from nbc ws, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. yes, you're hearing right. that is tom jones, the one and onlylyith us on this winesday wednesday. >> the scaffolding is coming down. it's going to be nice. look where we are tucked in this weird corner. >> we have so much going on. with so many things happening with the tree, why that would have anything to do with it, but we are inundated with people. >> yes, we are. >> but the grammy award music legend is out with a new album and book with a biography about

all the highs and lows in his decades-long career. and it's facescinating. what a life. he'll be singing for us later. and if you're wondering what to give your kids for the holidays, oh, look. hannah and ella just happen to be here, they are my nieces. colleen is over to the side. these are some of the hottest toys. you'll get the best deals on black friday. and, by the way, their parents are over there. i don't know if you can get a shot of them, tommy, but -- >> that was not colleen with them? i can't see at all. >> hi. and there's -- there's my mom, colleen and joel is hiding, so is his daughter, kyle. anyway, the gang's all here. ananay -- >> sometimes the best things come in small packages. so jill is here with a shopping bag full of personalized presents all affordable. she always comes up with the best stuff. >> i know, i can't wait. are you ready for words of wisdom? >> i'm ready. >> please close your eyes and listen to this one.

music is w wt feeling sound like. source anon. >> my favorite is anon. >> speakg of music, right? big day today. >> we have an awful lot of musical acts that come through here every year. some of them are really wonderful and some of them you just go, well, we might not be seeing them again. but this womanan is the real deal, boy. >> adele was here in studio 1a and performed one song and one song only. we were right there. but the crowds, the throngs of people came outside knowing that she was not going to be performing -- >> we told everybody, but they came anyway and she said last time she was here performing there weren't half that many people. and she was performing outside. so she loved her fans, she was so sweet. she sang a song, it's called "a million years ago." and let'sake a little listen.

who regrets the things they've done sometimes i never became legal with what they be i wish i lived a little more to come to the sky not just the floor i feel like my life is passing by all i c c do iss watch and cry >> more, more, more. that is so -- >> i had to be there. we were just sitting there -- yeah, you know you're in the company of genius. she's amazing. >> i actually got to show adele how to do one thing today. >> eat? what. >> i do that well. snapchat. she didn't know about snapchat. i said, do you want to snapchat? she said, okay. what is snapchat? okay, here it is. >> you're not going to believe it. >> hi.

>> hello. >> this is callele snapchat. >> i didn't know what it was. hi, guys. >> we love you snapchat. that's it. >> eight seconds, something like that. >> hoda, you have to keep it. did you save it first? >> you have to save it -- if you just put it out to the world, it goes away. but if you save it first -- by the way, you know what we just learned the other night? everyone's at my house, my mom, my family -- >> you learned you need a bigger apartment. >> that's for next year. but we have our phone -- there's something called airdrop on our phone, do you know about this, donna? it's a way to transfer pictures to someone sitting near you if you have shared contacts. instead of me texting you going, let me text kathie lee, you hit airdrop and it picks up. >> how do you know it goes to me? >> because your contact pops up and i tap your thing and it works. >> tap your thing. whatever. >> okay. >> got to get in line. >> adele was on with jimmy fam

long and sang "hello" with the roots, as only you do on jimmy fallon. look at the instruments, they are kids' toys. >> is that a banana he's shaking? >hat's weird. >> anyway, she likes to play. >> she has a beautiful sense of humor. and her skin, let's talk about her skin for a minute. >> what is going on with that skin? >> it's flawless! a lot of english women have gorgeous in. ey don't g g in the sun, they knowowbetter. >> even if you take the picture and make it bigger and bigger and bigger the sh. >> looking for a pore, you won't find a pore. a shout-out to jenna hager and her sister. >> they are 34. >> talking about great skin, them too. the finale of "dancing with the stars" happened last night. if you didn't catch it, here's

