maybe it's cold outside on this thanksgiving morning. the massive macy's parade could be hindered by those high winds and single digit temperatures. do not let that dampen hearty fans. >> and crowds and lines that are hopefully getting shorter and moving along as millions will be arriving at their destinations today for a thanksgiving feast. >> president trump wakes up at mar-a-lago in the midst of a battle he started with the chief justice of the supreme court. >> do the lottery winners who almost missed out on their jackpot. if not for a holiday cleaning that uncovered their winning ticket. >> and a shout out to america's brave est, our men and women in

uniform as we give thanks for your service to america on this special thanksgiving edition of "early today." good morning to you. i'm richard lui. >> and i'm marlie hall. happy thanksgiving. and pack your patience before you head out on the roads. this year is expected to set holiday travel records. aaa estimates more than 54 million americans will travel 50 miles or more this weekend. the most in 12 years. the skies also crowded as thanksgiving travel got into full gear. airlines have added 158,000 seats each day through sunday in anticipation of an estimated 2 1/2 million fliers per day. >> also some records you may not like. the ice cold temperatures, the northeast and mid-atlantic are waking up to their coldest holiday inn over a century. meteorologist bonnie schneider is here with more on the deep freeze, what people can expect on this turkey day. >> they can definitely expect the coldest thanksgiving in the northeast ever in their lifetime. these numbers are going to be 20, 25 degrees below normal and the wind chill, that's going to be in the single digits. and notice the cold temperatures will stick around not only for

thanksgiving, but for black friday as well. the big question is, the parade. those wind parameters getting very close to having to lower the balloons, but i think overall i think we'll be okay because notice the wind gusts are at 30. if they get above 34 that would ground the balloons. temperatures are going to be so cold, the main thing is you want to bundle up. i'm going to talk more about this frigid forecast and what we can expect for holiday travel in just a bit. >> all right, bonnie, thanks so much. in new york city, not only will it be ice cold but high winds are also threatening a beloved tradition at the macy's thanksgiving day parade. organizers set to decide whether they'll need to ground those famous balloons for the first time in 47 years. nbc's stephanie gosk is on the parade route with more. hey, stephanie. >> reporter: hey, marlie. well, parade organizers certainly hope the weather is going to be a little bit better than this. the wind is the issue, and the fear is that if the wind is blowing strong enough, these balloons might not make it into the parade.

this year the macy's thanksgiving day parade will be for the brave and the bundled. >> we saw it was going to be very cold and went and got long johns and everything before we came so i hope we're ready. >> reporter: there's a chance the balloons, even the six brand-new ones, will have to sit it out altogether. last time that happened was 1971. in 1997, wind blew the cat in the hat onto a lamp post. four people were injured. after that, the niep.y.p.d. cred a new rule. lower or remove the balloons if winds reach 23 miles an hour with 34 mile an hour gusts. >> based on the wind conditions, we have different levels that the balloons will fly. >> reporter: the n.y.p.d. will closely monitor wind meters along the way. together with the wind, potentially historic cold. here in new york, the temperature will feel like the teens. >> really, really cold weather can present a life-threatening situation. so everyone's got to take the

cold weather seriously. >> reporter: and boston could have a high of just 21, which would break a record set in 1901. >> make sure you cover your face, make sure you cover your hands. just be careful when you're out there. >> reporter: every once in a while, thanksgiving in the northeast can feel like january in minnesota. grab the hand warmers and layer up. even if the wind does get so strong that they have to ground the balloons, it doesn't necessarily blow away all the fun. you still have all of the floats and the bands. it will be a great parade. marlie, back to you. >> all right, stephanie, thank you. don't miss the macy's thanksgiving day parade hosted bid savannah guthrie, hoda kotb and al roker at 9:00 a.m. eastern and pacific time. that is followed by the national dog at show at noon eastern on nbc. >> chief justice and john roberts defending the independence of the courts saying judges do not make decisions based on politics. and late yesterday the president fired back. nbc's pete williams has more.

