please, start voting so we voters are informed when we go to the polls next november. thank you chris matthews for this privilege. happy thanksgiving everyone. msnbc live starts right now. eria

>> thomas, happy thanksgiving to you, first of all. but the weather, absolutely something we are thankful for today. this is not a mistake, this is the national radar. there's nothing on it for the most part. my apologies just to a couple of locations. here across central california, northern california, off to the south and east as the day goes on. and then a new storm that will come into the pacific northwest. you can see it going here toward the puget sound. that will roll in this morning, bring in strong winds, heavy rain, the washington coastline down toward the oregon coastline. that's the area we'll watch today. really the one spot on the map. everywhere east of there, we work in the sunshine.

low clouds sticking around early on this morning. the afternoon looks brighter. and look at the mild air. 67 denver, 59 in minneapolis. are you kidding me? you don't see that on thanksgiving day. it's going to be beautiful. then tomorrow morning, i'm sure a lot of folks have plans to get out for black friday. if you are camping out in the northeast, toward the early stages of the morning, 30s and 40s, clear skies, in the southeast, 40s and 50s, mainly clear skies, go to the midwest, you've got above average temperatures in the 40s. it'll be tough to find the stories of the folks camping out in the horrible conditions. it'll be the west coast watching for more active weather. and when you're traveling on sunday, an even busier travel day than the day before thanksgiving, this is what we'll watch, the ohio valley into the northeast, heavy rain and colder temperatures. >> this is divine intervention for those on the east coast who had to deal with the halloween. >> the holidays have been all over. the day after christmas last year i was sitting at laguardia

in new york city talking about a wrecked holiday, as well. >> thanks, eric. happy holidays to you. an estimated 42.5 million or so are going to be traveling this thanksgiving. it is expected to be the busiest holiday weekend since the financial meltdown with more people traveling despite the higher prices for gas, higher prices for airfare. what do expect if you're hitting the roads, rails, or skies today? cynthia joins us from washington, d.c. to fill us in. cynthia, aaa says the stats here that over 42 million are going to be traveling roughly 50 miles or more this weekend. that's a lot of people on the roads. but as we're finding out with eric fisher there, the weather is going to be helping a lot of people out. >> absolutely, good morning, thomas. with all the folks on the road and this great weather, there'll be even more people on the roads. they're going to be very, very crowded, and you're going to be sharing the roads not only with those folks traveling more than 50 miles away from home for thanksgiving, but also the day

trippers going to and from grandmother's house today and tonight and tomorrow heading out there for black friday. >> and cynthia, really interesting to see that the fact that gas and airfare are up by roughly 20% this year, we're still having this major travel experience for most people that are deciding to either fly or drive. >> that's very true. and what happened is we have surveyed folks throughout the year, and the key is pent up demand. they've been telling us all yearlong and they told us in great numbers for thanksgiving that they're tired of waiting for the u.s. economy to improve, and they're spending those dollars that they have on travel, especially for thanksgiving because this is a time when we really want to connect with family and friends, and they're choosing family over finances. >> more importantly, though, to point out, since 90% of travelers are going to be going by car, aaa has important tips for those that are going to be on the road, especially because a lot of people will have drinks

on this holiday. a lot of people do as we say travel roughly 50 miles or more. and there are some tips that people need to remember when they're getting behind the wheel. >> they really do. there are three deadly "d"s of driving. driving under the influence, driving distracted, and driving drowsy. you want to avoid those three. remember when you are having a holiday beverage that impairment begins with the first sip. that turkey might even cause some impairment, as well. and a lot of prescription medications have impairment side effects. be careful about that. and when you are drowsy, you really are driving more dangerous because you're not fully alert. if you find yourself out there driving drowsy, pull over to a safe location, take about a 20 or 30-minute nap. that will rejuvenate you. but the key is to not drive drowsy in the first place. >> right. >> make sure you get seven to nine hours of sleep before you

head out. and distracted driving, don't do it. designate a passenger as your official talker, texter, and navigator, you'll be fine. >> yeah, cat naps when you're drowsy, there's nothing bad about pulling over. it helps everybody. have great thanksgiving. thanks for your time today. >> thank you, and happy thanksgiving to you too, thomas, and all your viewers. there are tens of thousands of u.s. troops far from home this holiday. about 18,000 right now in iraq. troops anxious to return homes to their families, and in kabul, afghanistan, with the troops for us. >> reporter: hi, thomas. well, there was quite a bit of buzz here earlier today when we heard that a relatively high official in the foreign ministry had traveled from here to tunisia on the ground and flown to the airport to athens, greece. everybody was wondering whether this would be the third defection in about two days. as it turned out, he is a

special envoy sent by gadhafi to talk not only to the greek government but also envoys, representatives of the u.s., france, and british governments about with messages basically from gadhafi about how he sees the situation and how the air strikes should be ended. there's no sense at all that this is about gadhafi's end game himself. but it certainly is a good time to be talking about diplomacy now and to be launching balloons because the situation on the battlefield has clearly become a stalemate. you've got nato now warning both sides, pro-gadhafi forces and rebel forces they will be attacked from the air if they attack civilians or threaten civilians on the ground, which effectively means that gadhafi forces will not be able to retake benghazi in the east, and rebel forces will not get close to sirte or tripoli in the west. what you have is a front line moving back and forth depending

on the day and the battle over about 150 or 200-mile area. there is currently fighting still going on in brega, that important oil port, and even though the rebels have put up their best fighting force, it still looks like it's moving into gadhafi force's favor. they have created a crisis team. it's something they want to use, a group of individuals who will be reaching out and trying to consolidate and govern the parts of the country now that they control. and it is about a third of the country in the east. meanwhile, gadhafi forces have been pounding away at that last rebel stronghold here in the west called misrata. again, more killed, more wounded. the latest figures from doctors inside misrata is at least 240 people have been killed from attacks by gadhafi tanks and artilleries since the six weeks

of fighting began. if misrata falls, gadhafi will then be in control militarily and economically of about 2/3 of the country and that would put him in a very important position, a very strong position despite hundreds of nato air strikes. thomas, back to you. developing news out of japan, a strong earthquake shaking northern japan. no tsunami alert at this time. no damage or injuries have been reported. of course, we're going to keep you up to date as we get more information and pictures coming to us out of japan. two new disturbing allegations in the penn state scandal, and both accusers are still under the age of 18. plus, the egyptian military apologizes for this week's deadly clashes in cairo. the latest from tahrir square coming up. on small business saturday. one purchase. one purchase is all it takes. so, pick your favorite local business... and join the movement. i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop.

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welcome back to msnbc,

everybody. i want to make a quick apology from everyone. the report we had from jim maceda, we rolled on the wrong one. we're going to work on getting that to you later in this hour. in other news this morning, no sign of survivors after a small plane crashed in the mountains. onboard, three adults, three children, the kids ranged in age from 5 to 9. the twin engine plane broke on impact and ignited a bunch of small fires. the sheriff believes the plane flew from safford to the falcon field to pick up the kids for the holiday. capitol hill is quiet for the thanksgiving holidays. members of congress returned home. yet while they gather around the table to celebrate, they know deep down there is serious work to do when they get back to washington, d.c. for more on this, i'm joined by steven tomo who covers the white house. it's nice to have you with me today. members of congress may have a lot to be thankful for on this

holiday, but they're not thankful for their approval rating at historic lows, 9% right now, something that many of them may be thinking about during this time off. but they really have an uphill battle, steven, when they get back to work in washington, d.c. >> well, the interesting thing is, they had this big failure in washington to reach a deal to further reduce the debt. but what they have coming up on a plate when they get back to washington is how to add to the debt. there are three big proposals on their plate. and one is to extend the payroll tax cut, 2 percentage cut, extend it, which would add to the deficit, to extend unemployment benefits for those out of work. and that would add to the debt. and to make sure that doctors don't get their pay cut for medicare. those are the three big issues coming up. some will be easier than others. sure, some of those will be hard to get through. >> the super committee failing to meet the deadline, that was the major news everybody talked

about all week. is there something that congress can get done before the triggers go into play? >> in terms of the triggers for the debt -- big debt deal, that doesn't happen until january 1 of 2013. that's still 13 months away. as the white house has been signaling for the last week to us, you know, we had all these deadlines this week and this month for this big debt deal, what we really could do this deal into next year. >> right. >> since none of these sequesters, none of these big cuts happen for another 13 months, they could reach a deal next spring, next summer. now the reality is, it's an election year. it doesn't get easier to reach that kind of deal next year, it gets harder. but the fact is, they do have more time despite missing this deadline. >> steven, why push it, though, especially when you say getting into an election year it makes it that much harder? >> well, they push it for various political reasons. for the white house particularly they want to, you know, portray themselves in ads and in the campaign in the fall as being tough on the deficit. they know they're very

vulnerable because the debt has risen so much since the president took office. they want to be able to say we're pushing, it's congress who won't do anything to fix this problem. >> and when we talk about congress not wanting to fix this problem, most americans are blaming the republican party within congress for causing this entrenchment that we continue to witness within washington, d.c. isn't that going to cause consequence for them come election time? >> sure, i think everyone in congress is going to be a little nervous. they have the worst approval rating i've ever seen in my life. and that's probably true for both parties. a little more so for republicans, they're particularly vulnerable right now in the question of taxes. you know, we know from the polls that a solid majority of americans want to raise taxes on higher income americans. and the republicans say absolutely not, we're not raising any taxes. so that'll be a big point come this fall. and i think republicans in some districts may be vulnerable. >> steven thomma, thank you for

joining me. >> my pleasure. new developments in the penn state sex abuse scandal. there are two more allegations of abuse on the part of jerry sandusky. sandusky's lawyer confirms a report in a local newspaper that one of the new allegations is from a family member. sandusky's lawyer says his client adamantly denies the new claims. jay gray is in state college, pennsylvania, and he joins me now with more on this. jay, this really is ever expanding and now this adds a completely different layer on to what we've already seen with the 40 criminal charges coming forward. >> no, it absolutely does, good morning to you, thomas, happy thanksgiving. that holiday here on this campus in this community not really providing much of a break from the scandal as you talk about. two new allegations, both of the accusers under 18 years of age right now. and as you talked about, jerry sandusky's attorney says one is a member of his own family. that same attorney goes on to say that they are utterly ridiculous and they will defend

against any accusations that come against sandusky. but it does add a new dimension to this case. and many say if this turns into charges that it could mean sandusky will be removed from the streets, from his house, he'll be placed in custody or protective custody with an ankle bracelet. all of that going on while one of the original accusers named in the grand jury's initial report has now filed a preliminary motion, an injunction, if you will, to stop the second mile charity from dispersing its funds. there are some thoughts that that accuser as well as others may sue the charity so they want to freeze those assets as the second mile, thomas, talks about spreading out that money and giving it to other charities hoping to continue to do work folding because they can't work under the pressure, under the weight of the accusations here. >> and jay, on a separate note, there are these reports that the wife of joe paterno was asked to leave a penn state campus pool.

can you explain more what happened there? >> >> reporter: it's my understanding that a further investigation into that proved it's not the case at all. she was not denied any access to a pool. so i think that initially that was the thought, but it was just a misunderstanding. >> good, i'm glad. when i first heard about that i was kind of disgusted by that. but we shall remain to see what happens from penn state, especially with these new allegations coming forward, especially to know that they are under the age of 18 right now. jay gray in state college, pa., thanks so much. coming up, president obama is asking americans to stay optimistic this holiday season. and the stars of the show are ready for action. what new additions you're going to see floating down the streets of manhattan for this year's macy's thanksgiving day parade. we're back with much more after this. hi, could you read my list?