but bindi irwin won with derek hough. they took home the big trophy for season 21 of "dancing with the stars." and bindi's reaction, i can't believe i'm here. thank you for changing my life. >> after we talked about her yesterday, i just went on to say, i was in ars, it was so beautiful. i had to tweet her mom and say, oh, my gosh, what a beautiful spirit she has. and remember, we just said, give it to her now. the emotional value of the relationship. and i think derek is a sweetheart of the world. >> love him. >> let's give him a lot of credit, too. >> when n u watch the show, you don't know how life-changing -- people say it is life transformative. people are dancing, isn't that great? you don't realize how impactful it is. >> it will change her life for sure. now, every year, every year around this time, in fact, exactly at this time, we talk to

and it's usually with nicole johnson. >> is knownicole here? >> i am. >> you're sweet to take time from your busy, busy schedule. >> you've been the director, co-director of the butterball turkey talk line for years. >> i started the talk line in 2001. and 14 years later i'm married with four butterballs of my own and still have the talk line. >> a lot of people at this point may still have a frozen turkey. if yourturkey's stiti not all the way thawed out, that'ss probabab one of the questions you get, is it too late or what should you do? >> you know, it's funny, it's the number one question i get every year. how do i go about buying my turkey? if we are getting that question today, we tell them not to worry. there's the cold water bath method. a 15-pound turkey is probably going to take seven or eight hours in that method. >> just sit it in the cold water. >> yep.

a cold water bath. ideally you add water every half hour to mature a nice thawed turkey for thanksgivingng >> what's the craziest question you have been asked about your turkeys? >> you know, we have some creative callers over the years, and it usually goes about how people thaw their turkey. we have heard everything from the jacuzzi, we heard a lady who got a dishwasher and wanted to run it through the dishwasher cycle. definitely c ce callers over thehe years. >> wow. >> is there a right way to carve it? because there are always different ways to do that. >> you know, a lot of times it's about tradition. i know that my father likes to use his electric carver. you know, the kids, all the grandchildren gather round a a he brings the box down to carve the turkey, but really it's about tradition. we say that's our throwback thanksgiving this year. we have fun memories, just like my dad with the grandkids gathering around.

>> thank you, cole. anyone can call 1-800-butterball. they take calls until 11:00 p.m. eastern time tonight. and then from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. eastern time tomorrow. that's when you start going crazy with anxiety, if you're not -- >> you start freaking out. iet they g g all kinds of -- >> happy thanksgiving, guys. >> happy thanksgiving. do you think it's okay when at a party when you watch people with chips double-dip in the dip? >> i have to be honest, i do it. >> i do that, too. >> there's a debate out there. >> you don't want to waste, you don't want to throw the part of the chip away without the salsa on it. >> let's watch what "seinfeld" had to say about it. >> what are you doing? >> what? >> did you just double-dip that chip? >> excuse me? >> you d dble dipped the chip? >> double dipped? what are you talking about?

abite,nd you dipped again. >> so? >> that's like putting your whole mouth right in the dip! from now on, when you take a chip, just take one dip and end it! >> all right. clemson university agrees. >> oh, gosh. >> they say if you bit on the chip, you shouldn't stick it back in. anan the worst kind of dipping things to put it in -- >> are salsa, chocolate and cheese. >> salsa, it spreads bacria most quickly. >> it's salsa. because it's less viscus. >> what? >> that's what they say. but we decided this is the perfect, perfect things to ever -- made up, invented. >> the toitos bite. >> the one size. no need to double dip. >> just get one good chip. >> we have to go, don't we? >> we love this annual apple

commercial. these holiday spots are always terrific.. this is a a duet featuring andre day and the wonderful stevie wonder. take a look. some day all my dreams will come to me some day all people will be free there's time for you and me but some day at christmas time time some day at christmas time >> that's nice. and those are his children, actually, singing. very nice. what should we do tomorrow? >> plan on waking up early to beat the friday crowds? >> we'll tell you where to find the hottest deals on the best toys. >> where are you going? stop her! >> did she pay for that? i haha asthma... ....ne of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming b bk on my long-term control medicine,

