or wish me a happy thanksgiving. i wish you one. have a happy and safe thanksgiving to everyone out there and thanks for watching. good morning, everybody, happy thanksgiving. i'm betty nguyen. today we're following the fall out from ferguson as demonstrators across the country took to the treats for a third night. the international community is reacting to the shock death of australian cricket player two days after he was struck in the head during a match. as americans prepare to gather around the thanksgiving table today the thanksgiving parade is just hours away. i'll speak with the parade's executive producer. but on this thanksgiving morning thousands are struggling to get where they are going for the turkey dinner. all thanks to a nasty nor'easter that began pummelling the eastern seaboard basically along the i-95 corridor from washington to maine. it has dumped for than a

foot-and-a-half of wet, heavy snow on some areas making driving treacherous and crippling air travel. nearly 800 flights were cancelled and at last count nearly 250,000 customers are without power from west virginia to maine. let's get the latest on this from our meteorologist bill karins who is here with what we can expect. please good news. >> people in the airports and almost 250,000 people without power on thanksgiving. that's horrible. hoping you can go over to some friends houses, stay warm and get a good meal. as far as the storm we're almost done. bangor, maine is one of the last cities getting the snow. we did pick up considerable snow last night. a lot of people waking up that have to clean their car off and shovel the walk and get rid of the big slushy mess at the end of the driveway. the big cities did okay from boston down providence, hartford, new york city, the roads are fine. more just a wet snow.

all of the worst of it has definitely shifted up further towards the north. as far as the heaviest snow totals with areas around albany picked up ten inches of snow, binghampton picked up ten inches of snow. further to the south a little bit less except areas in west virginia picked up more. if we can go over to our weather one computer. as far as the impacts went further south, philadelphia and d.c. didn't pick up all that much. they didn't pick up that much in areas around baltimore. here's some of the historic snowfall totals. petersburg, west virginia, 20 inches. and some areas didn't pick up as much like hartford, connecticut. the other story out there i feel bad for the people in minnesota, wisconsin, it is brutally cold. a real chunk of cold air came down, negative 17 wind chills right now all the way down to

des moines even ames is in negative wind chill territory. it's a cold region. thinking of going out there for that afternoon football game with the family i'm not so sure that ball will hurt the fingers when you catch it. 11 in minneapolis, 26 in chicago. snow flurries to the east but not too bad. everybody else that's traveling it looks good from the south to the deep south, south central all the way to the west coast, no problems, just some rain in the northwest. i think the best thing, betty as we took towards the future here, heading towards friday, saturday denver 72, denver 69. by sunday all that warm air makes it across the country. we just had a brutally cold snowy november and start december off nice and toasty. >> that figures. and getting nicer by the time the weekend is over. thanks, bill. we appreciate that. wintry weather may have helped quiet protests last night in ferguson, missouri as a mix of snow and rain fell crowds were much smaller.

two arrests are reported. but in los angeles, authorities say at least 130 people were arrested after demonstrators laid down and blocked streets in downtown l.a. in oakland, california, more than 30 protesters were arrested after some demonstrators started moving through the streets vandalizing property, mainly breaking windows. meanwhile this morning we're learning about an alleged plot to bomb the gateway arch in st. louis and kill the county prosecutor and ferguson police chief. details reported by the "st. louis post-dispatch." amanda, what more can you tell us about this alleged plot? >> reporter: good morning, betty. ferguson police chief tom jackson did speak with ron allen and told him this is not the first threat they received before particularly during the heightened august when unrest was at its height but they are saying -- he did say that he is taking this very seriously, and

they are -- it is the most credible threat they have received. news of this threat comes as we've seen relative calm here in ferguson. last night there were only two arrests. one was for a felony warrant and one was for failure to disperse. compare that to the night before when you had 40 arrests and the night before that some 60 arrests. things are starting to slow down. we're starting to see a slow down in movement. there are a lot of national guardsmen here on watch to provide support. but it appears people are still taking on to the next movement, next stage of this protest. there's a small gathering last night at the local mall here and they were just marching throughout the halls as the shops were starting to close. they want to see people boycotting black friday. as you know this is one of the busiest shopping days of the year and they are saying the only way to get people's attention is really through the power of the purse and so we

should expect more of these demonstrations and some might say hurting local businesses is the last thing they should want to do considering that unemployment is so high particularly for african-american men. but they are saying they want this to be a very nationwide movement and they are hoping they can galvanize what we saw this week into a national boycott. >> we'll be watching. thank you. i want to bring in patricia bynes for ferguson township. she's been a regular presence at the protests in ferguson since this summer. thanks for joining us today. >> good morning. happy thanksgiving. >> few. a much quieter thanksgiving there in ferguson. do you think some of the anger and frustration that erupted into violence in the previous two nights is pretty much quieting down? >> it seems to be quieting down either that or people are preparing for the holiday. i hope that this type of calm, i hope it is steady and i hope this is not just a break to go back to what it was.

>> do you know what protest organizers are planning over the thanksgiving holiday? i mean we heard amanda talk a little bit about boycotting black friday. any other ideas about what may be in the works >> i don't know what's in the works. i'm sure that there are some boycotts planned, but i just want to, you know, make it clear there is a difference between people who are peacefully protesting and those who are choosing to riot. they are not the same. but i support the protests and i'm interested to see what is planned and organized for over this holiday weekend. >> that's a very good point. there's a distinct difference you're right about that. what about the frustration in the african-american commune in ferguson have following the grand jury's decision not to indict officer darren wilson. what efforts are there now address those frustrations? >> i think that right now everybody is just trying to stabilize because some of what we saw i'm not quite sure was that of rioting but seemed to be

arsonists who came to just set things on fire weapons the news of brown's father's church being set on fire. it doesn't seem anybody angry about the non-indictment would have done that. i know there's some investigating going on behind-the-scenes but right now i think everybody is just kind of collecting their thoughts, get with their families and trying to see what the next step forward is either whether it's protesting or even in the community how to come back from this. the first thing we need is to stabilize. >> what about legal effort? what do you see happening with the justice department's investigation of officer wilson and the ferguson, missouri police department? >> we know there's been an ongoing investigation of the ferguson police department and in many meetings i had with the department of justice it takes them a while to go through this entire look at the ferguson police department. we don't want them to rush anything. they are also look at a federal indictment, a federal case

against officer darren wilson, so i don't know how long that will take either, justice moves a lot slowly than most people would like but i don't want anyone to rush. i want a thorough investigation. >> ferguson township democratic committee woman patricia bynes thanks for joining us on this thanksgiving morning. more on the response to the ferguson grand jury's decision a little bit later this hour. we'll talk with missouri state senator whose district includes ferguson. plus, for every executive action there is a republican reaction. next week house leadership plans to respond to the president's immigration announcement. then black friday sales. a small business saturday shopping. cyber deals. new reason to give on tuesday. i'll explain that when we come back after this break.

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>> today i'm taking an action fully within my legal authority. the same kind of action taken by democrats and republican presidents before me. i know some will call this amnesty. but don't worry there's plenty of turkey to go around. >> that was president obama having a little political fun during the annual turkey pardon at the white house yesterday. but republicans are taking opposition to the president's immigration action very seriously. the house gop is planning a closed door meeting tuesday morning as soon as they get back from thanksgiving recess to discuss how to respond. meanwhile politico reports that a tax cut deal was the first major collateral damage from the white house's immigration action. add to that pressure to pick a new secretary of defense, all this amid a high stakes battle to destroy isis, and it's fair to say this president has a lot on his plate this thanksgiving.

nbc's peter alexander joins me now from the white house. peter, the president gets a brief break for thanksgiving but what are his top priorities once he finishes that pumpkin pie, if you will. >> happy thanksgiving to you. for the obama family, for the president himself it's not just turkey and stuffing on his table but other decisions he'll face. on the top of immigration, statistics show nine in ten latinos support the president's decision to defer deportations for up to 5 million illegal immigrants. the real question is what republicans will do. congress returning on monday. ten days after that that the funding bill basically needs to be pass sod we can don't pay for the government. the republican, the gop house strategy appearing they want to avoid a government shutdown, they would fund the government through september of next year, but in terms of immigration enforcement they will pursue that on a more short term basis.

it's a significant effort to balance the constituencies within the republican party, particularly the conservatives that are very upset with the president and his immigration policy going forward. you mentioned the pentagon, the open seat at the table there right now with chuck hagel just leaving, resigning a matter of days ago. over the course of the last several days the names we've been hearing is ashton carter, former under secretary of defense as well as an individual who you are familiar with, jeh johnson from the department of homeland security. top lawyer at the pentagon during the president's first term helped spearhead the don't-ask, don't-tell policy in terms of gays in the military. he's a significant name to keep an eye on. he was very involved in crafting the immigration policy which may be a good thing for the administration but not such a good thing in the eyes of republicans. >> peter alexander, thank you and happy thanksgiving to you as well. let's bring in our political

panel. with us from washington, lee munsell and darrick banks. two big names have already taken themselves off the table for defense nomination. how tough is it going to be to fill this key post? we heard some names just now from peter alexander. >> well, exactly. not necessarily as wide of a field as we had even a couple of days ago, names started to be floated on monday when chuck hagel stepped down and two very quickly shut down rumors they could be considered. at this point as peter alexander mentioned, jeh johnson is a leading contender. he potentially at this point is on the front of the white house's list and at some point he could be the nominee. he did pass the senate fairly easy for the department of homeland security, but this time around especially if immigration

is a factor it may be less easy for him to get through the senate. >> der rick, let me bring you in. not only does the president have to make his pick the nominee has to get through a real grilling led by bone. what is it going to take to get his stamp of approval >> that's quite right, isn't it? because democrats currently hold the senate but come january, they are going to have to pick up at least four, possibly five republican votes, depending on what happens in louisiana. so you're going to have to get a nominee here who republicans are on board with. because you can rely on just democrats any more. so what this is going to mean is at the very least you're going to have confirmation hearings that rehash all of the president's foreign policy agenda. you're going bring in isis. you're going to bring in syria, libya, possibly benghazi, who knows. there's going to be a large -- there's going to be a large

focus on pretty much everything that's going on abroad. >> how important is it that this new pentagon chief really kind of reset the president's foreign policy agenda especially as you mentioned facing challenges from isis to ukraine, iran to afghanistan. >> well, exactly. one of the thing that we know about chuck hagel is his background was in the senate and in making deals on budget decisions and came into the pentagon shortly after sequestration cuts were on the table and about to go into effect. that was his background. right now we're in a completely different national security perspective. right now we're facing threats against isil and others and we'll need someone at this point or the president will want someone who has a bureaucrat ground in dealing with those issues or at least be able to kind of step up to the table and have a voice in those discussions. we've also talked about working with this white house isn't always easy and especially when we're talking about national

security policy, it tends to be insular and has a very close hold on those sorts of decisions and so if someone can come to the pentagon and really have a voice in those discussions they might make more of an impact than chuck hagel did. >> let's talk about immigration because senators like ted cruz have called to oppose all of the president's nominations, the house will meet next week to plot their opposition. where is this headed after the break? >> that's a very good question. one of the biggest things that we got see is what republicans will do. are they going to do just in opposition or are they going to do something affirmative. we've seen some big questions about what the government funding bill might look like. remember by december 11th there's a key decision, how does the government keep the lights on and there's been talk about putting out this thing that is some call a cronnibus.

this is the big buzz word. it basically would be a bill that would fund everything except for immigration and the white house was quick to shoot that idea down. the republicans said they don't want this immigration thing to go unanswered. the big question what will they do at that moment because there's some opposition coming very strongly very quickly. >> all right. politico's lee munsell and derek wallbank. >> a tragic loss in the sports world. an australian cricket player philip hughes died today two days after he was struck on the head by a cricket ball. he never regained consciousness and was in an induced coma after undergoing emergency surgery. the team's doctor said hughes was surrounded by his family and close friends when he passed away. when we come back we're less

than two hours away from the start of this year's macy's thanksgiving day parade. first, forgetting to feed the meter may actually help feed the hungry. one city is using a park being ticket to happy good cause this season. we'll tell you where and explain how it works after the break. you probably know xerox as the company that's all about printing. but did you know we also support hospitals using electronic health records for more than 30 million patients? or that our software helps over 20 million smartphone users