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so this thanksgiving holiday comes at a time when many americans out there are really hurting. a subject that the president discussed in his weekly address while sharing a little bit of optimism, as well. take a listen. >> i know that for many of you, this thanksgiving is more difficult than most. but no matter how tough things are right now, we still give thanks for that most american of blessings, the chance to determine our own destiny. >> all right. so how is the president spending this thanksgiving? for more, i'm joined now by nbc's kristen welker who is at the white house. happy thanksgiving to you. >> happy thanksgiving. >> thank you. so the president doesn't have public events today. how is the first family spending the holiday? >> reporter: well, it'll be a quiet day here at the white house. the first family enjoying really a traditional holiday with family and friends, you know, david gregory spoke with the top chef here who says that what they really enjoy is just having

a big traditional thanksgiving meal. and of course, david gregory asked about sort of the health aspect. of course, the first lady has made that her big initiative. and basically said of course we're healthy, but we also enjoy all those traditional dishes and one of the favorites is gravy. so i imagine they are enjoying a big feast here. >> whose isn't gravy? everybody's favorite is gravy. and yesterday we saw the president in the tradition of pardoning the turkey. everything is right there on the grounds of the white house. >> reporter: that's right. president obama pardoned the turkey as you say and then the first family went on to go to a food bank together. and to help folks in needle there. so really spending a lot of time with family right now. and then they will be welcoming the christmas tree at the end of this week. so a lot of holiday-themed events going on. >> looked like he was more giving a religious blessing than a pardon, but i think the turkey is officially excused.

thanks so much, and have a great holiday. >> reporter: you too, thanks, thomas. it is a tradition up there with turkey, football, and dinner table debates, the macy's thanksgiving day parade in new york. we are less than a couple of hours away from the start of that. and michelle franzen is live for us on the parade route where we can see now that the sun has come up. i know people have been out there for hours setting up. more than 3 million people expected to be joining you to watch the parade. as they get ready to start, how is it looking out there? the weather couldn't be more better. >> it couldn't be more better, thomas. happy thanksgiving to you. clear skies, sunny as you mentioned, and also the key, winds will be minimal today, which will help a lot of the crew behind me as they gear up to wrangle those balloons. many new balloons that we all are familiar with over the years are being joined by some of the newest this year. sonic the hedgehog, of course, after a redesign and paul frank

julias will be joining that parade today. along with hundreds of performers including cheerleaders and clowns all around us and also all those marching bands from around the country. in addition, some celebrities turning out too. cee lo green, mary j. blije, and all the traditional floats we know and love. as you mentioned, more than 3 million expected to line these parade routes, and another 50 million are expected to tune in at home as they get ready to gather and celebrate this day, thomas. and certainly, this is a project that goes on year round and the design and the planning all culminating today in this tradition. >> really is a beautiful day. and michelle, the one thing we're seeing a lot of people on the street there, most of them are the balloon handlers. and the big concern is normally the winds, but today it's expected to be mild, right? >> reporter: between 5 and 10 miles per hour, which is certainly ideal, especially compared to yesterday when they

were threatened to have wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour all the way up until late last night. that was creating a little bit of drama, but today has given way to a beautiful day. >> thanks so much, michelle franzen. happy thanksgiving to you. big names in hollywood testify today about the alleged phone hacking by britain's now defunct news of the world. and it is a beautiful thanksgiving morning across the country. here's a live look at boston. how is it where you are? we're going to check in with bill karinsing straight ahead.

hi, everybody. welcome back to msnbc, i'm thomas roberts. a live look at boston for you so far. only minor delays being reported. president obama sent a special thanksgiving message this morning wishing americans and troops overseas a happy holiday while acknowledging that this thanksgiving may be harder than most. the president said we will solve our problems if we stick

together and we do our part. and two strong earthquakes have hit japan, a magnitude 6.1 struck a short time ago near the island of hokkaido. the nuclear plant damaged back in march. no tsunami warnings have been posted. weather may have affected travel across the country, but the outlook for today is a lot better than yesterday. bill karins is here to talk about what we get for this holiday. it really is nice, especially since we had know for halloween, now we get this beautiful thanksgiving. >> it looks nice. we showed you a picture of boston, thomas, and it did look chilly there, but overall, we're looking really, really sunny. it has that cold look to it. windchills in boston are currently 30 right now. they didn't get a lot of snow in areas of massachusetts yesterday. but new hampshire, vermont, and maine, they had a shovel last night. that's where we had the snowstorm yesterday, everyone else was rain in southern new

england. the airport delays yesterday, but now things are as clear as could be. looks great for the parade in new york city and good for all your travel. you do have to put the gloves on and even the mid-atlantic, windchills from new york city to d.c. in the mid-30s. at least the ground's not frozen in many areas. no real problem with the windchill in the rest of the country. it's actually going to be a pretty decent day in many, many spots. a lot of sunshine. the white on this map is the cloud, middle of the country looks fantastic, east coast looks fantastic, but it's the west coast that we have our little storm system we're dealing with and another big one headed into the pacific northwest tonight. one piece of advice i want to let anyone know in the country, if you're going to be traveling up through the mountain passes, a foot of snow later tonight, tomorrow morning, that's not where you want to get caught. everyone else, beautiful weather. middle of the country, 70s in texas, should be great for the football game there in dallas, 50s in areas like kansas city, minneapolis near 60, can't complain. and everyone on the east coast, it's a chilly day today, but at

least it's sunny and beautiful. thomas, something to be thankful for. decent forecast. >> i don't know what we did to deserve this, but we'll take it. happy holidays. egypt's military is apologizing for the violence that's killed dozens of protesters, but is refusing to step down. the country's uprising is in the sixth day, and today both sides called the for the truth. the students arrested for taking part in the rioting are now free. and the military is now saying these elections are going to go forward as planned on november 28th. is that enough for the protesters who are demanding that the military step aside? is that enough for them to venture back to their lives and wait until the 28th? >> reporter: well, thomas, you know, the short answer to that is, no, it's not. if you were to go down behind the street behind me and ask the protesters out here coming through tahrir and you ask them, are the elections the right step

first? and they will tell you no, it is not, but they have no alternative for the time being. and some of them from those i've been speaking to say they will participate in monday's elections. the concern hasn't been about the elections or the timing of them, but really the lack of a clear process. what will the military do after elections? will they allow parliament to draft the constitution and ultimately hand over power to a full civilian government? right now the military seems to be saying, no, they will retain certain powers even after the elections, and that's why everyone here is very concerned about the elections and what may happen afterwards with the military. >> live for us in cairo. thanks so much. our next guest this morning joins us also from cairo live via skype. correspondent abigail hosmossner. i want to talk to you first about the truce itself. and do you think it's going to hold out? >> well, the fighting has been going for five days. and yesterday for a time in the

afternoon, it looked like there was a truce, there was a bit of a cease-fire that lasted for only a couple of hours, and then pretty fierce clashes resumed. so we'll see. right now it looks like the military has tried to separate protesters from the police. last time the protesters broke through military lines to attack the police again. and a lot of the protesters as we've seen are not leaving the square. >> abigail, how is the military in communication with whoever is in lead with the protesters that even try to enact a form of a truce? >> well, so far, those negotiations have been highly chaotic. the military has communicated with several political leaders, political parties, including the muslim brotherhood, which is the main political party that stands to win big in monday's race. but they've -- the protesters in

the square lack a clear leadership. and they lack unity. and i think that's been part of the problem and negotiating between the two sides. but most protesters also say they're not yet satisfied with the concessions that the military has offered. >> and you bring up the fact that on monday the muslim brotherhood is expected to do well in the elections. we also heard earlier from the interior ministry seeking a delay in the elections. however, the military is saying these must go through. do you believe the elections will happen on the 28th? >> both authorities and protesters in the square have said that if the violence continues, it's going to be nearly impossible to hold elections on monday. however, the military has as you noted just given a press conference stating they do plan to go forward with elections, there are some political groups who have said they plan on participating in the elections, including the muslim brotherhood. we'll see. if they manage to reach a consensus on how to resolve the

unrest in tahrir before monday, then i believe elections will proceed. if they don't, then they're going to have to stop it. there'll be no way for the security forces who are currently engaged in clashes to be able to control the elections and provide security. >> "time" magazine, thank you for joining us. this time in yemen, at least five people deed this morning when gunmen opened fire on a crowd of protesters in sanaa, the shooters included yemeni forces. now to j.k. rowlings set to testify today in the press inquiry following the hacking scandal that happened there. actress sienna miller also testifying today after illegal eavesdropping and police bribery that shut down "news of the world." michelle kaczynski joins us live

to fill us in. obviously a lot of dramatic testimony we've been hearing all week. >> reporter: yeah, you know what? this inquiry has expanded. not just on phone hacking anymore, even though that's what brought a lot of this press behavior to light. now it's looking at the bigger question of how the press, the police and politicians conduct themselves here in britain. and the prime minister felt like they were all sort of implicit in perpetuating this behavior. so we are hearing some elements about the hacking, but also other behavior. yesterday we heard for hours from the parents of missing toddler madeleine mccann, and the stories they tell are hard to fathom, because they were looking at headlines day after day after day, basically accusing them of murdering their daughter. it would say things like "police believe mother murdered mady,"

"bodily fluids found in car" one headline said "parents car hid a corpse." they said they were under court order not to talk to the press. so they really felt stressed. they couldn't say, hello, none of this is true. these headlines and stories are patently false. they tried to talk to the papers, they finally took legal action against some of them and they were rewarded with a large settlement. and even an apology, but they felt like the damage was already done. just today, we heard from the british-american actress sienna miller that said day after day stories would come out in the press about things that only her closest confidants would know and she ended up apologizing to her friends and family because she kept accusing them of leaking stories to the tabloids. she also sued, got a large settlement, and the news of the world in her case admitted to the phone hacking. but this kind of behavior just goes on and on.

and we're going to be hearing much more of this, unfortunately. >> nbc's michelle kosinsky in london for us. newt gingrich inadvertently brings immigration issues front and center in the 2012 republican presidential race. how can you make the most out of the black friday savings without breaking the bank? hot tips for you. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. it's a great hd tv. shh. don't speak. i'll just leave you two alone.

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republican presidential candidates are taking time off from the campaign trail this thanksgiving day. newt gingrich's aides may be talking about how to deal with the fallout from his comments. >> i don't think we're going to separate you from your family, uproot you forcefully, and kick you out. the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy that destroys families that's been here for a quarter century, and i'm prepared to take the heat in

se let's be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but create legality. >> joining us now richard goodstein, and the republican strategist, as well. gentlemen, it's nice to see you this morning. happy thanksgiving to you and yours. >> happy thanksgiving to you too, thomas. and richard. >> i want to start with you, though, because iowa congressman steve king and aides to iowa governor terry branstadsay this is going to be a big problem in their state. no endorsements given out so far. >> newt gingrich, you have to give him a lot of credit for being a man of substance. he shows the fact that he's worked in the congress for a couple of decades, worked with u.s. presidents. a real grasp on not only domestic policy, international security issues, and has a

realistic sense of how you might go about dealing with the challenge of immigration. and i give him credit for being gutsy enough to say that you've got to be tough but also humane at the same time and that you can't find 11 million or 12 million people, uproot them, from their households and deport them. you've got a way that's humane, in concert with what america's all about. he will take some kind of a hit in iowa for it, but the degree of the hit is questionable. obviously mitt romney will pick up some support because of his strong stance against offering any kind of amnesty to people who are here illegally. but you've got to give newt gingrich a lot of credit. >> well, certainly the chorus to the far right are saying amnesty is what he's saying. newt gingrich is fighting back, he tweeted mitt romney, he's a trip down memory lane. what's your position on citizenship for illegals? the answer, i oppose it and the

link was this clip. take a look. >> my own view was consistent with what you saw. those people that come here illegally and are in this country, the 12 million or so here illegally, should be able to sign up for permanent residency or citizenship. >> is that effective? especially since mitt romney was the one in that debate labeling newt's comments as amnesty. >> you know, thomas, i think newt gingrich has to decide how badly he really wants to win in iowa. b because the fact is as we know, the very conservative electorate in caucuses, and there is a devastating conservative case to make against mitt romney. that clip you just showed is only exhibit "a." let's talk about abortion where romney said he was going to be more pro-choice than ted kennedy, gun control, gay rights, the health care mandate. look, he disassociated himself from the republican icon ronald reagan when he ran against ted kennedy in massachusetts in 1994 saying he wasn't so sure he was

part of the reagan revolution. and all these claims about knowing business. remember, he was 47th out of 50 states in job creation. what newt gingrich has to ask himself is am i going to try to be the antiromney or am i going to see this as something that drew romney into the briar patch and really decide finally in a way that nobody has done at any of these debates so far, to take romney on. and one final thing, flip-flopping i think is a charitable characterization of what mitt romney does. and gingrich can make the case is that romney's doing is absent any core beliefs. you contrast that with the president looking so resolute in that situation where they took out bin laden. where are we seeing mitt romney being resolute about anything. >> iowa caucuses on january 3rd. this comes as mitt romney's trying to take a bigger role, bigger play in iowa. does the immigration issue help

him out with that now? especially since congressman king says his chances have been hurt after what he said in that debate performance. >> i think this does help mitt romney. i mean, mitt romney came out with a strong statement at the debate. and we do know that politicians change their minds. this is nothing new to people who are elected. absolutely. president obama said back during the 2008 election he was going to challenge his republican opponent to take public financing and then boldly changed that position when he realized he was going to rake in more money over the internet than anyone in the race. people change their minds based on the circumstances. and mitt romney has made a strong statement about where he stands right now on the issue of immigration, what he would do as the president going forward, and he's also said what he would do is expand that policy. he has yet to talk about the details of what his policy would look like on immigration, but he said he would expand it. in the short-term he will benefit from the comments that newt gingrich has said. >> thank you so much. >> i appreciate it, thomas.

get your shopping list ready, the black friday deals start in a few hours. what retailers are doing to get your business, get you in those doors after this. d i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company,

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welcome back, everybody. retailers are hoping that black friday means green friday because cash registers are going to be ringing with sales. this is a best buy in florida late yesterday afternoon. national retail federation says people plan to hit, 152 million people. retailers will be doing whatever it takes to get you in. joining us, rand cardone. toys "r" us, walmart, target, macy's, best buy, they're opening at midnight. seems the shopping is beginning earlier every year.