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packed with b vitamins, antitiidants, electrolytes plus more vitamin c than 10 oranges. why not feel this good everyday? emerge and see. batman: so why do they call it black friday, anyway? pony: i don't know, but i think they should call it pink friday. batman: oh boy... pony: and we could have e itter! (continues under vo) ananr: black fridayaytarts thursday at 5pm with over 200 doorbusters! toys"r"us. awwwesome. buy 1, get 1 60% off all lego dimensions

like hoda did the other day, drivers, get ready to start your engines! and hit the stores bright and early this black friday if you want the hottest toys. >> before they fly off the shelves, we'll save you time and money by telling you exactly where to find the best bargains courtesy of toy insider mom lori shatner. >> we have awesome deals. check out your wonderful niece hannah. she's cruising in style. >> what is this? >> go ahead, step on the gas. >> so this is our minions speed coupe. it has great graphics and goes 2 miles an hour. this is usually $149. it's going to be at walmart for $79.99. >> what? excellent! >> and now ella and leah are making these yummy sundaes.

>>tell louisiananaella got distracted. these are where you can make yummy nummies. >> is it lactose-free? >> it is. these have lots of flavor. so this is usually $14.99. it will be at toys'r us for $9.99. back to the 1990s, shanna is dressed like her strawberry shortcake doll. it's the doll and dress. 's usually $49.99. going to be $24.99 at toys' rus. the hottest collectible is shopkins. so we have the teeny tiny collectibles. it was grocery items, now we are into toiletries.

now we have the scoops ice cream truck. it is going to be $15 at walmart. >> awesome. >> and thiss an amamement park and thehe roller coaster, but what about building one? this is the k'nex blizzard blast. it's 3 feet high. this is usually $39.99 and will be at toys'r us for $19.99. >> incredible. >> from cosmos, this is the wind power 2.0. kids learn to harness the energy and get to build a windmill. they get to build different kind of vehicles. they recharge the battery in here, put it on thth vehicle andnd off they go. >> cute. i love that. >> it's going to be $29.97 at target.com. >> i love the 97. all right. get your pennies ready. >> we're going to put together

storybooks and bedtime. look at these. feel is. ststytime pillows. so each one of these is a storook. >> this one's going to fly out. >> star wars, frozen, anything. we'll take this on the road and travel with it. great for sleepovers. usually $24.99. target will have it for $14.99. >> awesome. >> and look at shaely, she using her entireody to play a motion@ game. this is the curio extreme 2. it is a real android tablet. it is kid-tough and kid-proof when it comes to web browsing things. >> look at that! yes! >> usually $129.99. it's going to be $79.99 at toys' r us. and this is the quad copter.

this is really cool. great for kids 8 and older. grown-ups, too. we'll see if we can take off. >> looks like a drone. it looks like a -- oh! >> man down. >> it is usually $49.99 and only $25 at walmart. >> thank you, lori. have a great thanksgiving. we have cute canines from this year's national dog show coming up. catch up with the host who is a breed of his own, john early. >> we love john. >> there he is. and his son. >> you guys were awesome. that why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else

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all: milk! milk! milk! milk! milk! okay! fun's over. aw. aw. thirsty? they said it would make me cool. they don't sound cool to me. guess not. you got to stick up for yourself, like w wh the name your price tool. people tell us their budget, not the other way around. aren't you lactose intolerant? this isn't lactose. it's milk. here are a couple things to count on every thanksgiving, turkey, football and the "national dog show." >> john early has posted the

where the most competitive caninesompete in the show. >> john is here to tell us about it. and he has his very cute son. >> the special thing we have this year, purina is donating a dollar per tweet. if you are watching the show, tweet in what you're thankful for with your g. they will donatee upo $75,000 this year. we have great first breeds. we have seven new breeds this year. three of them are with us right now. coming down the ray, if he were going rabid hunting with a sicilian, this is what you go with. a great hunting dog. isn't it beautiful? that's peson. >> i like that. >> what you got next? >> all right. i think now we have the spanish waterdog. there it is. >> oh, my gosh, they are cute. >> i can't. >> this is something you want to the pair him with. >> slippers.

