ross's notoriously, fabulous do. and that's it for us. rachel will be back tomorrow. and i will see you on a.m. joy. and ari melber is sitting in for lawrence. will be back tomorrow. "first look" is up next. >> who will serve as donald trump's secretary of state? could it come down to a tug of war between mitt romney and rudy giuliani? plus -- >> if i win, i am going to ask my attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to look into her crimes. >> it was one of his big campaign promises to lock up hillary clinton, but now donald trump says he won't push for investigations into her use of a private e-mail server. and we're following new details this morning about the driver charged in that deadly school bus crash in tennessee. we'll take a look at state

documents about his driving record as we learn more about some of the young victims. hey there, good morning, everyone, it's wednesday, november 23rd. i'm alex witt along a dancing ali velshi there. the charleston post and currier reports nikki haley has been selected to be president-elect trump's ambassador to the united nations. currently in her second term, she's the nation's first female governor of indian descent and would be the first woman to accept a senior position. the move would elevate henry mcmaster, at the time the highest republican in the country to endorse donald trump. >> alex, there is more intrigue

over who will fill the top diplomatic post in the administration. the wall street journal reports the 2012 republican nominee mitt romney is the leading contender for secretary of state. the paper describes an ongoing tug of war between those backing romney and others urging the selection of former new york mayor rudy giuliani, while a third group is pushing for more candidates. a spokesman for president-elect trump said absolutely no decision has been made, while giuliani said only trump will know if he wants the job. >> i'm not going to discuss what i'm interested in or what the president-elect is thinking and mulling over. that's not fair. that's not the right way to do it, and this all has to be done very privately. i don't mean with regard to me, but with everyone else. >> are you still wanting secretary of state, sir? >> that i'll answer for the president-elect.

the wall street journal reports retired marine general james mattis is likely to be named for defense secretary. yesterday president-elect trump praised mattis saying, "i met with a number of other generals, they say he's the finest there is. he's being seriously, seriously considered for secretary of defense, which is i think it's time maybe for a general. look at what's going on. we can't beat anybody, we can't win anymore on anything. we certainly don't win with the military. general mattis is a strong, highly dignified man." current law requires the secretary of defense to be out of law for three years. in a new development, former cia director david petraeus said he would accept a post in the trump administration. in an interview released this morning, petraeus praised trump and quoted former national security adviser who said that

people must, quote, put a i side reservations based on campaign rhetoric and figure out what's best for the country. >> would you serve? >> i've been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the oval office in a difficult moment and turned without any pleasantries and said i'm asking you as your president and commander in chief to take command of the international security assistance force in afghanistan. the only response can be, yes, mr. president. four years ago petraeus resigned, admitting to an extramarital affair. it was later discovered he shared information with his mistrez and biographer. the notebooks contained code words for secret intelligence programs, the identities of covert officers, and information about war strategy and deliberative discussions with the national security council. last year petraeus pleaded

guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified material. president-elect trump had a wide ranging interview with journalists yesterday, coming hours after trump tweeted he cancelled it, citing a change in terms. nonetheless, the president-elect backs away from his threat to prosecute hillary clinton. that news was first reported yesterday on "morning joe." i don't want to hurt the clintons, i really don't. she went through a lot and suffered greatly in different ways, and i am not looking to hurt them at all. the campaign was vicious." breitbart ran the headline "broken promise" and senator lindsey graham had this to say. >> well, so much for locking her up, i guess. i can understand wanting to put the election behind us and heal the nation, but i do hope that all the things that donald trump said about how crooked she was,

that we don't just let it go without some serious effort to see if the law was truly violated. i think that would be a mistake. >> north carolina's governor is officially calling for a recount of votes over the tight race between him and his opponent, just two weeks after the election. governor pat mccrory requested the move yesterday. he finished fewer than 10,000 points behind cooper. cooper's lead has grown from less than 5,000 votes to more than 6,000 votes. cooper's campaign says his lead is actually even larger. mccrory has repeatedly raised concerns about voter fraud. nbc news has chosen to wait for the certified results of the contest, which are expected tuesday, to call that race. new information on the bus driver charged in that horrific crash that killed five children in tennessee.