is this a good idea? >> absolutely. it's a game they have to play now. if you notice like sensations, like call duty and battlefield 3 came out two weeks before thanksgiving. call of duty did almost a billion dollars in sales already to proceed and then also try to capture some of these sales starting on this black friday. it's interesting to me how much energy and effort americans put into shopping when that's not how you're going to create financial solvency. the retailers, this is when they make their whole year. this is when they print black ink. >> it really is down to supply and demand. those certain hot items you're talking about, people don't get out there earl will, are they

just not going to get them? >> absolutely. there's a limited quantity, at least that's the perception created by the retailer. that there's a shortage. the tv, the electronic, ipad, i promise you, there will be another one next month if you miss this one. >> and an updated version of something, too, that we can't get now. >> technology's shifting so fast that whatever you buy this weekend, you need to know that. whether it's a tv or ipad or whatever, there's going to be newer technology next year. people need to be focused on a couple of things when they go shop. what is it a need, what is it that i want and what's my budget. >> how can you recommend for people to stay on budget and not get caught up? >> the first thing i do, we don't shop. we buy. we make an exact list of what we want, we go there and buying. making the acquisition and getting out.

we do a thing with my wife, we speed shop. my wife, my nieces, my kids. you've got 25 minutes to do all the damage you can do. you're not there three and four hours and end up with purchases that you maybe didn't even go for. >> i like the way you talk about being a strategic strike. buy what you want, not shop. >> the rich people say time is money, so if you're going to spend camping out there, eight hours, you know, waiting for the doors to open, they have policies you can't run at target or you'll be kicked out of the store. they're trying to create this frenzy, oh, it's the deal of your lifetime. but the truth is, the american public needs to understand you can not save your way to prosperity. >> the best recommendation you have for the hottest website? >> you know, i don't think there's one hot website. i think there's so much available out there to give

people data. they just need to search on the web and they're find their best deal. >> best to shop in the store or online? >> i don't like the stores. it's unbelievable to me that i would spend gas, time, parking energy, line, when i could sit in my under wear or this jacket and buy from my desk. >> we just want to confirm to everybody that you have pants on. >> i do. >> happy thanksgiving. so, there is an app for that. how this year's macy's parade is going high-tech. that and much more here on msnbc. [ gasps ] that's doris!

she's a black friday living legend. she even named her kid "black friday." [ woman 2 ] whoa. [ male announcer ] black friday's here. deals start thursday 10 pm. but we're open all day and night so you don't have to wait outside. the only place to go on black friday. walmart.

♪ imagine me and you, i do ♪ i think about you day and night ♪ ♪ it's only right ♪ to think about the girl you love ♪ ♪ and hold her tight ♪ so happy together [ male announcer ] when life changes, so can your insurances needs. use travelers free guide to better coverage to stay prepared. is your auto and home insurance keeping up with you? contact your local travelers agent, or call 800-my-coverage. happy thanksgiving to you. i'm thomas roberts. we start off with the weather and it's a pretty easy holiday

for travels along the east coast, but a wet morning out west. you're looking at new york's bridge. we'll give you a full picture coming up. 97,000 u.s. troops are finishing up their turkey and pumpkin pie, giving thanks for military bases across afghanistan. this hour, we are with the troops. plus, another victim comes forward in the penn state child sex abuse scandal. this time, the allegation involves a family member of jerry sandusky. so, snow and rain derailed holiday travel for some, but today, as long as you don't live in the pacific northwest or california, you should have a dry thanksgiving. eric fisher joins us to fill us in. normally, on the east coast, we're worried about the snow, but they've got it in the west. >> we got it out of the picture yesterday. that's the good news. you have to have some rain, so

we apologize to california, seattle and portland. but look at the radar here. things are quiet all across the country except for that one band shifting up towards the south and east from san francisco northbound. metro, you are starting to clear out, but here's storm number two winding up. the clouds have arrived around the seattle area. wind will be a problem as well. otherwise, the east coast is completely quiet. low clouds in the upper midwest. warm in the south and a few showers late in the day. your thanksgiving temperatures, look at the mild air. 59 in minneapolis. hard pressed to find many thanksgivings like that. now get towards tomorrow morning, what do you expect heading out shopping? temperatures in the 30s and 40s here in the northeast. 40s and 50s across the

southeast. to the midwest, 40s in the morning. again, we could be talking about a blizzard this time of the year in the midwest. twars the west coast, this is where we'll get wet. the last thing we want to talk about, travel on sunday. it's a bigger day than the day before thanksgiving. detroit and cincinnati, the eastern lakes and ohio valley. there are tens of thousands of u.s. troops far from home. approximately $97,000 troops in afghanistan. troops anxious to return home to their families. jim maceda is in kabul with an update from the troops. >> happy thanksgiving, thomas, from kabul's military airport. this is really the heart, the main hub of the u.s. mission here. 4,000 service members from around the world includinging

about 1,000 u.s. troops live and work here. now, their primary role is training, of the afghan army, the police, to take over the fight by the end of 2014 so u.s. forces can go home for good, but today, the missions have slowed down so these troops could enjoy what they call the best meal of the year, thanksgiving lunch. you can have turkey with stuffing, honey roast ham, ribs, roast potatoes, corn on the cob. you name it and believe me, it's a lot better than the standard fare here. we spoke to a couple of scandanavians who said we don't really get thanksgiving for americans, but we love the turkey and cranberry sauce. the question is, how many more will be marked? this is 11 and the short answer is three more and quite possibly

many more after that, at least for some u.s. troops. we know that 10,000 will have drawn down by year's end. 20,000 will leave by 2014, but that will remain about 70,000 who are supposed to hand over the standard to the afghans. that's going to depend on a lot of intangibles. ongoing negotiations and the taliban will have a vote in the matter. >> thank you. now, to new developments in the sex abuse scandal in penn state and two more allegations of abuse. in an e-mail to the media, sandusky's lawyer confirms a report in a local newspaper that one of the new allegations is from a family member. sandusky's lawyer says his client denies the new claims. jay gray is in state college, pennsylvania and has more on this. this is a sandusky family member and the two new allegations are both involving children under the age currently of 18,

correct? >> yeah, you're absolutely right, thomas, and the allegations come after the national grand jury in this case, so two new alleged victims here telling their stories to inves gators as this investigation does continue. and lawyers looking at this case from the outside tell us that look, if these allegations turn into charges, it's likely sandusky will be called back to the judge. the bail will be raised, kept to the same level it is. most likely, he will be remanded to jail and will wait there until his trial. he has a hearing in a couple of weeks, then they move forward with that trial if the decision is made by the judge if there's enough evidence to move forward. and most looking at this from the outside believe that will be the case here. then it would be up to jerry sandusky to prove his innocence. it would be up to him to rebuke

these allegations. and there are many involved with this case from the inside out who believe we will see more allegations before this is all said and done. >> and where does everything stand with the charity that sandusky founded in 1977? the second mile charity? >> it's interesting because they had talked about folding. about sendingi their money to other charities, but one of those named in the initial report from the grand jury has filed an injunction saying we don't want to freeze the assets, because they are considering suing the second mile charity for not reporting the allegations of abuse. they say that people within the charity knew not to report the situation, so they're looking into a potential lawsuit there. >> thanks so much. this thanksgiving holiday comes at a time when a lot of

americans are hurting across the country and that's the subject the president was sharing in his we weekly address, although sharing a bit of optimism as well. >> i know that for many of you, this thanksgiving is more difficult than most. but no matter how tough things are, we still give thanks for the chance to determine our own destiny. >> i'm joined by kristen welker who joins us from the white house. obviously, for the first family, they get the holiday to be together. what's on the plates for them today? michelle obama likes to make us eat more healthy around the country. >> they will be having the traditional thanksgiving feast here at the white house, but nutrition is certainly a big theme here for this white house and for the first lady. in fact, one of the top chefs here says they will be eating some produce harvested here in the garden at the white house, so a little bit of healthy

thrown into what will be a pretty large feast here. you mentioned the president's comments. his weekly radio address offering hope to americans. he called on americans to do their part. he said he thinks despite the partisan gridlock, there can be some progress here in washington. obviously, his comments come after that super committee failed to reach a deal on debt reduction, so the president taking a brief respite today and through the rest of the week, you h see him back out on the road pushing for his jobs bill, pushing for congress to cap payroll taxes and to extend unemployment insurance. >> everybody's getting a little break right now, so what's on deck for the president and congress when they come back after this short respite? >> well, president obama will be headed to scranton in fact next week and you will hear him hammering this jobs bill and also pushing congress as you said, to pass the payroll tax

cuts and also unemployment insurance. those are two things that congress is going to have to take up when they're back in session. it's interesting the president is headed to scranton though, thomas. that is of course a key battleground state. he won that state back in 2008, but now his approval numbers are really drop iping there. something we've really seen all over the country due to the economy. so, he will be there in scranton. his first visit as president, pushing for his jobs bill and also really talking about what he's painting at a do nothing congress. so, as you know, he's had some pretty heated rhetoric for congress in the recent weeks that he's been on the road trying to push his jobs bill. we are following developing news out of japan this morning. a strong earthquake measures 6.1 shaking northern japan. now, there is no tsunami alert at this time. no damage or injuries have been reported as well. all right. so we've heard of black friday,

but how about small business saturday? the push to help main street business owners this holiday season. plus, it is a long standing tradition. the macy's thanksgiving day parade. 3.5 million people expected along the parade route. we are with them coming up. [ child ] it's so cool! you can put a force field on him and be invisible! [ child 2 ] i call first player. no. i already called it. [ dad ] nobody's playing anything until after we get our homework done. thank you. hello? test drive's not over yet.

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three adults and three kids were on board a small plane when it crashed in the mountains outside of phoenix. right now, no sign of survivors. the plane broke apart on impact igniting a bunch of small fires. the local sheriff believes it flew to mesa field to pick up the children. if you want to get a jump on

holiday shopping, there is a solution. it is called small business saturday. ads are running nationwide to promote the event itself. this is its second year running. >> i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop. >> at juno baby store. >> sammy's camera. >> make the pledge to shop small. >> on small business saturday. >> gloria larkin joins me live from washington, d.c. she's with women impacting public policy, which is supporting the movement. it's nice to have you with me this morning. explain for everybody who doesn't really know, since it is only in its sophomore year. what is small business saturday? >> it was an initiative developed to help small business in the united states grow. it really has its roots in between black friday and cyber

monday. >> when we talk about the fact that the big box retailers really pulling out the stops this year to get people in the store, how important is it for small business saturday this year to make an impact? again, it's only its second year and needs to make better traction. >> this is a real initiative to help small business grow. in the united states, we talk a lot about small business and how important it is, but this is our chance as individual people and citizens to go out and support our small business in our own communities. right in our own home base. >> when we talk about these mom and pop types of stores, a lot of times, they're usually higher end prices, so what are the small businesses doing to try to compete with the big retailers that provide the bigger discounts? >> small business provides everything and we don't

necessarily need to think about competition with the big box stores because small business very often offers unique products and of course, think of small businesses also as services. you know, the local spas, the barbershops, the nail salons, everything you need cob provided by small business and we don't need to compete head to head. >> it's a more intimate experience and this was created by american express, creating small business saturday last year. they're offering this year, a $25 credit if you use your american express card. are there other incentives though for people who don't have an amex to go support this? >> to go support those businesses owned by your neighbors. the businesses that will keep the money and the jobs and yes, of course, the tax base, right

in your own backyard. it is our chance to reach out and support each other. >> quickly though, for small businesses across the country and for those that want to support it, how can you link up to know which ones are participating in this? >> if you would go to smallbusinesssaturday.com, you'll find information that you'll need in order to support the program and the best thing of all is to think of what are your favorite small businesses in your neighborhood, right in our own backyard, and just reach out to them. you'll see that doing business with them will be not only good for your pocketbook, but also for your neighborhood. >> if people aren't too tired from black friday, they've got the small business saturday to go to. thanks so much. set and ready to go, the giant balloons of the macy's thanksgiving day parade are ready to start parading through

manhattan. what new additions this year? but first, we'd like to thank a moment of our time to thank the men and women serving overseas. i'm here in iraq. i just want to say happy thanksgiving to my wife, lisa, and my kids in kentucky. i love y'all and will see you soon.

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it was like a dream, really. it was like bam. >> it's amazing to watch this over and over again. and he walked away with only a few cuts and bruises. he says his seat belt saved his life. back here at home, wouldn't be thanksgiving without the balloons, bands and santa claus. at this hour, millions of people are lining that parade route. michelle franzen is right there in the thick of it where all thing rs happening. we see the sun is coming up. obviously getting things a little warmer. but we're about an hour from lift off for the balloons, so what is in store for everybody this year? there are some new faces that are going to make the wrap. >> couple of new faces and we can't really show you now. we can give you a back end view of one of the newest balloons. it's sonic the hedgehog. you're looking at the handlers

getting into place. this is one of the newest. sonic the hedgehog. after a design, it's coming back and also, paul frank's julius. you can hear the marching bands sort of warming up here getting ready for the parade. as they get ready for this parade route and you've got hundreds of handlers, as well as volunteers, who have worked year round to make sure this day goes off without a hitch. the parade always mixing in the new trends. there's an application you can download, it gives facts about the parade, as well as local transportation and wi-fi hot spots and some destination places here. 3.5 million people, thomas, expected -- >> we apologize for that.

but michelle was saying that roughly 3.5 million people are expected to line the route. the 85th year. developing new, reports that an egyptian court has wanted the release of the three u.s. students arrested in the cairo clashes this week. we take you live to tahrir square and here at home, holiday travelers are waking up to sunny skies on the east coast. and then back here in new york city, you couldn't ask for better weather for that parade. the rockefeller center tree getting ready for its lighting coming up next week. hi, could you read my list? it's all crossed out... it's 'cause i got everything on it. boom! thank you! [ male announcer ] black friday's here. deals start thursday 10 pm. but we're open all day and night so you don't have to wait outside. the only place to go on black friday. walmart. so you don't have to wait outside. smal l buyou don't have to wait outside. sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday. one purchase. one purchase is all it takes.

