paul Doherty. “We wanted to send him love from a distance.”

Although Joseph Doherty’s treatment is not related to COVID-19, pandemic restrictions meant his family could not go inside.

Nursing staff at Exeter Hospital stepped in to help, while the family stood outside with a homemade sign that said, "Love you Papa."

“They were really gracious. They stopped whatever they were doing, which I’m sure was a lot, and they got him to the window, and they told us right where to stand and we got to see our dad and he got to see us, and it made his day. They told us it made his day,” Doherty said.

“I just felt so happy that I could be there, just filled with joy in that moment and to see him wave back you could tell how emotional he was getting when he saw the sign,” said granddaughter Erin Doherty.

“My family and I would love to express an enormous amount of gratitude for taking the time to make this happen,” she added.

The family is hoping Joseph Doherty will be back home this weekend.

As people take off for holiday destinations it's hard not to think about U.S. COVID numbers taking off with them.  

In 2020, the worst U.S. surge happened right after Thanksgiving. So what will this year bring both with more travel, but also the protection vaccines?  

Earlier this year, the University of Minnesota's Dr. Michael Osterholm said the worst wasn’t likely behind us.  

"I think this is just leaving us right now with again, you know, when the virus does what it does, why does it do it? And how much can we control? It surely makes sense that more people are traveling, more people are indoors together, that this would enhance transmission but so based on last year's experience, I think we just have to be honest and say we don't know yet," Osterholm said. 

Last year, no vaccine was available at this time. This year, there is widespread vaccine availability, including new authorization for kids five and up.

But add in pandemic-record travel, the delta variant, waning vaccine immunity and new surges in kids cases, Osterholm says it's a concern.  

"The data from Europe, where we're now seeing countries with 80% vaccination rates still having substantial illness, and deaths occurring just reinforces the fact that we're gonna have to almost get all the population not most, at least of the population protected through vaccination and or through immunity from having had natural infection," he said. "And it's very likely that that protection will have to be enhanced with boosters on an ongoing basis going forward."

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advisory panel cleared boosters for all adults 18 and older. But they stopped short of urging them for all adults, only recommending them for people over 50.  

Osterholm says they got it wrong, even publishing an op-ed in The Washington Post to that effect with Dr. Eric Topol.

"The big question will be what will it be like in six, eight months from now if you're getting a booster," he said. "But for now, we know that you can greatly reduce even the breakthrough infections with a booster dose."

New CDC data shows unvaccinated people are 14 times more likely to die from COVID-19.  

Osterholm's op-ed says the U.S. ranks below the top 50 most vaccinated countries, at 59%.

This story was first reported by Maritsa Georgiou on Newsy.com.

Back in the spring, Pauline Criel and her cousins talked about reuniting for Thanksgiving at her home near Detroit after many painful months of seclusion because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the virus had a different plan. Michigan is now the nation's hot spot. Hospitals there are teeming with patients, and schools are scaling back in-person learning. A resurgent virus has pushed new infections in the U.S. to 95,000 daily, hospitals in Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona are also under pressure, and health officials are pleading with unvaccinated people not to travel.

Criel's big family feast was put on hold. She is roasting a turkey and whipping together a pistachio fluff salad — an annual tradition — but only for her, her husband and two grown boys.

“I’m going to wear my stretchy pants and eat too much — and no one’s going to care," she said.

Her story reflects the Thanksgiving dilemma that families across America are facing as the gatherings become burdened with the same political and coronavirus debates consuming other arenas.

As they gather for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie, they are confronted with a list of questions: Can they once again hold big get-togethers? Can they gather at all? Should they invite unvaccinated family members? Should they demand a negative test before a guest is allowed at the dinner table or a spot on the sofa for an afternoon of football?

“I know that it might be overkill that we’re not sharing Thanksgiving here with my cousins, but better be safe than sorry, right?” said Criel, a 58-year-old data administrator for a finance company.

