a coast-to-coast storm crashes into the thanksgiving travel rush. a winter blast and a rainy

deluge arriving just as millions of americans hit the road for the holiday. our meteorologist angie lassman is tracking the trouble spots. president-elect trump's cabinet, rattled. what thebi is saying about the bomb and swatting threats targeting several of his picks. celebrating thanksgiving 250 miles above the earth. our exclusive interview with suni williams, one of the astronauts aboard the iss whose week-long mission turned into a nearly six-month space odyssey. turkey with a side of savings. retailers are already rolling out some of the biggest bargains of the year ahead of black friday. how to make sure you're getting the best deal. and the floats are in place. the balloons inflated and the crowd is pumped. the annual 98th macy's thanksgiving day parade is on the way. and after the parade, the fur will fly. we'll take you behind the scenes at the national dog slow where

the world's finest pups will try to paw their way to best in show. it's thanksgiving. "early today" starts right now. good morning. glad you're up early with me, and happy thanksgiving. i'm frances rivera. we begin with that wintrtry weather causing a headache for holiday travelers. a mix of rain and snow moving across the midwest overnight, arriving here in the northeast this morning just in time to dampen the macy's thanksgiving day parade. the tsa expects to screen over 18 million passengers this week. at least 200 flights have been delayed nationwide this morning. while there were more than 4,000 delays yesterday. >> we're like three hours early, just to avoid any headache. >> it did say you should come two hours early. now i see why. >> and there is also gridlock on the roads. a record 71 million americans

were expected to drive to their thanksgiving destinations this year. let's get an update on the turkey day forecast. angie, good morning. >> happy thanksgiving to you. we've got the rain, the snow that you just mentioned working across parts of the northeast. this is the mess we have been worried about. pittsburgh to louisville and new york city, you're starting to see the rain. that's where the snow will be in the higher elevations. burlington up into portions of maine. most of the rain will taper off mid afternoon from boston to d.c. look for thanksgiving day great in chicago, on the chill y side. san francisco, you're headed to the low 60s. it's wet, cold snow for parts of the northeast. this leads us with trouble on the roads for sure.

i-95 will likely be a slower go. we'll see sunny skies across southern tier. >> you want to focus on the turkey, not travel troubles. now to president-elect trump who has been targeted by more violent threats. authorities say they have arrested a man in arizona wh posted videos online holding a rifle and threatening mr. trump and his family. this arrest comes as the transition team says cabinet nominees are also receiving threats. here's nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: the trump team cked by an alarming new scare. aimed at cabinet picks and top figures for the coming administration. transition officials announced violent, un-american threats that range from bomb threats to swatting. the white house said president biden was briefed, and he and his administration unequivocally condemned threats of political violence. the fbi said it is working with local law enforcement and noted we take all potential threats

seriously. three law enforcement sources said no actual explosives were found. and these appear to be hoax attacks, delivered through e-mail and social media. a few of those targeted identified themselves publicly. matt gaetz, who withdrew for attorney general said a bomb squad responded to a florida home where a threat was made. lee zeldin, picked to head the environmental protection agency writes, a pipe-bomb threat, targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-palestinian-themed message. and elysse stefanik, selected as ambassador to the united nations praised the response to her upstate new york home after a threat thanking the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement. this wave of new threats a disturbing reminder of attempts on mr. trump's life this summer. transition spokeswoman declared dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us. >> and our thanks to kelly for that report. three americans imprisoned

in china for years are now safely back home. the state department announced wednesday china released the three as part of a rare prisoner swap in the works for several months. in return, a government official says the u.s. released two chinese nationals, including a convicted spy linked to clinton's china's state security. two american astronauts whose week-long mission turned into several months will be spending thanksgiving. lester holt spoke to suni williams about how they're faring. >> first i want to give a happy thanksgiving to you and your entire crew. do you guys have plans? will you do something akin to a traditional thanksgiving meal? >> oh, yeah. really awesome. our mission control, flight control team gave us tomorrow off. so our plans are, as usual, get up and work out, do the turkey

trot. and then watch a little macy's day parade, and we have a bunch of food that we have packed away that is thanksgiving-ish. >> reporter: it will be 176th day of suni williams' mission to the space station. they were supposed to spend just over a week there. but, after problems with the spacecraft, nasa determined it wasn't safe enough to bring the astronauts home. how are you and butch holding up in general? does it take a toll on your body being in space that long? >> can you see, you know, part of being in space is working out. we work out a couple times, you know, two hours a day, aerobic. you can see nick. our bodies change. some people call it space buff. some people call it, you know, fluid shift in your body. i think we look pretty good.