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[ gasps ] [ male announcer ] if you're giving an amazing gift, shouldn't it be given in an amazing way? ♪ ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is here, but only for a limited time. see your lexus dealer for exclusive lease offers on the 2012 es 350 and, as a gift from lexus, we'll make your first month's payment. welcome back and now for the all important holiday forecast for you. >> midnight tonight when they're waiting in line at the stores. it's yeah, a lot of people doing a lot of outdoor stuff.

maybe a football game on this thanksgiving day. anyone doing those early morning flights trying to get in right before the turkey hits the table. airports are just great. yesterday, the day before that, we had a lot of delays. everyone should get to their destinations no problem. on the west coast, preparations done. showers heading on to the coastal areas of washington. we're going to see heavy rain late today and a lot of snow. winter storm warnings through the cascades. we're going to pick up about a foot of snow in the mountain passes and seattle, it's going to be a rainy afternoon and evening for you. a heads-up, seattle, another shot of run coming saturday and sunday. also, we've had showers this morning in california. but that's about it. the weather map looking nice. the interior west, middle of the country, no problem. inner mountain west, no problem. temperatures cool, too, only in the 40s and everybody else, it's sun glass weather and it's going

to be great. look how warm it is. 60 degrees up to minneapolis. that's very enjoyable and for the east coast, still a little chilly. this afternoon should be enjoyable. only new england is a little colder than we'd like. windchills in the 30s. the winds are light, the balloons will fly and it should be fantastic. >> 3.5 million on the streets, it's going to be nice -- >> 50 million on tv, too. that's a chunk number! . >> thanks. developing news now from egypt. an egyptian court has ordered the release of three american students arrested during unrest in cairo. yesterday, i had the opportunity to speak to joy sweeney, the mother of derek, one of the students taken into custody. she had the opportunity to speak to her son. was hopeful for his safe release. well, what does this mean

because while the court has ordered this, it doesn't mean they've been freed. >> that's correct. we still don't know exactly at what point in terms of the legal process. the court has ordered them to be freed, but unfortunately, the way this system works, will have to involve some security review. because of the political sensitivity, because they are american, it can be expedited. the question can be as to when that process can begin. there were some reports on egyptian state tv, which is government owned, that the general prosecutor asked them to stay another four days pending security revisions. now, for their part, state controlled media had actually shown these three american students on tv here and it placed a wider political impact with many students here and other activists that have been arrested by the military, which is constantly pointing the finger at foreign elements being

involved in these protests. >> we talk about the fact that the protests have been going on for five to six days. there is this truce, talks of the troops that have been enacted between the military and protesters. this all leading up to the elections that are supposed to take place the beginning of next week. is the army using the elections as an excuse not to seek power? >> well, they're using it as an excuse as the best way forward for this political crisis. they're not saying they're willing to give up power. they've said to the public, we are willing to put this to a referendum and if the public says the military should step down, they're willing to accept that. that cannot physically happen before monday. what they are saying to the public is that elections are the way forward. that if you want a full transition to a civilian government, you have to go to the polls on monday. the question is whether or not people are going to answer that call and the political parties

are divided about that. some are saying, yes, go out to the polls. others say, no, it is not the right time. the security situation does not allow for free an fair elections. >> eamon, thanks so much. truce or not, egypt's revolution will have diplomatic and political reprecussions. david roth is a contributor to foreign policy magazine, also for the carnegie endowment for international peace and he joins me now. when we see what's going on in cairo, in tahrir square, and this is something you've kept an eye on, what is this latest uprising signalling to you? >> it signifies that this is a long-term process and that process that we by sum in the egyptian military, that they could slow walk this and a lot of the unrest and feelings that were expressed earlier would go away just isn't true. the people want change and i think tahrir square will

continue to fill up until the changes in line with the kind of sweeping much more democratic, much more responsive government that they've been seeking all along. >> after five days of this violence, we're technically in a truce or they've come to a truce between the military and protesters. it doesn't mean that the mi military's stance is refusing to step down really implies anything other than trying to get to these elections. but after the elections on monday, how quickly can things turn in terms of turning over from the military to whoever takes control governmentally? >> well, i think it's going take a while. i think the military is trying to go as slow as they can and i think they've misplayed that past week very badly i think allowing the interior ministry and the police to abuse people in the grotesque way that they

have, so i think change is going to happen faster than they wanted, but slower than people in the square wanted. >> when we talk about the elections taking place, who stands to come out on top? is it mainly the muslim brotherhood? >> they're certainly the best organized group in egypt right now. that said, i think there are divisions that may play out and you know, democracy in egypt is a new thing and i think it's going to be years before we see who ends up on top here. we tend to want to start a bow around these stories and say, okay trgs over, we can move on. that's not the case here. this is going to be months and months and probably years and years. >> is this a way to lessen the pain of this birth of democracy? >> well, yeah, i think that the military and i think the interior ministry and police can be more respectful of protesters. they can move along at an

appropriate, faster pace. i think that they can accept the fact that real change is going to come and they can't simply dress up the old ways, which is what they've been trying to do in the past. >> thanks for your time. happy thanksgiving to you. j.k. rowling and sienna miller are among those testifying today amid the sensational hacking scandal there. michelle kosinski joins us from london. they just follow a litany of other people that have been taken to the stand, including other actors. also, we've had maddie mccann's family. . >> and it's not just about phone hacking anymore. what the government did was when this all blew up, it was limited to phone hacking an the news of the world although limited is

not a great term because that scandal is actually huge. but beyond that, the government sort of looking at the press and the police and politicians and how they all felt you know, they might be connected in perpetuating some bad behavior and that's what we're seeing now. it has not been a pretty picture. especially hearing testimony from people like the parents of madeleine mccann. remember the mccanns? their daughter disappeared in portugal in 2007. well, now, they're taking a stand against the way the press covered it. >> lives have been harmed by these stories. and something has to change. >> back then, as time passed with no development in the search for madeleine, the papers started to turn on jerry and kate mccann, screeching headlines like she's dead.

parents car hid a corps. even this one, maddie sold by hard up mccannes. >> it's nothing short of disgusting. >> all, they say, completely false. one day, kate found excerpts from her diary in news of the world. they are not victims of voice mail hacking, but her spokesman believes he was. today, sienna miller tells how her -- >> it was baffling how certain pieces kept coming out. stories still continues to come out with very prooiflt information that only a select group of people knew about. >> even j.k. rowling will appear. she sued for snapping photos of her baby son. some of the testimony has been absolutely jaw dropping and it's tough to imagine yourself on the receiving end of some of this behavior. sienna miller just told the people in the hearing that at

one point, she was at a charity event for sick children and ended up playing with a 6-year-old and she was lying on the floor having fun. well, a newspaper took pictures, cropped the kid out and then said that sienna miller was lying on the floor, drunk, and had embarrassed everybody with her quote, boozey behavior. that newspaper ended up apologizing, but that's the sort of thing we're hearing about now over and over again, thomas. >> michelle, in the wake of the phone hacking scandal and the rest of the information that's come out about practices there, how has this changed, if at all, the blood sport that is the tabloid war in britain? >> over the last couple of year, maybe since the mccanns or since princess diana, there have been changes and as there's been something big and embarrassing and terrible that maybe a tabloid or a couple have caused and some of them admitted it. there have been lawsuits. newspapers have had to apologize on their front pages.

so that does tame things down and just seems like then some other big story would come up. things would explode again. there would be all these crazy headlines, but it looks like now the government wants to really look at how things work and then make some changes and the prime minister has vowed in fact that no stone will be left unturned in this inquiry. >> thank you. the thanksgiving, the gop candidates, well, they may be thankful for the chance to knock down newt gingrich, his immigration comments supporting a road to citizenship for families that have been here most of their lives is creating a big problem, especially in iowa. joe williams joins me now to talk about that. how big of a deal is this going to be going forward with the traditionally conservative caucusgoers in iowa? >> it's interesting. during the debate this past week, newt gingrich said he's prepared to take the heat and that's a good thing because he's going to get plenty of it. immigration has been a hot button issue for many

conservatives for a long time. remember the law in arizona. there's laws on the books in alabama, utah. so, the list goes on and the justice department for the obama administration is suing to stop or roll back some of those laws, so it's become a big fight. it's going to get bigger. iowa is one of those grounds where it takes place because they've got an imbush administration problem as well. >> joe, is this a conversation newt gingrich would rather have in the general than the primary? >> he has always been a bit of a risk taker, so this is not anything new. he admitted to being a bit of a bomb throwing during his first stint in the house of representatives, so this is not a new gamble and it's something he can use to distinguish himself from mitt romney's say, whose been -- who has taken a steady as she go approach and already, you can see gingrich pushing back against the criticism he's getting from the other contenders.

i think for newt gingrich, it's a good strategy. the heat is also going to bring attention, which he can always use to distinguish himself as being the intellectual that he says he is cht. >> we talk about the fact that this may create an opening for mitt romney. but does it always create an opening for herman cain because conservatives are lukewarm to warm up to mitt romney. does this create an opportunity for cain to surge back in the polls to where he was before? >> well, in all these debates, you keep hearing this refrain over and over. the conservative part of the -- the conservative wing of the party is singing send me somebody b to love. mitt romney is not turning them on, if you will. it's going to create opportunities for everyone. it has so far for at least four other contenders, so if the pattern holds, herman cain may get another shot, but his numbers are sliding. he's not doing very well.

following his foreign policy gaffe. and the revelations about his alleged inappropriate behavior in the workplace, so he's got a tougher road to get back to the front of the pack. it will present an opportunity for ron paul. michele bachmann had some strong things to say. remember, the next debate is going to be in arizona, a place where immigration is almost certainly going to be on the table. it's an opportunity for newt gingrich to establish himself as a legitimate front-runner an alternative to mitt romney, but also a longer way to go because immigration is not going to be the hot topic in 2012. >> joe, thanks so much. appreciate it. next, the super committee failed to reach a deal before last night's deadline, but some say there is a silver lining and get your shopping list ready. black friday deals start in just a few hours. what retailers are doing to motivate you to get you in their doors. me risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers

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so, no holiday for the skyrockets $15 trillion national debt. the headline in the "washington post," the super committee might turn out to be a useful failure. guys, happy thanksgiving. get the good stuff out of the way first. if you talk about this being considered a useful failure, before you explain, in political climate we're in, bipartisan ship, how is that really going to be a silver lining sm. >> well, i don't know that i'm actually there. the challenge that we have now is with the super committee, what we saw was the kryptonite, the intransientness we see on capitol hill with the gop leadership. once again, we have the charge with dealing with a minimal amount of money. $1.2 trillion. we saw the democrats willing to put up 475 to $500 billion in

cuts to social security, medicare and medicaid and once again, we saw republicans protecting the biggest tax cuts for rich people in america when people have said clearly they like a balanced approach, which is what the president has put forward. i know that it's a good thing except to say these cuts are going to happen. the president had said directly that the 1.2 trillion will happen. he's not going to veto it. if the bill comes across his desk, seeking to alter it. so my hope is that the congress, especially the republicans in congress, decide they want to give the american people a christmas present this year and give them something they can believe in. >> the co-chair of the president's deficit cutting commission, alan simpson, had this prediction to make. >> the next year will be turmoil. the campaign turmoil, the market

turmoil. the indecision. i think the people who sit it out and don't have the guts, i think those people will be beat in november and that will shape things up a bit. >> robert, do you think it's going to come to that kind of consequence, really translating into another wave election? >> it could be. we saw that in 1994. also to a certain degree in 2002 when the people american said the grover norquists of the world, they are not representative of the mood of the nation. we don't know yet if that's going to be a change election or not. whether next year's going to be a change of election. we're seeing record low unapproval ratings of the congress. 12, 13%. record unapproval lows of the president and of the republican nominees out there. shifting from michele bachmann to you know, mitt romney and so forth. the american people are

frustrated because what they see is nothing but gridlock. what they see a nothing but a firing squad and everyone is to blame. not just republicans, but democrats and independents as well. >> so at the same time, republicans are being told not to compromise on taxes. otherwise, they're going to be primaried by the group. he was on now with alex wagner yesterday. listen to what he had to say. >> if somebody wants to move west and somebody wants to move east, what's the compromise? the two parties are trying to do different things. president obama and the democrats want a larger government to pay for it. republicans are looking to reduce taxes and have a less expensive government. those are talking about moving in different directions, not moving in the same direction at different speeds. so, you're going to have conflict and that's what are elections are for. >> doesn't this make any balanced deal more unlikely? >> the hope is that as we go into this presidential year, as

we continue to have conversations about these big issues, again, the desire of the american people is that our leaders in washington on both ends of 1600 pennsylvania avenue, both ends of pennsylvania avenue, are going to come together to solve the big problems that we have in this country. the president can't do it alone. he's said that clearly, even though the we can't wait initiative is very strong. members of congress can't do it alone. you need both ends of pennsylvania avenue working together and we're right. we're going into this presidential year, this campaign year, but hopefully, we'll be able to part the waters and get this done because right now, the well being of the american people is what is at stake. >> thank you, gentlemen, we appreciate your time. we want to move on to a story we've been talking about. it's developing. live pictures are into us now from the small plane crash just outside of phoenix. three men and three young kids

were on board when the twin engine plane crashed last night. the body of one of the children was recovered. rescue crews say there's no sign of any survivors. a news conference is planned for noon eastern time. we'll be right back after this. , let's go to vegas. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com.