Jocelyn Ragusin, an accountant from Littleton, Colorado, is taking a different approach by prioritizing family time over COVID-19 concerns even as rising case counts and overwhelmed hospitals triggered new mask mandates in the Denver area this week. Ragusin, whose husband contracted the virus and spent four days in the intensive care unit in October 2020, said she is willing to accept a certain level of risk to have a sense of community back.

She said about seven or eight family members would be gathering for the holiday and that the group had not discussed one another's vaccination status beforehand, in part because they “kind of know” already who got the shots and who has had the virus already.

“Getting together is worth it. And getting together and sharing meals, and sharing life," Ragusin said while picking up her mother at the airport in Denver. "We’re just not made to live in isolation.”

The desire to bring family and friends back together for Thanksgiving was evident Wednesday in San Francisco, where the line at one grocery store stretched out the door and around the corner.

Mari Arreola was in line to buy ingredients to make tamales for a meal that will also feature salsa, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy. She sees the gathering of 12 family members this year as a symbol of hope that things are getting better. A year ago, she spent Thanksgiving only with her husband, mom and one daughter.

“We felt really disconnected, and we were all living our lives based on fear, and it looked like an apocalypse scene outside every time you left your house," the San Francisco tech consultant said of last year. “It was really scary, but now things are different.”

Even in better times, Thanksgiving has always been a trying occasion for Nadia Brown, a political science professor at Georgetown University, who loathes the awkward and divisive conversations about politics, race and other hot-button issues. COVID-19 has only made the holiday worse.

She and her husband were hoping to have a big family gathering for Thanksgiving at their home near Silver Spring, Maryland, but the start of a winter surge and lingering concerns about breakthrough cases scuttled those plans. She recently told her father and his family — even if they are vaccinated — that they must be tested to prove they are virus-free or sit out Thanksgiving dinner.

With two of Brown’s three daughters, 2 and 4, unable to get vaccinated, she doesn’t want to take any chances — “because we don’t know the long term impacts of COVID on children,” she explained.

Her decision means her father, Dr. Joseph Brown, won't be coming from his home about three hours away in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The dentist is vaccinated, but said he didn't have time to get tested.

“It hurts me a lot. I want to see my grandkids,” said Joseph Brown, while adding, “I understand her situation. I really do."

Riva Letchinger, who has seen the ravages of the pandemic firsthand as a medical student, set aside her worries to travel from her home in New York City to Washington to resume Thanksgiving festivities with her family. They skipped the gathering last year.

She said she has been reassured that everyone there has been vaccinated and received booster shots, but she is also worried about her own virus status, even though she is fully vaccinated.

“I have this consistent fear of hurting someone in my family or getting them sick because I see so many COVID patients every day,” she said.

Despite her trepidations, Letchinger is looking forward to the annual family ritual, which includes a generous complement of Jewish favorites — like the golumpkis, or stuffed cabbage, that her late aunt Susie used to bring to the Thanksgiving feast.

But the celebration will have somber undertones as well. The family lost two loved ones, both Holocaust survivors, after bouts with COVID-19 last year.

___

Associated Press writer Olga R. Rodriguez contributed to this report from San Francisco.

Pumpkin pie is no longer America's favorite Thanksgiving pie.

Google Trends data reveals that key lime pie is the most popular type of pie in the U.S. with it being the most Googled pie in eight different states.

The study conducted by photographic and printing experts Printique discovered the most favored flavors of pies in each state across America with key lime pie taking the top spot.

Key lime pie has 106,000 average monthly Google searches in the U.S.

The second-most-popular type of pie, being Googled the most in a total of eight states is pumpkin pie.

Lemon meringue pie was the third-most-popular type of pie with seven states Googling it.

The least popular types of pies were salted caramel, gooseberry, blueberry and peach, all being the most popular in only one state each.