>> i know of course you have heard some of the social media, some of the conversations worrying about your health and weight. is there any message to those folks? >> hey, we're feeling good. working out, eating right. it's just awesome, you know. and we have a lot of fun up here, too. so, you know, people are worried about us, really don't worry about us. >> the plan is now for williams and wilmore to return to earth in a spacex dragon in fbi. the capsule you came up on was sent back without a crew. did a part of you wish you could be on it as it made its return to earth? >> you bet you. you know, it's a pretty unique opportunity to land a spacecraft for the first time. and part of our testing was no see how that, all that, the undocking, entry and landing would have been. >> do you stl have confidence in the technology that brought you there? and would you get on a starliner again tomorrow if were you asked? >> you know, tomorrow might be a

little bit too early. we learned a lot of lessons from our flight. but the spacecraft is really a solid spacecraft. it has so ny capabilities. so maybe not tomorrow, because we have to incorporate some of the lessons learned. but as soon as we see that we're on the right path and we've made some of the fixes to some of the issues that we had, absolutely. >> commander, as you know well, astronauts sometimes can wait years for a slot to get back into space. do you look at this in some ways as a bit of a bonus? >> that's an interesting question. i do, because i just love living up here. it's awesome. and we're doing some amazing, cutting-edge science, and it's great to be part of that. >> hope to welcome them home soon in february. our thanks to lester for that. here at 30 rock. we are all gearing up for the macy's thanksgiving day parade later this morning. after that, turkey day is going to the dogs. nbc's mark barger has a preview of the national dog show. >> now it's time to release the hounds. >> reporter: if dog shows had an

oscars eququivalent. >> all the stars and the lights, the big stage. >> reporter: it might be the national dog show. >> just having the best of the best. you know, it's one of the shows that we look forward to every year. >> here is the working group. >> reporter: it's a canine cavalcade of about 1800 dogs representing more than 200 breeds. >> what a great lineup. >> reporter: all competing for the prize of best in show. >> everybody's got a smile, and everybody's laughing. it's just a wonderful environment. >> reporter: actor john o'hurley and david fry serve as the event's tuxedoed co-hosts. >> celebrating this wonderful treasure we call man's best friend. >> it's a great family show. a great family topic. everybody's got their family dog. >> reporter: but probably not one quite like stache. >> this dog is groomed to perfection. >> reporter: and much to the

delight of stache's owner, the terrier won last year's prize. >> going around the ring, he just took off. like he was on fire. >> reporter: yet, for all the variety the dog show offers, the co-hosts have a soft spot for a popular breed they have never seen win. >> the golden retriever. >> i can hear the rumbling already. >> we've been skunked every year. >> reporter: maybe this will be the golden year. mark barger, nbc news. >> you can watch dozens of adorable pups compete for best in show right here on nbc after the macy's thanksgiving day parade. now we need to hear more about the weather, right? we have the rain here in new york. a lot of people still traveling. let's get a check with nbc's angie lassman. we were tracackinghe chance for rain on our parade in new york. >> we've got tempetures in the mid to upper 40s.

not bad when it comes to temperatures this time of year. unfortunately, that rain is going to be steady and long lasting throughout the morning hours. this also brings us to the winds. that is important when it comes to getting balloons up in the air. those aren't going to be that problematic. but yes, the ponchos are needed if you are leaded out to new york city to watch the macy's thanksgiving day parade. otherwise, it's the lake-effect snow that really starts to ramp upup awe get past thanksgiving and head into the weekend. plenty of sunshine in oklahoma city. 66 in montgomery. and mostly sunny skies with a high of 83 degrees in orlando this afternoon. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thanks so much, angie. if your turkey is still frozen right now, you're likely too late for dinner tonight.

and officials are warning again not to drop it in the air fryer. >> ready? >> and we mean the deep fryer, right? the number of kitchen fires is nearly 400 times higher than other times throughout the year. and the turkey needs to be completely thawed first. coming up, moana two gets ready to make a major splash at the x office. and the hunt for the best bargains this black friday. bes bargains this black friday. uc w. with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur.

