mar-a-lago. potentially the winter white house. jason, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, brooke. no announcements expected today. this is the time for the president-elect and family to have time together. this is a down day for the lekesiz. the president-elect now calling for the country to ce together. president-elect donald trump diversifying his administration, picking two women to fill key positions, tapping former critic nikki haley as u.s. ambassador to the united nations. >> i will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the kkk, that is not a part of our party. that is not who we want as president. >> she is very weak on illegal immigration. you can't have that. >> reporter: trump now touting the south carolina governor as a proven dealmaker with a proven track record of bringing people together. haley has accepted the position, she says, out of a sense of

duty. haley, the daughter of indian immigrants is the first woman and first person of color to be elected as governor in south carolina. but some are questioning if she has enough foreign policy experience for her new diplomatic post at the u.n. >> thank you, everyone. >> reporter: trump also naming a top billionaire donor betsy devos as secretary of education. the president-elect calling the a school choice activist a brilliant and passionate education advocate. even though she also heavily criticized him throughout his candidacy, raising money for other republicans on the ballot. and devos previously served on the board of an education group led by jeb bush that supports common core standards. >> we are going to provide school choice and put an end to common core. bring our education local. >> reporter: devos setting the record straight on common core in a statement saying, "i am not a supporter. period." trump announcing on twitter that

he is seriously considering dr. ben carson as head of housing and urban development. >> a lot of things that were put on the table and i'm thinking about them. >> reporter: all as trump channels the spirit of thanksgiving releasing this holiday message on youtube after what he calls a long and bruising campaign. >> it's my prayer that on this thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country. >> again, today is a down day for the president-elect and his family. dr. ben carson did give some indication of when we might hear something about his position. he did tweet that an announcement would be "forthcoming." and a lot of questions of when we might hear something about secretary of state. mitt romney is the frontrunner and in terms of that position, we're hearing that mitt romney is mulling things over with his advisors, not expected to hear something on that front until after the holiday weekend. alisyn. >> good to know, jason. thank you so much. let's discuss it all with

our panel. cnn analyst maggie haberman and david. happy thanksgiving. so much for being here. >> thank you for being here. >> nikki haley and betsy devos. let's look at betsy devos for a second. she looks school choice and vouchers not a fan of the public school system necessarily. this is in keeping with what donald trump talked about, i think, and promised on the campaign trail. that he didn't want to mix it up and he did like the idea of school choice and this seems to be fitting into that. >> fits very much with the mold of education approach that one of his top advisors, rudy giuliani, has had. that played some role of guiding donald trump's view of the education system. another appointment that could face some dinging up during the confirmation process. >> why? >> because you'll hear about the devos family approached the

school system. how money was used or not used in terms of support of public education. she is, i'm certain, be confirmed on the health senate but democrats are going to be looking to get their licks in where they can. the union right asxway. i think you'll hear more of that in the coming days. >> she had written a piece back and the head of the michigan party. my family is the largest contributor but i have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. i simply concede the point we expect for traditional american vi virtus and we expect a return on our investment, we expect a good and honest government. is that not a contrast from drain the swamp, drain the swamp. >> she is saying that is her

approach and giving money to the party and the organization and on the other hand does not square with this idea that trump's government is going to be this government of outsiders, not a government of people with money, influence. i do think that the devos pick does provide that stark divider line just like maggie was saying. i talked yesterday to darren allison who said he thought it was a wise choice. he is a charter school's advocate. you're going to see the dividing line on this pick. >> we just heard from jason carroll that we should not expect anything in terms of secretary of state until after the holiday weekend. what is going on with newt gingrich and mike huckabee coming forward and so publicly saying -- >> they don't like it. >> that mitt romney would not be a good choice. i'm interested, is donald trump cool with that? is he okay with some of his surrogates and advisors speaking out about this war? >> remember, there's a lot of history with mike huckabee and

mitt romney. they ran against each other in 2008 in the primaries. i think mike huckabee's line is that mitt romney looks like the guy that fires you. it was something to that effect. i think with newt gingrich he tends to be more vocal on these types of things and he clearly has a formed opinion. i think gingrich is pro someone more like giuliani. right now a split within the trump campaign. rudy giuliani, versus mitt romney and versus bucket of third options. basically, they have decided to slow walk this until they can get their arms around it. ultimately donald trump's pick, obviously, but he has so many people in his ear right now telling him different things that i think there was a desire until we get past this. >> even when you look at the giulianis or haleys, where is the foreign policy experience? >> there is not a time, certainly with governor haley. she is a two-term governor. governor romney is a one-term governor. these are not people without governing experience.

