talk turkey and politics at the thanksgiving table. "nightly news" begins right now. good evening, what had been the headline of the day -- president-elect trump naming his picks for attorney general, national security advisor and cia director was eclipsed by mr. trump himself. with a surprising turnaround i a showdown. the soon to be president agreeing to pay $25 million to settle a fraud case against his now-defunct trump university, something candidate trump declared he would never do. word of the deal comes ten days before the start of a trial that could have seen a president-elect testifying as a defendant. there's a lot to cover tonight, including the faces behind those big job announcements. but first, nbc's hallie jackson on that

settlement. hallie, good evening. >> reporter: remember, this is a case that led donald trump to attack the mexican heritage of the federal judge overseeing it with former students of the for-profit university accusing the president-elect of scamming them with false promises of a real estate education. now this case appears to be part of the past. tonight, donald trump's team reversing course, trying to tie up loose ends on a legal headache that dogged him for years -- a new subt settlement in the lawsuit against him from former students of trump university who claim he defrauded them. the president-elect agreeing to pay $25 million even though on the campaign trail he insisted that would never happen. >> i don't want to settle cases when we're right. i don't believe in it. and when you start settling cases, you know what happens? everybody sues you because you get known as a settler. the people that took the kwcourse all signed -- many, many -- signed report

beautiful. >> reporter: the new york attorney general's office says the president-elect is not admitting wrongdoing with the attorney general, a democrat saying "the victims of trump university have waited years for today's result." a spokesperson for the trump organization says "we have no doubt trump university would have prevailed at trial" but added "the resolution lets the president-elect devote his full attention to the important issues facing our great nation. donald trump avoiding the possibility of having to take the stand, closing one of the highest-profile cases against him, one line for his political rivals. >> he really tricked vulnerable americans, veterans, widows of veterans, people who were trying to get ahead. >> what it suggests is either because he's president-elect or because that was a bluff the whole time, he doesn't actually want to defend himself in court, he would rather pay to make this go away. this is, now, going away. >> reporter: a "usa today" analysis finds the president-elect still has more than 70

unfinished business two months before inauguration day. the president-elect trying to move past one campaign controversy but stepping in another. after ivanka trump joined her father for his first private meeting with a foreign leader, a move now raising new conflict of interest questions since it's trump's children set to take over his business and not get involved in governing. >> people think you're going to be part of the administration, ivanka. >> i'm -- no, i'm going to be a daughter. ep new york city for the first time in eight days for a working weekend here in bedminster. a top aide tells nbc news donald trump is meeting every hour or so all weekend with potential prospects for cabinet members, for cabinet positions, all coming to visit. lester? >> hallie jackson tonight, thank you. now to the other big story involving the president-elect today, his choices for three key positions, national security advisor, attorney general, and director of the cia.

trump has tapped to fill them. >> reporter: donald trump campaigned on shaking up washington. his first foreign policy hires live up to that promise. for national security advisor, a job that does not require senate approval, retired three-star lieutenant general mike flynn, a decorated combat veteran who rose to the top of military intelligence before being fired by president obama two years ago, criticized for ruffling too many feathers. a life long democrat drawing attention for hi the republican convention. >> lock her up, that's right. yeah, that's right. lock her up. >> reporter: stunning former colleagues by cozying up to vladimir putin at a lavish dinner moscow for putin's propaganda arm, flynn is outspoken against radical islam. >> there is a disease inside of this islamic body, it's like cancer. >> reporter: he'll be the last person talking to the president about national security decisions, running an

>> the national security advisor role is the most pivotal because it plays the role of quarterback for national security policy. general flynn is a good and important choice to have given his experience and background. >> reporter: some are questioning whether flynn can be an honest broker inside the cabinet. >> can general flynn make that leap to understand the diplomatic side of things? i think those are some of the questions being asked. >> reporter: then there's president-elect trump's pick for attorney senator jeff sessions, a hard-liner on immigration, rejected by the senate 30 years ago for a federal judgeship after accusations he made racist comments. >> i am not a racist, i am not insensitive to blacks. >> reporter: decades later, after ferguson and black lives matter, tonight civil rights lawyers are speaking out. >> he has demonstrated hostility towards our nation's civil rights and equality. and that is cause for concern. >> reporter: but supporters point to sessions' vote to extend the voting

confirm eric holder and trump's choice for cia director, kansas republican mike pompeo, west point graduate, army veteran, lawyer and tea party republican who took on hillary clinton over benghazi. >> how come no one has been held account to believe date? >> they could not find a breach of duty. >> ma'am, i'm not asking what the arb did, i'm asking what you did. >> reporter: pompeo helped mike pence with the debates and said penalties. >> he's hardworking, he understands the agency very well. he's a solid pick. >> reporter: with republicans running the senate, donald trump's aides believe these nominees will get confirmed because democrats won't be able to challenge a new president so early in the administration. lester? >> andrea, thank you. as we head into the weekend, millions are watching the weather. a deadly blizzard sweeping across the upper midwest, a big winter blast in the middle of fall, and there's more trouble on the way that could impact holiday travelers.

