With the access doors opened at Launch Complex 37 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., NASA's Orion spacecraft and a Delta IV Heavy rocket are visible inside the Mobile Service Tower.(Photo: NASA)

1. NASA's small step for man could lead to steps on Mars

Deep-space capsule Orion is set to launch on Thursday in a four-and-a-half-hour flight. While putting humans on Orion is at least seven years away, according to NASA, the capsule is designing to fly astronauts to an asteroid or perhaps someday Mars. It will launch from NASA's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station early Thursday morning, projected for 7:05 a.m. ET.

The head of NASA's Orion spacecraft project says they've always known the risks associated with space travel. The recent explosion of Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket hasn't changed plans for Orion's December launch.

2. NCIS fans with Dish Network may not be too happy about this

CBS Corp. is not playing around with Dish Network. The companies have been negotiating for six months for a new carriage contract, which spells out how much Dish pays for the rights to carry CBS channels and the terms of streaming and other digital rights. If no contract is signed by "Thursday evening at 7:00 PM/ET," CBS is prepared to pull their channels in New York, Los Angeles and other major markets.

CBS says its channels could go dark for Dish customers in some large markets if they can't agree on a new contract by Thursday evening. CBS' primetime lineup includes some of the most popular TV shows, including NCIS.(Photo: Trae Patton, CBS)

3. President Obama and family light up the White House

Not to be outdone by Rockefeller Center, Obama and family will light up the White House Christmas tree on Thursday to crowds surrounding the area near the White House. Fifth Harmony and Patti Labelle will be performing at the event hosted by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. This year's tree — and several surrounding trees — will be powered through Google's Made for Code initiative that is used by children across the country.

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4. Tiger Woods returns to the competitive green

The Tiger roars on Thursday, as Woods returns to competitive golf in the Hero World Challenge in Florida. Commencing his second comeback of the year and the fifth in the last five years, Tiger Woods had surgery earlier in March and only played in eight events this season, finishing 72 holes on just three occasions. He's been laying low for the past two months.

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5. NBC heads to Neverland with Peter Pan Live!

You don't want to grow up? Well, you're in good company. NBC's second foray into live musicals, Peter Pan Live!, airs on Thursday starring Girls breakout Allison Williams as Pan and legend Christopher Walken as arch-nemesis Captain Hook. Following the massive ratings success of last December's live rendition of The Sound of Music, NBC hopes for a similar smash — with some better reviews.

PETER PAN LIVE! (l-r) Jake Lucas as John Darling, Taylor Louderman as Wendy Darling, Allison Williams as Peter Pan, John Allyn as Michael Darling(Photo: Virginia Sherwood, NBC)

And, the essentials:

Weather: Mild, soggy and rather dreary weather is forecast Thursday for large parts of the nation.

The national weather forecast for Thursday, December 4th calls for rain and snow showers in the West Coast, evening showers in the Midwest and cold and dry in the Great Lakes. VPC

Video Transcript

Automatically Generated Transcript (may not be 100% accurate)

00:03 I'm meteorologist opera shut the USA today dot com follow
 00:06 me on Twitter at toppers weather and it's the ran toppers
 00:08 whether. OK no big storms in the lower 48 now he'll
 00:11 have some leftover rain and snow showers the West Coast Iraqis.
 00:15 From that storm earlier in the week but he is weakening
 00:17 showers and rain in Texas Oklahoma and southern Missouri. Not a
 00:21 huge deal. Afternoon rain and showers in them in the midwest
 00:24 and parts of Ohio valley again nothing heavy. And it just
 00:27 cool and dry in the Great Lakes and the northeast you're
 00:30 kind of in between systems right now so model forecast pretty
 00:34 quiet and ease kind of chilly start down. A few a
 00:37 few snow showers upstate New York that's about it. Got a
 00:40 lot of I showers out of four corners and some rain
 00:42 there. Could see some localized flooding in parts of tires on
 00:46 and New Mexico this is now. At 9:30 in the morning
 00:49 West Coast time it's so that'd be unsettled along the West
 00:51 Coast is back right quite as crazy as it was. Will
 00:54 advance the maps again. 3 o'clock West Coast time we got
 00:57 showers against Seattle San Francisco even down to LA. Little heavier
 01:01 rain and snow much account Colorado back into Mexico. In just
 01:06 a little bit shower activity pushing into the Ohio valley Tennessee
 01:09 valley that is the clouds return pretty quickly though to the
 01:11 mid Atlantic during the afternoon on Thursday Friday morning. Still some
 01:15 showers out west well what organize area of rain showers Kansas
 01:19 City. Over toward a Saint Louis and again clouds over spreading
 01:23 much of these codes and that will head toward the East
 01:25 Coast throughout the day on Friday I would isn't traveling for.
 01:29 Thursday. Some showers in Seattle kind of chilly 4446. Or showers
 01:33 in Portland. Little bit it's on in Boise cannot let a
 01:36 shower there of 52. 39 a Great Falls showers and San
 01:40 Francisco 64 were not pertaining to shower here in LA but
 01:43 you could have a shower. A medical only 66 showers of
 01:47 rain in Phoenix 71. Still some showers possible in Vegas and
 01:51 65 certainly rain showers in Albuquerque. It's not and it could
 01:54 be heavy in Albuquerque area 54 and Denver 67. With some
 01:58 sun in that El Paso. Got a cult 25 but sunny
 02:02 in Bismarck essentially signed through Minneapolis and deployed in Chicago attempts
 02:06 in the thirties. And we got some light rain showers Kansas
 02:09 City and Saint Louis and it will be liquid rain known
 02:11 analysts leader anything low forties in Kansas City near fourteenth Saint
 02:15 Louis. Clouds and Oklahoma City thousand Dallas at a cool 66
 02:19 very nice on the Gulf Coast attempts in the seventies having
 02:22 to Houston 75 in New Orleans perfect early. SE you're okay
 02:26 Atlanta southward sunshine but then some showers in Nashville. Maybe even
 02:30 some showers down far south as a Chattanooga and Knoxville Charlotte
 02:34 you're okay sunshine 55 that's a pretty early December day. To
 02:38 the north we got its stride just chilly 45 in DC
 02:42 up 43 in New York you clouds return to DC and
 02:44 Baltimore Philly in the afternoon only in the thirties in Pittsburgh.
 02:48 And only 32. With sunshine in Detroit. I'm meteorologist toppers not
 02:52 for USA today dot com.

Stocks: U.S. stock futures eked out gains Thursday as Asia's stock markets surged.

TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at Peter Pan Live! and The Taste.

USA TODAY's Robert Bianco previews the television lineup for Thursday, December 4th with 'Peter Pan Live,' 'The Taste' and 'Renee Fleming: Christmas in New York.' VPC

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