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we know that retailers are offering door busting deals on black friday, but before you head out tonight or tomorrow, make sure your list is made and you want to check it twice because we've got our own list of the best deals, so grab your pencil and paper. the best deals a lot of people are going to be -- >> electronics. flat screen tvs for next to nothing. you've got laptops in that same general price range. blue ray players for $39.99. book readers, so this is one of the more significant promotions as far as electronics go.

this is where you want to go. >> these are all offers come from the big box retailer. you have to get out there and -- >> camp out. >> deal with the crowd. 42-inch tv and best buy, that's going to go. $200. under 200. can't afford not to get that. hold on. >> hold on, i'll be right back. when we talk about toys, a lot of parents want to get good toys. what are the hot ones? >> walmart has $5 barbies and brats dolls, so that's a good thing for parents cht they have board games, too, for under $4. candy land, leap center at toys "r" us. >> haven't they come up with any new games? smurfs. barbies, tonka trucks and candy land. >> there's no must have toy this year, but you're going to see those types of items fly off the shelves. >> clothes? for those of us -- >> you're going to see more

significant discounts on the store brands than name brands, but household items, significantly discounted. everything from small kitchen appliances at $9.99, with rebates are 9.99. zillow has over a thousand special offers on homes. everything for the house, furniture sets and more on sale tomorrow. >> money to be saved across this country. thanks so much. up next, the parade is ready to start. balloons are inflated, the crowds are in place, it is the macy's thanksgiving day parade and many out of work americans are hoping to find a job this holiday season. we'll have the prospects for holiday employment. plus, a high profile arrest brings attention to alabama's tough immigration law. stay with us. hi, could you read my list?

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right now on msnbc, america gives thanks. the balloons flying high in manhattan as millions hit the roads, airports and rails. we're tracking the latest on how it's going to impact your holiday plans. retailers rolling out discounts, but before you shop, don't miss our dos and don'ts to navigating black friday, then in egypt, the fate of three american students arrested during the cairo protests. it's nice to have you with me today. welcome to a special thanksgiving edition of msnbc live. with millions of thanksgiving travelers taking to the roads and skies, what role will weather play? eric, for most, it's going to be a nice day. >> absolutely, thomas. happy thanksgiving to you and to b everybody watching this morning. you couldn't ask for a better

thanksgiving holiday across much of the country. high pressure is your big player here. we have a system out west and that is going to create showers. small area of central and northern california, from san francisco up towards sacramento. that's where we'll find snow. we have a new storm system wrapping up off puget sound and that's going to come ashore. you're going to talk about heavier rain moving in, strong winds as well. on the map, everything in yellow and orange, those are temperatures above average, so it is going to be a mild thanksgiving. 67 in denver. 55, chicago. dallas, 68 degrees. corpus christi, up toward 80. atlanta, 68 and in new york city, great weather, just stunning. it's going to be a great day. now, as we head toward tomorrow morning, a lot of folks trying to do a little shopping. 40s and 30s in the northeast. clear skies. southeast, 40s and 50s. again, mostly clear skies. midwest, mid-40s and we'll see

cloud cover, but no real rainfall. it's the northwest we're watching. if you're traveling sunday, it's here in the ohio valley, northeast and down toward the southeast we could find travel delays. >> thanks so much. have a wonderful holiday. >> new york, we're going to take you outside in the streets of manhattan because one of thanksgivi thanksgiving's most beloved institutions just getting underway here in new york city and michelle franzen is standing by with a front row seat for us. obviously, i don't want to incourage channel flipping, but people can catch this somewhere else, but they do not have the inside track that you have right now at the start of this parade. so fill us in. >> that's right. listen, thomas, countdown. the parade is officially underway here in new york city. a tradition as you mentioned getting underway, so you've got the preview here. behind the scenes, take a look behind me. the balloon handlers. with many of those traditional

balloons that we recognize and also a couple of new ones joining the force this year including sonic the hedgehog as well as julius, that's paul frank's monkey that will be joining in. hundreds of volunteers of course, year round making sure this goes off without a hitch. a beautiful morning here. we have rain and heavy winds yesterday, but the winds are expected to be minimal and that means everything from the balloons to the floats here will have a minimal impact here as they make their way along. this should be a fun, fun day, very festive as everyone gets ready to kick off this day and 3.5 million people expected. you've watched how this place comes alive and we are seeing the crowds here. another 50 million tuning in at home on that alternative channel, but certainly the highlights here, so join the parade. >> a spectacular morning. a lot of people wondering about

whether or not santa claus has been seen yet. do you have any sightings as of yet? >> well, you know, i do know that santa is very good about making an appearance every year, but right now, we're all focused on todd the turkey getting ready to kick off, but santa literally will be bringing up the tail end of tom the turkey today. >> making a cameo, of course. michelle franzen, thanks so much. perfect timing to see the start of the parade. i want to focus on developing news out of egypt where a court has ordered the release of three u.s. students that were arrested for rioting in the country. news that their release comes after five days of clashes that killed 40 other protesters. but despite a truce and apology, the military says it is not stepping down. joining me once again, david roth. when we talk about what's going on and the situation with this truce between the protesters and the military, what do you make

of the military's position right now? is the army using these elections coming up at the beginning of next week as this true excuse not to hand over power to the people and see a democracy be born? >> well, i think they're trying to use it to stabilize things. there are rumors now they are putting together a cabinet that they can put in place beforehand but the names of the people being mentioned for this cabinet don't really represent a big change from the mubarak tradition. they continue along with the mubarak tradition although some are a bit more in the egyptian nationalist vein and that might bode ill for israel and broader peace issues in the region. i think what you take from that is the military is trying to create the perception of change without actually making big changes to the elite structure within egypt and i think that's

a formula for further unrest. >> when you refer to the elite structure, so many of us especially us here in the states that know what it's like to be part of a true and engaging democracy, are watching this unfold and truly, it takes us aback to figure out what is going on in this country. where people have been heard. they got mubarak out of power and now, they're back in tahrir square rioting once again over what's taken place since and in light of the fact that the elections are supposed to happen on monday, how can they lessen the pain of trying to get the country into the true democracy that it obviously so greatly wants and deserves? >> well, you know, i don't know that there's a way to lessen the pain. people have got control of big institutions. people have got control of the big economic engines within the country. they don't want to give it up so easily, so what they'd like to do is they'd like to see slow moves towards a democracy that

perhaps can feature groups that they can influence or control and thus, not really disrupt them. the people in the street, these are the people who have been left out of the money for a long time. they have been left out of the decision making cycle for a long time and really tahrir square and other cities around egypt are their only ballot box, and so they've got to keep pushing there in order to make the kind of uncomfortable move away from the status quo that these elites have been resisting. >> if the elites wear these protesters down, does this mean it doesn't mark a slow movement towards democracy, but toward dictatorship? >> it could happen. you could end up with elite or some group taking over, winning the election, not producing a lot of change further unrest and then that group that is in

charge cracking down on the unrest and usinging that as an excuse to resist further changes towards democracy. it's far, far too early in this process of change to make any predictions about how it's going to ultimately end up. >> appreciate your time. new attacks of the front-runner, newt gingrich, on his comments about immigration at tuesday's debate, he said the gop shouldn't be the party that breaks families apart and we should be humane when enforcing immigration laws, but his challengers are calling it nothing more than amnesty. >> i do not favor an amnesty program of the kind that he seemed to be describing last night. >> joe williams is the white house reporter for politico and joins me now from washington. joe, is this just the start of the attacks on newt over the immigration issue and it's something that the people are trying to dampen the poll

numbers around newt gingrich are going to find traction on? >> they may. mainly because this has been an issue the republican party has struggled with for such a long time. now, newt himself said he does not favor amnesty. he favors a path to citizenship for people who have lived here a while. clean record, family church, people who have established ties to a community and lives basically like republicans want them to. but it's an issue that he himself acknowledged he's going to catch a lot of heat on and he says he's ready for it because boy, is he going to get it. >> but conservatives in iowa only see this buzz word as amnesty congressman, steve king, very powerful republican within iowa said this has probably hurt newt beginnigingrich's chances getting his endorsement prior to iowa caucuses on january 3rd. who does that leave open to take advantage of this? >> it's ironic that steve king is mentioning this as an issue

because iowa itself with a lot of meat packing plants, agriculture, they depend on immigrant labor to get that done. that being said, this creates an opening for more challengers willing to go that far. i don't know if they'll get that much traction because the economy is going to be issue number one going forward, but mitt romney's trying to take advantage of it, to solidify his position as front-runner. michel virtually any of the other ones who want the take advantage of this moment could. the question is whether or not this will be something they can gain traction over. it might happen given the next debate is going to be in arizona. >> is there a way for newt gingrich to better explain his position or frame it? >> he's going to have to. certainly, he tried to nuance his remarks in the spin room after the debate at constitution hall where he said, no, no, no, i'm not favoring blanket amnesty. i just want amnesty for people

who have been living here as legal citizens even without the legal paperwork to prove it. he's also counterattacked mitt romney by suggesting he favors the same thing he does, so newt has some explaining to do. no doubt he's going to be asked to do that at the next debate. >> thanks for your time this morning. >> my pleasure. as the debate over immigration re-enters the 2012 race, we turn our attention to alabama, where a new high pro file arrest has been sounding off. then we're going to fill you in on the terrifying chopper crash in new zealand. but first, a holiday greeting from our troops serving overseas. >> hi, i'm master sergeant liz chloe deployed to southwest asia. i want to send a big happy thanksgiving back home to my friends and family at hill air force base. i love you and will see you

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occupy wall street protesters will be occupying the thanksgiving table today in zuccotti park. a spokesman says local restaurants and supporters are donating enough food for 5,000 people. workers plan to wrap individual plates to be brought into the park. gl gluten free and vegetarian dishes are also going to be offered. with so many out of work these days, many are hoping to find work during the busy holiday season. i'm joined by john challenger. first off, happy holidays to you. >> same to you. happy thanksgiving. >> we're going to hopefully find inspiration to people out there looking for work at a time when there are so many across this

country in need of jobs. are you seeing a lot of places hiring before the holidays, maybe giving hope to people to gep keep them in place? >> we are seeing a lot of hiring. retailers particularly are hiring up this season. we saw 141,000 plus people hired in the month of october. and that was a big year up last year from the recession. november is the strongest hiring month for the retail season. holiday season as well. it's not just retailer. it includes shippers like ups, party givers and restaurants. that's going on now at thanksgiving, so there are a lot of seasonal jobs for people. zpl when you talk about the seasonal work though, a lot would have aspirations to stay within the company that they've just been employed by, so with their foot in the door, what is the best way or the best recommendation to then kick that door wide open to get a full time staffing position? >> well, obviously, you want to

impress the person you're working for with your reliability. your ability to do the job that you're being asked to do and that might be if you're a clerk, you bring in customers and making them happy. if you're in se the credit and collections department in a retail store, doing a good job there. but it's always, you know, about, you know, looking for a job within the company. meeting people and showing them what you can do. we're seeing about 10% of people right now take these jobs as auditions and turn them into full time jobs that last on into the next year. >> that is the goal. thank you, sir. enjoy your holiday. >> thank you. coming up what's next after the super committee's failure? but first, a holiday greeting from our troops over seas. >> hi. i'm master sergeant vicki tick

and i wanted to say happy thanksgiving and i love all of my friends. i'll be home soon. i love you. see you soon. bye. small businesses in austin, texas, are thinking local. mason arnold runs greening, which distributes produce from green gate farms and baked goods from little blue stem. they're championing the buy local movement and helping the local communities. ♪ ♪ let's go ♪ ♪ ♪ come with me, let's go