>> that's exactly what you want. >> what a beautiful dog. >> this is rudy. the spanish waterdog. a little farm animal historically back there. and our final one is one of my favorite breedshis year, it is the burgamoscow. >> that is not a dog. that's a muppet. >> this is the italian alps. it's a herding dog that comes with a s s of curtains. believe it or not. >> and their own hairdressing. >> there's three different types of hair, wool, dog hair and goat hair. >> wow. >> you got it, big guy. >> john, we'll see you over the weekend. >> we'll have a great time. >> tune into "the national dog show" hosted by purina. >> that's right after the macy's

with ingredients like roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, there's a whole lot of happy in every jar of nutella. spread the happy. batman: so why do they call it black friday, anyway? pony: i don't know, but i think they should call it pink friday. batman: oh boy... pony: and we could have glitter! anncr: black friday starts thursday at 5pm with over 200 doorbusters! toys"r"us. a whole store of... awwwesome.

hello and welcome to siouxland business spotlight. i'm dave washburn and joining us today is kristi davis. she's with storm lake united in storm lake, iowa. welcome kristi. thank you. so you got a special event coming up in storm lake. tell us about that. yes! santa claus is coming to storm lake. we're getting ready for our 24th annual miracle on lake ave celebration. it's on thursday december third. it begins at 5 p.m. and will go until about 9 or 9:30.

we have lots of different events including a lighted holiday parade which we are still taking registrations for so if anyone is interested in registering their business or organization you're welcome to do so. you can just contact our office directly for that. we also have various kids' activities. about 15 different businesses downtown will be hosting kids' activities. a soup supper that benefits ready, set, grow which isis new daycare center in alta whihi is near storm lake. . also have different fun things happening in santa's castle in storm lake. it's going to be a good time. it's going to be a lot of fun. you definitely won't want to miss out. everything is pretty much free. yes. there's a freewill donation for the soup supper. yes it is a freewill donation. ok what time does that start and where is it held? it starts at 5 p.m. and it's in the real life community church which is just a block off of lake ave. so you can go to the parade, enjoy the parade and go get a nice bowl of soup to warm up. it sounds l le a great time. you also mentitied jeff

is a storm lake native. he now resides in minneapolis but he is coming back to storm lake to play at lake ave lounge beginning at 7 p.m. we're really excited to have him back. he's a great performer. ok well it's happening december third that's a thursday. it startstst 5 p.m. in storm lala, iowa. for morerenformation you n give them a call at the number on your screen or you can also gonline visitstormlak e.comkristi thanks for joining us. thank you. thank you for joining us. we'll see you next time. you know families today are so stretched... ...they're working two jobs;

but paychecks have barely budged. raising family incomes is the defining economic challenge of our time... i have a plan that will put raising ininmes right at the centerr of our economy again. we've got to get back to making it possible... ...for anybody in america to go as far as their hard work will take them. that will be my mission as president. i'm hillary clinton, i approve this message

and we're back on this wines day wednesday. ready to play the trivia game who knew? we want to know what you know about thank yous and pop culture. kathie is across the street at the experience store ready to hand out $100 to those who get it right. those who don't get one of her signed cds. >> hold that up, ella. >> here to help me is the editor and chief of "mental floss." are you ready? >> ready. >> let's play. >> which late night host shares his thank you notes with viewers. stephen colbert, jimmymyallon or seth myers. >> jimmy fallon. >> that's right. >> what does she get?

>> my favorite part about it is the kind of intentionally cheesy music that the roots play. i just love the music that goes along with it. >> i love the pen motion. up a a downwn all right, kath, o or to you. >> lovely family from south carolina. of all actors who have won the academy award in the last 25 years, whose thank you speech contained the most number of words. matthew mcconaughey, halle berry or tom hanks? >> we're goingng with c, tom hanks. >> well, you're going home with the >> no, you said tom hanks. you are wrong, but you will get a great cd. >> she is happy. >> and she wants it. >> something to be thankful for. >> it is matthew mcconaughey coming in at 594 words and compared to the last time when

he had 540 words shorterer han the shortest patty duke who got up and said thank you. >> kath, over to you. >> from west virginia, and what 1982 film made "thank you very little" famous? it is before your time. >> a, national lampoon's "vacation." >> you win a cd. >> excellent work. the correct answer is caddyshack. >> this would have been chevy chase's character and one of the legendary lines of ty webb, and his confidence made the film go a ahead. the surprise star was bill murray who was supposed to make a cameo, but he was so funny playing carl spakcklespackler, and so they decided to keep him around. it is hard to imagine the film without him. >> and lovely man from richmond, virginia. what song was the thememe for wha tv show?