Commenting on the study, a spokesperson from Printique said:

“Pies are a staple of Thanksgiving culture and this study gives a fascinating insight into which types of pies each state will enjoy during this festive period. Searches for 'Pie Recipe' have skyrocketed 300% in the last month, highlighting the excitement around the cuisine of this Thanksgiving period.”

FLORENCE, Ky. —

People lined up to get last-minute COVID-19 tests ahead of Thanksgiving.

Those who got swabbed said they wanted peace of mind.

They told us they want to be safe as they reunite with loved ones.

Officials with Gravity Diagnostics estimated they gave hundreds of tests at the location in Florence alone on Wednesday.

Those who arrived for a test saw the demand was high.

"It was just a long line, I didn't realize this many people got tested," Anthony Kopp said.

Kopp found himself with plenty of company at a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in northern Kentucky.

"Just wanted to make sure I was alright because I was hanging out with family," he said.

Gravity Diagnostics has been busy at the Florence Mall location.

Jeff Wellens, the director of field services, said on Tuesday they processed about 450 tests at the mall location and he estimated similar numbers for Wednesday.

"The trends that we saw during last November during the peak of the pandemic, while we didn't have drive-thrus, this is kind of a seasonal event and we see a lot of the same trends unfolding here in the month of November leading up to the holiday season, right," he said.

New COVID-19 cases are still prevalent in our region.

On Wednesday, Ohio reported more than 6,700 new cases, Indiana reported more than 4,000 new cases and Kentucky reported more than 2,100 new cases.

Officials at the testing site estimate at least 1,500 tests were collected on Wednesday from locations in Covington, Fort Mitchell and Florence.

Wellens told WLWT the Covington location provides same-day test results while the Fort Mitchell and Florence locations provide results in about 24 hours.

It's not just the Thanksgiving dinner driving people to get swabbed.

"We have tickets to The Aronoff and it's one of their requirements, you either have to be vaccinated or tested and at this point, I'm still researching how I feel about the vaccine. I'm not saying either way, it's just my personal opinion and so this is the only other way we get to see Wicked," Donna Taylor said.

In Taylor's case, every test means peace of mind.

"It's important to me. I don't want to go around anybody if I'm carrying it or if I'm sick. Obviously, my parents are older and my mother-in-law and I want to keep them safe," she said.

Officials with Gravity Diagnostics told WLWT they're also expecting another testing rush after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and said they will be prepared for it.

They said last week, they surpassed 3 million tests given across all of the Gravity Diagnostics locations.

Wellens told WLWT the locations will be expanding hours next week, but the drive-thru locations will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.

He also said they've developed a new app that makes it easier to pre-register and speed up the testing process.

You can learn more about testing and Gravity Diagnostics here.

CINCINNATI —

Following a year many people chose to stay home, Thanksgiving travel is bouncing back in Greater Cincinnati and across the nation.

Katie Buckles is happy to be in the Queen City after flying in from Sarasota, Florida. Last November, her celebrations looked different.

"I wasn't able to come back due to COVID, my family was too worried about all of us traveling so this will be my first year back," Buckles said.

In its holiday travel forecast, AAA said it expects more than 53.4 million people to travel between Nov. 24-28, up 13 percent from 2020 levels.

CVG officials said this month and next will be the busiest travel period since the pandemic started.

Uber driver Johnny Holland thinks, at least today, things are getting off to a slower start.

"I've waited like four hours today just for one Uber ride, and there were probably 40 Uber and Lyft drivers in the waiting lot," Holland said.

Holland said he was waiting for incoming travelers since 8 a.m.

By 7 p.m., he had only given three people rides.

"Normally on a good day it's eight or nine rides," Holland said.

According to CVG, their busiest travel days will likely end up being Wednesday and this coming Sunday. The busiest departure times are usually between 5 and 7 a.m.

And, despite spiking gas prices, around 48 million people will take to the road this Thanksgiving holiday.