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well, if it's cleaner and affordable. as long as we keep these safe. there you go. thanks. [announcer:] conocophillips. a fast moving wildfire is burning in reno, nevada. it's charred more than 2500 acres. firefighters say they're rushing to get a handle on it before it spreads into more populated areas. no signs of survivors after a small plane crashed in the mountains 40 miles outside of phoenix. on board, three adults and three children. the kids ranged in ages of 5 to 9. the twin engine plane broke apart on impact igniting a bunch of small fires. the sheriff believes the plane flew from stafford to mesa field to pick the kids up for the holiday. high pro file arrest is

bringing attention to an alabama law. a mercedes benz executive was hauled off to jail because all he had on him was his german i.d. card. jennif jennifer schultz joins me this morning. when we talk about this, especially for mercedes benz being a crown jewel in alabama, the company has been lull on this unfortunate incident. are lawmakers rethinking things now that they've gotten such high pro file attention about what this all means? >> lawmakers in alabama are certainly thinking about the implications of this law and it's a little difficult because the intent of this law to discourage illegal immigrants from staying in alabama and to try to get them to leave and to apprehend them in order to deport them is a very popular notion, so trying to make some

tweaks to this is what people in alabama have been talking about. has been put forward on the congressional level there are a good number of democrats who are supporting the justice department's decision to sue the state and to try to get this overturned, so it's definitely, there are people who are taking into account the consequences that we've seen so far. >> in alabama, the decatur daily ran this op-ed. it said the drafters of this law were target iing a stereo type, not humans. they could not dismistheir stereotypes. the law's uglyness became apparent. i know you said there has been talk from lawmakers, but what does the public say on this issue? >> i'm not from alabama, but i've talked to some immigration experts yesterday. one who was from alabama.

he said the one thing that people in alabama hate more than the federal government being in their business is really just their lives being kind of encroached on. so i know that the alabama people are going to have a lot of tolerance for a lot of these requirements. if it's not a mercedes benz manager, if it were you know, them driving down the street or you know, encounters law enforcement without an i.d., this could just be a pain that people don't want to deal with. even those who don't want illegal immigrants in their state, seems like this could be something that they just don't like because it's difficult. >> and as we're talking about this, this comes at the same time there's another setback for the law. a federal judge has ruled state officials can't use the law to prevent immigrants for renewing

permits for manufactured homes. what is the concern there? >> at the federal level, there is this challenge to the state law and that's really important to note these challenges i think to this law. but i think it's more important to focus on the attention that this is bringing to the greater issue of immigration overhaul at the federal level and the fact that the states are pointing to the federal government and really saying that you have dropped the ball. you have not enacted some sort of blanket immigration overhaul that we can go with as a nation. all of the states, so we're going to have to do this piece by piece. so i think it's really crucial to hone in on the fact that regardless of what happens, to the pieces of the alabama law, that this is really bringing the focus to this greater issue of the fact that there's no consensus in congress.

>> thanks for joining us this morning. appreciate your time. from holiday hiring to shopping, so many deals, so little time. we've got more tips for you on how to get the most bang for your buck on black friday. keep it right here. [ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪

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pickle pickle blue mocking bird pronto! mom's calling an audible. head to bedding. [ male announcer ] black friday's here. deals start thursday 10 pm. more electronics start at midnight. and we're open all day and night so you don't have to wait outside. walmart. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. happy thanksgiving to you. here's a look at some of today's top stories. new sexual abuse allegations now against jerry sandusky. in an e-mail to the media, his lawyer confirms a report in a local newspaper that one of the new allegations is from a member of his family. in that e-mail, he says quote the allegations are unfounded.

kansas city police are shutting down the command post to find baby lisa irwin. investigators say eight detectives on that case. the baby now 1-year-old has been missing since october. and despite a rainy start yesterday, it's expected to be smooth sailing for travelers. so far, no traffic tie ups and only minor delays at airports around the country. thousands of troops this thanksgiving are away from home and their families and one is corporal anthony perez jr. currently serving in afghanistan and who joins me now to talk more about what his service has been like and what it's like to be away from home right now. sir, it's good to have you on with me this morning. i know that you're in afghanistan for thanksgiving. obviously, a tough time to be away from home and your family, but explain what it is like for you now that you've been serving away from home for so many

holidays in iraq. >> well, it feels good serving my country. being able to come out here and do what i do, getting more experience as a marine and my family is definitely very proud of me. so, it is hard spending time away from them, but they're very strong. they keep me going. >> just want to pass along to our viewers, we have a bit of a delay, but there is someone here who wanted to ask you another question, so stand by. >> hey, corporal perez. better known as pops. i'm not sure if you can figure, guess you did figure it out. just here at msnbc and this is a surprise to me. you know, i didn't know anything about it. not even when i got here.

this is new to me. i thought it was just interview, like web cam or something. i'm surprised. i'm surprised and you're looking great, pops. >> so, for everybody watching, this is anthony sr., who is the corporal's father and now, we can turn and face, if you want to turn, you can see your son right there. so, corporal, it's nice to be able to talk to your father. i know that your dad can see you better than you can see him. but explain what it's like to be away from your family during these tough times. obviously, you have a grateful nation supporting you, but what is it like to be away for these h holidays? >> it is tough. but the more i do come out here, the more it grows on me, the more experience i get out here, the more stronger i get. and then the support from my family, it does help a lot.

i do have a lot of support from my family, so it kind of smooth things out. >> so, dad, how is he looking? you got to see him in the summertime. is that correct? that was the last time you were face to face? >> yes, that was the last time. >> and this is a family tradition. you were in the marines as well. how proud of him are you? >> very proud. your mom called me up this morning, she says you're her hero. your young l l jimmy says the same thing. manny, my mother. the good news church in manhattan, the church that i go to. you tell all the marines over there that you're not forgotten. you're not forgotten. you're all in our prayers and don't forget. who lives in our hearts. it's jesus. it's our lord, you know? so, let all the troops know.

let all the troops know that we're praying for them. we're here for them and we don't, not for one minute, have we forgotten about them and we love you guys. we love you this much. >> corporal, how much longer are you going to be away? do you know? >> roughly about a month, month and a half. >> we wish you nothing but the best. have a wonderful thanksgiving. corporal anthony perez jr. and sr. thanks so much for your time this morning and spending part of your thanksgiving holiday with us. please send the best to your family. thank you. so, the pilot who survived that incredible helicopter crash and says that the seat belt within that chopper saved his life. gregg dribble was helping set up a christmas tree on the waterfront in auckland, new zealand.

the rear then snapped and the helicopter went crashing to the ground. >> because it happened so quick, it was like a dream really. it was just like bang and the next thing you know -- >> amazingly, he walked away with only a few cuts and bruises. just about a year from now, we could see the real fallout from the super committee's failure to get the deal done. at least that's the prediction from alan simpson! . >> the next year will be turmoil. it will the campaign turmoil, the market turmoil. it will be indecision. it will be whether they get this off the hook or this tax or this whatever, whatever. people sit it out and don't have the cuts by the aarp and grover norquist, i think those people will be beat in november and that will shake things up a bit. >> joining me now, julian

epstein and joel watkins. juli julian, i'll start with you. before the failure, congress had around 9 to 14% approval ratings. do lawmakers lose their jobs over this? is there going to be a consequence ultimately? >> you'd like to start saying there would be. i think the consequence is going to be on election day. the real issue facing this country is jobs right now. this whole deficit committee, super committee was a helter-skelter operation put together at the last minute with the price president obama paid to get the debt ceiling passed. it failed in part because of the revenues on the table, but it's the wrong way to do deficit reduction. it has to be done in a serious way. it's a long-term thing that's got to be done for entitlements and tax reform.

amongst other things, short-term deficit reduction would have a contractionary effect. >> joe, allen simpson says america is looking for moderates, although that is not what norquist says. >> if somebody wants to move west and somebody wants to move east, what's the compromise? the two parties are finding very different things. president obama and the democrats want a larger government with higher taxes to pay for it. republicans are looking to reduce taxes and have a less expensive government. those are talking about moving in different directions. not moving in the same direction at different speeds. so, you're going to have conflict and that's what elections are for. >> so, do republicans stick with this line in the sand, no tax increases period, or is there a moderate place to be found in the middle? >> he makes a great point and of

course the voters will have the final say because the voters get to vote on election day. and say what they think. but the reality is that republicans like a lot of democrats, want to put americans back to work. we've got 14 million of our friends who are not working who want to provide for their f families and republicans are saying the best way to do that is to be really hard about not raising taxes at a time when you can't afford to raise taxes and stop targeting people who have been successful in society in saying they ought to pay their fair share. if you look at the folks they're talking about, they're people like the woman i know that started a hair salon. she's a single mother. she's become successful. and now, if you raise her tax burden, it would hurt her. it would hurt the amount of people she could employ. she couldn't employ anybody new. republicans are saying let small businesses succeed, give people a chance to spend more of the

money. >> explain why norquist should hold so much sway over our elected leaders on the right? >> i don't know that grover holds so much sway. he stands -- >> primary people on the right. he'll primary people from the right, those that have signed the no new taxes pledge. if they go against it, he'll fine them with his group. >> it's not so much his group. there are a lot of people who share his belief that we shouldn't raise taxes and what he is saying, we will fine people who agree with that perspective because it's really the future of the american economy depends on it. >> so, julian, you agree with that? >> this is not about raising taxes. i think a lot of people including democrats think that now is the wrong time to raise taxes on anybody. the reason that we're in this fix is because republicans insisted on 1.6 trillion in

deficit reduction as a price tag for the debt ceiling legislation. no real serious economists and most democrats don't believe that we need to be doing things that are going to have a contractionare effect. republicans have literally no jobs program right now. the only thing they talk about is cutting government spending. there's no serious economists in this country. that think just to plan on cutting back government spending is going to have an impact. if you look at the impact of the obama stimulus plan, we've seen, we've got from negative economic growth to positive two economic growth in two and a half years. 6,000 in the stock market to 12,000. we've gone from lose iing 800,0 jobs a month to creating about 100,000 a month. what we need to be doing or the government needs to be doing is investing in jobs programs because consumers -- >> senator pat toomey has a program. >> republicans have absolutely

nothing. >> absolutely. >> about the deficits. >> what's your plan other than -- >> all we need is more time. >> that's the plan we need. thank you, gentlemen. quick programming note. coming up this sunday on "meet the press," david gregory talks super committee failure with chuck schumer, plus, grover norquist, he will be there. president of americans for tax reform. people already lining up to get a jump on those black friday sales. take a look at people camping out at best buy in florida. this is late yesterday afternoon. the national retail federation says americans plan to hit black friday sales in droves this year. an estimated 152 million people and retailers will be doing whatever it takes to get you in the door. joining us now is marketing and sales expert, grant cardone. as we're talking about what

these big box retailers are doing, they're opening a lot sooner. toys "r" us, walmart, opening tonight. target, macy's, best buy, they're all opening at midnight. it seems like this gap really begins is shortening. is it a good idea for these stores to get the jump? >> absolutely. and it's working. this is going to be the biggest retail weekend since the lehman's collapse even though jobs are not recovering, it appears the economy's recovering just on retail sales. 45 million people traveling this weekend even though costs are up 15%. you just stated the numbers of people shopping this weekend. when value exceeds price, people let go of their money. when you see a 42-inch plasma at best buy, limited to ten, the deal is so appealing that meem who know they shouldn't be spending money are like, i got to get my tv. >> it's hard to beat that. do you think retailers are offering more incentives to show

up or do you think there are better deals to be found online. ? >> for me, i'm going to do the proper searching and do it online. i just can be the imagine doing the parking, the drive out. competing with 500 other people to get in. i'm going to find that same deal online and call the store or do it online and consummate the deal without me leaving home. >> what about websites like grupon, living social. are they going to find great teals they wouldn't find otherwise? >> my concerns the is that you're not targeting streenlgically the products you want and need. when people shop, they should do this. not a budget first. not what i want first, but what i need specifically. so, if i wear a 40 size suit and i know the two brands that i love, you know, i can't just wait for grupon to send me that. so i want to target that

product. that exact product. the biggest mistake a consumer can make is they'll end up buying things on price only and they didn't need it, possibly didn't want it. it was an impulsive purchase and it might not even fit them or in the lineup of things they needed. >> no buyer's remorse come saturday. thanks, sir. appreciate it. coming up, celebrities confronting their tabloid tor mea meanters. it's a who's who in who's testifying today in the news of the world hacking scandal in britain. back after this. with the capital one venture card we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card.

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and bad breath germs with new scope dualblast. also, try crest complete extra white with scope dualblast. the author of harry potter and sienna miller are testified in wake of the sensational hacking scandal. michelle kosinski joins me to

talk about it. shattering revelations coming out about mad di mccann and her parents. bring us up to date. >> this is not just about phone hacking anymore. the british government has been trying to target press bad behavior in general. saying that things have just gone too far and also, how that touches upon police and politician bad behavior in some cases and the stories we've been hearing about. blaring headlines that don't contain an ounce of truth were outright lies have been jaw dropping. doesn't paint a pretty picture, starting with the testimony from missed toddler's parents, madeleine mccann. remember the mccanns? their little daughter disappeared in 2007. well, now, they're taking a stand against the way the press covered it.