>> reporter: today in minnesota, blizzard conditions sweeping across large swathes of the state, wind gusts over 70 miles per hour as many are getting their first dose of winter weather. >> we're not talking about the light fluffy stuff. we're talking about what they call the back-breaking snow. >> reporter: road conditions are treacherous. >> i'm expecting a two hour and fifteen minute drive to turn into a five-hour drive. >> reporter: already today, more than 300 crashes and twoea the storm. >> if you get blasted by these strong winds -- >> reporter: in sioux falls, south dakota, people woke up to this and warnings to stay indoors as long as possible, school canceled. in colorado, the storm wreaked havoc with a 20-car pileup thursday shutting down part of i-70. two people killed in that state. the storm has intensified as it moves east. 52.million americans currently under some sort of warning or

snow in some areas. for much of the country, this is expected to be a colder and snowier winter than we've seen recently. here in chicago, this is one of 19 massive salt piles placed throughout the city. they've been stocking up. >> it is payback for last year. it was a very mild winter last year, we had below-normal snow. not this season. >> reporter: this winter storm brings behind it a burst of cold air. and a message -- winter is coming. blake mccoy, nbc news, chicago. > dylan dryer is here with us keeping an eye on the blizzard and the next wave to come. what's it looking like? >> well, they're likely to continue across minnesota with some areas picking up 20 inches of snow. as the storm moves eastward we are going to see cold air cross over the relatively warmer great lakes. that's going to turn on the lake-effect snow machine. first across michigan on saturday, then through the eastern great lakes as we go into sunday and monday

snowfall totals, especially across upstate new york. so while we're looking at just an additional one to three inches through the upper midwest, the focus will shift to upstate new york where we could see more than a foot of or a foot and a half of snow, especially in syracuse and watertown. that will kick off what will be a very tricky travel week leading up to thanksgiving. another storm system develops across the rockies on monday. as this moves eastward we are looking for upper midwest on tuesday with storms stretching through the plains and wednesday we could see several delays at airports through the midwest down through the gulf coast with heavy rain and strong storms. so a lot to keep in mind for those traveling for their thanksgiving holiday, lester. >> dylan, thanks very much. in tennessee, scary moments today when a school bus crashed and rolled over on a highway off ramp near nashville. students were evacuated through the bus's emergency exits. 23 were taken to the hospital, thankfully

injuries. in california, something went terribly wrong with a small plane trying to land at an airport in the bay area. the plane crashed into a house north of the half moon bay airport, killing one person and injuring another. the cause not yet known. some startling numbers tonight from the cdc about the number of sports injuries. there are more than eight and a half million every year, mostly with people under 25. concussions are among the most dangerous and tonight we're learning about a new approach to treating them that challenge what is works best. >> reporter: as a catcher, elijah fitch is used to getting hit by foul balls, but when the 16-year-old took a baseball to the head -- twice in one game -- he couldn't shake the dizziness and headaches. were you scared when it happened? >> is this going to be, like, the rest of my life? am i going to go back to normal? >> reporter: turns out elijah had a concussion, the type that affects balance. >> for that type of concussion, the way to

six different types of concussions. they can affect your concentration, your balance, your sight, cause ongoing headaches, nausea, and even affect your mood. the type of concussion dictates the type of recovery. >> having some form of activity is going to be important in probably at least four or five out of those six different types of injuries. >> reporter: new research finds physical exercises as well as brain exercises can help patients recover faster. within a week of getting a concussion reported 50% fewer symptoms a month later compared with those who rested. when dr. collins prescribed elijah active recovery for six weeks, his mother was initially skeptical. >> it's going to work. >> i thought just the opposite of it. i wanted him to rest and get his strength. >> keep your head still. >> reporter: but vision exercises helped the teen's eyes

his headaches and dizziness disappeared thanks to a game-changer approach to treating young athletes. >> good luck, okay? take care. >> reporter: nbc news, pittsburgh. still ahead tonight, putting her hopes in the future. the teenaged girl who gets her dying wish to be frozen in time in the hope of one day waking up and being cured. also, the strange

we're back now with a story that has a lot of people talking tonight, it's about a legal victory for a british teenager with terminal cancer who had a dying wish -- instead of being buried, she wanted her body frozen when she died so she might be brought back to life, even if it takes hundreds of years. nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: the letter to a british judge from a teenaged girl suffering from cancer was "i'm only 14 years old and i don't want to die, but i know i'm going to die. i think being cryopreserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up, even in hundreds of years time." after consulting with her family, the judge agreed. >> it was about respecting the wishes of a bright and intelligent and articulate 14-year-old. >> reporter: the unnamed teenager died last month, her body quickly rushed to the cryonics institute in detroit where it was