the problem i see down the road for many of these picks including governor haley is this idea that there may be these contrasts in foreign policy outlook with donald trump himself down had road when you get to issues like the iran deal and whether we should put troops in the middle east. they're going to be then carrying the water for president-elect trump or president trump at that point. >> mitt romney, remember, in 2012 called russia our greatest geopolitical faoe. >> donald trump has been turning away, or at least not attending intel briefings. he's only gone to two since becoming president-elect, whereas, mike pence, it sounds like, is going every day. what is that asfwhout. >> i don't see this as an issue of alarm. if it's something that is only taking place in these first couple of weeks of the transition. if this becomes a pattern over the course of the entire

transition past the inauguration into the administration, then you have to wonder if president trump too hands off with these briefings. the american people didn't elect vice president trump to run foreign policy -- >> but in your piece, thanks to your colleagues, they point out not only how president obama participated and bush 43 asked for daily briefings after the recount happened. when they cite this source it says it would help if trump could be brought up to speed on world events. >> i think that quote is from a clinton supporter, if i'm remembering correctly. it's certainly a bit of a surprise just given how trump has made foreign policy and, you know, and jobs the two sort of pillars how he'll govern. not a cause of alarm yet. other examples of presidents that didn't dive right in. there was a bunch of them. i think that's right if we're

still, if it's january 19th and he's still doing this then i think people perhaps have greater reason to raise their eyebrows. >> speaking of hillary clinton supporters, the number of the popular vote by which hillary clinton won the popular vote is now 2 million. it has surpassed, actually, 2 million. there is this ground swell, some of it being led by jill stein, one of the other people that ran for president that maybe some people in the electoral college won't vote for donald trump. maybe they would switch to hillary clinton or maybe there needs to be an investigation into the states that were the tightest states, the battleground states and maybe that would somehow tip the results? where are we with all of this? >> there is this push for a recount in three states. and jill stein, who did get i think a combined 104,000 something like that votes is able to do that. you have to be involved in this election, you have to be a candidate in order to request

it. she is raising money to try to do that. the clinton people have been pretty quiet on this. some of her supporters, however, have urged it. she put on facebook call the justice department and so forth. again, i think most people say they don't expect this to change the results, but it is clearly something they want to do. the problem is for the clinton people, there was so much volume put into denying the idea that the election could be hacked, which was raised by some of trump's supporters that it's harder to make that your argument. as for electoral college electors switching, that really doesn't happen. i think the most was around james madison. something like six. >> aren't some saying they are considering it? >> the number would have to be like 37, i think it is, in order to switch away from trump. that's a large number. anything can happen, but it seems unlikely. >> last thought. >> you're not talking about one or two electors and this there is a bigger issue here, alisyn. the election could have been won if 100,000 or more people across

five states had voted differe differently or had gone to vote at all. this is not about electoral college voters but who got their voters out on election day. >> stick around, we have more questions. meanwhile, stunning data breach at the u.s. navy. more than 130,000 former and current sailors. we have more from cnn chief national correspondent jim sciutto. jim? >> we are learning of potentially damaging security breach affecting the u.s. navy. this began with just one laptop, a single laptop that belonged to a contractor for the navy, but because that laptop was compromised, someone was able to access the names and social security numbers of more than 130,000 sailors. those sailors now being notified. the navy saying it's taking this very seriously. they don't know who did it. to this point that information has not been shared more widely, but they're, obviously,

investigating this potential for real damage here. alisyn and brooke, back to you. >> jim, thanks for that. the floats and the balloons are set to go in the annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. we'll take you there live for all of the excitement on this special edition of "new day." but, first, a thanksgiving message from one of our brave service members overseas. >> my name is lieutenant tyler johnson. wish i could be home for thanksgiving. miss my family home in south dakota and to everyone back home, happy thanksgiving. special this year? here's a few suggestions. always cut the head off the turkey before you cook it. and don't forget to serve delicious stove top stuffing. my mouth is watering just thinking about it. the stuffing... not the turkey head. whfight back fastts, with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum -tum -tum -tum smoothies! only from tums