>> "golden girls." >> that s ais a great, great song. >> i love to see the people in the studio dancing around to it. it is a song that was around 7 years before the show, but with the song that is relative obscurity until the show made it famous, and you hear it now at ball game, and all over to the place. >> and now, akccording to facebook, folks on social media in hawaii are most thankful for rainbows while people in oregon are most thank for yoga. what about the people in new hampshire, what are they most thankful for. >> netflix. >> well done. hot pockets are pretty good, but in new york it is apartments, and in california it is youtube. >> thank you for coming in. happy thanksgiving. and you, too. >> and you will be thanking us when legendary sexbomb is going

to be performing live. and jill martin is going to be joining us with some holiday gifts that you will love every single one right after this.s. there's only one egg that just tastes better. so fresh from the farm. delicious. perfect. only one egg with more great trition... like 4 times more vivimin d and 10 times more vitamin e. and 25% less saturated fat. only one egg gooenough for my family. because why have ordinary when you can have the best. eggland's best. the only egg that gives you so much more: better taste.

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star wars: the force awakens.

christmas is exactly one month from today. and if you are looking to buy co-workers or the pets, a personalized gift is the way to go. >> so today, jill martin dug deep into shopping bag for the perfect presents that are under $40. >> do you hav a tail. anyway, on that note, this is from air poe -- aeropostal. and so under $40. and this is a snow globe that is so personalize and how great is that? they plug in and have a nice

pis very good. okay. okay. >> and so these are from the st orna and you can see that we have cody and plaqueblake and ella. and a nice gift to give if you are going to somebody ees's home, and $39 at stationony studio. and th a little small for blake, but. >> this is so cute. he likes form fitting. >> this is so great with the little reindeer on there. ? and the leash there for the dog to run free. >> i didn't see that.. all right. that is for the pets. and these are personalized yankees for hannah and ella, but we left them in the box, and it is the first name or the last name, and i love it. from mark gray. and these arere personalized pillowcases.

i love it. >> one of my favorite pictures ever. >> you shod it. >> i love it. >> you shohod use that and put your littltlhead on nonohe girls winter fun. you like that one. >> yes. >> you can sleep on that one. that is fun. and then i thought it would be fun to make a beauty bag for hoda and kathie lee and one for cassidy, and then to have fun eye itemfrom say sephora to put them in there and basket, and nail polishes and champagne and everything that we love, and little perfume bottles to split them up. >> w wt a nice hostess gift that would be. >> and they are like, where where is the gift. exactly. and this is moving on to put me

hannah and ella are reading it. they take the famous booblgs and they putut dedicatt love and loyalty from aunt hoda hoda, and then we have them reading right here books. "star wars" and "frozen" and put their names in the book. >> they love it. it makes them feel so special. >> and adult coloring books. > everybody is in into that. >> and kathie lee, keep calm and color on. >> that is my mantra. >> this is the book for everyone. >> i want to see that. >> they take your birthday and gigi you all of the thihis that actually happened on your birthday. >> oh, that is so cute. >> and look at that, bujlt foe wa -- noah's arc. and anyway the book of kathie lee, and super nice gift. >> everybody is going to want that one. >> no.

yes, there is. bake.com. these are mini doughnuts baked and not fried. look at that one. >> come on out, hannah and ella, you can have one. >> you can pick one. >> why to you have $20? do you want to buy ice cream? >> yeah. >> you are only 5. >> we did a little business out thereon the street. >> all right, kids. >> and these are adorable. thank you so much, jill. >> i can only imagine, and he is

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oh, yes. he is a grammy-winning music legend who has sold over # 100 million records on the back of hits like this -- it's not unusual to be loved by anyone >> wahh, wahh, wahh. >> and iis a classic. and how about this one. whoa oh oh pussy-cat >> that is all we got, tom. >> and we are talking about one of the most famous this is an nbc news special report. here's kate snow. >> good day. we're coming on from new york on the air because president obama is expected to make a statement in a few moments at the white house after a closed door meeting with his national security team.