More than 53 million Americans will be traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday this week.Ninety percent of those travelers will be driving. The holiday get-away is expected to ramp up Tuesday evening.According to AAA, travelers driving Wednesday between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. will encounter the most company on the roads. If you're leaving Wednesday, you might be better off waiting until late evening. On Thursday the worst time to travel is between noon and 3 p.m.Some drivers said they have a strategy to beat the traffic. "Leave tomorrow, go visit some friends in Buffalo, do a Friendsgiving as they call it, and then hopefully get myself back here for my own Thanksgiving — barring traffic and weather," said Julian Ortiz, of Norwich, Connecticut.After Thanksgiving, AAA says peak travel hours will be Friday between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. will be the busiest.On Sunday, when most people head home, expect the roads to be packed from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

CINCINNATI —

Freestore Foodbank is working with local partners so money doesn't come between family and food this Thanksgiving.

"That price at the grocery store has just gone up and up and up. So families can't afford the traditional things to put on the table, especially turkey," said Freestore Foodbank chief development officer Trisha Rayner.

Rayner said they're doing more events this year, but the need is never-ending.

"There were about 2,500 people on Thursday. We saw 800 on Saturday. We'll see another 150 here today and we had 500 today at our Liberty Street market," Rayner said.

Students on the Mt. Healthy High School football team lent a helping hand giving out turkeys and a box with all the sides.

Families of the district take it home for free.

That's a win as inflation and supply chain shortage hit everyone in the pocket, even nonprofits.

"We're paying 20% more than we were last year for some of our products," Rayner said.

But they continue to provide with the help of generous donors like Bengals defensive tackle Larry Obunjobi, who paid for all the food at the Mt. Healthy distribution.

"I think it's a blessing to be a blessing and I understand not having stuff when I was younger and going through the hardships of growing up and struggling a little bit. So being able to be in the position I'm in today and just being able to help and give back is extremely important," Obunjobi said.

His gift is greatly appreciated by those in the pick-up line.

"It's heartwarming to know there are still good people out there and people will donate and people who really need it can come out and get what they need," Toyia Lail said.

Click here to find food distributions and foodbanks near you.

An 8-year-old boy from Massachusetts is helping his local food pantry in a big way just days before Thanksgiving.

Belmond Schwartz started recruiting neighbors and friends in September to collect food for the Mansfield Food Pantry. He eventually called upon stores like Walmart, Stop & Shop, Big Y and Target to donate to his cause.

"There are a lot of people who don't have food and I just wanted to help them in any way I can," Schwartz said.

On Sunday, the third-grader worked with family, friends and firefighters to load the weeks' worth of food he collected for the food pantry onto trucks.

"I think this will keep us pretty well stocked through January, mid-February," said Maria Smith, who runs the Mansfield Food Pantry. "It's great for the Mansfield community."

Steven Schwartz, Belmond's father, said his son got the idea to collect food to donate ahead of Thanksgiving after a recent trip to California, where he saw people who were homeless and hungry.

"He saw tents out there and he was just kind of shocked by it," Steven Schwartz said. "And he asked me what it was about. My wife and I, his mom and I, told him what it was about and he was really impacted."

Belmond turns 9 years old just after Thanksgiving, and he says he already got his birthday wish.

"I don't want any presents. I think that if I help people, that it will make me feel good," he said.

Watch the full story in the video above.