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welcome back and happy thanksgiving. millions of people are expected to line the streets of new york city to watch all the balloons and the floats at the 90th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. we also know that police are stepping up security, of course, to ensure it all goes without a hitch. boris sanchez got the gig this morning along the parade route on manhattan's upper north side where i know you'll be walking along the parade once it gets going. i'm hearing screaming. it's all for you, boris. it's all for you. >> i may or may not have coached them a little bit to start

screaming. you guys excited? all right. yeah. it's a pretty good crowd. everybody is pumped for the thanksgiving day parade. don't stop. keep screaming. there we go. if you look behind me, the parade is going to start right here on 76th street. one other thing i want you to notice, brooke, the amount of police officers out here. about 3,000 for the 3.5 million people that are lined up. a huge crowd of them there. a huge security operation for folks but all for a good time. dozens of floats and many, many balloons and 1,000 clowns, believe it or not. the parade starts here and goes down to 34th street to where macy's is. a lot of excitement in the crowd and in the air. some of the things to look forward to. all new balloons. one of them from the movie "trolls" and also "diary of a wimpy kid." and a brand-new block head, charlie brown is back making a comeback and so was felix the cat. he was the first balloon ever featured in the macy's thanksgiving day parade back in 1927. now for the 90th anniversary,

they're bringing him back. not just that, but free broadway shows and my personal favorite cats is going to be out here. our camera guy is going to have a great time. parade kicks off at 9:00 a.m. we hope you stay tuned. brooke? >> we learned a lout about you here. your favorite musical is "cats." >> judging, judging. >> but also that you are a good director. the crowd was so obedient. >> i heard a lot of high pitch screams. >> they're very, very excited to be here. you just have to wake them up because it's still pretty early. >> that's great, boris. we will check in with you throughout the program. thanks so much for that. so, hopefully the weather will hold for today's parade. and of course, your holiday travel. let's get the forecast from cnn meteorologist chad myers. yesterday, chad, you said snoopy will fly. >> snoopy will fly. yes. you know, wind may be 5 miles per hour, but a big threshold.

they need to be 20 to 25 gusts to stop the balloon from flying. today is not even close to that. snow in the poconos, but that won't make it to new york city. by the time the precip gets there, it will be in the form of rain. the forecast for today really a nice forecast as he flies today. temperatures in the 40s and 50s and all the way to 52 and there's snoopy. there he is right there. he can fly and fly right over my head. how about that for graphics wow in the morning hours. here's the future radar. by 2:00 it will be raining. but by 6:00 everybody inside probably eating turkey. it will be raining heavily there across the northeast. the rest of the country looks pretty good. no real storms to make any last-minute movers and shakers that haven't got to their place yet slowed down. alisyn, back to you. >> there's a turkey on the screen. >> we're pulling out all the stops, as you can see. >> did you do this because i'm sitting here. >> i have more surprises for you coming up.

>> amazing. speaking of that. gobble, gobble. the fate of tater and tot has been decided. president obama pardoning two thanksgiving turkeys at the white house. we'll tell you why the president's daughters are feeling liberated, as well. next on "new day. pay stubs and bank statements to refinance your home. or you could push that button. sfx: rocket launching. cockpit sounds. skip the bank, skip the paperwork, and go completely online. securely share your financial info and confidently get an accurate mortgage solution in minutes. lift the burden of getting a home loan with rocket mortgage by quicken loans. (whisper) rocket