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the week. amazon, target and walmart are already offering discounts to consumers. >> the 25th of november? that's less than a fortnight. >> reporter: putting the onus on the shopper to see if the prices are truly special now. shoppers are skeptical. black friday does remain the best time of year for the deepest discounts, according to adobe analytics which tracks prices online. >> because consumers perceive the best discounts to fall between thanksgiving and cyber monday they make sure they're offering their best-priced items during that period. >> reporter: we wanted to see for ourselves, tracking some gifts you may be eyeing. take for instance the air pods pro. the best deal we saw was this weekend. 30 bucks off. and the same thing with this coffeemaker, which is the cheapest it's been.

>> i think some brands may say it's on sale, however, it's like the same price, but they may make the price higher and say oh, it's on sale. >> reporter: experts' advice? take advantage of price matching in stores to truly get the best deals. a little homework going a long way this holiday season. brian cheung, nbc news. seems wick ed's got some new competition splashing into the box office as moana two gears up for the first weekend on the big screen. when to sit down or nap in front of the tv. t down or nap i front of the tv. only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head & shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here. i love tiny troy. there's no itchiness, and his ny gorgeous hair.here.

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moei? i could really use your help. >> can i get a chi-hoo? >> moana two surfing into theaters thanksgiving. it's expected to make big waves at the box office, hauling in between $135 million and $145 million over the weekend. it goes up against the reigning champ, wicked. it has scored $145 million since last week's debut. when you've got the family all together and looking for choices out there for a holiday movie, here you go. >> no shortage of things to watch once you finish with, of course, the dinner and all those activities, plenty on tv. and speaking of that, it's not thanksgiving without football. it all kicks off with thelions and bears. detroit is on a hot streak. if they win today, it would be their first ten-game win streak since 1934. then it's the battle of the backup quarterbacks as the giants take on the rival

cowboys. and the dolphins head to green bay for a showdown with the packers. like i said, plenty of things to watch. get out the cards, maybe play some games while you're doing it and put this in the background. >> and as long as it's not the team you really want to root for, it's like having that tryptophan and the football in the background to lull you to sleep, nothing like it. especially on thanksgiving. then you wake up, repeat. when we come back, how to t behind the wheel of one of the grooviest cars driven on the silver screen. and a different kind of rd call. and a different kind of bid call.

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moving in, but macy's says the balloons will fly this morning rain or shine. and there's a great lineup of performances to look forward to. jay gray joins me now with a live update from the parade route. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frances. happy thanksgiving to you and everyone at home. yeah, we are right at the start of this parade, along central park west. and what a parade it's set to be. you've got 17 of the huge character balloons that always steal the show. and, for the first time ever, this is hard for me to believe this hasn't been a part of the parade before, but minnie mouse is going to lead out the character balloons. also spiderman, who makes a return after a ten-year absence. i guess he's been busy fighting crime, but he is back in a part of the parade as well. like i said, 17 of these featured character balloons, 22 floats, 11 marching bands, 700 clowns, and i don't think they

include our little group in that number. you've got performers like dan + shay, chloe, kylie minogue. the list goes on and on. should be a fantastic way to start your thanksgiving morning. put that on in the background. do some cooking, get ready for football a bit later in the day. we know it's become a pretty big tradition for so many across the country. in fact, over the last three years, this parade has been the most-watched program on tv. it should be a lot of fun. it is going to be a little wet later. we're already starting to get some sprinkles, but look, you're not going to rain on this parade, even though you are going to rain on this parade, right, frances? >> i know. and people aren't allowed to use umbrellas out there. hopefully they come with their ponchos, right? >> reporter: right. no umbrellas. i don't think it's scaring anyone off. early this morning, already

people lining up getting their best spot along the parade route. i think we'll see millions once again along that route. >> no one's going to miss, not to let the rain stop them. and you can catch all the fun at 8:30 eastern. and coming up later this morning, the "today" show will have a front row seat to all the action, something you don't want to miss, especially when you have a front row seat right there with hoda, savannah and al. it's part of tradition, right? and if you're up early right now, maybe you're checking in on your turkey, basting it, about to put it in. thank you for being with me during all of that. so grateful for you and hope you have lots to be thankful for as

blinding snow, heavy rain and even fog disrupting thanksgiving travel, slowing roads