If you and your family members are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, it's OK for you to ditch the masks this holiday season when you're around each other, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Sunday."That's what I'm going to do with my family," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."However, the nation's top infectious disease expert also noted if you are traveling or are unaware of the vaccination status of the people around you, then you should wear a mask in those situations."Get vaccinated and you can enjoy the holidays very easily. And if you're not, please be careful," Fauci said. "Get tested if you need to get tested when you're getting together, but that's not a substitute for getting vaccinated. Get yourself vaccinated and you can continue to enjoy interactions with your family and others."Fauci's comments come as the U.S. faces the second holiday season of the pandemic, but the first with safe and effective vaccines now available to people ages 5 and older. Still, a significant part of the eligible population remains unvaccinated.According to data published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 196 million people, or 59% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated. But about 26.6% of the eligible population, or 83 million people, have yet to receive a first dose.The vast majority of COVID-19 deaths so far this year have been among unvaccinated people, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday."More than a thousand people dying every day -- the vast majority of them unvaccinated. Those are preventable deaths, probably at least 100,000 of the deaths that have happened this year didn't need to," Collins said.The seven-day average of vaccinations has increased -- about 36% compared to last week -- due in large part to vaccinations among newly eligible children.

There's nothing worse than a dry, tasteless turkey. That's why some people swear by flipping their turkey upside down. It's actually quite a simple idea: For a juicier bird, roast your turkey breast-side down for the first 30 to 45 minutes of cooking and then flip it back over.

While this hack does seem like it makes for a flavor-packed roast, the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen says that it's too good to be true. In fact, it's not even the best way to make a turkey. Here's why:

1. Flipping a piping hot turkey is tricky (to say the least).

"It's pretty unwieldy to turn the bird in the middle of roasting it," says Good Housekeeping's culinary director Susan Westmoreland. "And we found that our easy tenting method works just as well for keeping the meat moist."

For the first hour of roasting or up to two hours for larger birds, prop an aluminum foil tent over the turkey. After you remove the tent, the skin will still have enough time to get brown and crisp. It's a much easier move than precariously flipping your 20-pounder in the roasting rack — the folks at the Good Housekeeping Institute says they learned the hard way.

2. Brining is the real winning idea.

It's the most foolproof-method for making sure your turkey won't dry out as you roast it. When it comes to brining, you have two options: Rub the bird all over with kosher salt a couple of days ahead or add it to a salt-concentrated liquid brine.

3. It could take away from your turkey's unveiling.

The members of the Good Housekeeping Institute found the roasting rack can leave unsightly marks on the turkey's breast if you cook it upside down. Or worse, you might tear the skin when you flip it. If you live for that once-a-year, glamour-shot carving moment, stick to roasting right-side up.