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time now for the five things to know for your new day. donald trump naming two women to top administration posts. he's nominated south carolina governor nikki haley and republican donor betsy devos to head the education department. the names and social numbers of more than 134,000 former and current sailors breached by hackers. the u.s. navy now is just trying to track down who compromised the contractors' laptop to access that data. a sixth student has died in that deadly bus crash in chattanooga, tennessee. the school bus driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. the ntsb says the driver was not on the designated route when that speeding school bus slammed into a tree. here's a little something

that tokyo hasn't seen in, you know, say half a century. snow. >> is that right? >> snow in november. this is a first in the last 54 years. didn't stick to roads. not a huge, huge deal. but made getting around the city a bit of a challenge. so president obama pardoning his final turkeys, tater and tot, in the traditional rose garden ceremony. the first daughters, sasha and malia, they were no shows. they decided to pass on the festivities and the president explained that his daughters could not face another year of his turkey jokes. >> yes, you cran. for more on, i'm sorry -- for more on the five things you need to know, go to cnn.com/newday for the latest. >> now your turn. she is donald trump's newly ambassador the united nations but south carolina governor nikki haley has not always been

in donald trump's corner. joe johns looks at the evolution of a once rocky relationship. >> reporter: donald trump hasn't always been the biggest fan of nikki haley. >> i won south carolina, big, big, big. nikki haley was against me. it turned out to be an asset because she is very weak on borders, okay. >> reporter: and vice versa. >> when a bully hits you, you hit that bully right back. >> reporter: but the president-elect is turning to the south carolina governor to be the u.s. ambassador to the united nations. praising haley as a proven dealmaker and saying she will be a great leader representing us on the world stage. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: the choice of haley, the daughter of indian immigrants would also add diversity to a trump cabinet. haley said she accepted the assignment out of a sense of duty, adding when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed.

it's a far cry from the heat of the gop primary when trump tweeted, the people of south carolina are embarrassed by nick ai ha nicki haley and delivered a verbal jab at trump during her state of the union response. >> during anxious times it could be tempting to follow the call of the angriest voices. we must resist that temptation. >> reporter: on policy haley criticized trump's proposal to ban all muslims from entering the u.s. as unamerican and unconstitutional and she dismissed his claims that the election was rigged as irresponsible. despite her reservations, haley still cast her ballot for trump. >> the best person based on the policies and dealing with things like obama care still is donald trump. that doesn't mean it's an easy vote. >> reporter: and following trump's victory earlier this month, she sounded an optimistic note. >> get excited because i'm just

giddy. the idea that we can now tastar to really govern. i have never know what it is like to have a republican president. >> reporter: haley is passing on an opportunity to work with the trump administration to be part of one. the latest step in haley's rise to national prominence after she gained widespread praise for the handling of the aftermath of the church shooting that left nine people dead in 2013. the removal of the confederate flag from the grounds. >> does not represent the future of our great state. >> reporter: and while haley has spent six years as governor, she lacks extensive foreign policy experience. though the trump transition team notes that haley has worked on overseas trade and business recruitment missions during her time as governor. if haley is confirmed by the senate, she would be succeeded as governor by south carolina lieutenant governor henry mcmaster who is the highest ranking official in the state to

endorse trump before the february primary. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> okay, thanks to joe for that. so, there are growing concerns about donald trump's potential conflicts of interest. the role his children are playing in the transition and much more raising eyebrows. so, we will dig deeper on all of that next on this special that next on this special edition of "new day." ia walnuts. the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. so simple. get the recipes at walnuts.org.

[ clock titime. ] you only have so much. that's why we wanna make sure you won't have to wait on hold. and you won't have to guess when we'll turn up. because after all... we should fit into your life. [ laughing ] not the other way around.

[ clock ticking ] conflict of interest concerns continue to plague a president-elect and president new trump tower in buenos aires. let's get back into it with maggie and david. david, let me begin with you on what we're learning. we know last week when prime minister abe came over and now new details with a phone call with the president of argentina perhaps relating to a property in buenos aires and a meeting

with business associates in which eric and ivanka and the president-elect involved. >> take the call with argentina's -- i think the trump organization already has a real estate deal going on in argentina, there is nothing that president-elect trump can do about that. if he is having ivanka trump take over his businesses while he becomes president of the united states, that's something they can't do anything about. when you put those two together and the trump organization has a deal going on in argentina and he puts his daughter, ivanka trump who is running his business on the phone and then people really can raise the issue of conflict of interest. >> i don't know, maggie, there's so many potential conflicts of interests here. it all becomes sort of a mind boggling blur for voters. what will investigative