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with xlte in over 400 markets. two: and here's something for families to get excited about. our best pricing ever! get 2 lines with an incredible 10gb of data to share for the low price of $110! or just $140 for a family of 4! and three: get $150 credit for every line you switch. the more you switch, the more you get. verizon. welcome back, everybody. so they can be annoying and they are not cheap, no one likes walking up to their car and finding a ticket on their windshield for parking violation. so one kentucky community decided to turn those pesky fines into a positive opportunity. instead of paying the penalty with money they are accepting food donation which will go to those in need. joining me now is the parking authority executive director gary means. thanks for joining me. happy thanksgiving. this plan is making a lot of

people happy. how exactly does this program work? so if you get a park being ticket how much food do you have to donate >> we're accepting ten cans for every meter violation. >> that's a pretty good deal, wouldn't you say >> sure. you could get away with a $5 for $15 or $30 ticket. >> where does the donated food go? >> we're working with god's pantry a very great program here in central kentucky. >> on the screen we're showing more details about this. what i find interesting it's not just for a current parking ticket if for some reason you decided hey i'll let this one slide, they won't find out and you have these past due tickets, not to worry. this fworks them as well. >> we wanted to make it simple. we wanted to clear their records. >> what's the response been like? >> well it's really been crazy both from the media jumping all over it and just the response,

people carrying in cans. one store, a boyfriend and girlfriend one of them had two citations the others had six they carried in 80 cans. >> i can't believe they had that many citations. what are your goals for this program? how much food do you hope you'll collect? >> we just yesterday loaded up on to the god's pantry r truck about 1,200 cans which is over 1,000 meals they tell me. i would hope we can double that maybe 2,500 cans. we've had the equivalent of 114 citations already taken care of with food. >> that's fantastic. of course you're not asking information go ahead and get new citations for them you're just asking them to donate. gary means thanks for joining us on this thanksgiving. >> thanks for having me. as americans give thnks on this thanksgiving day many across the country are preparing for third annual giving tuesday. it's a day that encourages charitable giving during the holiday season and last year more than 10,000 for profit and

nonprofit groups participated. joining me now is colonel ron. thanks for being with us. >> great to be with you this morning, betty and happy thanksgiving. >> to you as well. i think it's very important to note that msnbc will highlight various organizations supporting giving tuesday next week and salvation army is a sponsor of that. let me ask you how can viewers participate in giving tuesday? >> well, americans want to give. and so it's very important that we have this conversation and we have this conversation after black friday and after small business saturday and after cyber monday. this conversation about the fact that there's still many people in this country who are in need. and so giving tuesday is an opportunity for us to have that conversation. to spotlight really how americans can give. now, of course, starting tomorrow, the day after thanksgiving, we'll have 24,

25,000 red kettles around the country where people can drop money in. but people can also go online to give, they can also -- but they can also give through their time. the salvation army and all the other organizations who are involved in giving tuesday and who are involved in helping people during this holiday season need dedicated volunteers who will come and give an hour or give a day or give a week to help lighten the load during this very, very busy season. >> give what can you. the salvation army has launched a social media campaign with the #redkettlereason. explain how that works. >> it's wonderful idea. people give and there's a reason behind their giving. and we want them to share that. we already have 35,000 posts on our red kettle reason.org and go to that redkettlereason.org and you can read these posts from

celebrity, from football stars, many of the dallas cowboys have posted because the dallas cowboys are a great supporter of the salvation army. ordinary citizens who just say, the salvation army impacted my life and this is my red kettle reason. i have -- excuse me, betty. >> is that the kettle you're looking for? >> no, it's my red kettle reason. >> let's see what is it. >> you can see that? it says red kettle reason because they gave me a place to serve. >> that's a fantastic reason. i love that too because it allows people to inspire others to give on giving tuesday. old kneel we appreciate your time today. thank you so much. >> thank you very much and have a wonderful thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season. >> you too as well. and don't forget giving tuesday takes place this tuesday december 2nd, msnbc is a signature media sponsor. coming up the city of ferguson reacts to the grand jury decision in the case of officer darren wilson. i will speak to a state senator

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try zyrtec-d® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms... so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter. welcome back, everybody. the holiday shopping season kicks off in a few hours and your chances of getting somewhere today look a whole lot better than they did yesterday. that massive winter storm that jammed traffic and snarled roadways is on its way out. while it's leaving behind sunshine it is down right cold outside. the weather channel is live in worcester, massachusetts. this storm really packed a

punch. >> reporter: yeah, it really did. good morning to you, betty. happy thanksgiving. around this time yesterday 17 million people from the mid-atlantic all the way to new england were under a winter storm watch. as you mentioned this made it extremely difficult for people trying to get to their thanksgiving destination, snarling air traffic, 7,000 flights were delayed, more than 4,000 flights were delayed, more than 700 flights were cancelled. these conditions made it extremely difficult to drive if you were heading anywhere in the northeast region. cato dumped record snowfall from eight states as far south as virginia to as far north as new hampshire. here in worcester, massachusetts it broke a snowfall record that was standing for 93 years. 5.3 inches fell in worcester. more of that tough heavy snow that forms into ice that's not fun to play with. really hard to drive and be out here. we were out here last night

because that wind was coming in from the northeast. i want to show you, we're in washington square. sun is up. as you see this clock, the face of the clock that's facing the northeast is completely caked with snow, a lot of pelting sleet and freezing rain fell last night. but the side of the clock that's facing south is completely clean. we talked a lot about if you watched any of the storm coverage that dividing line being the 95 corridor, anything east of that you'll see rain, west of that you'll see that snow mix and heavy snow and that played out here in massachusetts. boston the national weather service recorded just under two inches of rain. out in the berkshires we saw over a foot. what's unfortunate a lot of people are waking up without power, a quarter of a million people across 22 states. here in massachusetts, 24,000 without power on this thanksgiving day. >> that's no good. lots of turkeys waiting to get in the oven.

thank you for that report. so if you do head to the stores later it's not just shoppers there with you, the group our walmart will once again be protesting at some 1600 walmart locations. they want the retail giant to improve labor standards such as providing employees with more full time work and wages of at least $25,000 a year. now walmart is, of course, just one of many stores choosing to open today on the thanksgiving holiday and joining me now is a former employee in denver who will be taking part in black friday protests. thanks for joining us today. >> thank you for having me. >> i know you were with us pretty much one year ago today. what kind of progress has been made since then? >> we've made a lot of progress. we have gotten walmart to update their pregnancy policy to accommodate pregnant women, and

we have gained the redeserved schedule eulogy practices so part time workers can pick up extra hours so they can get a bigger paycheck. and we've been winning safety issues fights on a store to store basis across america. >> so it's making a difference. >> it is. >> we did reach out to walmart and i want to read you part of the statement that they sent to us. we'll put it up on the screen as well. it says barbara is another example of these opportunities we offer walmart. she started as a part time associate and was able to move to full time and now earns nearly $12.50 an hour. like the rest of our associates she has access to quarterly ily races. that's walmart's statement. directly speak towing what is your reaction to that? >> first of all, my reaction to

that is i make 10 340i7 an hour, $2 an hour shift differential. if i were to transfer back to day shift i have to work overnights to get 12 340i7. my base pay is 10 month'7" an hour. our bonuses is -- well, for example, i get a $60 bonus this quarter. and last quarter they took away our bonus. so the opportunity for bonuses for employees that is not very big plus. >> which is part of the reason demonstrations are taking place today. >> exactly. this is on top of my employer makes $16 billion annually and they take away employee bonuses. and they can afford to give them. >> so, you'll be taking part in these protests. we appreciate your time today. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> demonstrations do continue

and in fact they did last night across the country following monday's grand jury decision in the case of officer darren wilson. now the community of ferguson begins to heal. missouri state senator joins me next. now that the elections are finally over, it's time to get to work fixing our long-term national debt to help build a stronger economy. with a solid fiscal foundation, we can create more jobs, invest more in innovation and infrastructure, and make america more competitive, giving our kids a better future. a bipartisan solution to our long-term debt means more growth today, more opportunity tomorrow. and the time to start is now.

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chappelle-nadal whose district includes ferguson. thanks for being with us today. >> thank you so much, betty and happy thanksgiving to you and your audience. >> thank you. happy thanksgiving to you as well. as we enter this the third day since the announcement of no indictment what are you hearing from your constituents? >> they are not going to stop protesting. i have been talking to all of the people who have been on the ground, who are peaceful protesters and they are going to continue protesting. they are very well organized, and they are completely unpredictable which is lovely as a strategy. but i want to maintain the fact that understanding this issue is simply not going to happen by having military enforcement, law enforcement that is treating my constituency very badly in the last couple of days, in fact. my constituents have told me that they have been called out of their names, one of my constituents, in fact, my intern

had a gun to her head last night and that was reported on the ed show last night. there's still some problems we have between police officers and peaceful protesters. i will tell you we'll continue to protest peacefully until there are changes made systematically throughout the country. >> we've seen some protests turn to looting and violence in cities throughout dunn. is the original message of the protests and the memory of michael brown still in the forefront in your eyes? >> it absolutely is. i have to tell you, any violence, any looting is simply not going to be supported. we want to maintain peaceful protests, it's important to remember the memory of martin luther king, jr. who believed in nonviolence. but we must get a message across to the nation that we'll not accept police brutality any longer and disrespecting young

people is simply unacceptable. >> well, there's not going to be a criminal trial, federal civil rights charges. they look pretty unlikely at this point. so what then? what do you want to come from all of this? >> well, one, the gift. i have to tell you on thanksgiving we must be thankful to michael brown for raising awareness. he has changed the mindset of people living in ferguson, living in missouri and throughout the country. the gift that he has given, that we should be thankful for is that we're now awakened and we'll no longer tolerate police brutality and disrespect, and we will not accept people targeting us, you know, across the nation. the rank-and-file in our country they have ignored us and we're not going tolerate it any longer. we want equality. we want to be treated fairly as human beings. >> you want your voices heard. thank you senator maria chappelle-nadal on this thanksgiving morning.

well cleveland police have released surveillance video from the day a young boy was fatally shot by an officer in a city park. look that. the video of a 12-year-old waving a plastic gun pinting it at people last saturday. police say officers responding to a 911 call were not told the caller suggested the gun of not real. police add as the officers arrived the boy was told three times to show his hands. one and a half to two seconds later a first year officer arrived. rice's family said quote it's our belief this situation could have been avoided. the video shows one thing distinctly the police officers reacted quickly. protesters in cleveland are demanding charges be filed against the officers involved. they are now on administrative leave. the floats, they are ready. the clowns they are in place and the ambulance are all set. we get a live report from the macy's thanksgiving day parade right after this. you owned your car for four years.

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all right, you fired up? we are just one hour away from the start of the 88th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. more than 8,000 participants, millions more are expected to turn out, despite yesterday's wintry weather that slammed the northeast. joining me now is nbc's chris pallone. what's the latest out there? >> happy thanksgiving to you. we're certainly getting ready for the parade here. there's been a lot of activity over the last hour or so. take a look behind me at what's going on. i think you can see, that's right, thomas the train engine

is up in the air. that's the first balloon to rise this morning. 1 of 16 character balloons that will be going down 6th avenue towards ma s macy's and herald e this morning. we're told 3 million people will come out to watch the parade in new york. down in front, you've got some clowns. there are supposed to be about 1,000 clowns in the parade today. and 12 marching bands. 1,300 cheerleaders and dance team members. all kinds of other attractions. 27 floats will be here in the parade. it's a tradition unlike any other here in new york and the united states. the 8th parade. the 88th parade. it started in 1924. it started way up on 105th

street and marched to herald square. now the parade route is a big shorter. back in the first parade, there were all kinds of farm animals marched down the streets of new york. now we have floating balloons and all kinds of attractions as the parade marches down 6th avenue today. it should be a good time. the sun is coming up. it should be a great day here for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> i think i would have liked to see those farm animals actually. i sat down with the woman behind all of this, amy shul. i began by asking her about what's new for the parade's 88th year. >> weem got six brand-new giant balloons joining the freshman class of the balloon family for the parade. the balloons really tell a great story this year. 3 out of the 6 balloons have never been part of the parade before. the first balloon you're going to see in today's parade is

thomas the tank engine and that's a really gorgeous balloon. >> there are also some of the all-time favorites. will we see some of them be brought back this year? >> absolutely. it wouldn't be a par rade witho snoopy. we've got a brand-new pock ay a. >> the parade features some special performers riding on these floats. who should we look forward to this year? >> one of the greatest things about the parade is the type of talent we have. we've got everybody from somebody like becky g to renee fleming. this year, we've got kiss in the parade. >> is kiss going to be all dressed up? >> they absolutely are. they're going to show up in all their makeup. >> i love it. how do you choose who gets to be in the parade?