millions of americans take to the roads and the sky traveling for the thanksgiving holiday. security hasaseen increased at airports throughout the u.s. in the wake of the terror attacks in paris 11 days ago. they've also issued a worldwide travel alert for americans and the fbi has warned law enforcement all across the nation to be on alert for potential paris-style copycat attacks. nbc national c crespondent peter alexander is on n e north lawn of t t white house. what do we expect to hear from the president here? >> kate, we'll hear from the president speaking directly to the american people. the desire of the white house and the president is to try to assure anxious americans given what's happened in paris and mali about the state of homeland security right now and what is a rare move. he'll be stataing with some of his top national security advisers from the fbi, homeland security, counterterrorism, among others, standing beside him on that stage in the rose roosevelt room, as it were. there's still no credible and

specific intelligence to indicate they have any awawaness of any terrorist-like plot targeting the united states specifically. but the president wants to update americans on the status right now and on what the u.s. is doing in its fight against terror, acknowledging a majority of americans right now are not satisfied with the president's handling on terrorism. >> peter, as we await the president, we got a two-minute warning. it should be any moment now. talk about what the state department is saying about the travel alert. >> obviously the state department that's been focused on americans traveling overseas and potential threat. the fear of increased terrorist activities overseas. but there is a new fbi, department of homeland security bulletin urging local police to stayigilant. it talks about the biggest fear at home being the soft targets. specifically targets being threatened by lone wolf attackers. which is to say, they don't think there's an isis-typepe

attack we witnessed in paris but the potential from a lone individual attacking soft targets from los angeles to boston, obviously, a place where security is going to be focused over the course of the next several days, over this holiday. the president himself is trying to balance security with some of e pageantry, the traration of the holiday as well. he is going to be pardoning the thanksgiving turkey only a few hours from now. but i think the white house recognized the urgency of the situation, the need to speak directly to americans, especially after nearly two weeks where the president was overseas, and a lot of people viewed his commentntover a series of news conferences being a little out of touch with some of the anxiety and real fear that americans are experiencing right now given what they witnessed happening overseas. >> i want to go to pete williams who covers the justice department for us. you were with the fbi director the other day talking to him about security in this country. what do we know right now? >> the picture hasn't substantially changed.

the threat remains in the u.s. the potential for home-grown extremists. people who either direct it or inspired by isis to carry out some attack here. that's the most difficult thing to track. administration official i've talked to today said one of the reasons for the president's statement, which is unusual, is to sort of tamp down anxiety. basically to say we're watching for threats. we're on the security beat. you go about your business in the holidays because of the relentless attention to this isis threat. that's what they want to do. it's always a delicate balance when officials come out and say we know of no threat if something does happen. one of these untrackable home-grown extremists does something, then it looks like they weren't aware of it. they are trying to balance that as well. the fbi director said the concern remains about what he called dozens of people. we'vbeen told the number is about 50. people the fbi has been tracking most closely. people that have been in touch

with isis sympathizers, but their concern may go from merely being interested to communicating, to going operational. ananthat's the people they've been concentrating on the most. but this notion that the worst threat is homegrown extremists is something the government has been saying about isis for a year and a half. >> pete, so much news out of paris, even just this morning. more news out of belgium about poteteial foiled attacks t tre. we learned yesterdayayhere might have been a plan afoot in paris last week to attack again. it really is heightening concerns, but you say the biggest concern here in this country is not so much isis but someone inspired by? >> correct. not isis coming here to carry out an attack. the fbfbdirector explicitly y id he knows of no one from isis who has tried to enter the u.s. in the last weeks or days. if you think about the situation, 5,000 people in western europe that have gone to syria to join up with isis and then have come home.