>> lives have been harmed by these stories. and something has to change. >> back then, as time passed with no development in the search for madeleine, the papers started to turn on jerry and kate mccann. screeching headlines like she's dead. parents car hid a corpse. even this one from "the daily star". mad di sold by hard up mccanns. all they say completely false. >> i don't know how many times i read body fluids in the car. gets repeated often, that becomes fact. and we desperately wanted to show it's not true, but when it's your voice against the powerful media. >> one day, kate found excerpts from her diary in the news of the world. >> i felt totally violated. you know, i'd written these words, i at the most desperate

time of my life. >> they were not victims of voice mail hacking, but their spokesman believes he was. families of fallen families of n shoulders and murder victims. they are talking about how her story turned into stories. >> it was baffling how information kept coming out. the first steps i took was to change my mobile number, and stories still continued to come out with private information that only select people knew about. >> even j.k. rowling came out and sued for them snapping pictures of her baby son. and the scandalous behavior of the papers themselves is making the headlines. >> reporter: i think the best example today of how wrong things can get is when see evmi

was playing a 6-year-old, laying on the phone, and the newspaper took pictures and cropped the kid out and said sienna miller was drunk. up next, hot holiday gadgets. we're taking the hottest must have items for the ultimate test drive. we're back live after this. to a patient in time for surgery may seem like a trumped-up hollywood premise. ♪ but if you take away the dramatic score... take away the dizzying 360-degree camera move... [ tires screech ] ...and take away the over-the-top stunt, you're still left with a pretty remarkable tale. but, okay, maybe keep the indulgent supermodel cameo... thank you. [ male announcer ] innovative medical solutions. fedex. solutions that matter.

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black friday means everybody and their mother will be either online or at the mall looking for the best deals for the holidays. today we will give you a sneak peek for some of them. i am joined now with a bevy of products. explain to all of us -- a lot to

cover with the pros and the cons and the kcosts. the kindle? >> this is the amazon's sort of competitor in the tablet space. now what is different with this than the ipad, this is $300 cheaper than the ipad ii. the ipad ii is about $500. >> we talk about the disparity in the difference of the cost. there's greater use from the ipad than you will get than this? >> yeah, the ipad has significantly more features. you have wi-fi and gps, and the kindle, you cannot connect to the internet, and you can only read books.

>> nobody can tell that you are a fan of apple products. we have the ipad ii, and the mac air book, and the iphone. >> yes. the iphone 4s is probably the premier smart phone this season. and there's also other phones that are not available today in the united states, but will be in a couple weeks. three of these products, though, there will not be any striking deals out there on these, are there? >> apple has announced a couple deals for black friday. they have about $50 to $100 off for the ipad ii, but no discounts on the iphone. if you are looking for something

for your kid or teen with something not too violent, the batman game is one of the ones you might like. i am thomas roberts. thank you for joining me today. happy thanksgiving to you all. don't go anywhere, we will have the latest on three american college students who were arrested in egypt, including one student's mother who calls the release the best thanksgiving gift imaginable. this new at&t 4g lte is fast. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present. thanks for the gift basket. you're welcome. you're welcome. did you see hr just sent out new... ...office rules? cause you're currently in violation of 6 of them. oh yeah, baby? ...and 7. did you guys hear that fred is leaving?

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[ male announcer ] when life changes, so can your insurances needs. use travelers free guide to better coverage to stay prepared. is your auto and home insurance keeping up with you? contact your local travelers agent, or call 800-my-coverage. developing right now on msnbc, three american college students arrested in the chaos in cairo are set free. we are live with the latest. we will talk with one of their mothers. plus, new allegations in the penn state sex abuse scandal. another victim comes forward, and this time a family member of jerry sandusky. good morning to you.

i am veronica delacuz. the weather channel's heather tesch, joins us with details on the weather. >> you know, there will be a lot of folks out there, especially this morning. the weather is cooperating in many places. the worst spot here on the map, that will be in the pacific northwest. we have rain, strong winds and snow. the rest of the country, we have lots and lots of sunshine and beautiful conditions here in new york city for the parade. right now we're in the low 40s but we will find the temperatures in the mid-50s with sunshine. and then as we go to tomorrow, only a few doing a little shopping, and in the east, no problems in and around philadelphia, for example, easy to get there. mall of america in minnesota, no

problems getting through here. but do know there will be a few areas of wet weather and montana, a spot of snow. >> not too bad. not too bad. >> not really. over all, a great thanksgiving for so many people, and black friday is not too bad either. >> an estimate 42.5 million americans will be traveling this weekend. it's expected to be the busiest weekend. so what can you expect if you are hitting the road today? the aaa's representative joins us now. happy thanksgiving to you and thank you for spending part of it with us. >> happy thanksgiving to you, too. >> travel is up regardless of the increase in gas prices and airfare. how does it compare to last year? >> airfare is up a full 20% from last year, and while gas prices are up 45 cents from this same day last year, they are down

almost 66 cents from their peak in may. and respondents to the holiday survey, the economy would not impact their plans, and a full 60% of the survey said that. >> and you have tips to remember before getting behind the wheel? >> we do. aaa's advice is to avoid the three deadly ds of driving, drunk driving, and drowsy driving and distracted driving. we all need to designate a driver, and that means alcohol free, and then don't drive drowsy, and if you feel drowsy pull over and take a 20 to 30

minute nap, and take breaks every 100 miles. distracted drive something a problem. we can turn our vehicles into rolling offices, and if you have a passenger, assign them to be your texter and talker and navigator. if you are alone, pull over to the safe location and make the text and phone call and check the map and then get back on the highway. >> important tips. thank you and happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you, too. of course, thanksgiving would not be complete without the music, the clowns and the balloons of macy's thanksgiving day parade. michelle fransen is one of the lucky ones. looks like you are in the midst of it all. >> reporter: yeah, we are at the

start of the parade. they are saying join the parade, and we're watching any of the bands and all the groups representing high schools and universities, and they join the parade group along with the, as you mentioned, the giant balloons that everybody loves to revisit every year. and there are a few new ones to go along with it. sonic, the hedgehog coming back after a new design, and then we have a sneak peek and it looks cute, hundreds of volunteers, of course, working all year round to make sure that this parade goes off without a hitch. you mention millions of people turning out today, and helping that, of course, is the weather. temperatures could not be better. it's sunny, clear, and the winds are minimal, and that means the balloon handlers will have an easier job as they work their

way down the parade. >> happy thanksgiving and it's nice to see you. thanks. and here at home it's important to remember that there are tens of thousands of u.s. troops far from home today. 97,000 troops approximately are in afghanistan and 18,000 in iraq. troops anxious to return home to their families. >> well, happy thanksgiving to you, veronica, from the base at kabul's military airport. this is the main hub of the u.s. mission here, and some 4,000 service members from around the world, including about 1,000 u.s. troops, live and work here. their primary role is to train up the afghan army and police to takeover the fight by the end of 2014, so the u.s. forces can go home for good. today that tempo will slow down a bit so these troops can enjoy what they call the best meal of the year, and that, of course,

is thanksgiving. there is honey roast ham, honey turkey -- roast turkey, i should say, with stuffing, and it was so good i forgot what it was called. and apple pie. and we spoke to a table of scan d sc soldiers. it's a great opportunity to have a great deal. of course, the major question now is how many more thanks giveings will these u.s. and coalition forces be marking here in afghanistan. this is the 11th one since the war began. the short answer is, at least three more, while the afghan soldiers are training up, and quite possibly many more after that, that is for some u.s. troops. we know 10,000 have drawn down

or will drawdown by the year's end, and roughly 70,000 u.s. forces here are supposed to hand over the standard, if you will, to the afghans. that will depend on a number of tangibles, on going negotiations. and of course, the taliban will have a vote in the whole affair. back to you. >> happy thanksgiving to you. coming up, three american students that were arrested are now free. we will talk with one of their mother's next. plus, an emotional homecoming just before thanksgiving. but first, we want to share hollywood greedings from the troops serving in iraq. >> hi, i am stationed in afghanistan. i would like to wish my sisters, mary, jessica, and robin and my

niece a happy thanksgiving back in neptune, new jersey. [ drewhat's the latest in eye couture? new intense shadowblast from covergirl. the news? it's eye shadow with primer built-in so it lasts! rich color that's fadeproof, waterproof, totally ignore-proof! oh yes! with new intense shadowblast eye couture is ready to wear for hours! and here's a tip: to make an even bigger statement wear with lashblast fusion mascara lashblast and new intense shadowblast from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick.

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developing news out of egypt this morning. three u.s. students arrested for rioting in cairo are now free. their release comes after five days of clashes with protesters. and joining us on the phone is the mother of one of the freed students. joy, thank you for spending time with us this morning. >> no problem. thank you for having me. >> when did you find out? >> we found out -- it was officially confirmed. we were getting e-mails from 3:00 this morning until about

5:30, and thunder i spoke with the council. >> what was your reaction when you heard? >> i was astatic. i cannot convey how happy we are. we are elated. oh, my goodness, can't wait to get him home and give him a big hug. i talked to his sister in afghanistan and his brother in france. >> where is he right now? you have been able to speak with him? >> no, we have not spoke with him yet. the latest i heard at the time that i spoke to the counsel general, mr. powers, he was being -- all three boys were being sent to be examined by physicians and then they were going to be transported over to the police department for the final processing paperwork, and from there, they were going to be transferred either the

american college there in cairo, and we were not sure who would get them from the police department back to their dorm rooms, but we were assured they would be taken back to the dorm rooms. as soon as that happens we will be able to hear from them hopefully. and probably at the police station is where they are because the medical examination was supposed to start three hours ago, and i can't imagine they are still examining them but i don't know. >> your son was one of three american students arrested in the middle of the protest, and how did it come about? what is derek studying in cairo? >> he is a junior at georgetown university in washington, d.c. he was majoring in arabic and psychology. because arabic is his major, he wanted to emerge himself in the arabic culture and he wanted to

emerse himself in the culture, and so he was taking to local arabic, and history of the culture, and he was astatic about the opportunity to go over there and learn firsthand, and then, you know, of course, the unrest in the spring -- he planned the trip way before that. >> had he spoke to you about the protest? >> yes, yes, of course. every time something came across the news, we would call and say are you okay? i spoke to him the day before, because a friend of mine said she heard because the elections were coming up, there was added unrest in the region, and she was concerned about him. >> do you know how he got involved in the protests? >> i don't know. all he told me when i spoke to him about 90 seconds on the phone yesterday morning was that they didn't do anything wrong. >> we are happy for the good news on this thanksgiving. we appreciate you spending some

time with us, and good news for you there. thank you so much for spending time with us. >> thank you, and have a wonderful thanksgiving. >> to you and your family as well. >> thank you. despite apologizing for the violence, the military says it's not stepping down. this is happy news for the kids and the families here in the u.s., and we just spoke with joyce sweeney. it comes amidst the back drop of serious strive. >> reporter: yes, there have been five detained. those three american students in addition to those two, there was a writer. quite a bit of uncertainty. the egyptian military

apologizing publicly, but the one thing they have not done yet is say that they are going to step down. what they have promised is to hold parliamentary elections. they are scheduled to be held on time this monday. a lot of people, including some within the government were suspecting the security was not able to hold the elections. >> thank you and be safe. coming up, president obama spending the holiday at the white house. we will have his holiday message next. mitt romney takes aim at newt gingrich. why immigration is becoming this week's top campaign issue. [ male announcer ] tom's discovering that living healthy can be fun.