>> i'd like to say that i choose, but it's really the american public that voices their opinion every year of who belongs up in the air. in order to join the balloon family in the sky, you've got to be an immediately recognizable character. maybe in the advertising hall of fame, a brand-new video game character that we know instinctively is going to take off. you've got to earn your ride up in the sky. >> absolutely. those marching bands always, they set things on fire. you can hear them before you even see them. which ones are going to be anticipating this year? >> all those kids that come in, some of these bands are 600 members strong. sometimes this is the first time they're ever in new york. they find themselves, you know, with the tuba or drums attached to their body. they're marching down streets of new york and everybody's looking at them in awe. simultaneously, they're looking around and taking in new york

city for the first time. these kids, this is a lifelong memory for them. >> what is your favorite part of this parade? you've been doing this for a little while. >> this is going to be my 119th parade. there are really special moments that i have personally. there's a moment before the parade even starts, before things start arriving on the upper west side, when the balloons are fully inflated and they're swaying under their nets. all the floats have been towed in from new jersey and put together. around 5:00, it's still dark outside. and then everything started to gather. it's the quiet before the storm i'd say. but there's nothing like marching down the streets of new york. and then seeing the look on all the kid's face. and those are kids young and

old. it's the litmus test. we know everybody has done an extraordinary job. when you look at the fans and they're all smiling and cheering. >> it's going to be a good time. you can watch the macy's thanksgiving day parade on nbc this morning. craig melvin picks up our coverage after this short break. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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we have the speed. we have the technology. and we have the team. we made over 15 billion successful deliveries last year. 15 billion! football has a season. baseball has a season. this is our season. good morning and happy thanksgiving. for a third night, demonstrators across this country took to streets following the grand jury decision in ferguson. we'll look at how the protests seem to be changing a bit. also, the short list to replace chuck hagel, how could it change america's military strategy? later here, how to avoid a thanksgiving crisis in the kitchen. an expert from the butter ball

turkey line with some last minute turkey tips. we start with thousands struggling this morning to get where they are going for turkey day dinner. that's thanks to some nasty nor'easter. basically along the heavily traveled i-95 corridor from washington to maine. it has dumped more than a foot and a half of heavy wet snow in some area, crippling air travel as well. at last count, nearly 250,000 customers don't have power from west virginia to maine. msnbc's meteorologist bill karins is standing by here. what's the word, bill? >> improvement, dramatic improvement. everyone's stuck at the airports, trying to get where they're going. i'm sure everyone has huge to do lists. i'll tell you what, the first thing you have to do is shovel out in the northeast. the higher terrain of central

and nor portions of new england. we did okay in the coastal areas. from al ben to binghamton. there's a lot of people shoveling a very heavy wet dense snow. we call it heart attack snow. we certainly hope none of that happens. west virginia came on top. as far as the bigger cities, pitsfield, mass. albany. we got 3 inches around the hart frt area. some sleet in the middle of the storm. we say good-bye to this storm. for the macy's parade in new york, it's not too bad. the worst weather out there, by far, is a cold blast for the northern plains. yesterday was a brutally cold day in areas of north dakota. now that it's shifting into minnesota, windchills now, negative 14 and negative 17. the kind of stuff you show up and you run inside as fast as

you can. one thing that's interesting, we turn the page and we are going to warm it up. 66 today on thanksgiving. that's a gorgeous forecast. then as we go into black friday, into saturday, we're going to jump up into the 70s. craig, we've got some really nice stuff coming. for all those people who suffered through a brutally cold november, i think everyone's going to like the start of december. >> we want to get the latest now on air travel as well after hundreds of flights were canceled. thousands more were delayed. nbc's stephanie gosk. >> this week is always a story of extremes when it comes to travel. wednesday is one of thebecause e est, busiest days of the year.

today in la guardia, busier than it normally is because of the cancellation, yesterday. the story yesterday was also the weather. it just wreaked havoc across the northeast. one of the most populated and busiest areas of the country. there were hundreds of flights canceled. more than 700. thousands of them were delayed. there was also the story of traffic on the road because of that weather. things completely clogged along the i-95 corridor. and there were more cars on the road. aaa says because of the combining gas prices, there were actually more people out there. those people who gave up or had flights canceled are now stuck with trying to get home or get to wherever they're headed to spend time to make it in time for that big meal. >> wintry weather may have helped quiet protests last night

in ferguson, missouri. as a mix of snow and rain fell. crowds were much smaller than the previous two nights. just two arrests were reported as well. meanwhile, in los angeles, authorities say at least 130 people were arrested after demonstrators laid down and block streets in downtown last. and in oakland, more than 30 protesters were arrested after demonstrators started moving through the streets, vandalizing properties, mainly breaking windows. we're learning more about an alleged plot to bomb the gateway arch in st. louis and to kill the county prosecutor and ferguson police chief. it's all been detailed by the st. louis post dispatch. amanda, let's start there, what more can you tell us about the alleged plot? >> good morning, craig. we know the police chief has been made aware of this alleged plot against his life and he knows few details.

but he did tell nbc news this isn't the first plot he's heard of or first threat against his life, particularly from august, when there was so much turmoil, but he is taking it very seriously. they do believe it is incredible. news of this comes after a night of relative calm in ferguson. the community is rebuilding after such a long week. there are only two arrested last night. things are starting to slow down. but the fact that these events, that this grand jury decision came on this thanksgiving week, makes it a very difficult situation for the family and the community here. now, they have major buildings and charges and businesses that were burnt down. last night, michael brown's mother, lesley mcfadden, gave an emotional interview with the reverend al sharpton, saying she doesn't think she'll be celebrating this thanksgiving. today to her isn't thanksgiving, it's just thursday. michael brown sr. was out, handing out turkeys with his

community last week, in the lead-up to thanksgiving. this is really a bittersweet time for the community here. as they're gathering together. and families are also mourning what's no longer here. >> in ferguson, missouri, thank you. i want to bring in montega simmons, of the coalition organization hands up united. much quieter there in ferguson last night. do you think that some of the anger, some of the frustration that erupted into violent protests the previous two nights, do you think some of that has started to wane a bit? >> i don't know if i'd classify it that way. there's been a lot of rage. a lot of grief. we still see it manifesting. even though we didn't see much activity in the streets, there were actually people in the malls. we organized nonviolent direct action. did a lot of training. some of those folks are

self-organized. some people are hitting other targets. as you mentioned before, it's actually hidden in other cities around the country still so i don't think the grief is worked out yet. >> what's planned over the holiday weekend in terms of protests? >> i know people are actually self-organizing. one group definitely in ferguson. there are folks sitting up their own thanksgiving dinners. they're including places for those lives lost. they're inviting others at their own thanksgiving tables to leave plates, leave places for the lives lost like mike brown, like eric gardner. we know people need time with their families. but we also at the same time recognize there needs to be space for this to be part of the conversation with their families. >> one of the things that struck me when i was down there is there seems to be a bit of a chasm. i think the chasm's probably been there since the shooting

death. this kascas chasm between organs like yours and folks who show up at 11:00 at night looking to cause trouble and steal stuff. and i was on the front lines at the ferguson police department a few nights ago. you had this woman who was clearly there to try and honor the life and legacy of michael brown. and try and use some of this for good. shouting down some folks who had shown up clearly to cause trouble. and the peaceful protesters won the night. is that a chasm that continues to widen? >> i wouldn't say that's a chasm that continues to widen. in this case, i think it's a reality of how the community feels. my organization, the organization for black struggle, has been organized for 35 years around this. this is something that didn't just start that night but this moment has created a flash point for grief. remember, we're talking about a community that's lost a child.

we're talking about, in this case, an officer that left the child in the street -- >> but we're also talking about a community that is very much reliant upon small business, mom and pop businesses. it would seem to me that some of the folks down there, be folks like your organization, you seem to get that. but there are other folks who don't seem to understand that robbing and vandalizing a beauty supply shop or a mobile store that provides jobs to those in that neighborhood, that that's counterproductive. >> this is the thing, what is the right reaction? i mean, let's be honest. you're right, we're organizing for specific kind of response and nonviolent direct action. but what is the right reaction -- >> that's a good question. the community is in grief. we have to be honest -- >> we can all agree.

>> your organization is -- you don't promote that. the way that people's grief is being dealt with in the street. they're dealing with trauma. not just day one but every day since that. when they're engaged in the same way, with the same violence, the same militarized armament, it's exacerbating a level of trauma. we don't want to judge them without giving them an opportunity to treat this. while we're organizing like you said, nonviolent direct action, we want to be clear, what we're doing, why we're doing it, why they hit malls, why they're targeting elected officials. at the same time, you've got a community that's in grief. >> elected officials. many of whom, by the way, had been noticeably absent over the last few days.

and that is something that has not been talked about a great deal. hands up united co-founder monning at tmon ing at t montega simmons. we'll have more on the fallout from the grand jury decision later this hour. one of the organizers of the coalition justice for michael brown will join us. and the weather pummeling the east coast now. two pending cabinet appointments for the obama administration. is the white house expecting a smooth confirmation process? we will get a live report from d.c. after the break. as we head to the break, a live look outside of rockefeller plaza. the tree is ready. there are folks starting to fill the streets for the big parade as well. your fidelity green line and you'll see just how much it has to offer, especially if you're thinking of moving an old 401(k) to a fidelity ira. it gives you a wide range of investment options... and the free help you need

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the british foreign officer confirmed one british national has been killed in an attack on the embassy convoy in the afghan capital of kabul today. afghanistan officials say a suicide bomb targeted the convoy, killing five and wounding othewound ing dozens. ongoing violence in afghanistan. part of the immense challenges to be faced by the next secretary of defense. president obama is mulling his pick to replace chuck hagel. this week, leading contender, michele flournoy, took her name out of contention. subject to much speculation. nbc's peter alexander joins us now from the white house. pete, always good to see you, sir. chuck hagel brought in to lead the drawdown from afghanistan. that mission has been quietly extended, in part, to confront the taliban. how different is the job description from the one held by

hagel? >> chuck hagel of course brought in as the secretary of defense in hopes he could help be a part of that drawdown process. the cuts to the dod's funding, all critical efforts over the past couple of years. the situation has changed dramatically for this white house, for this administration right now, given the circumstances with syria in isis, in iraq, where at least 3,000 american troops are presently serving as advisers. the new role, which will be the fourth in six years under president obama's administration, will obviously be focused on a ramping up, which is exactly what this administration didn't anticipate it would be in a position of several years ago. >> nbc's peter alexander for us this morning from 1600 pennsylvania, happy turkey day, my friend, good to see you. let me bring in republican strategist joe watkins. democratic strategist danielle gibbs ledger joining us from washington, d.c. this morning. joe, good to see you, sir.

>> good to see you, craig. >> even a charitable reading puts relations between the president and republicans in congress at a low point. is the gop going to put up a fight to just about anyone that president obama picks to lead the pentagon? >> i don't think that happens. i think the gop, like other americans, want to see a good strong u.s. defense secretary in place. and the hope is that the president can choose somebody who can work closely with him and his team. he's got a number of people that can do that, of course. maybe jay johnson. he's got debra james. ashton carter. a number of folks in place that can do that. it's got to be somebody who can work closely with the president and advise the president. >> danielle who would you like to see? >> i don't have a preference. i'm going to agree with joe. happy thanksgiving to both of you. i think there's some great names mentioned already. i'm not quite as optimistic, if the president puts up somebody like an ash carter or jay johnson, that republicans in the

senate still won't find a way to make it a more difficult confirmation hearing than it should be. i think there's some good qualified people out there who can take this position on. >> the immigration action, part of what has stoked the ire of the gop. the president using his weekly address to celebrate american diversity this thanksgiving. let's listen. >> we all share this day united by the gratitude for the bounty of this nation. and we welcome the contributions of all people, no matter their origin or color or beliefs, who call america home. and who enrich the life of our nation. >> danielle, how successful has president obama been so far in selling his executive action on immigration to the public? >> i think he's been pretty successful. i think there's still some more work that needs to be done. i think the american people understand, if you look at polling, they supported a comprehensive immigration plan.

there was one that was passed, huge bipartisan manner in the senate. the house refused to take up the bill. in the face of inaction, the president did what he could do within his legal authority to focus on felons and not focus on disrupting families. he took an action that bipartisan group of presidents have done before. and this thanksgiving i think it is time to reflect and remember that we are a nation of immigrants. so, again, i think the president will continue to explain to the american people why what he did is important. how it benefits the american people as a whole. again, this doesn't supplant congress doing their job. they still need to pass a comprehensive immigration bill to fix the system. >> danielle raises a good point. this idea that president obama's executive action does mirror what we have seen from previous preside presidents. why do you think he's caught so much flack?

>> i think republicans wanted a chance, after regaining the house and the senate, wanted to have a chance to work with the senate. a lot of republicans wanted to work with democrats to forge a comprehensive immigration legislation. >> republicans have had several years, especially republicans in the lower chamber who refused to vote. >> they had 18 months. >> at the same time, the lower chamber having a chance to work with the upper chamber. really looking forward to having a chance to get something with the president. a chance of working with congress to get something done for people. it's important to get immigration legislation into law. enacted. republicans want to see it as much as democrats do. >> i don't believe that. i don't believe that, i'm sorry. they are -- john boehner would have put the bill on the floor. if they really did, john boehner would have put the extremely

bipartisan bill. nothing passings without that huge of a majority in the senate. he should have put that bill to a vote. >> he would have liked to have had a chance now working in hand with the republican senate to get something done. well, the republicans just got elected. >> being in the majority, you mean, he would like -- >> being in the majority. >> in the upper chamber. >> it's a great thing these republicans and democrats work together. >> it's thanksgiving, so let's end it there. >> yes. >> joe watkins, danielle gibbs ledger, thank you. coming up, are you looking to snag a deal at the mall this weekend? we're going to break out all the black friday sales for you. first, the east coast still digging out from yesterday's nasty storm on one of the busiest travel days of the year. price line's chief travel expert is going to join us with some tips to avoid a holiday travel nightmare. how could a luminous protein in jellyfish,

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it is getting close to turkey time. many americans are still trying to get home for thanksgiving after wintry weather canceled thousands of flights and delays hundreds more. the most in seven years. so, is there anything that we can do to avoid the crush? i would say absolutely not, but i'm not the expert. sonya gill is. a travel expert. also a blogger. let's start with these backlogs this morning at various airports across the country. how long do we expect the backlog will take to clear up? >> it's going to take a couple hours. >> wow. a couple hours? >> but people who had flights delayed or canceled yesterday should be able to get out today at some point. >> yes, everything's expected. everyone's expected to get to their destination. >> when it comes to the best time to travel if you want to avoid the crowds like i saw yesterday when i was trying to get back, when is the best time?