journalists focus on? >> when he was in our newsroom earlier this week, donald trump. he was very blunt. he said, literally, the president of the united states cannot have a conflict of interest. >> legally, there's no grounds for a conflict of interest. >> the law is on my side. >> he is not wrong and he clearly had studied this. but a lot of it is about appearances. the number one. there is a huge maze of llcs and business incorporations and there's so many it will take a long time for people to start sifting through this. the risk for president-elect trump is that there is a daily focus in several different newspapers across the country of, yet, here's another phone call. another intermingling of my children and my presidency. and whether it becomes a blur that is not heard by voters, i think a lot of that is going to depend, "a" on the severity and

how well things are going in the country. people tend not to care as much as well as things are going okay for them. >> what about congress. now that republicans run house and senate. anyone in congress who would launch an investigation into some of these entanglements? >> you're already seeing democrats making noise about it. we'll have to wait and see. republicans hold both houses. it will have to be pretty severe an example, i think, to motivate anything. but what is amazing to me, i think, with donald trump and all these phone calls, a lot of it is -- this is going to sound like i'm making an excuse. he literally has no, this is how he talks. he gets on the phone with you and he will immediately start launching into what he knows and the familiar and his immediate lens of view and he clearly is not thinking about shifting that lens. he has not yet grasped, i think, the way people are going to potentially view this overlap. and that it is the very thing that he accused the clintons of during the campaign.

>> alisyn, can i jump in. maggie is right and president trump is right. the law is on his side in this case, but just because he isn't breaking the law does not mean his role as commander in chief does not bump up against. >> what about forming a blind trust. he has said on the campaign trail that it would then go to his children. his children would run the business and his children are on the transition team because of anti-nepotism laws. >> that is not a blind trust. >> so, what's the role of the adult children in all of this? >> correct me if i'm wrong, but the anti-nepotism laws that are in place do prevent them from taking roles in the administration. i think most people, voters understood what was going to happen as it was explained to them by president-elect trump when he was campaigning. that he was going to step back. his children would run the business. it's the mixing of this that i think is the problem.

not that his children have to be, there has to be this firewall at all times between him and his children. >> i think that's the basic issue. and you can understand in one or two or even three instances that they're still figuring their way around it, but a lot of these now and i think the question is what this looks like for the remaining weeks of the transition. >> guys, thank you very much for being here. have a great thanksgiving. >> you, too. what's your take on all of this? tweet us at "new day" or post your comment on facebook.com/newday. shoppers looking to cash in on deals ahead of black friday. find out who is open for business today. that's next. t-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine.

all seems beautiful to me.

some of the biggest retailers are bucking tradition today they are adding shades of gray to black friday. >> very well done. >> i just read it. the start of the holiday shopping season is today and they will open their doors actually a few hours from now. christine romans is in the money center with more on who will be open up for business today. >> i would call it shades of green. money right out of your pocket. every year there are shoppers who just can't wait for tomorrow and retailers happy to take your money before you even have thanksgiving dishes done. you can skip the pie and go straight to the retail therapy at jcpenney beginning at 3:00 p.m. today, best buy, macy's open at 5:00, dick's sporting

goods sears welcome at 6:00 p.m. not all stores believe in this philosophy. office depot, radio shack were both open last year and will be closed for the holiday this year. staples remains dark for the second year in a row. costco, rei, barnes & noble and bed, bed & beyond will stay closed on thanksgiving. while the u.s. market is closed on thanksgiving, stocks have been red hot since the trump victory. his win gave the markets a boost up more than 9% this year and the dow at an all-time high and the dow has added 700 points since he won. the housing market also hot. existing home sales up 2% in october and a strengthening labor market, one of the reasons for that bump in home sales. that averaged to $180,000 a month and overall economic growth has finally been picking up and came in at 2.9% last year. brooke, that obama campaign that trump campaigned against is a

tailwind for him heading into his own presidency. >> christine romans, thank you so much. besides the turkey and all the sides. andy sholes the go-to guy with the bleacher report. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you, as well, brooke. i don't know about you but usually after i stuff myself with food i relax and watch football and during the lions game i nod off because they're not usually very good. lions first place in the nfc north. game with the vikings today is huge today. could go a long way in deciding who wins the division. now, that game between the lions and vikings get started today 12:30 eastern followed by another good one the 9-1 dallas cowboys host the washington redskins. can prescott and the cowboys get their tenth straight win. the colts hosting the steelers. andrew luck is going to be out