>> this has -- >> reporter: john roberts is cautious and restrained in his public statements. but a comment from president trump tuesday provoked a highly unusual response from the chief justice. the president criticized a ruling from a federal judge in san francisco, part of the 9th circuit, that put a hold on the president's planning to crackdown on asylum seekers on the southern border. >> you go to the 9th circuit and it's a disgrace and i'm going to put in a major complaint because you cannot win if you're us, a case in the 9th circuit. this was an obama judge. >> reporter: it's true that the judge john tiger was appointed by president obama. but when asked about the comment by the associated press, the chief justice said we do not have obama judges or trump judges, bush judges or clinton judges. what we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. roberts added that independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.

sorry, president trump tweeted back, obama judges have a much different view than the people charged with the safety of our country. 9th circuit rulings, he said, make the country unsafe. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> president trump also doubling down on his support for saudi arabia. after he signalled the saudi royals will not be punished for the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. nbc's kristen welker is in florida, traveling with the president. >> reporter: despite mounting pressure to punish saudi arabia, president trump is ramping up his support for the kingdom. tweeting, oil prices getting lower. great! like a big tax cut for america and the world. enjoy! thank you to saudi arabia. but economists point out saudi arabia isn't solely responsible for lowering oil prices. still, it comes after the president broke with the cia assessment that the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, directly ordered the killing of jamal khashoggi. >> the cia has looked at it. they've studied it a lot. they have nothing definitive.

the fact is maybe he did, maybe he didn't. >> reporter: and defense secretary james mattis now says he does not think the cia or saudi government have fully established who is responsible. adding, presidents don't always get to work with unblemished partners. but a sharp backlash. >> i am astounded at the type of response that was put out by the white house. we have a crown prince that i believe directed the killing of a journalist. >> that is a huge blow to our intelligence community, which at the end of the day is what keeps us safe. >> reporter: the saudi government remains defiant. >> we have made it very clear that saudi arabia as a government is not involved in this. the crown prince is not involved in this at all. >> reporter: and another controversy looming large. the white house has officially given the okay to troops stationed at the southern border to use lethal force to protect border agents if necessary. it's a move that could face legal challenges because the law

prohibits the military from engaging in law enforcement here at home. richard? >> kristen welker, thank you so much. >> today hundreds of strangers in chico, california, are coming together to serve 15,000 thanksgiving meals to wildfire survivors. the event is hosted by world central kitchen. the city of paradise, chico state university and sierra nevada brewery. they'll be serving meals at two locations at the university and one at azizirad era nevada brewery. seating times will be at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. celebs are also showing up with donations like kim kardashian. >> to know that you've lost your home, kanye and adidas wanted to donate $200,000 so that you guys -- [ cheers and applause ] so that you guys can, you know, pick up the pieces. >> appearing on ellen, she surprised a firefighter who lost his home with a $100,000 check.

she and hubby kanye west also donated $400,000 to two separate california firefighters organizations. green bay packers quarterback and chico native aaron rodgers announced he's donating $1 million. and he's also partnered up with state farm to make an additional donation of up to $1 million. the camp fire is now at 85% containment with the number of fatalities up to 83. meanwhile, the woolsey fire is thankfully 100% contained. >> the founder of bayeta health care showed a $1 million show of appreciation. more than 26,000 people in this home health care company, financial gifts from chairman mark baeta personal funds range from $50 for new hires to tens of thousands for long-time staff members. baeta said he spent a lot of time reflecting on what he's grateful for certainly. >> all right. bonnie snyder is back. what else can we expect on this holiday? >> well, marlie and richard, we're watching for travel.

a lot of people heading out on the road today and on the west coast watch out for some rain, even some mountain snow. those frigid temperatures and strong winds may cause delays in the airports in the northeast. and that holds true if you're driving. just be careful out there. look at the temperatures. record cold expected across a good portion of the northeast, including new york city where we are watching the parade so closely. it looks like we'll be just below those parameters. so the bloongz calloons can fly. if you're out and about on thanksgiving, make sure you bundle up not just for thanksgiving day, but black friday as well. here's parade forecast. it will feel like it's in the low tooenz. ike sure you wear layersf coast. and warm with 80 degrees in florida. looking warm there.

temperatures are also cold enough for some mountain snow in the rockies, but generally speaking it's really the northeast and parts of the west that will be dealing with some tough weather on this thanksgiving. >> alrighty. but good for that fire fighting. >> yes. >> all right. now to a guy who just doesn't seem to age, in the midst of his 21st nba season, the hawks vince carter appropriately throws down a monday steph curry dunk there as he reaches another milestone. carter becomes just the 22nd player in the nba history to surpass 25,000 career points. the 41-year-old appropriately reached this goal against the toronto raptors where carter began his career back in 1998. congrats to vince. all right. just ahead meet the couple that almost missed a million dollar lottery jackpot. stay with us. eblind. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this... luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics... ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't just mask, it eliminates odors you've... ...gone noseblind to. and try febreze unstopables for fabric.