the u.s. which is in the teens of people who have left here, associated with isis and come back. it's a very different threat. and that's one reason they say that the threat picture here is so different. the concern about paris-style attacks, the concern about attacks on soft targets and large public gatherings is the subjbjt of the state department worldwide travel alert, but it's aimed at people overseas because the government says they believe the threat picture here is so substantially different because of the nature of who is here and who may have joined isis to return, kate. >> as we await the president, peter alexander on the white hohoe lawn, we expect thth he'll come out with a number of officials, you mentioned earlier. this is his national security briefing he's just had. is it typical for him on a wednesday morning to hear from all of these folks? >> it's not typical for him to speak on the eve of thanksgiving. he didn't do it in 2011, 2012 or 2013. last year he spoke before thanksgiving. that's when we had the ebola

threat. the white house recognizes the need to speak to the american people. i'll ask you to interrupt me as soon as you see the president. i was speaking to a senior administration official. they recognize a lot of things said about this administration. and the president himself and his advisers say they would rather appear weak but be strong in terms of their actions than be strong and wrong, so to speak. to be weak and right is more important than strong and wrong. they insist that's what got the u.s. into the mess that exists the middle east rigig now. certainly with the iraq war, specifically. one of the other points they made as we speak about that ebola threat a year ago. they recognize all the harsh rhetoric out there on the campaign trail right now, specifically focused on syrian refugees. and they say we've seen this before with ththebola threat when there was great fear and anxiety around the country and angry rhetoric saying don't let anybody fly to our shores. they recognize the need to get

out in front of it. they brought out an ebola czar to make it clear what they are doing to handle this threat to tamp down the anxiety and better reassure amemecans they have this under control. >> peter, we're still looking at the empty podium in the roosevelt room. as soon as we see the president we'll take a break and listen to him. the state department spokesman clarifying the travel alert and saying people shouldn't be afraid to travel. thatatmericans should still travel overseas, travel domestically, but be vigilant and prudent. that's probably the same message we expect to hear from the president? >> that is likely the message we'll hear. he'll likely thank the members of his homeland security team. he did that yesterday. he also communicated in that nene conference alongsididthe french president, francois hollande the u.s. is doing everything in its power right now to try to defend the u.s. homeland, to defend americans as best they can. but it's -- be clear.

this is a very challenging situation. and it underscores a point we've been making.g. it's the fact with these home-grown extremists, lone wolf type of attackers, it's next to impossible to protect every one of these soft targets across the country from rodeo drive in los angeles to potentially fenway park in boston. law enforcement officials from both departments recognize the challenge they face right now. they have a heightened state of alert. but they, too, are trying to calm fears and are hoping the american people will continue to maintain their vigilance as well. if they see something, that they will certataly say something about it. >> pete williams othat note, as you look at law enforcement agencies across the country and what they are doing just in case, what's happening operationally on the ground that's maybe different now than a month ago? >> more attention paid to potential isis sympathizers in the u.s. something like 80 of them have beenenrrested in the last year

and a half. but the number of arrests this year has been higher than in the past. that's thing one. thing two is more vigilance and more presence. more visible presence at large public gatherings, sporting events, parades. st out on the streetet and that's really for three reasons. one is to be there in case something happens. secondly, is to reassure people that the police are well aware of the threat and are doing something about it, and third is, as deterrence. especially for copycats. if people are looking at what happens in paris and thinking abououdoing something and that may push them over the edge, the hope is that if they head out to the street and see ts large presence of police, they may have second thoughts. so all three of those things are not police are doing. but in a substantial measurere the e is threat in the u.s.s today is what it was two weeks ago, two months ago. as a matter of fact, i think

anxiety in law enforcement was actually higher right before the fourth of july holiday than it is right now. because there were a number of people that were arrested, if you recall, in the days leading up to the forth of j jy. a number of plots uncovered and a great deal of sense that maybe the government didn't have its hands fully around what was going on. so that was a very active period. but this isis threat, the nature of isis reaching out through this relentless social media campaign. relentless r rch through their video propaganda. they are finding people in the united states who are responding to that maemgessage. and the isis message is, if you can't come here and join the caliphate, just go out and kill somebody. that's been the big worry in the u.s. and it remains that in terms of the threat here at home. >> i want to go to richard engel engel. he's in istanbul. you're awaiting with us as we wait for the president to speak in the roosevelt room at the