for tonight's game with a concussion. hey, still three great games on tap. the nba has got today off but many teams in action last night including the cavs and kevin love was working up an appetite in this one. he came out absolutely on fire scoring a record 34 points in the first quarter. love making eight threes in that opening period. however, somehow he only finished with 40 points in the game. the cavs would win big, 137-125 over the blazers. guys, back to football. this is actually the first time since 1993 that none of the teams playing on thanksgiving have a losing record. so, a lot at stake later today as we watch football. >> good to know. i'll think of that as i'm in my food coma. >> i actually thought you were going to say after you nod off you went for seconds. i'm all with the seconds myself. >> i'll do seconds, thirds. >> andy, thank you. up next, american service members on thanksgiving taking

the fight to isis half a world away. so, we will take you there to meet them. >> we will just ahead. first, a thanksgiving message from one of our brave service members overseas. >> captain clark from new york city and i guess the most i miss about home is being home with family and friends and kind of having that big meal and that big feast. i'd like to say hi to all my family and friends back in the states, back in new york. lyou gotta make a truck heavier to make it stronger, has been workin' too long without a hard hat. meet the all-new 2017 ford super duty. they cut weight with a high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy body and reinvested a big chunk of it to beef up the high-strength steel frame. forging the most capable heavy-duty pickup in america. time to punch work in the face.

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many of us will celebrate thanksgiving with our families our brave servicemen and women will spend it in a war zone risking their lives. fred embed would the air refueling forces. he has more. >> reporter: this thanksgiving americans are in harm's way fighting isis on the ground and in the air. we're onboard a kc-10 extender

refueling jet flying over iraq and syria. captain clark polica commanding the massive airborne gas station. >> challenging environment, but it's very rewarding. >> reporter: the first batch of planes two f-15 eagles strike aircraft getting them hooked up to the tanker, a challenge of crews of both planes. >> it is two moving aircraft, but they are moving around the same speed. so at the end there is a rate of closure the aircraft has towards you when you stop and when you give them that contact. >> reporter: the kc-10 refuels planes from all members of the u.s.-led coalition against isis. including c-130 hercules transporters and the mighty a-10 warthog with its massive canon and many bombs clearly visible through our window. without the help of these

tankers, the planes that are flying missions against isis could only stay in the area of operation for an hour, maybe an hour and a half. thanks to the tanker airplane, they can get fuel in the sky and stay in the area to fight isis for up to seven hours. so instead of turkey and football for the kc-10 crews, it's eight to ten-hour missions hovering over this key battlefield. the pain of being away from their loved ones mitigated by the contribution they're making to the war against terror. >> i love flying. so i wouldn't rather be doing anything else. it is hard being away from family, but i love this job and supporting our country. >> i'm actually honored to be here. being away from family, they understand it. we work through it when i'm home. right now it is my time to be out here and i just happen to be serving. >> reporter: around mosul we see the billowing smoke of fires isis started to distract coalition planes.

but thanks to the tanker jet, u.s.-led aircraft can stay airborne as long as it takes to find their targets and take them out. cnn, with the usair force over iraq and syria. >> joining me now secretary of the army and he is with troops there today in kuwait. secretary murphy it's an honor and a privilege to be talking to you. i know the men and women around you can't hear me but turn around and say thank you and happy thanksgiving. >> all right, cnn just gave you all a shout out, you're the best-looking soldiers in the world. they're going to take that compliment. these men and women are away from their friends and their families this thanksgiving but they love their country and they're doing everything we can to make sure their families at home are safe. >> it's almost 3:00 in the afternoon where you are. am i correct in saying you

already had your tirkurkey. tell me what the day has been like so far. >> i had two servings of turkey and i am not in a food coma yet. we train even on thanksgiving. we did a 5k run. we did a turkey trot and another work day for these soldiers. we make sure we buy lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, et cetera. what is great these soldiers are doing what they love. and that's serving our country. they're hoping they are making all the families and especially their families back at home proud of their efforts. we're rasking these soldiers les than 1% of america deployed during the longest wars in afghanistan and iraq. i'm talking to you from kuwait, but just north of here is where our soldiers and iraqi armies are taking the fight to isis and mosul. >> i want to ask you about mosul in just a second, but looking at you and all the men and women. i was privileged and honored to spend a couple days on an