>> unfortunately, the earlier, the better. you got to get there early and make it happen. well, i mean, it depends, right. if you're flying or if you're driving. if you're driving, you want to get in your car right now and make it happen and relax. >> and relax. >> and be prepared and download a couple of apps that are going to help you on the way. >> are there apps out there the we should know about? >> yes, listen up, download an app called waez. it will give you a map, direction, real-time information about roads and traffic. as you're driving, it will alert you. if there's an accident ahead, if there's a traffic light not working. >> and it's free. >> and it's free. if you need to reroute, you can do so and avoid unnecessary hassle. >> is there another one out there? is that the best one? >> that's the best one for driving for sure.

today, i would 100% have it handy. make sure you device is charged so you can hear those alerts. a second one i'm going to recommend is something that people would not think about, but the best traveler is always the most prepared traveler. >> of course. >> yes. so the priceline.com app. and the reason you're going to want this is because if you have a layover, let's say you have a layover and your next flight is canceled. so you're going to want to have it handy to either, a, if your destination is drivable, i would say -- >> get in the car and go. >> get in the car. you're going to get a great price. maybe you're going to make it a little late to grandma's house but you're going to earn that badge, flaunt it in front of family for years to come. >> look what i did to get here! i don't know why that voice came to mind. this is probably more looking ahead to christmas. if you're trying to save money on flights or a hotel, what can

you do? >> i'm going to go with price line. they have the greatest discounts out there. >> and that's also your employer too, isn't it? >> yes, i'm a little biased. but i do find incredible deals in it so absolutely. >> sonya gill from priceline.com, thank you so much. happy thanksgiving. >> same to you. coming up, the black friday creep. some shoppers already getting deals today. for those of you ready to venture out and who don't want to spend time with your families eating and watching football, we're going to update the holiday forecast. we'll tell you which stories are open for business today. we'd also like to know what you are thankful for this thanksgiving day. there's #whyimthankful. we'll share those throughout the morn. keep 'em clean. ♪

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and cancellations. many stores are continuing a new tradition of opening on thanksgiving. there they are right there. some are doing it earlier than ever. what can you expect on your way to the mall? good to see you. it looks like -- it looks pretty nice. much different scene than yesterday, no? >> yeah, that's right, good morning, craig. happy thanksgiving. this is very much a different scene from what we saw yesterday which is a lot of freezing pelting sleet and rain. anyone trying to get anywhere along the eastern seaboard on thanksgiving eve just was met with a very messy commute. over 4,700 flights delayed. a cluster of airports from dulles to logan. more than 700 flights canceled. here in wooster, they wreckbrok record that stood for 90 years. they're trying to clear the

sidewalks here. trying to dig out from this heavy wet snow that piled up here in washington square, union square. they suggested throwing some snowballs at me but that would be very cruel, guys. this snow is rock hard, icy. it made for travel woes as people tried to get across the region. at one point, the massachusetts turnpike was down to 40 miles per hour. the massachusetts state police reported a number of spinouts and accidents. but now that that winter storm system is up in maine, cold air is setting in. a lot of people without power here in massachusetts on this thanksgiving day, craig. >> for the weather channel in worcester, massachusetts, happy thanksgiving, thank you. if you are venturing out, you want to shop smart. with me now, consumer expert regina lewis, host of money quick tips. also a contributor to "usa

today." we want to make this as easy as possible. you've got some tips. your first tip is to determine a pay strategy. >> absolutely. are you paying all cash or paying credit card? importantly, craig and everyone listening, which credit card and when is that payment due? it doesn't matter if you use it today, tomorrow, cyber monday. the real date is the day, depending on how you're playing, the incremental payment, the minimum. also consider what currency means. maybe you have reward points from a credit card. just a little tip there. when you go to the site for the reward points, whether it's mastercard, visa, you can buy the coffee maker or buy gift cards from specific retailers. honestly, your buying power really pays to gift cards to a specific retailer. >> really? >> yes, so be judicial about how you trade those in. >> i just learned something new. why shouldn't i get the coffee maker? >> because the tradeoff in terms of the points per dollar is lower on the coffee maker than

it is for sak's, neiman marcus, old navy. they want you to walk in, buy more, easy. >> second, you say, need for speed. need for speed. recognize your need for speed. what does that mean? >> this is interesting. i work with ex-finty, part of comcast, parent company of this network. they said, okay, you're buying gadget gifts. do you feel like your house hold is ready to absorb that. right, multiple gadgets logged on at the same time. 3 out of 10 people said, you know, that's a good question, not sure. it's the old school equivalent of not having the batteries for the remote controlled car. that's a bummer, right? so xfinity, says to everyone, we don't want everyone to be mad at us. >> if you have six ipads in your house, it's not our fault. >> by all mean, upgrade.

it is something to think about now or your best gifts are going to flop. >> you also say when you go to the stores, you should look at big ticket items first. >> big ticket items first. it's almost like dieting. if you kind of snack along the way, you're like, i can't believe i didn't lose weight. well, you know, all those calories added up. not to overpersonalize. if you're buying 7.99 that, 9.99 that, and then the big screen tv, the iphone. well, now it's late in the game and you haven't budgeted accordingly so we're backwards. big ticket items first. >> black friday, the days that follow, what are some of the biggest item also you think are going to be on sale? any places where we should probably be heading first? >> i think electronicings are a biggie. i also think this weekend, particularly today, and i know people have mixed emotions about it. but it makes sense to me. you have dinner at 3:00.

by 5:00, the guys are watching the game. and the girls say, you know what, want to make a break for it? let's go, compare notes. let's go get something. the biggest risk, if you shop this weekend, resist the urge to shop again later. you're done. >> no one does that. go today, tomorrow, saturday. you're going shopping today? >> as my dad always says, you didn't save, you spent. >> are you going today? >> i go, but i really try to -- and i can't say i always get it right, to declare, like, i'm done. you know what a great tip is, wrap it, display it. it buildins a sense of exciteme. >> i can't really do that since i go out on december 23rd. >> i'll wrap it for you. >> and buy like 17 gift cards for people. thank you so much, i learned a lot. thank you again. a calmer night in ferguson, missouri. while west coast protests lead to arrests overnight, following

the grand jury decision not to indict officer wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager michael brown. also this morning, even on thanksgiving, those protesters continue to react to monday's announcement. we'll look at ferguson and across the country as well. new orleans saints football player benjamin watson's post on facebook going absolutely viral. if you have not seen it yet, you should. we'll tell you why next. hey! i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today.

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download the xarelto® patient center app, call 1-888-xarelto, or visit goxarelto.com. yoplait light is now better than ever. it still melts in your mouth. with 90 calories. and is now aspartame free. yoplait light. it is so good; it's better than ever. on this thanksgiving morning, police in ferguson, missouri, say there were no reports of major confrontations or damage to property last night. authorities in oakland and los angeles arrested at least 165 demonstrators who refused to disperse during protests there. protests have been taking place across the country, following monday's decision by the grand jury not to indict officer darren wilson for fatally shooting michael brown. i want to bring in attorney and radio host liz brown. relatively calm night in

ferguson. police reporting two arrests so far. after everything that's happened in these past few days, what's your message this thanksgiving for the people of ferguson? >> well, i think that the people of ferguson need to understand that even though the streets are clear right now, the problems still remain. the issues have not been addressed. and people need to understand that this is not simply a 100 day fight, this is a 100 -- it's a forever fight, that we need to engage in and work on to make certain that there are -- there's justice and there's lawfulness in the state of missouri and in this entire nation. >> one of the folks i talked to there, she's a mother of five. she and her husband have five children. she said one of the concerns, in addition to the children growing up in a community that's, you know, dangerous from time to time, where clashes like this

are more probable, she said one of the lingering concerns is that ferguson is going to forever become known, forever be known as that place where michael brown was shot and people rioted in the streets. how real is that possibility? is this going to forever change the way people think of ferguson, missouri? >> of course it is. but i don't think it is just that narrative of where riots took place, where buildings burned. i think that ferguson will be known worldwide. if there are thousands of people marching in the street in london, if there are people marching all over this country, acting all over this country. like the president said, this is read. so ferguson needs to hold its head up high and understand it's an emblem of a place that perhaps great changes came from what happened in ferguson. they shouldn't hold their heads down. they should hold their heads up. >> i want to call your attention to this. you're probably familiar with this. the new orleans saints, benjamin

watson. he posted his reaction on his facebook page. it reads in part, quote, i'm sad because another young life was lost from his family. the racial divide has widened. a community is in shambles. accusations and sensitivity. hurt and hatred are boiling over. we may never know the truth about what happened that day. how does ferguson -- how does ferguson rebuild? how does that city move forward in the days and the weeks and the months ahead? >> and i think, craig, that's one of the questions that people -- that many people ask. how do we move forward? the problem with moving forward is that you have to have people acknowledge the wrong that has occurred here. if people continue to focus on the fires, if people continue to focus on the dead businesses as opposed to dead babies laying in the street, we'll never move forward. we need to acknowledge and accept what put mike brown on

the ground. what put mike brown's blood on the ground. we have real issues with police brutality. we have real issues with the criminal justice system. we have real issues that turn their heads -- >> i'm glad you brought up the point with politicians. again, i was there for a week, and last time i was there for substantially longer. where are the politicians? >> that's an awesome question. that is the question. >> why haven't -- mean that doesn't seem to be a question that's being asked a lot. it's bizarre. because i didn't see them out protesting. i didn't see them out -- >> absolutely, and it's a sib and a shame. to see this kind of worldwide event. that this is an event that affected the entire world. and claire mccaskill was there in the beginning. we saw plenty of pictures of her -- >> she wasn't there this week. >> -- hugging black babies in the daylight. where's she on the

militarization issue? where's the governor on, if you want peace, then why aren't you standing in the street with people asking for peace? i mean, politician, throughout this entire process have really revealed the worst thing about politicians. that they do not -- they're there for the cameras, but they're not there for the issues. >> thank you so much, have a happy thanksgiving. >> thank you. you too. is the turkey in the oven? if not, we're going to help you. some last-minute pointers from our good friends at butterball. first though, a look at presidential pardons, past and present. who could forget this one? president george w. bush's run-in with an appreciative turkey that he pardoned back in 2001. yesterday at the white house, president obama having a little fun granting amnesty to two turkeys, mac and cheese.

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we're now just minutes away from the start of the 88th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. the largest cast of new balloons ever. also, more than 8 thourngs p,00 participants, millions more expected to turnout, despite yesterday's wintry weather that slammed the northeast. it appears as if activity has picked up, sir. >> happy thanksgiving, craig. we are about ten minutes away. this is really coming to a crescendo here. every time i turn around, there's something different. i'm always excited to see what we've got behind me. we've got a troop of clowns ahead of us. i can see a football and the giant snoopy balloon.

snoopy is actually the character that has been in this parade the most. now, that's his seventh balloon. he has been in the parade more than any other balloon. as you mention, there are six new ones this year, including the pillsbury doughboy. pick a chew is also there. there are 12 marching bands. >> 1,300 clowns. >> yes, 1,000 clowns, 1,300 cheerleaders and dancers, if you can believe it. there's tons of people out here. they've been practicing for the last couple of hours. they just made the announcement they're getting ready to kick it off. the beginning of the parade is just off to my right here. at 9:00, from what i'm told, they just go, they bring the floats, the 27 floats in from this way, the 16 balloons in from this way. they just hit it. head straight down to herald

square and macy's. >> 1,000 clowns. thank you, sir. you can catch the mass macy's thanksgiving day parade live on nbc this morning at 9:00 eastern. 9:00 eastern. nearly 50 million turkeys, 50 million, are going to be consumed today. more than a few are going to be dry. a lot of dry turkeys out there. some will be rare. for those chefs who like to deep fry their birds, some will explode. fear not though, the butter ball turkey line is fully staffed and here to answer all your last minute questions. i'm joined by turkey line expert phyllis cramer. i love this. phyllis, can you hear me? >> hello? i can hear you but i didn't hear what he said about the last-minute questions, it just faded away. >> i'll ask you some last-minute questions right now. >> i can't hear that very well. >> can you hear me now?

>> not very well. >> how many calls do you expect to receive today? >> today, on thanksgiving day, we may get 12,000 live calls today that we're going to handle. >> and where do most first-time thanksgiving cooks go wrong? >> well, the main problem we're having today, people are calling about, is the turkey is not thawed. they think if they put the turkey in the refrigerator just for a few days, it will be okay. but turkey thaws very slowly. only four pounds every 24 hours. the dilemma and the anxiety is the turkey's not thawed, but we can get you through that. you'll have thanksgiving today no matter what. >> what do you tell them? >> the turkey's not thawed, you have a couple of options. first, you can cook it from frozen if you absolutely have to. it's going to lengthen your cooking time of course. but at least you'll have thanksgiving dinner. if you're going to eat later in the day, we'll suggest you put the turkey in a sink full of cold water and keep changing the water every half an hour and

that will start the thawing process a little more for you. either way, you'll get the turkey in there. if you have a thermometer, that's your magic. 170 in the breast, 180 in the thigh. you'll know when it's done. >> 170 in the breast and what is it in the thigh? >> 180. for best eating quality, the best taste in the thigh, we think that's about the best. can't get better than that. >> what's the strangest question that you've ever received on the turkey talk line? >> well, we're involved in so many people's lives but a young man called and said he'd like to propose to his fiance and he thought the whole family's going to be together on thanksgiving, why don't i put the engagement ring in the turkey, in the stuffing. and then we'll just fish out the ring for, you know, everyone else. do you think that's a good idea? i thought, well, i don't know. i mean, it's a wonderful thought. it's a great time. but maybe we shouldn't put the ring in the stuffing.

how many's th how's that, okay. >> before i let you go, i'm planning to fry my bird today. i've seen these youtube videos of how things can go terribly wrong. any tips for folks who like to fry it? >> yes, fried turkey, as you know, is delicious. the main thing is get the turkey completely dry. paper towel it in and out. be sure the fat is up to temperature. if you have a propane fryer, turn the propane off, and then put the turkey in. >> wow, i can't smoke my cigars and drink my bourbon inside, phyllis. >> we have an outside one too. we'll keep you happy no matter where you are. we say to everybody, just butterball it. it's thanksgiving. we're going to get it right today. it's a big day.

butterball.com. you know, people everywhere today, all over the world, they're calling us for a little help. we're here. we'll be happy to help you. >> phyllis cramer, 170 in the breast, 180 in the thigh. always enjoy our time together on thanksgiving, phyllis. thank you. >> good to talk to you, happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. 1-800-butter-ball if you have questions. that's going to do it for me this hour. betty nguyen picks up our holiday coverage after the break. i know what you're thinking... transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for.