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>> reporter: one lucky louisiana couple has a lot more to be grateful for and it's all because of some pre-thanksgiving chores that used to be a bore. >> i just sat there with receipts and other lottery tickets and just accumulated. and we're sitting there for a long time. >> reporter: tina and harold aaronberg tide iing their house before relatives arrived this week when they literally cleaned up. one of several unchecked tickets on their nightstand was a winner, $1.8 million. the lucky numbers drawn back in june. >> handed the ticket to him. i said i'm going to call out the numbers and let me know what you think. >> i thought something must have been wrong. >> and in this case timing is everything. the louisiana lottery ticket would have expired in just two weeks. >> we were that close. >> we were close. the moral of the story is, check your tickets. don't wait. >> reporter: talk about a little extra gravy on thanksgiving. kerry sanders, nbc news. >> wow. good for them.

>> oh, yeah. they're going to have a great thanksgiving. more to come including some late night advice for avoiding awkward dinner table conversation today. plus a shout out to all the men and women in uniform serving overseas on this thanksgiving day. stay with us. you're watching "early today." (avo) when a nasty cold won't let you sleep, try new nyquil severe with vicks vapocool. (acapella) whoa! (avo) and vaporize it. (acapella) ahhhh! (acapella) shhhh! (avo) new nyquil severe with vicks vapocool. the vaporizing, nighttime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine.

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americans are more divided along party lines than ever so i would avoid controversial subjects, like politics, religion, sports, movies, and

how much voter i.d. you need to buy cereal. [ laughter ] also, for god sake, do not open up the yam/sweet potato debate. for the record, there are no yams. they're just different colored sweet potatoes. anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. >> well, better to argue about sweet potatoes than politics, right? >> absolutely agree. i like both of them no matter what you call them. countless thanksgiving dinner tables and gatherings, millions of americans will pause as well for a thought. perhaps to raise a glass to give thanks for our military and especially to remember all of our men and women in uniform deployed all over the world. they would, no doubt, love to be home with their families, but they are deployed today. and when a family member serves in the military, the entire family serves as well. that includes the 6000 active duty military at our southern border today, including elements of the 82nd airborne. so please keep the men and women in uniform and all of their

families in your thoughts on thanksgiving and always. >> absolutely. important reminder. >> yes. >> how long does it take to microwave a 25 pound turkey? it's the question that's taken the internet by storm. but don't worry, it is just a prank. it's been dubbed the 25 pound turkey challenge. young adults hosting their first thanksgiving flustered their parents by texting the question, how long do i microwave a 25-pound turkey? a mom saying, it has to be cooked in a oven. it's a big no. others had a feeling something was up with this mom even asking her daughter if she had been drinking. of course, there were plenty of sassy responses. this mom advising, wrap it in foil. microwave for 30 minutes, then go to the store and buy a precooked one because you'll have to feed the entire fire department. >> that's a good one. >> according to butter ball, it's totally feasible as it turns out. they say 4 minutes per pound, then another 8 minutes per pound on the other side, but you'd

probably need a smaller bird. >> or a gargantuan microwave. i saw another response, don't do it, exclamation point. stay away from that. philadelphia fliers mascot gritty shared his thoughts on thanksgiving in an interview with "time." when asked about his favorite side dish, he said boat of grave i with a straw. when it comes to his choice of white or dark meat, his response was boat of gravy with straw. gritty also shared his advice for fans looking to microwave a turkey since we were just talking about that, saying it takes 4 hours 13 seconds plus one popcorn cycle to cook a 12-pound bird. you're welcome, moms. gritty always the fount of information and advice. >> interesting character, that gritty. well, what happens when you combine a hotel room and self-driving car? according to design studio, it's the future of travel. the toronto-based company has designed what they call the autonomous travel suite or ats.

the winner of this this year's radical award ats functions as a mobile room. it comes complete with a bed, working area, a lounge, bathroom, a tiny kitchen. it can make trips from 6 to 10 hours long and is controlled by an app. however, ats won't realistically be in place for at least another decade. so don't get your hopes up, richard. >> because, marlie, suvs aren't big enough. look at this thing. >> i know. it's massive. >> i actually wouldn't mind drive ing it and trying it. still ahead, on your mark, get set, shop. we'll tell you when to score the best deals for your holiday shopping list. ok, i'm ready...