aircraft carrier in the spring with the navy with a bunch of soldiers. what struck me, i'm not trying to get into a rivalry here. army/navy -- >> you hang out with the navy. it's okay. >> that said, i think it was fascinating to me understanding the sense of purpose for serving this country and, also, how in touch with their families they were. what would the men and women around you want their families to know on this holiday? >> yeah. when i was here 13 years ago as a soldier and a captain as an 82nd airborne division. they are able to skype home and call home more frequently, not as often as they would like. they want their families to know they're serving and they're serving and they're part of the 1% of america or frankly less than 13er th% that is willing td in the way of isis.

but people don't realize the iraqi army with our help and our partnership has been able to liberate over 500,000 iraqis from the scourge of isis, which is just a terrorist organization which is doing horrible things not just here in iraq and syria and afghanistan, but also, obviously, in our own america with san bernardino and other instances. >> secretary murphy, you mentioned mosul a moment ago. can i just ask you an update. how is that fight progressing? >> you know, what you see in mosul right now is the most, you know, which is iraqi army led, what you're seeing is the largest combat operation since we took baghdad in 2003. that was 13 years ago. so, you know, what you're seeing now is really a true partnership. you have the iraqi army and turkey and the kurds. you have really different players in the region stepping

up and saying, listen, isis does not represent. isis is not welcome here any more. so, our partnership with the iraqi army, they have taken up isis in ramadi and focus in mosul. the capital of iraq is mosul and we're going to take them out. after that, we're taking out their capital raqqa and syria. we can't let isis do harm to our partners. >> final question, sir. we're separated by thousands of miles, but what do you want the rest of us to know about what you all are doing back here at home? >> well, you know, everyone has families back at home. i know it's my daughter is 10 years old today, maggie murphy. and, you know, but we all are sacrificing. i'm only here for a week for the thanksgiving to make sure that i'm saying thanks on behalf of

our nation back at home. but what i would like americans to know, these folks are civic assets. they can be doing anything they want in this world. our veterans are more likely to be employed and more likely to start a small business and for that small business to be successful than nonveterans. more likely to vote in elections no matter what their persuasion is because they love their country. they've taken an oath to support the constitution and the values that we represent as americans. this is the face of america right here overseas. and we have a lot to be proud of. and, so, when you see soldiers back at home at the red lobster, olive garden, wherever, at the mall. say thank you and say, where did you serve, what is nextt for you? just have a conversation. they're just like us. i remember when i joined at 19, patrick, why would you join? i was the captain of the college hockey team. i want to serve my country. my dad served and my grandfather served. it becomes too much at times a family business. but we need the next generation

of men and women to stand up and be part of the varsity team of the united states army. >> i can't thank you enough and the men and women around. this is one of the most important conversations we'll have all day. thank you, all, so much. and happy thanksgiving, once again. >> happy thanksgiving to you, too. >> thank you. thank you very much. we're following a lot of news. let's get to it. to succeed we must enlist the effort of oour entire nation. >> nikki haley going from governor to u.n. ambassador. >> let us boldly face the new frontiers that lie ahead. >> someone like betsy devos. >> should be a little concerned that they don't have the experience needed for the job. >> they are qualified. they are women. i am thrilled. the record number of fliers take to the skies. >> we're just hours away from the thanksgiving day parade kicking off. >> police are stepping up security. >> this is a huge security operation. are you guys excited? >> announcer: this is "new day"

with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. welcome to a special holiday edition of "new day." chris is off and brooke baldwin joins me for a very festive -- >> there is goes! >> how did that get loose in the studio? >> how did you do that. >> a lot of surprises today and you are looking at live aerials. this is the thanksgiving day parade prep of course here in new york city. the balloons are up and ready to go. so, we'll have live reports from the parade route along with your holiday forecast throughout the program. >> charlie brown, charlie brown. my favorite one. we have that for you this morning. boris is along the parade route. we want to begin with president-elect donald trump diversifying his administration selecting the first two women for top jobs. and as we wait for word on other key nominations trump is releasing a video holiday message calling for