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call or come in today for a free one-on-one review. good morning, everybody, happy thanksgiving. ferguson fallout. protesters across the country made their voice heard for the third night in a row. grounded. more than 700 flights canceled yesterday. what you can expect in your holiday travel today.

and the 88th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade is getting under way right now. i'm going to take you there live in just a few minutes. we want to begin with a look at your holiday travel. digging out after a nasty winter storm. from north carolina to maine. wreaking havoc on holiday travel. in new jersey, the governor declared a state of emergency due to the storm. with some areas getting as much as a foot of snow. in connecticut, state police recorded at least 125 accidents on the road. in massachusetts, more than 30,000 people lost power. most of them in the western part of the state. at the airports this morning, it is catch up time. after yesterday's storm grounded more than 700 flights. many travelers are still waiting to catch a flight back home. what we can expect today. hopefully no more delays. >> yesterday, the people trying to get to their destinations.

and losing power. so many people trying to alter their plans because of this storm. it's at least gone. the shoveling is well under way now in maine, new hampshire, vermont. massachusetts, around the capital district. that's where the heavier snow fell overnight. doing clean-up this morning before you get your plans crossed off for thanksgiving. here's some of the higher snow totals. petersburg, west virginia, was the highest i could find at 20 inches. a lot of cities, right around 8 to about 12 inches. mixed in with a little sleet which cuts down your totals. there are snow showers out there. there's been a report of light snow around erie, cleveland, pittsburgh. when they were getting ready to start the parade, the worst weather by far, the middle of the country. this is a quick little shot of arctic air. maybe a little bit of tomorrow,

that's about it. minus 15 is your windchill in minneapolis. we're at 12 in chicago. it's brutally cold all the way down through the midwest. we are going to warm things up. all of that cold air leaves. then the rest of the country, the pacific air. the next cold shot, maybe northern minnesota. that's about it. as we go into december, we're finally warming things up. it doesn't look like we have a lot of snow out there either. the next seven days, how much snow across the country we can expect. this is what fell last night. maybe a little bit here in the northern rockies we'll expect to see. possibly the mountains of california. that's really about it. there's not a lot of snow coming your way. southern half of the country, a little rain in the northwest. overall, we're getting out of a cold snowy november. now we're turning the page. december maybe warmer than november. >> are you serious? let me ask you this. people had such a hard time getting to their destination on thanksgiving.

will they get back home okay? >> it looks like it's going to be a piece of cake really. even as we go through. friday, we start to warm it up. 72 in denver. that's like -- even cold, cold air over the great lakes is slowly going to go away. by saturday, chicago's temperature, you're at 36. you'll get up into the 40s. even 54 they're calling predicted high on saturday. you get the picture. we're heading in the right direction. everyone should get home just fine. it's just digging out and getting there was the problem. >> that's been a big problem. okay, bill, thank you. after a night of relative calm, residents in ferguson are coming together to mark the holiday as their community heals. churches say they're expecting 2 to 3 times more people than normal. with many holding services and providing meals. crowds of demonstrators were much smaller last night with only two arrests reported. as calm prevailed in ferguson, protests continued to swell in

cities across the country. including los angeles, where police arrested 130,000 people. in oakland, things turned violent for a second night. windows smashed, cars vandalized. today, we are learning more about an alleged plot to bomb the gateway arch and target the police chief and st. louis prosecutor. amanda, what else are you hearing about this alleged plot? >> good morning, betty. we do know that police chief tom jackson was made aware of this alleged plot. he told nbc news ron allen they do believe it is credible. this is not the first time he has seed threats. he also received other threats in august. in the height protests. but they are taking these very seriously right now. but so far, this is all we know. >> last night, it seemed to be much calmer. we talked about just two arrests. so are we getting the sense this

holiday will be more about healing for the community? >> there is a hope that there will be that healing in time for recovery. as is -- happened many times around, families are coming out to sweep out the pieces of the protests from the night before. yesterday was special in that there was a teenager that brought along can of paints and some paint brushes and was trying to put positive messages on these boarded up build holdings that had been shuttered because of these protests. there are many holiday messages up on boarded buildings. you can give the sense that this community is really wanting to rebuild, wanting to recover and come together for the holiday. >> absolutely. all right. amanda secuma, thank you. meanwhile, as michael brown's family says they're not giving up in their fight for justice for their son, many are calling on the justice department to file federal charges against darren wilwilson, among then, t

national bar association, which released a statement objecting to the grand jury's decision not to indictment wilson. joining me now is the president of the national bar association, which is the oldest and largest national association of african-american attorneys and judges in the u.s. thanks for joining us this morning. >> good morning, betty, thank you so much for having us. >> you have raised the issue that the grand jury consisted of nine whites and only three african-americans in a town comprised of 67% african-americans. is it worth noting that the grand jury is selected from st. louis county which breaks down 70% white to 24% black? >> oh, absolutely, it's worth noting that. we noted that so we could highlight both what's in ferguson as opposed to what's in st. louis county. the jury pool for the grand jury verdict, as well as any verdict that is selected in st. louis county, would come up from the county makeup. >> what are some the issues you

have with this process and the way it's carried out? >> i've been practicing law for 14 years. as i look at the press be tation of evidence here, what strikes me in some attorneys, and even the community, as a little odd, is that the presentation of evidence seems to be that as an individual who is a defense attorney as opposed to a prosecutor. in a case where i'm advocating on behalf of my client, i want to always present the best case, best case i can to win the case for my client. in this particular case, if you look at how the evidence was presented, you seem to be a side that presented both for the prosecution and for the defense. that is just very atypical in a case where the prosecutor pretty much controls the process. so in doing that, and if you're going to try a case in that manner, try it in the case as if it is a jury trial.

you would think then you would let the rules of civil procedure that govern a jury trial, for instances, many witnesses testified who said they didn't even see the incident, they weren't sure what they saw what they didn't see. if a witness was on the stand and a judge heard those words, they would not allow them to testify. on the basis that in order to testify, you have to have personal knowledge. personal firsthand knowledge. and so in this quest to be open, honest and transparent, they're probably maybe not accomplished in this situation because when you think of the prosecutor, he had an opportunity to present a very air-tight case and in presenting that case, you don't think that the prosecutor is going to present the defense side. because there's an old saying when it comes to prosecutors. if he wanted to, a prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich. because he kcontrols the

witnesses. he controls the evidence that is there. that's not to say though the grand jury doesn't have an opportunity to ask questions. >> right, exactly. >> but pretty much -- >> if the justice department decides not to pursue charges, what other avenues can the family pursue? >> the family can pursue two options. one of the options is a civil case. which is why i caution individuals to be careful how they really try the dump of evidence that was laid at our feet on monday night. because we don't want to taint the jury pool in this instance and have them come in, predisposed to and maybe not be able to get justice on the end of this civil case. that case will be judged by a preponderance of evidence. another option many people don't think about is you can file a claim with the missouri department of public safety and they can ask for mr. wilson's license to be dr darren wilson's

license to be revoked. that's what the national bar association has done in response to a no true bill being issued. >> as we look at all of this, try to gain some perspective from it, i want to get your reaction to a facebook post about ferguson that has gone viral. it reads in part, and i'm quoting here, i'm fearful because in the back of my mind i know that although i'm a law-abiding citizen, i could still be looked upon as a threat to those who don't know me, so i will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt. this is from nfl player benjamin watson. what is your reaction to that? >> you know, that is a typical response of an african-american, young middle age and older man. i have a 13-year-old son. and that would be his same response. the fact that we have a post like that by an nfl football player says we have much work to to. the national bar association believes that it's not just the process that was broken, but if we look at the laws, which are

governed and utilized to judge these kinds of cases, this was inevitable. whether there was a large dump of evidence or small dump. until we fix that, we won't be able to deal with that statement and have a real true issue of what we need to do as a nation to heal so that we won't see protests in california. new york or ferguson. >> across the country, absolutely. pamela means, thank you very much for your time today. >> thank you so much, happy thanksgiving. millions of people have a brand-new reason to be thankful this year. after president obama announced his executive plan on immigration. but could a congressional hearing next week block the president's agenda? that's ahead. the holiday season is here, which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season...

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thanksgiving's my favorite holiday because more than any other it is uniquely american. each of us brings our own traditions and recipes to the table but we all share this day united by the gratitude for the bounty of this nation. >> and that was part of president obama's weekly address to the american people on this thanksgiving day. as a result of the president's new executive action, more than 4 million people living in constant fear of deportation have a new reason to be thankful this year. next week, that new directive faces its first congressional grilling. officially, the house homeland security committee wants to ask the secretary how reductions in deportations will affect border security. if you ask republican chair mike mccullough, his goal is, quote, to use every tool at his disposal to stop the president's unconstitutional actions being implemented. msnbc's correspondent peter alexander is at the white house. does this hearing have any real potential to impact the president's directive or is this

political posturing by republicans? >> the hearing alone certainly isn't going to change things, but it will demonstrate the republican opposition to what the president has done. 9 out of 10 latinos in this country say they support the president's effort or his action to defer deportation for up to 5 million americans. but republicans consistently have opposed the president, viewing his effort as unconstitutional. john boehner himself said the president was acting more leak a ki like a king or an emperor than the president himself. we heard in that statement put out by representative mccollough who basically said these per pet wall the cycle of illegal entry into this country. the strategy by republicans when congress returns on monday. they have until december 11th to basically come up with funding. to keep the lights on in washington. the strategy is, it's being reported right now, appears the republicans may pass something to cover the government's bills through september of next year,

but they would have only short-term funding for immigration enforcement. as one way to put the screws to this white house. we'll just have to keep a close eye and see how that effort goes. >> yes, we will be watching. all right, peter alexander at the white house, thank you. happy thanksgiving to you. john yarmuth worked with a bipartisan group in the white house last year to craft comprehensive reform bill. thanks for joining us today. >> you're welcome, betty, good to be with you. >> absolutely. congressman, some are calling the president's actions unconstitutional. what's your reaction to that criticism? >> i think what the republicans are doing is basically trying to deflect attention from the fact they have the ball on their end of the field right now. they can do anything they want on immigration, starting in the new congress. as you mentioned, i was part of a group, bipartisan, that actually did come up with a comprehensive plan next year. speaker boehner wouldn't allow

it to come to the floor. so they can do whatever they want to to on immigration. they just don't want to act. despite the fact at least one very recent poll showed almost 70% of the american people think the president's action was the right action or didn't go far enough. so the public's on the president's side. and all they're trying to do is deflect attention from the substance of the issue. >> you and your colleagues will be heading back to work on monday, just ten days before government funding set to expire. politico is reporting, want to read it, gop leaders are uniting around a plan to avoid a shutdown. the likely proposal would fund nearly the entire government through september 2015. but immigration enforcement related funding would be renewed on a short-term basis. are your republican colleagues prepared to shut down the government because they're angry about immigration action? >> well, i hope they're not crazy enough to try that again. you know, we know what happened before, a couple years ago. i think their leaders are very,

very realistic about this. they know it's not a sane strategy. they know it would just galvanize opposition to their control of the congress. so i'm sure that they will do everything they can to head off a shutdown. again, there's a very, very rebellious part of the republican caucus, particularly in the house, who don't necessarily do what speaker boehner wants to do and they can cause trouble particularly on a funding bill. on an funding bill, if they want to hold their support then, in order to get one, the republican leadership would need a lot of democratic help. so it becomes a very, very difficult situation, if that tea party element of the republican party decides they want to act decisively to show their con tent for the president. >> we've heard mitch mcconnell say there will be no more government shutdowns. we've also seen what that's done in the past. is that risky business for republicans, if they do decide to go that route? >> incredibly risky business.

senator mcconnell is a very, very practical politician. hal rogers, the chairman in the house, also from kentucky, is a realistic politician. they know how disastrous this would be for republican prospects in 2016. even though it's almost two years away. so i think they're going to try to do everything possible to head that off. but again, they don't always have control of their membership and it can be problematic. >> president obama has said this action is not a substitute for a comprehensive immigration bill. is there any chance speaker boehner would bring in any kind of legislation for a vote in, say, the next two years? >> i would hope so. i'm convinced that speaker boehner wants to do something on immigration reform. when we were meeting virtually every day for seven months back in 2013, our group of eight, the republican members kept saying, speaker boehner wants to do this, speaker boehner wants to do this. he's trying to figure out how to get it to the floor. he never figured out how to do that.

again, he can do it if he has the backbone to do it. this is a football day. the analogy is apt. they have the ball on this. speaker boehner has the ball. there is no defense on the field. all he has to do is snap the ball. he's going to score. but he won't do that. >> we'll see how that game plays out. congressman yarmuth in kentucky. new video shows the final moments of a young boy's life, seconds before he was shot by police in cleveland, ohio. we will get the latest from the ground there just ahead. you get used to food odors in your kitchen.