like this one. the cost, $28,000. how does it work? another facility in phoenix says within a few minutes of death the body is packed in ice. technicians administer a cocktail of 16 different drugs and rush the patient to a facility where fluids are replaced with a kind of anti-freeze. the body is then placed in a special tank where the temperature drops to minus 320 degrees. >> at that temperature you can wait for decades or a century and you will be in the same condition as when you started. >> reporter: hundreds of people have already been frozen, including baseball great ted williams. but there's no guarantee the future medicine will ever be able to revive the dead and medical ethicists worry patients are clinging to false hope. >> the only people promoting this are the people who want to freeze bodies, mainstream science doesn't think anybody knows how to do that right now. >> reporter: the girl's father openly worried if she were revived 200 years from now, she may have no relatives, left in a

still only be 14 and in the u.s. but her dying wish was for a second chance at life. tom costello, nbc news, washington. we'll take a break. when we come back,

we're back now with a strange scene in santa clara, california, today, where a massive blob of foam came pouring out of an industrial buildi spread through much of the day. first responders for some time were unclear in what it was or how to stop it. people across the country were glued to the images on the internet, including our own miguel almaguer. >> reporter: at first glance in sunny santa clara, california, it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. but it's an illusion. that's not snow, that's a sea of foam. >> i mean literally driving down i'm like what's going on?

bubble bath ever. >> reporter: the suds began spewing out of an industrial building near the international airport. a fire retardant foam that discharged accidentally from a fire suppression system. but there was no blaze. >> the system functioned exactly the way the system is supposed to in the event of a fire and it filled the building with foam. that foam is now flowing out on to the street. >> reporter: the tidal wave of bubbles, officials say, not hazardous for people but dangerous to the environment. foam pouring down the and street signs, and nearly those daring enough to pedal through it. >> i don't know, it looked inviting. >> reporter: soon it had its own hashtag "foamnado" the suds taking over the streets and the internet. foam party in santa clara. kntv reporter michelle roberts is there. >> i did used to work in boston. it looks like a blizzard a little bit but we talked to the fire chief and he says

the bubbly is still in the streets but the party is over. the road closed to the public. >> this is incredible. >> reporter: the cleanup now begins but the situation is st fluid. miguel almaguer, nbc news. well, even the clean needs to clean up, but it's difficult. buckingham palace say the place needs a facelift, infrastructure work to fixbi heating, things that haven't been upgraded since just before world war ii. it will cost british taxpayers $450 million over ten years. the queen will be able to live there during the rep separations but she'll have to move to a different part of the palace when her private apartments are renovated. when we come back, surviving the family food fights that will

. fair to say there's likely to be a little more tension than usual at some dinner tables this thanksgiving after the election. with that in mind, kevin tibbles tonight on how some families are going to extremes-to-keep the turkey and the politics separate. >> reporter:

oops. >> if i had a make america hat i'd wear it in. i wouldn't keep it on but i'd wear it in. >> then he'd be standing around saying "why hasn't anybody offered me a drink yet?" >> what do i have to do to get a drink? take your hat off. >> reporter: meet the stang stfamily of kansas city. son and host mark with parents. on tuesday they'll be equally opinionated relative which is calls for new rules around the table. >> put a sign up with a no and no politics today. >> following an intense and divisive election, passing the politics with the gravy just won't do. it used to be a battle between potatoes and stove top stuffing at turkey time. not this year. >> talk about other things like the brad and angelina divorce. >> yes, we should keep

this psychologist's recipe. >> recognize these battles aren't winning so don't engage. >> reporter: she says you should shift for the discussion, ask for the kcranberry sauce and nod knowingly. otherwise you might end up like the cast in "home for the holidays." >> into the house, everyone, before we're in the evening news. >> reporter: there's one and you know who you are. >> her. >> reporter: remember, freedom of speech is a good thing. >> we're thankful that we are in a country that we can have differences and view them and not be persecuted for them. >> reporter: and that's what it's all about. oh, and this, too. nbc news, chicago. and that's going to do it for us on this friday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching, have a great

>> announcer: today on the doctor's friday news feed. how a cheating wife got busted by a drone. and outrage over a new law that could be getting children high? and a disturbing new trend in gaming that could put your child at risk! >> dr. travis: assaulting her. touching her. >> you can get away with it? >> announcer: that's today! ? ? [ applause ] ? ? >> good morning doctor. >> dr. travis: good morning. and welcome to all of you at

news feed. fnf. and we are going to start off on a somber note, for yet another year, neither are dr. ordon or myself were voted "people magazines sexiest man alive". [ audience oohs ] >> i want a recount. [ laughter ] >> now ... you won the popular vote, but it's that electoral deal for the sexiest man. [ laughter ] >> dr. travis: you know, >> i voted for you, buddy. >> dr. travis: and i voted for you. >> i am in a separate division. >> dr. travis: i think they got it right. you know who got it? dwayne the rock johnson! and i think that was a great choice. he's, um, you know, he's become ... a truly trancendant star. >> football, wrestling. ? he's made it as an actor. he does it all, comedy, voice