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aisle 2. good. aisle 8. nice. trick question. walmart doesn't sell your mother. you're ready. [ male announcer ] black friday's here. deals start thursday 10 pm. but we're open all day and night so you don't have to wait outside. the only place to go on black friday. walmart. the past few days have been about giving back for the obama family. the first family visited a washington food bank where they

handed out food and thanksgiving wishes to those that needed it. he is encouraging people to stay optimistic and gave his list of what he is thankful for. >> i am thankful my daughters get to grow up in this great country of ours and i am thankful for the chance to do my part, because together we make tomorrow better than today. >> the president will spend thanksgiving with his family today at the white house. mitt romney is quick to go on the attack with his biggest challenges now, newt gingrich. >> i do not favor an amnesty program of the kind that he seemed to be describing last night. >> and we have a former communications adviser to president obama, and then the

chief at the comcast establishment. let's start with what does it mean for gingrich in iowa? do you think it will hurt him with conservatives? it has been said this will definitely be a problem? >> yeah, seems like it would be a problem. newt gingrich is a republican running in a primary field. you know, veronica, i was on capitol hill with the first immigration debeat with the republican president with george bush in 2005, and what newt gingrich is doing is trying to make himself the general election king between barack obama and himself. he has not won the nomination with him yet. it's a risky strategy. george bush was the first and newt gingrich is the second

republicans to talk about a path to citizenship. kudos to him for talking about it. >> robert, are we really surprised here? hasn't it been his position all along? >> he is a big thinker, and he is hawkish on defense policies. but when it comes to domestic policy, when you look at climate change and his allegiance to a national health care policy, he is good on the domestic issues so it's no surprise. >> what do you think, is that enough time for mitt romney to

and suddenly he is a hawk when it comes to the immigration issue and says we should have no amnesty. once again, mitt is playing a type that and we don't know which mitt will show up come january 3rd. the folks in iowa have a lot of work to do. >> thank you. democrats and republicans had to go around the table and say what they are thankful. here is what politico had to say, democrats are thank forle the spear that killed bin laden,

and for elizabeth warren, and nancy pelosi. and republicans are thankful for the big bucks for the crossroads, and for the solyndra scandal, and finally they are thankful for senator, marco rubio. up next, should you bring a sweater or rain coat? we will check in with the weather, and the latest news from london and on the phone hacking investigation. hello, i am from columbus, georgia. i am deployed in undisclosed locations in southwest asia. i would like to wish my parents a happy thanksgiving, and i wish you and will be home soon. love you. ♪ ♪

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thank you so much for spending part of your thanksgiving with us. there will be more detailed about a fiery plane crash near phoenix. three adults and three children were onboard when the plane slammed into a mountain last night. no sign of any survivors. and then a earthquake in japan. earlier, a 6.0 struck off the coast near the plan the damaged back in march. no tsunami warnings have been posted. and it's expected to be smooth sailing for traveling this thanksgiving morning. so far no traffic tie ups are being reported and we're hearing about minor airport delays. good news. now, with the all-important holiday forecast, bill karins has what we can expect. >> good morning to you, veronica

and a wonderful thanksgiving day to everybody out there. it's overall an unstormy pattern. so far today we have showers running up through the san francisco bay area and up through sacramento and in redding, and it's not a huge ordeal. late in the day, a stronger storm system will come into the pacific northwest, and so later today and into the overnight hours, watch out especially on the coastline of washington state and seattle will get wet again and we will see maybe a foot of snow in the passes. if you are driving on the interstates through the high mountainous terrain, there's a warning for up to a foot of snow. and then seattle, one place that has a less than ideal holiday forecast, it's you. and this is a very rainy period in the pacific northwest. a lot of the rivers are starting to show signs of flooding, too. here is the big picture. you can see the clouds with the storm system, and then the new

one moving on shore up there. here is how your forecast looks. we have clouds and rain from seattle. inner mountain west is doing fine. and the east coast, just an enjoyable beautiful day. i hope everybody has a wonderful day. we will have updates on your forecast throughout the day. back to you. >> thank you, bill karins, and happy thanksgiving. and then many taking the witness stand in the uk today. we're looking at live pictures. it points back to the sensational phone hacking scandal by the now defunct, "news of the world." and michelle, we have been hearing dramatic testimony today, and we were hearing from j.k. rowling now, and i believe sienna miller took the stand earlier. >> reporter: the british

government is not only interested in hearing about voicemale hacking, but just stress in general. these are creative people, people without exception get up there and say i believe strongly, strongly -- i think these people have crossed lines repeatedly. the stories they tell are jaw dropping. j.k. rowling said one time -- she was not expecting fame and it hit her quickly once she published her first book and it took off like wildfire. her first grade daughter came home from school one day, and in her book bag was a letter from a journalist that managed to slip that into her child's book bag, and she needed to move out of her house is how she femt because journalists were living outside her home for long periods of time. and sienna miller told the

craziest story, and she went to a charity event for sick children and got to know one 6-year-old, and they were playing and she was lying on the floor just goofing around with the child, and a tabloid had taken photos of n, and at the time she thought that's nice, it's a fun, cute, moment and the paper in the end cropped out the pictures of the kid, and showed sienna miller lying on the floor and said that she was drunk and that she embarrassed all the guests at the event with her boozy behavior. sienna miller sued the tabloids, and that tabloid had to apologize. >> michelle, thank you. did george clooney witness some bunga bunga from

berlusconi. clooney had been seen at a party hosted by the former pm. the super committee failure costs the of a rinl middle class family $1,000 a year. he is pushing congress to act to enact the payroll tax cut but they have until the end of the year to do it. thank you for joining us. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you, too. >> if republicans don't want to see tax increases, shouldn't this be a no-brainer, the tax cut? >> that's going to be the debate congress will take up over the next month or so. one of the consequences of the super committee's failure, a lot of the tax previsions that might have taken up in a bigger package have to be dealt with one by one. they are open to a payroll tax cut, because, you know, as republican majority leader, eric

cantor said, they don't want to see taxes increased on anybody, and on the other hand, democrats are likely to say, we want the payroll tax cut and we also want to extend employment benefits for people having a hard time finding work. that's where you will find real trouble between democrats and republicans, because republicans have historically not wanted to extend unemployment insurance. >> it's not just the payroll tax cuts. there's a handful of other issues that the super committee didn't get to, like unemployment, and medicare reimbursements for doctors. do you think it will turn into another showdown? do you think that we will see maybe the reverse of cuts to military spending? >> well, every single tax provision that is set to expire in the next year, and there are quite a few defense cuts.

defense has a lot of cuts in congress, and you will see congress might attempt it, but the president already laid down what he intends to do. i think every single tax provision, and every single tax cut, and every single tax reform provision that congress will take up is just going to produce another fight. >> it's going to be interested to see what they can get accomplished. a lot of people are watching. that's for sure. >> thank you so much for your time. >> my pleasure. thank you for having me. coming up on sunday, david

gregory talks the super committee failure with schumer. and that's this sunday on "meet the press," so check your local listings. and the idea of fighting crowds on black friday is not for you, but there are still ways. we have graham jones. thank you for stopping by on your thanksgiving. what are the hot ticket items? >> plasma televisions are still big this year, and tablet computers. you have tablet computers as low as $199. and the ipad, closer to $500. those will be really shown this year. >> and you are saying to use your smart phone to find deals. >> check your computer before you go out. check prices and have an idea. once you get in the store, and the inconvenient situation where the product is sold out, check your phone and make sure that maybe the store down the street might have the same product you

are looking for. shoppers are lured into the stores with the great deals, but once the product is not there, check your phone to see if you can get it down the street. >> well, you might want to stay at home and log on from your home, do it online, right, cyber monday? >> absolutely. black friday is known as the off-line shopping day, and price grabber's biggest day of the year is cyber monday. look to see if you can get the product that you didn't get on monday. >> also, what do you think about the other sites? there are other sites out there like living social and groupon, and will they offer deals? >> absolutely. the coupon format is taking off. coupons is not a new concept, but spend $25 and get $50 in value. shoppers will give these as gifts, so say you are the gift

giver, and spend $25 and give it to somebody that can buy $50 at gap. >> but the problem is, people lose them. >> that's true. you have to -- you have to keep your hands on it, for sure. >> what would you rather have? a coupon or the real deal? >> that's true. that's very true. but it's thoughtful. >> and it's always the thought that counts. >> absolutely. >> happy thanksgiving. >> same to you. you might not know it but malt malls could be tracking you, and they are following cell phone signals. they are not storing personal data and all the personal data obtained will be anonymous. coming up, two new disturbing allegations in the penn state scandal, and both of the accusers are still under 18. once you are done with black friday, get ready for cyber monday.

we'll have more on that, but first a holiday message from our troops overseas. >> my name is sam booker, and i am stationed in afghanistan. i would like to wish all my family in tennessee a happy thanksgiving. see you soon. [ female announcer ] removing facial hair can be irritating. challenge that. new olay smooth finish facial hair removal duo. first a gentle balm. then the removal cream. effective together with less irritation and as gentle as a feather. new olay hair removal duo.

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[ male announcer ] when life changes, so can your insurances needs. use travelers free guide to better coverage to stay prepared. is your auto and home insurance keeping up with you? contact your local travelers agent, or call 800-my-coverage. the pilot that survived the devastating helicopter crash is now speaking out about what a happened. he was helping to set up a christmas tree on the front, and the shaper was descending when the blades got caught in the cabled, and the helicopter crashed to the ground. >> it was like a dream, really. it was just like, bang, and the next thing, i am diving. >> amazingly, he walked away with only a few cuts and bruises. he says his seat belt saved his life. new developments in the sex abuse scandal in penn state.

and in an e-mail to the media sandusky's attorney confirms the report that one of the allegations is from a family member. his client denies the claims. what is the latest on the new allegations? >> reporter: yeah, and the holiday providing no break from the scandal here at penn state. these are two young men under the age of 18, and the allegations came forward after -- again, after the grand jury report in the initial case here. one of the alleged victims is a member of sandusky's family, that according to his own attorney, who as you said, says these are completely false and baseless accusations that they will fight them along with the

others. sandusky facing 40 counts of sex crimes with children. eight identified potential victims in the initial grand jury investigation. it's evidence that they continue to search for answers here and the investigation is still very much active. >> what about the latest on sandusky's charity that he set up in the '70s? what will happen there, jay? >> reporter: obviously the second mile is under a lot of strain. not only through the allegations, but now financially. it's a charity that works through donations and it's going to be tough to move forward. the new leaders have said they are considering several different avenues of how to do that, and one would be folding and dispersing and moving on to other charities, but now one of the accusers has filed an engi e ktion -- injunction, and it's a

new shift that sandusky will face as he moves closer to the hearing. >> thank you. police and volunteers in florida continue their search for michelle parker this thanksgiving. parker, a 33-year-old mother of three went missing a week ago only a few hours after arguing on a televised court show. her ex is not a suspect in her disappearance. get your shopping list ready. online shopping is expected to spike 15% this holiday season. how you can find the best deal without ever stepping foot inside a store. that's next. [ coughs ] what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick. you don't cough, you don't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah!

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well, on this thanksgiving, like many pf, millions of americans will sit down for a

thanksgiving dinner, including the first family. david gregory, moderator of "meet the press," sat down with the chef who also serves as the policies. >> does it pertain to thanksgiving, or is it as much a celebration of historical eating as for most families? >> thanksgiving is about celebration and enjoying food and family and coming together and enjoying the whole process. i think we have fun and enjoy traditional dishes, just like dishes being eaten aum over the country. for us, being in the white house, we just had a great harvest with a bunch of kids from the area, and the first lady, and we will use the produce for the thanksgiving

dinner here, and it's about tradition and togetherness, and celebrating all that we have to be thankful for. >> is there a stand out foot that you like to eat? >> i am a stuffing and gravy kind of guy. >> there's mr. fitness right there. >> it's thanksgiving. we have to enjoy ourselves and blow it out. >> what is the secret to your gravy? >> it's simple, drippings from the turkey and a little flour, and spices and you are good to go. >> what is a house standout? a white house five rut that you have cooked, you were the team that cooked it? >> that's a top secret information. >> that's classified information? >> well, standout? i don't know. what is a standout?

to be honest with you, we just try to cook balanced meals. always had to be a vegetable on the plate. and we just try to keep a balance, and we make sure we have fun. we have kids in the house, and we throw them a bone every once in a while and give them something that is fun. >> do you have late-night snacks? >> they have to fend for themselves. >> can you watch david's entire conversation on the press pass website. find it online at presspass@msnbc.com. if you can't find everything you need on black friday, try looking online on cyber monday. we have our guest here, and steve, first of all, happy thanksgiving to you. >> happy thanksgiving.

>> there are so many online retailers out there. the web is the wild wild west, essentially. where do you start with this? >> i suggest starting on amazon. believe it or not, they already have deals going on right now. you can get a smart phone for a penny if you are a first time buyer. >> is there going to be a difference between online deals on black friday and the deals offered on cyber monday? people keep making a big deal out of cyber monday. >> i mean, they are on rotating deals. a lot of retailers, at&t, they are offering a different deal on the weekend. on friday you will get totally different deals than on monday so you have to check every single day. >> sometimes you have to check every single minute sometimes. seems like the web is constantly changing. >> there will be so many people online, and there are bound to

be scammers out there. how can you protect yourself from all of this. there are lots of people wary about shopping online. >> right. my suggestion is to stick to the big retailers, the ones you know. the best buys and amazons, and that way you know you won't be scammed. >> before you purchase your product, you can look for the little lock in the corner of the url, right? >> yeah, for a secure connection, look at the little lock. >> steve covak. thank you, and happy thanksgiving. >> thank you. families of solders from texas are especially thankful this holiday, because their loved ones made it home unexpectedly just in time for thanksgiving. our affiliate in dallas has more on their emotional reunion. >> reporter: six army reserve

pilots touched down months early. >> she went and sat on santa claus's lap last week and one of the things she asked for was for her daddy to come home. >> go hunting, disneyland, fishing. >> victoria is scrambling to get the thanksgiving feast together. >> this is incredible. my refrigerator is empty. i had nothing planned to thanksgiving, and i was going to friends' and family, and i thought, thank goodness walmart is open because i am going to pick up green beans and a ham. >> and they are flying military missions over iraq. >> we sent him away on fourth of july and now welcoming him home

on thanksgiving. the holidays are becoming more meaningful. >> i want to watch dallas cowboy football, and hangout with the fam. >> an unexpected gift. >> it's all right. i missed you. nbc's kristin welker reporting from the white house. president obama called two from each service. he thanked each of them for their service and sacrifice and wished them and their families a very happy thanksgiving. that's going to do it for this edition of "msnbc live." can send me a tweet and let us know what you are thankful for this weekend. coming up next, "lockup," on msnbc. have a very safe and very happy thanksgiving. [ fema

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