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from cleveland with more on this. good morning to you, kevin. >> good morning, betty. now the death of a 12-year-old boy. it has people in cleveland, as they are in ferguson, missouri, angry and asking questions. a 12-year-old boy with a plastic pellet gun in a park prompts a 911 call to police. the caller is sitting in the nearby gazebo. >> the guy keeps pulling it out of his pants. >> he questions whether the gun is even real. >> it's probably fake but you know what, he's scaring the [ bleep ] out of me. >> the video is of 12-year-old tamir rice shot dead by cleveland police saturday. >> radio? shots fired. male down. um. black male. maybe 20. black revolver. >> at the behest of the boy's family, police have now released an edited version of the surveillance video. it shows tamir walking, sometimes pointing the gun. >> he keeps pulling a gun out of

his pants and pointing it at people. >> police say the officers were were not told the 911 caller suggested the gun wasn't real. and as officers arrived, they add, rice was ordered three times to show his hands. 1 1/2 to 2 seconds later, a first year officer fired. >> i have to stand behind him until i see something different. >> the gun tamir rice had, police say, was similar to this. it's called an air soft and shoots toy plastic pellets. but it certainly looks like the real thing. except for this orange piece on the barrel that identifies it as a toy. the gun rice was holding, police say, had the orange portion removed. >> you could trick probably 100% of the people that this was a real gun. >> in a statement, rice's family said, it is our belief that this situation could have been avoided. adding, the video shows one thing distinctively, the police officers reacted quickly. protesters in cleveland demand charges be filed against the officers involved. making comparisons to the

shooting of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. >> what mattered to me is it happened in cleveland and it happened to a child. >> the two officers are now on administrative leave, pending the investigation. the family of tamir rice says it will be releasing the details of his funeral arrangements in the days to come. betty. >> so tragic. thank you, kevin, we do appreciate that. new fallout today for comedian bill cosby. the university where he earned both a masters and ph.d. in education has now cut ties with the comedian. umas joins a growing number of institutions distancing themselves. after more than a dozen women have accused him of sexual assault. cosby has never been charged and continues to deny all allegations. also, wednesday, tennessee's frida harmon university announced dr. ben carson will replace cosby as the scheduled speaker at its benefit dinner

next week. tragic news out of australia. a 25-year-old australian cricket star has died. on tuesday, batsman phillip hughes was hit on the head by a short pitch ball during a sydney cricket match. hughes was wearing a helmet but he collapsed shortly after what doctors called a catastrophic blow to his head. doctors performed extensive surgery, but there was massive bleeding to his brain and hughes never regained consciousness. coming up, all right, eat on thursday, shop on friday. that's the way it's always been. well, lately retailers have started offering door buster deals starting on thanksgiving day. my next guest says that's a bad idea. that's ahead.

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sales today. meaning their workers have to spend the holiday at their job instead of at their dinner tables. people are taking to social media to take thanksgiving back. brian rich created the facebook page boycott black thursday. he joins me now from idaho. thanks for joining me on this day. >> happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. you started this page three years ago. how has it grown? >> you know, the first year, it grew pretty modestly. i had about 47 fans. that was the first time anyone had opened on thanksgiving and that was toys "r" us opened at 10:00 p.m. 2012, we grew a little bit. last year when the media started catching on, it started becoming an issue web had about 7,000 fans. but just in the past six weeks, we added another 110,000 fans. we're at about 115, 116,000 fans today. >> you're seeing some support

for this. is boycotting black thursday an anti-shopping statement? >> no, absolutely not. in fact, probably half or more of our supporters are actually very enthusiastic black friday shoppers. and that's sort of the irony, this black thursday trend has ruined their black friday tradition and their thanksgiving tradition with their families. most of our supporters really just want to see people, retailers, leaving thanksgiving alone and leaving black friday alone. >> but in essence, could that possibly hurt seasonal employees, especially if these stores hire them for a shorter period of time, and if no one is shopping on those days, then maybe they won't be hiring people for that. >> well, you know, betty, all the studies we've seen is the sales that take place on thanksgiving are usually just displaced sales from elsewhere in the shopping season. last year, i believe, there was something like 1.8 billion lost on black friday. and 1.5 billion sold on

thanksgiving. so they're really just trading dollars. and also as far as seasonal employees, what we've seen is that they do hire some seasonal employees at these big retailers, but by and large, it's full-time salaried workers who are being required to work these shifts so it's really not affecting their work schedule in any positive way. >> so if that's the case, and kurnls always looking for the best possible deal, right, are you saying that retailers are, in fact, taking advantage of both the customers and the holiday? >> oh, absolutely. it started with the end of the -- with the bottom of the recession. that's when they started mosting these sales into thanksgiving because they had some short holiday seasons and they really needed that opportunity in their eyes. but today, the economy has mostly recovered. consumer spending is back up. consumer confidence is high. it's really not necessary to have these sales on thanksgiving day. and it's really an abecause of

the employees and it's an abuse of the consumers who are now forced to choose between two traditions that they often love. >> it's like, go ahead, hurry up and eat so we can get in line, right? what are you hearing from workers? workers are actually having to be there on thanksgiving. what are they saying? >> most of them are very -- very sad. another thing we hear a lot is people say these employees are complaining about their jobs. get another job if you don't like retail. what they don't understand most retail workers actually really like customer service. they love the holiday season. they love the shopping around the holiday season. the music. all the festivities. and this movement in creating black thursday is destroying their career for them. they're being forced to choose between their jobs and their families. it's really difficult. i just actually received a message this morning from a woman whose husband is a target

manager and he worked 16 hours from 2:00 p.m. until about 5:00 a.m. today. and he has to go back in at 5:00 p.m. tonight to staff his store. this is a store manager. so he's a salaried employee. he's being required to work these outrageous hours to have these sales. and he's not going to be able to enjoy thanksgiving with his family. >> all right. thank you, brian, in boise, to talk about this on thanksgiving. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. another staple of turkey day is getting under way this morning. you know what it is. the 88th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. we have five new floats this year. six new balloons will make their way through herald square. here to tell us more about all of this is nbc's chris pallone, live on the parade route. hey, how's it looking out there? >> yeah, hi there, betty. this parade is well under way. the 88th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. take a look at what's going on

behind me here. this is where it's all getting under way. as you can see, paddington bear is joining the parade right now. this is his first year in the parade. that's a new balloon. 1 of 16 giant character balloons that you will see floating high above streets during the parade. out of the 16 balloons this year, 6 of them are brand-new. and you can see another one in the back there. the red power ranger, that's another new balloon this year. this is a huge undertaking. there are 1300 cheerleaders and dance team members today. more than 1,000 clowns. 12 marching bands. joining the beginning of this parade. the weather is holding out. we've had a little snow and some drizzle today. but temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 30s. so that's perfect weather for a late november thanksgiving day

parade. there are 3.5 million people in manhattan today here to watch this parade. and of course 50 million others across the country will be watching the parade on nbc. it's a wonderful tradition here in the states. and a long-running tradition since 1924, macy's thanksgiving day parade. it's well under way. should be a good day here in new york. >> absolutely, it is a good day. always exciting to watch. thank you, we do appreciate that. love those floats. besides the food, this is the national holiday set aside for americans to give thanks. we're encouraging you to share your reasons with us on social media with #whyimthankful. steven is thankful for puppy love. he and his dog seem to be pretty thankful. susan in hoboken, new jersey, tweeted this. why this new member of her family is thankful. it's her first turkey day. she's thankful for her parents, and of course for formula no doubt. as for me, i'm thankful for

technology and how it allows us to share thanksgiving with loved one despite the distance. so mom, i will see you on skooip later. tweeting or posting to facebook with #why i'm thankful. we look forward to reading those. with defense secretary chuck hagel on his way out, president obama has yet another spot to fill on his cabinet. but he's got to get his nomination through a republican-led congress first. that's ahead.

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bloomberg news and also our guest, the associate editor of the huffington post. thanks for being here on thanksgiving. how difficult and contentious could the nomination process be for the new defense secretary? honestly who would want to go through this? >> it can be very difficult and contentious. president obama had secretary haggle resign on monday and already that same day, he had two of his top three contenders bow out. michelle flournoy and senator jack reid said they were not interested in the job. he's down to one his top three contenders, ashton carter, former deputy secretary. it's going to be a tough slog to get it through the new republican congress next year. >> igor, what about the john mccain factor? we cannot dismiss that. he is expected to be chairman of the armed services committee when the gop takes over in january. how difficult is it going to be to get it past mccain? >> john mccain has been a very vocal critic of the

administration's foreign policy on just about anything. iran, syria, iraq, afghanistan now. he's going to be a key vote and he's going to be heading the new chair of the senate armed services committee where he's going to have considerable sway over what's going on. whether this new nominee reaps the full senate floor. mccain voted against hagel. hagel's confirmation nearly a year ago. i think that's sort of a marker that we have. considering, you know, where he's going to stand on the next nominee. >> do you really see this dragging out? this is something we're going to be watching for quite a while. >> i think republicans want somebody able to represent the pentagon and really lead this new transition period. as the u.s. engages again in afghanistan and iraq. so i think there's going to be some pressure on them to act. but i do think they're going to, you know, take a look at the nominee and make sure they're able to do the job. >> angela, let me bring you bac

in. what are you hearing from capitol hill about loretta lynch for attorney? how difficult could her confirmation be? >> well, certainly won't be quick. we expect to see senator grassley as the new judiciary chairman in the senate. he is someone who's known for a reason, but also for being a tough questioner. he's being a critic of the obama administration. he's especially highlighted whistleblowers. he's sure to give a thorough and close and probably lengthy examination to loretta lynch's nomination. we're told there's not likely to be a vote until march and so it will be some time before we see a new attorney general. so obama picked loretta lynch because she's someone who does not appear to have sketletons i her closet. expected to be the least controversial of the people he picked. but he's sure not to see a replacement for holder any time soon. >> not until march. that is a long time from now.

how difficult could that be? especially with the time in between for people to make other decisions, to have other ideas about who should be in that spot? >> it is a long time. remember, congress is only going to be in for about ten more days this year and they have a lot of budget and uncontroversial nominations to get through. so it's less time than it seems like between now and march. but the justice department is very, very busy right now, with the unrest we're seeing in ferguson, missouri, and today this new shooting in cleveland, of course, it will be a very important time for the justice department. eric holder had said he will stay in the attorney general position until his replacement is concerned. we won't see a vacancy there. we are sure to see a very busy and probably lengthy confirmation process for loretta lynch. >> well, igor, does the president have any chance at all of getting a supreme court nominee through? >> i think right now currently

the chances are very slim to none. as you saw, as you heard, supreme court justices ruth bader ginsburg recent health scare really opens up this discussion. really opens up this discussion again. whether she should resign and let president obama nominate again somebody from the court's liberal wing. i don't think -- i think it's more of a question of whether he's going to get the nominee he wants. you can put forth somebody, but it's a question of whether they're going to be amenable to the liberals on the court. >> it doesn't seem like she's showing any signs. i mean, at this point that she's going to be stepping down any time soon. >> no, and, you know, she said she doesn't think the senate can confirm somebody now that's close to her ideology now in the court and i think that's pretty accurate. >> all right, angela with bloomberg news, igor with huffington post, we thank you both for being here. >> thank you, buddy. >> happy thanksgiving to you.

black friday for most of us in the country. green friday, though, in colorado. up next, my colleague, ronan farrow, goes inside the state's booming marijuana industry as they prepare for their first legal holiday shopping season. i told my dentist about my sensitive teeth, he told me there's a whole new way to treat sensitivity. he suggested i try new crest sensi-stop strips. [ male announcer ] just apply to the gumline of sensitive teeth for a quick 10 minutes. the special ingredient forms a lasting barrier that provides immediate relief and up to one month of protection. see why dental professionals endorse crest sensi-stop strips to treat sensitivity.

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we know thanksgiving and black friday shopping go hand in hand, but in colorado black friday has taken on a whole new meaning this year because this is the first holiday shopping period since the state allowed stores to sell recreational marijuana. many of the state's new pot stores are taking advantage, offering deals and discounts on everything from prerolled joints to marijuana infused pumpkin pie, calling it green friday. all part of the rapidly growing marijuana industry.

as demand for pot builds, a company launched a first of its kind commodities exchange if you will in the weed industry. a wall street meets marijuana approach to the business. ronan farrow spoke with one of their executives. >> joining me, steve, the ceo. your company created the american can business exchange, ace. as i understand it, it is the first fully electronic marketplace for cannabis retailers to buy and sell inventory. how does that work and how is it legal? >> currently what we do is follow the current laws and infrastructures that are in place. what we do is operate state by state, which we believe eventually this is going to become a national product where we can allow everybody to transact. if you currently look just at colorado, we have an infrastructure, colorado and washington as well as california where we allow the transaction to take place legally.