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indulge in irresistible freshness. febreze unstopables. breathe happy. well, to help us digest our turkey or not, a full helping of nfl games starting at 12:30 eastern bears, lie john i don't knows, redskins, cowboys, falcons and saints. guess where you're going to do that? right here on nbc. >> all right. well, bonnie is back with the frigid forecast. what else can we expect? >> well, marlie and richard, we are looking at record cold, not just for new york city, but for boston, much of the northeast facing temperatures that are going to be 25 to 30 degrees below normal. if you're traveling on this busy thanksgiving, look for mountain snow in the rockies, but warm temperatures and pretty comfortable conditions elsewhere in the country. so we're just watching out for that cold and watching the parade of course. >> thanks a lot, bonnie snyder. news you can use if you're headed out for black friday.

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that's right. black friday is coming up and lots of stores are running special promotions to attract customers. sk some of them have unveiled a slogan. best buy's slogan, give us your emergency contact information before you come inside. just for your sake. next at sears, their slogan is it's the most crowded day of the year. six customers. >> really? >> six people. six. next up is costco. their slogan is where wwe meets hoarders. >> too funny. he just said what everyone is thinking. >> it's so true. we're all going to be online and also in, if you will, brick and

mortar stores, too, on this day. for all of you bargain hunters which fallon was alluding to, it means gearing up to hit the stores for black friday. nbc news business correspondent jo ling kent tells us when to buy those items on your holiday shopping list and how to use social media to save big time. >> reporter: this week's deals are impossible to ignore. but the deepest discounts don't necessarily fall on black friday or even cyber monday. so what should you buy right now and what can you hold off on? the hottest toys, act now. for big ticket electronics, black friday deals are still the best. up to 70% off brand name tvs, smart speakers, and rare discounts on the latest apple iphones. so what can you wait for? clothes. the best sales on apparels come closer to christmas when retailers become desperate to unload inventory. but for the gifts most important to you, experts say don't think twice. >> if there's a product on your

list, on your family's wish list that you must have, don't wait. when you see it, pick it up. there will be price matching. >> reporter: a secret weapon this holiday season is your social media feed. brands follow post discounts directly on instagram, snapchat and pinterest. >> we were talking about whether we're going to do this or not. >> i won't for sure. >> i'll root all of you on who are going to go out and do that. make sure to wear face masks as peter was saying. >> there you go. if you're planning ongoing shopping for those black friday deals, you may want to lineup before you have your pumpkin pie. stores like target, macy's and best buy open at 5:00 p.m. on thanksgiving day, while walmart opens at 6:00 p.m. some of the big deals include the keurig classic series at macy's and kitchen aid professional stand mixer at best buy. target and walmart, electronics are your best deal element 65 inch tv and generation ipad. a few ideas you might want to get me, richard. >> i'll give you a new laptop

because that sounds like fun to use. >> i could use that. >> kind of boring. we hope your holiday is off to a great start right here. i'm richard lui. >> i'm marlie hall. don't forget to get your morning this little home of mine, ♪ i'm gonna let it shine. ♪ it's energy saving time, ♪ i'm gonna reduce mine. ♪ californians all align ♪ to let our great state shine. ♪ let it shine, ♪ the power's ours to let it shine! ♪ new d-con. so d-licious mice risk their lives for it. now 10 times tastier to mice than the lead competitor. mice love it to death.

ad lib live picture - trans america shot. pdz. a very good morning to you at 4:30 on thanksgiving day as we take a live look at san francisco. if you're up to defrost a turkey, you're way, way behind and probably need to have some other plan. good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm kris sanchez. maybe they're defrosting their turkey. hopefully that's already in the works. >> good morning. we're still spotting a couple showers. you can see it on our mobile doppler radar. as you know,