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THEY ARE OPENING THEM UP EVERYWHERE. NOW, THE GREERAT CINCINNIAT AMAZON STORE. SHER:EE JUST WHAT I NEEDED, AS IF I DID AND SHOPPED THERE ENOUGH ALREADY. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER HERE BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WILL HIT YOU IN THE FACE WHEN YOU WALK OUT THE DOOR IN THE MORNING. KEN: IT WILL BE THE CHILL AND THE RAIN. I CAN SEE THE AMAZON STORE BEING LIKE THE APPLE, YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR TWO DAYS TO GET IN THERE. THE CALL WILL BE HERE IN THE MORNING. MOTHER NATURE DELIVERING THE COLD AND WET WEATHER TO STTAR YOUR THURSDAY. IT IS A PRETTY SHARP FRONT. BIG TEMPERATUREIF DFERENCE ON EITHER SIDE OF IT. WE ARE ONHE T WARM SIDE NOW, NICE AND DRY ALL EVENING. IF PASSING SHOWERS NORTHWEST OF INTERSTETA 71, HERE COMES THE REAL DEAL OVER THEEX NT HOUR OR TWO. YOU CAN SEE THE FRO BNTASICALLY STRETCHING FROM STWE OF DAYTON. WHERE UYO SEE THESE BRIGHTER COLORS ON THE RADAR, TT HAIS THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT ITSELF. ZOOMING IN FROM YOUR OXFORD, YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE THAT GBI TEMPERATURE DROP. OVER TOWARDS BATESVILLE, NO THUNDER OR LIGHTNING AND ANY OF THIS ACTIVITY. A QUICK BURST OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL FOR A FEW MINESUT AND THEN IT KIND OF LETS UP, BUT WE WILL SEE MORE RAIN THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. YOU CANEE S IT IN FROM MIXER BILL AND O FOREST. TO SWHO YOU THE BIG PICTURE HERE, THERE IS PUT THE RAIN TO COME. THE RAIN GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO ST. LOU.IS ONCE THE RAIN STARTS, WHILE IT WON’T BEIT H HEAVY, IT WILL STICK AROU TNDHROUGH TOMORROW MORNING. THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WITAH SHARP COLD FRONT. LOOKT A THE TEMPERATURE RATING ACROSS OHIO VALL.EY HERE IN CINCINNATI, WE ARE NINE DEGREES WARMER TONIGHT THAN WE WERE LAST NIGHT AT THIS TIME. YOU’RE NEVER WE WERE IN THE 50’S. AN HOUR AWAY, IT YOU ARE NINE DEGREES COLDER THAN YOU WERE LAST NIGHT. THIS IS WHAT WE CALL A SHARP COLD FRONT. THIS IS THE COLD AIR THAT IS LASTING ANDEH BIND IT. A WET AND CHILLY START TO YOUR THURAYSD MORNING AND YOU WILL NEED THE JACKETS TO ACCOMPANY THE UMBRELLAS TOMORROW. THE GOOD NEWS, WE GET MESO SUN BACK IN HERE. MAYBE NOT TOMORROW, AT A RAY OR TWO IN THE AFTERNOON MAYBE. LOOKING NGLO TERM, EVEN IF THE FRIGID AIR DOES T NOSTICK AROUND THROUGH THANKSGIVING ITSF,EL IT LOOKS VERY CHILLY IN THE DAYS LEADINGP. U I AM TALKING MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. MORE ON THAT AND JUST A MOMENT. WE ARE TUMBLING THROUGH THE 40’S TONIGHT, THOH.UG WE WILL STILL BINE THE 60’S OVERNIGHT. THEN A FOLLOW COVER- - OCCUR AND WE WILL THI THE 40’S BEFORE THE SUN COMES UP. THIS IS WHAT THE COLD FRONT LOOKS LIKE. CAN YOU LOOK AT IT HERE? IT IS 45 IN INDIANAPOLIS. A 20 DEGREES TEMPERATURE CHANGE ON EITHER SIDE. RIGHT NOW 64, ARE WIND STL ILOUT OF THE SOUTH. THAT OPENS THE DOOR FOR THE COLDER AIR. RIGHT NOW IN CONNERSVILLE, YOU DIP INTO THE 50’S. WAHTC FUTURECAST, THE RAIN WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE NIGHT. IT LOOKS WET FOR YOUR MORNING COMMUTE AGAIN. THE GOOD NEWS, NOT A WASHOUT TOMORROW. THE INRA SHOULD COME TO AN END IN THE METRO BY NINE. BY LUNCHTIME, THE ENTIRE AREA IS QUIET. ERTHE MAY BE A PEAK OF SUN LATE, BUT THE REAL STORY IS THE COLD AIR THAT SITS IN HERE TOMORROW NIT.GH WE ARE HEADED DOWN IONT THE 20’S FOR OUR LOWS. THE RAIN IS ARRIVING AS IT TURNS COLDER. 44 BY MORNING. A WET START, MUCH COOLER, BUT BREEZIER AND DRIER BY THE AFTERNN.OO TEMPERATURES WLIL NOT COOL OFF BY TOMORROW. THEY WILL HANG OUT IN THMIE D TO LOW 40’S TOMORROW. HERE IS A QUICK LOOK AT YOUR SEVEN-DAY FORECAST. ONLY2 4 ON FRIDAY. BESIDE HIS BACK, BUT IT IS CHILLY. SAME STORY ON SATURDAY. UPPER 40’S NEAR 50’S. SOME SHOWERS FROM SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY.

Rain arrives overnight as it turns much colder again.

CINCINNATI —

Rain arrives overnight as it turns much colder again.