>> there's such variability in how legalized pot is from state to state. how are you going to transfer the goods? how does this stay legal? >> we are building it state by state with anticipation of it going national. what we do is follow the local regulatory rules and frameworks that are already in place. what we really do is allow for this marketplace to really bring the regulatory agencies the ability to have transparency in a marketplace where they currently don't have any in the marketplace. >> what do you do when the presence of that marketplace results in more interstate transfers that may not be legal all the time? >> again, we don't. what we do is manage that infrastructure. if you look at the way our platform works, similar to e-trade or ebay, but for a physical product. once they actually buy a product, the transportation has already built in. we use outside transportation companies. we have a widget built in,

handled legally and by companies in the transportation space. >> is the production of the goods happening within the united states? >> all the production is happening within the u.s. but also state by state. again, we look at regulatory frameworks that allow for the product to be legal. if you look at colorado, washington, and even california, the regulatory framework allows for this legal wholesale distribution. >> the thing that's so striking is you're saying you're planning for a future where it is more legal, where the infrastructure can really come into play. what do you anticipate is the next step in that? how fast do you think legalization will in your view go national. >> if you really just look at the past few years, the numbers are staggering why we came to market so quickly. it's really growing at a staggering pace. we're well over 25 states with legalization on a medical level, as well as if you look at over five states recreational level. it is growing so quickly. the thing is you need some type

of compliance, of framework for regulatory agencies to be able to manage this growth. >> and that growth is reflected in just the hype surrounding this idea of yours. you have 20,000 seats on the exchange. apparently you've sold 2400 already. were you taken back by the amount of demand? >> absolutely. it purely speaks for the marketplace needing something like this. if you look at washington state, some of the reasons we built the product has already occurred, and none of us could saep it. we have seen collusion and price fixing in a marketplace where you would never expect it. we give the regulators the ability to manage this entire infrastructure from day one, versus making mistakes and having to build it out. >> brand new market, brand new demand and brand new infrastructure that's necessary. compelling idea how to get ahead of that. thank you for your time. >> pleasure to be here. >> very interesting. that was msnbc's ronan farrow. tune in this weekend when msnbc

premiers a new series, pot barones of colorado, follows stories of pot barons who risking it all for a spot in that world. watch that 10:00 p.m. eastern on sunday on msnbc. that does it for me this hour. craig melvin picks up our coverage after the break. happy thanksgiving. don't forget to tell us why you are thankful today.

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and toy story, i am talking to the expert about what your little ones are going to want under the tree this christmas. first up as their community continues to heal today, residents in ferguson are coming together for the thanksgiving holiday, following a night of relative calm. several local churches tell msnbc news they're expecting two to three times more people than normal as they hold holiday services and provide meals for residents, business owners and demonstrators as well. crowds of demonstrators were much smaller in ferguson last night. things were not as quiet in other cities, including los angeles. police arrested more than 130 people. in oakland, the situation turned violent for a second night as store windows were smashed, cars were vandalized, and fires were set there. meanwhile today we're learning more about an alleged plot to bomb the gateway arch and target the ferguson police chief and st. louis county prosecutor,

robert mccullough. here is nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: we have not reached federal officials or the prosecutor for comments, but the ferguson police chief tom jackson confirmed he was warned by federal agents he was the target of two men indicted last week on federal weapons charges. he wasn't told details of the plot but he did believe it was a credible threat. overnight flash points in the streets outside ferguson police headquarters were relatively calm. as chief tom jackson revealed in a phone interview he took warnings of a death threat seriously as they assured him that it was under control. that revelation as the demand for justice for michael brown echos coast to coast. after a gran jury decision not to indict officer darren wilson. several hundred demonstrators, most peaceful, out in force late wednesday in los angeles. a major highway blocked in dallas. protesters in the streets of

downtown washington, d.c. back in ferguson, along a street of battered and boarded shops, they pick up the pieces. >> there was a chair thrown through my window. i just cried. i just cried. i was really hurt. >> reporter: things are sweeter at natalie's cakes and more rushing to fill holiday orders, because someone far away saw her story on the news. >> it was so upsetting, i thought i don't want to watch this and be upset any more, i want to doing good. >> reporter: a tech savvy writer helped set up a go fund me site. last time they checked, the bakery had a lot of dough. $200,000. contributions from everywhere. >> i am grateful to everyone that contributed. i wish i had enough arms to hug everyone. >> it was overwhelming, the love, outpouring, prayers, well wishes. it was amazing. >> reporter: obviously she's a fortunate woman.

many businesses are reeling from the damage and destruction here, hoping it has finally come to an end. back to you. >> ron allen on the ground in ferguson. i want to bring in a pastor from ferguson to help organ train protesters. after two nights of violence, we saw quiet there. did it have to do with the holiday, weather, or are you getting a sense that some of the outrage may be dying down a bit? >> no, the people are still angry. they're just preparing to be with their families. let us pause for a moment, raise the name of leslie mcspad enand michael brown senior, the pies won't be as sweet for them this morning. dinner won't be as satisfying, given the fact that their son was shot, unarmed, and that american democracy has failed them. in fact, the grand jury did

issue an indictment on monday and it was an indictment of american democracy. >> you traveled to ferguson to orgz peaceful protests. i want to play a sound bite from a press conference given early tuesday, following what was really a chaotic night. take a listen. >> there were a few clergy, did not see a large number out tonight. the few we saw didn't really have a voice with the crowd. so hopefully tomorrow we'll see more clergy will come out and assess. we met with a lot of clergy, just did not see them out tonight. >> what would you say to that, revere reverend? >> it is not the responsibility of clergy to police the people. the tears are the only water that can start a fire. given the deep level of repression that johnson, jackson, belmar, these police

chiefs engaged in nonviolent proerts, we saw them told over 100 days, let the process work it out, let the system run its course, and they were ultimately betrayed. to release the indictment at 9:00 at night, not to tell the family, not to tell the community. the police broke every promise to the community in order to ensure an opportunity for our community of organizers and clergy to respond. so every fire that was set was lit by every level of government. it sounds like you're condoning some of what we saw play out in the streets of ferguson. >> no, let us be clear. i abhor all forms of violence. what's far more disgusting and far more morally reprehensible,

is the fact that every day in the united states there's a michael brown, a 12-year-old killed with a bb gun in cleveland, and names too long for the segment to list of all the people slain by police. what we witnessed monday night was a level of rage, anger and pain for young people who have been betrayed by every level of government. a decrepid grand jury process, a police force that has consistently repressed them. the inference on property destruction over life. >> just quickly here, you know, i was there with you. this is one of the things that continues to strike me. i think it is important to note by and large the protests have been peaceful. >> over 100 days they have been peaceful. second largest protest since the montgomery -- >> i can see that. this is something i continue to

find interesting. folks who are angry, folks who feel detached from a system, why would folks who feel that way conduct themselves that way in their neighborhood? if you're that upset with that establishment, why not go to the county seat and do what they -- i don't understand that. >> i think the reality is that many of the businesses on west flores are not owned by people in that community. they have a detachment from a lot of those businesses, have bad relationships according to their own testimony with a lot of those businesses in clayton, but in west floor son. what is more deadly is a nation that continues to allow children to be killed by state officials with little to no recourse. what you saw was not simply buildings on fire but democracies on fire.

and that we are called as clergy, as members of communities, of conscience to be putting out the fires. i am glad the young people stayed in the street and keep alive the best of the democratic tradition. >> thanks for your time this thanksgiving. always appreciate you. >> bless you. holiday travelers coping with the aftermath of an early winter storm that dumped heavy snow on the eastern seaboard. over 700 flights were cancelled yesterday. the busiest travel day of the year. thousands more were delayed. hundreds of accidents reported on slippery highways and roads. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with what to expect today. >> million times better. million times better. yesterday was as bad as it will ever get on a prethanksgiving travel day. it was ridiculous with all of the airport delays. the snowstorm is gone. that's great. temperatures mostly above freezing, roads are slowly

getting better and better across the region. digging out from maine to vermont. thanksgiving morning, you have to go to the destination and drive. first thing you have to do is clear the car, shovel the driveway. here are snow totals. west virginia, petersburg, congratulations. 20 inches. the cold air is in the middle of the country. that's where the worst weather is by far from minneapolis to northern minnesota, chicago, 11. we have some really cold afternoon family football games out there to deal with. for everyone that suffered through a cold winter in november, we get rid of the cold air. by the end of the weekend, even the northeast will melt. we are looking nice going into the beginning of december. we suffered, now it is all back. who have you got? >> i found this strange child walking around the studio. do you know him? >> i believe that, it looks like a little boy of mine. >> how old are you? >> four. >> what do you think of the

forecast, was that accurate? >> yes. >> can you tell everyone happy thanksgiving? >> happy thanksgiving! >> good job, buddy. >> bill karins. bill karins junior. >> this is the little one. >> there are two. she's the shy one. she has no desire to be on tv. >> happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. good to see the karins clan. nearly a half million covered by the the affordable care act. how the second roll outcome paired to the first next. is here, which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. hurry into the sign-then- drive event and get a five-hundred- dollar black friday bonus on select new volkswagen models. black friday bonus offer ends december 1st.

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so far so good, the word from the white house after officials tallied the numbers for the first week of obamacare's second round of enrollment. the administration says more than a million applications were submitted to federal exchange in

the past week. more than 450,000 people chose plans offered on healthcare.gov. about half were new customers. what do the new numbers mean? they did more business in one week than the entire first month of open enrollment. peter alexander at the white house this morning. peter, numbers sound good but we know the administration recently dialed back the total sign up goal. what's the realistic picture here? >> initially they were shooting for 13 million. that number is set at 9.1 million. that's significant because it means 2 million new sign ups. a lot of things different since this time last year. for one, the focus was on celebrities, a more practical approach that they're taking specifically in terms of marketing this effort now. the website is working better. 250,000 people can be on at the same time, the max they've had at this point was about 55,000. but republican opposition still

remains. december 9th, that's when jonathan gruber, one of the obama administration top advisers on the health care plan, the man who was seen in videos basically saying it passed because of the stupidity of the american voter, he is going before chairman darrell issa in an oversite hearing. >> talk about that in a few moments. also a sign up effort i understand that's tied up to black friday. tell us about that. >> that's right. they hope you will add something else to your holiday shopping list, not just black friday, but small business saturday and cyber monday. the health and human services department has teamed up with some malls, pharmacies and other places to promote this effort to get people to sign up on the screen. you see some of the individual places that will be involved. dead lines for reenrollment, december 15th. for new enrollment, you have until 15th of february. craig, have a great holiday. >> peter alexander, happy thanksgiving to you, my friend. democratic strategist joins

us from los angeles. joe, let me start with you, sir. congress back next week. already the hearings set to begin. house oversite, government reform chair darrell issa tweeted that jonathan gruber, former obamacare adviser that called american voters quote, stupid, and they're going to be in the hot seat this december 9th hearing. what's the goal here? >> i think the goal is to get at the truth to find out who said what and who knew what. certainly i know gruber at least as i understand it was really hired to be an adviser on the economic side, talk about the economics of the affordable care act, not so much on the plirl side in terms of how to get it passed. certainly congressman issa and his team will get to the bottom of it. >> that's typically what congressional hearings are used

for, truth seeking. >> i have no doubt there's a lot of truthfulness coming out in that hearing. listen, the reality is pretty obvious, what this is going to be. this is going to be a one hour, two hour pommelling to embarrass the administration. that's the goal. there's no quest for truth, no desire to make the policy better. >> it is a side show. >> repeal the legislation, at least vote on the repeal again. this is where we are with the republicans in the house. it is what it is. >> joe, let me play this quick clip of exactly what jonathan gruber said. i think a lot of viewers and listeners may not necessarily remember. this is what he said about obamacare last year. >> lack of transparency is a huge political advantage, and basically call it the stupidity of the american voter or whatever, but that was critical to getting to pass. second best argument. i wish marcus wright could make

it all transparent, i would rather have this law than not. >> he later came on msnbc and apologized after that. he called lack of transparency a political advantage, and yes, that the stupidity of the american voter was really critical for the thing to pass. those were his words. i want to read you an excerpt with this forbes opinion piece, an article pointing out that what bears more consideration is what he did not say. it says gruber is not an expert on politics or public opinion. instead he was paid to tell the administration what the economic impact of the law would be. if he had said that the administration had hired him to run his model because that model gave them the answers they wanted to hear, rather than more accurate numbers they did not want to know about, i would be extremely concerned about, but that's not what gruber said. everything i heard in people

drafting the affordable care act, the obama administration was onnest and earnest. is that a valid point? >> that is a valid point. i don't think -- i think ultimately the truth will be found out, the committee will do a good job of unearthing what they need. i think the more important thing, i would love to see congress deal with how we make obamacare work for americans so that community action programs that have to pay 18% increases in their affordable care costs can afford to pay their workers and serve the poor, and not take a hit from cost of the affordable care act. >> chris, you were about to jump in and say something. >> well, i mean listen, the republicans are not going to let go of this bone. they're going to keep pounding this the next two years. it won't result in any changes or anything being made better,

but this is their political cross that they will continue to try to bear. the reality is you talk about jonathan gruber, he said a pretty stupid thing. reminds me why you don't let certain policy people get in front of a camera, they're really bad at talking about politics and communicating to people what the reality of a piece of legislation is. that being said, you focus on the results. you talk about millions that have gotten health care, that's something to be thankful for. >> happy thanksgiving to you both. >> happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving. the growing issue that very few people seem to be talking about in this country, why one in 30 children in america are homele homeless, what we can all do to help this thanksgiving holiday, that's coming up. this is mary, a woman who loves to share her passions.

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i have the worst cold with this runni better take something. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. seriously? alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is. millions of americans are gathering to celebrate thanksgiving with loved ones. there are people across this country, children included, who have no home in which to

celebrate. a shocking 1 child in every 30 is homeless in the united states of america. that's according to a report released this month by the national center on family homelessness. department of education says 1.3 million homeless kids are in public schools. four times ags likely to get sick compared to other kids, twice as likely to go hungry. dan is with an organization dedicated to keeping children in school, helping them succeed. good to see you. thanks for being with me this thanksgiving. >> thank you. >> let's start by defining homelessness. it always is an image of them on a bench, that's not where you find the children. >> that's absolutely right. these kids, the statistic you talked about, the frightening reality is it is underreported. they're couch surfing with

friends, crowded into a motel room with families, thrown out in a moment's notice. and homeless children, it is vastly underreported, there's a significant -- stigma attached. don't want the family broken up, don't want the authorities involved. if they're on the couch of friend or family now, they feel safe. >> what are the factors that lead to homelessness for children? >> i think there are a number of factors. first off, 45 million families at or near poverty level. they're the most vulnerable citizens, tend to be last to come out of the recession. there's lack of affordable housing. >> i think a lot of people who are listening and watching now are probably thinking how can children be homeless in this country. >> i know. that's the really sad thing. unfortunately they really look at schools in many instances as

shelters. so they don't report. they're not self reporting. our coordinators in schools work closely with kids, we develop relationships. get the kids to talk about their home lives and discover when they are homeless that we can help them, go to faith based community and local communities to drive and derive local solutions from those folks. >> what do we know about the kinds of adults homeless children turn out to be. >> well, the statistics are there, specifically educationally. they do less well in school. they tend to -- they're eight times more likely to be victim of crimes, and they're ultimately dropping out. at communities and schools, 97% of the kids we work with are promoted to the next grade. 99% stay in school. 96% graduate. a number of kids have been or were homeless at some point and were able to reach out to local

communities, find the supports, keep the kids in school, get them back on track academically, move them up. >> dan fuller, we appreciate your insight and work. thank you, sir. >> thank you. the shocking new video that shares the final moments of a 12-year-old's life. zw

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12-year-old shot dead by police has people in cleveland as they have been in ferguson, missouri angry and asking questions. a 12-year-old boy with a plastic pellet gun in a cleveland park prompts a 911 call to police. the caller is sitting in the nearby gazebo. >> the guy keeps pulling it out of his pants. >> reporter: he questions if the gun is real. >> it is probably fake, but he's scaring the [bleep] out of them. >> reporter: he was shot dead by police saturday. >> radio, shots fired, male down, um, black male, maybe 20, black revolver. >> reporter: at the behest of the boy's family, police released an edited version of the surveillance video. it shows him walking, sometimes pointing the gun. the officers weren't told the 911 caller suggested the gun

wasn't real. as officers arrive, they add, rice was ordered three times to show his hands. one and a half to two seconds later, a first year officer fired. >> i have to stand behind him until i see something different. >> reporter: the gun he had was similar to this. called an air soft, and shoots plastic pellets. it looks like the real thing, except for the orange piece on the barrel that identifies it as a toy. the gun rice was holding police say had the orange portion removed. >> you could trick probably 100% of the people it was a real gun. >> reporter: in a statement, rice's family says it is our belief that this situation could have been avoided, adding the video shows one thing distinctly, the police officers reacted quickly. protesters in cleveland demand charges be filed against officers involved, making comparisons to shooting of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. >> what mattered to me is that it happened in cleveland and it

happened to a child. >> reporter: the two officers are now on administratively leave, pending the investigation. the family of rice is asking for privacy at this time, also adds that they will be publicly releasing details of his funeral arrangements in days to come. craig? >> kevin tibbles from chicago, thank you. want to bring in a criminal defense attorney, first let me get your reaction after you saw the video the first time. >> i think the video is disheartening, i think it is shocking, and i think what i take away from it is at the end of the day, this is a child, a child who was playing in a park by the way, and the fact that his life was cut down so short without given some benefit of the doubt is troubling. we see this widespread through america. it is deeply, deeply disturbing. >> what could police, and for folks watching and listening, it is important for everyone to

know, you were a criminal defense attorney, and you probably dealt with cases similar to this i would imagine. what could police have done, based on what we know. it is important to know we don't necessarily have all of the facts and information yet. what could police have done instead of what they did? >> i think they could have done a better job of assessing the situation. a 911 call was made. it is my understanding that call got lost in translation. when you're talking about life, you have to get communication right. if this man said it is probably a toy, that should have been translated to the police officers so that they could approach the situation from a different perspective. also, when you look at the timing at which the gun went off, the police officer's gun, it was a nanosecond. he just opened the door and busted out shooting. that's troubling. and i would like to know what sort of training this officer received for situations such as this, because it is my understanding he was only on the force for one year. >> it would be up to a grand jury once again to decide if

either officer will be charged in this case. given that the information that you talked about was not relayed to the officers, how does that effect chances that a grand jury might decide to charge them? >> well, it is hard to say, you know. it depends on the prosecutor in a case like that. i think if a prosecutor goes by the bob mccullough play book we saw in ferguson, perhaps you won't get an indictment. but i think there's so much here that we still don't know. one of the things that's interesting, there's no audio to the video. we only have video. this police officer says he ordered the child to put the toy down, he didn't know it was a toy, but we don't know that. >> does audio not exist or -- >> i'm not sure, i don't know. i would be interested to hear what the audio is. police officers can also speak in their car through a loudspeaker. when you get pulled over by a car, a police officer can speak to you from inside the car. it would be interesting as to

whether a command or order was given to the child from inside the car before the police officer got out. >> this is cuyahoga county. we were in st. louis county, covering what's going on in ferguson. are we seeing more instances of things like this or are they just receiving more attention, or do we even know the answer to that question? >> i think that the relationship between black males, black boys and the police has always been strife, has never been a perfect relationship. that's something that history tells us. what's different now is we have video cameras, we have -- >> social media. >> we have social media and cell phones. what happens is the information becomes widespread and it becomes something that everyone can sort of put their hands on and see for themselves. when you look at, for example, the video of eric garner who died here in new york in staten island, people see that and start to sort of understand that the complaints that

african-american males have been putting to the fore are real. >> last question, we're running out of time. one of the things michael brown senior has been pushing for since his son's death, police officers wearing video cameras. is that something that helps? is that something that hurts? >> of course it does. when you look at the situation, for example, with michael brown, you only have the word of officer darren wilson. it is very difficult to know. >> it would help. >> absolutely. >> happy thanksgiving to you. >> happy thanksgiving to you, too. overseas, afghan officials say a british citizen among five killed in a suicide attack on an embassy vehicle in kabul today. the taliban claimed responsibility for that attack that injured more than 30 other people. in recent weeks, insurgents intensified the war on security forces, as well as u.s. and nato troops. both set to end the combat role in the country the end f this year. back here at home, new

fallout for bill cosby. the university where he earned a master's and ph.d. in education has cut ties with the comedian. u mass joins a growing number of institutions distancing from mr. cosby, after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual assault. cosby has never been charged and continues to adamantly deny all allegations. we will be right back. eliminate odors you've gone noseblind to with febreze fabric refresher. smells good. so you and your guests can breathe happy. which means it's timeson for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. hurry into the sign-then- drive event

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>>. [ inaudible ] >> chris pal own is along the parade route. >> reporter: good morning again, craig. the 88th annual macy's day parade is well under way in the streets of new york. we will give you a look at what's going on behind me as the parade continues to roll. the organizers are calling for floats which are coming down central park west, there are 27 of them, one of the new balloons there, the red power ranger there, one of six new balloons in the parade this year out of 16 giant balloons floating down the streets of manhattan, going towards macy's and harold's square. a huge undertaking. 1300 cheerleaders, dance team members. 12 whole bands, marching bands from around the country.

1,000 clowns. all kinds of marchers, holding on to the balloons so they don't get away. more importantly, 3.5 million spectators here enjoying a brisk but nice enough thanksgiving day for the 88th annual parade. craig, back to you. a big day here in new york. >> that's one thanksgiving tradition. here's the other. nearly 50 million turkeys are going to be gobbled up today. more than a few are going to be dry, some rare. for adventurous chefs like me that like to deep fry them, some ex-employed. the turkey staff, ready to field your questions. i talked to turkey line expert phyllis kramer, got tips on how to cook the perfect bird. how many calls do you expect to receive today? >> today on thanksgiving day, we may get 12,000 live calls today

that we're going to handle. >> where do most first time thanksgiving cooks go wrong? >> well, the main problem we're having today that people call about, the turkey is not thawed. they think if they put it in the refrigerator for a few days, it will be okay. turkey thaws slowly, only four pounds every 24 hours. the dilemma this morning and anxiety is the turkey is not thawed. we can get you through that. >> how do you get through it, if it is not thawed. >> the turkey is not thawed, you have a couple options. you can cook from frozen if you have to. it will length en cooking time, but you'll have dinner. if you eat later in the day, we suggest you put it in a sink of cold water, change the water every half hour. that will start the thawing process more for you. either way, you'll get the turkey in there. if have you a thermometer, that's your magic.

170 in the breast, 180 in the thigh, then you know when it is done. >> 170 in the breast, and what is it in the thigh? >> 180 for the best eating quality in the thigh, we think that's about the best. can't get better than that. >> what's the strangest question that you've ever received on the turkey talk line? >> well, we are involved in so many people's lives. a young man called, said he would like to propose to his fiance, he thought the whole family will be together on thanksgiving. why don't i put the engagement ring in the turkey and stuffing, then we will fish out the ring for everyone to announce the engagement. do you think that's a good idea? i thought well, i don't know. i mean, wonderful thought, but maybe we shouldn't put the ring in the stuffing. >> probably good advice. really quickly before i let you go, i plan to fry my bird today.

i have seen the youtube videos how things can go terribly wrong. any tips for the folks that like to fry? >> yes, fried turkey as you know is delicious. the main thing, get that turkey completely dry. paper towel in and out. that's a big thing. be sure the vat is up to temperature. and one tip, if you have a propane frier, turn the propane off before you lower the turkey in. then turn it back on obviously and continue the frying. butter ball makes a beautiful, wonderful indoor frier like a bread machine. that's safer. >> i can't burn cigars and bourbon inside. >> we will keep you happy no matter where you are. we say just butter ball it. it is thanksgiving. get it right today. it is a big day. butter ball.com, people are

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if you've got kids, the race is on for the hottest holiday toys. but which way do you turn in a crowded toy store, what should parents and grandparents look for buying this year's gift. i am so excited, i can barely contain myself. lori shack is here to talk about which toys kids will be after this season. >> amazing. today it is about turkey, friends and family. tomorrow we kickoff the holiday shopping. >> mad dash. >> start with something simple and fun. spaghetti heads. i am wearing one. great for the kids.

they come in different themes. chose the feather for thanksgiving. if they have short hair, cut them. great stocking did you ever. 13.99. >> for a three pack. all right. this girl needs no introduction. >> from "frozen." >> hot, hot, hot. this is snow globe elsa. bring her to life. her dress lights up. here is the best part. ♪ let it go, let it go! >> how much is this? >> 34.99. just does that one song. >> she does one song and 15 phrases. >> this one has more phrases. >> teenage mutant ninja turtles. leonardo, he has phrases.

he has cool ninja moves. >> that i see. >> is it leo or rafael -- >> if you put them on the table, he is fun. you can lay them sideways. >> that's hot. how much is that? >> $39. >> i like that. >> cool, right? >> and this is one that's probably a crowd favorite. >> it is. you know that kids love the same thing adults have. this is a smart watch. you have a watch that has a camera and video camera built in. it also has a clock face. there are 50 digital springs here, they can choose from and analog or digital. >> the attempted apple smart watch. >> and has games. >> how much is this? >> $59.

>> that's cheaper than i would have suggested. what's the suggested age? >> four and up. minions, we all love minions. this is the fireman. we can squeeze him. >> again, annoying after two weeks. that's what he does all day. for sure. heavy, too. got some weight to him. >> he is $49. legos, one of the hot things boys and girls want. this is from lego junior line. we have kids that start with duplo, then they go to this. we have the fire set that i brought, princess set. >> lots of pieces. >> about 150 pieces in both sets. great price points, both are 18 or $19. >> walk me through this. >> and they continue to wow us

with cool technology. you put this on the trap. you took your physical character, brought him to life on the screen. but now what you can do is you can capture the evil villain, put him here in the titanium trap. and he will jump to life on the screen. now he is going to be playing on my team. >> that's hot. >> he is a good guy now. >> all right. pretty cool. >> this is? >> this is robotic. stem is huge. you have to put the whole thing together. >> then you play with it. >> then you play with it. >> you put it together. this is $89. there are other versions less expensive. how long does it take to put it together. >> he could take awhile to put

together. >> but the reward, pay off. >> the payoff is huge. play with it christmas morning. assuming you have the batteries. this is a big deal. >> you have been waiting to fly this for awhile. this is a drone. what you're going to do, use this here. this is how we're going to fly him. this will go 100 feet in the air. >> there you go. okay. he does go up. 100 feet in the air. take pictures and video while flying. it is cool. you will see when you put this back on, it will work again. >> my apologies, this is a

national holiday set aside to give thanks. share your reasons with us on social media with #whyimthankful. that does it for me this hour. msnbc investigates next. stay with us for live updates through the day. thank you for giving me this drone. ♪ let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together ♪

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due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. i can be your best friend, at the same time, if you cross me or do me wrong, i can be your worst enemy. >> an inmate with a record dating back to age 14 comes to terms with his past and present. >> i'm not coming back. >> i'm sure i heard that last time. >> beat up bloody and beat up on grandville avenue, throw