johnthany walker was driving well over the 30 mile per hour limit on a road when he lost control of the bus. the ntsb released this video of investigators on the scene yesterday. the agency says it expects to be in chattanooga seven to ten days collecting information. nbc news learned from state record that is he had his license suspended in 2014 for 25 days for failing to show insurance. he was also involved in another minor school bus accident just two months ago in which no one was injured. the private company that owned the bus involved in the fatal wreck has had 142 injury crashes and three fatalities in the last two years. at least one mother from woodmore elementary school says she complained about walker's driving. jasmine mateen had three little girls on the bus, one died, and two are badly hurt. >> one has a concussion.

she has injuries to the neck. she got a fracture to the spine. jasmine got a concussion, injuries to the neck, bruises on her legs, and they haven't really gave me any updates on her legs, but my baby can't walk. >> and they were putting all the kids off the back of the bus, and i know my baby, he rides the front of the bus. and when they told me that they started from the back of the bus, i knew that my baby don't ride the back of the bus. >> that was diamond brown, who lost her 6-year-old son. 9-year-old jones is another victim onboard the bus. nbc's kerry sanders spoke to her aunt last night. >> she was a good child. she did good in school.

you know, she always did everything right. trying to be strong for my nephew. i'm trying to keep it together for myself. >> three of the deceased children were in the fourth grade, one in the first grade, one in kindergarten. six children remain in intensive care. a vigil was held last night at the new monumental baptist church in chattanooga, a community very much in mourning, alex. >> hard story to hear. four university of kansas cheerleaders suspended following the discovery of a snapchat photo many found offensive. the university learned of the social media post yesterday. the photo features three male members of the cheer squad in a row, each wearing a sweater with the letter "k" representing kansas. the caption on the photo, though, kkk go trump. the school tweeted identical statement which reads the four individuals referenced in the recent snapchat incident will

remain suspended with kansas athletics as the university completes their inquiries into this incident. in a message on their twitter account, the female cheerleader suspended denied being the one who posted the photo. ali. star studded day at the white house yesterday as president obama held his financial presidential medal of freedom ceremony yesterday. it's the nation's highest civilian honor, recognizing our best and brightest for their contributions. nbc's lester holt reports. >> reporter: it was an extraordinary gathering that even before the ceremony made for some remarkable images, including the obligatory mannequin pose that soared across social media. president obama hosting and celebrating the 21 distinguished americans who each has left an indelible mark on the nation's fabric. >> extraordinary americans who have lifted our spirits, strengthened our union, pushed

us towards progress. >> reporter: receiving the prestigious presidential medal of freedom honor, giants of sports, including kareem abdul-jabbar and michael jordan. >> renowned character actors like the guy from "space jam." >> reporter: legends of the screen, redford, hanks, and de niro. >> sicilian father turned new york mobster, a mobster who runs a casino, a mobster who needs therapy. >> access cesilie tyson. >> once she got her education and broke into the business, she made a conscious decision to speak out. >> for those left wondering by this tweet, ellen degeneres did make it inside the white house, forgotten i.d. notwithstanding, where the president praised her as a trail blazer. >> just how much courage was required for ellen to come out

on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago. >> reporter: there were musical icons, diana ross and bruce springsteen. >> i am the president, he is the boss. >> reporter: for all of them, the honor started with a phone call like this from the white house. >> oh, my gosh, no. >> yes. >> are you sure? i'm an old baseball announcer. >> but vin scully, that little old baseball announcer and dodgers legend, joined an exclusive club. >> i think as human beings we each looked at each other and thought we really are fortunate. i know i did for sure. >> president obama has now awarded 114 presidential medals of freedom. that's more than any other president before him. alex? >> that was just awesome. still ahead, you saw a little there, but coming up in sports, more on what president obama said to basketball legend michael jordan before presenting him with that medal of freedom. plus, how one ree poe man's

act of kindness helped out a couple in illinois. those stories and a check on weather when we come right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i want a hippopotamus for christmas ♪ ♪ only a hippopotamus will do

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military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast. going to give you a feel good story. here's the feel good story heading into the long weekend. illinois repo man jim ford had a change of heart when he had to repossess an older couple's 1998 buick. after his attempt to work out a deal with the bank went nowhere, ford decided to take matters into his own hands. he reportedly raised more than $3,500 using go fund me and some friends in the repo business all in one night. not only that, he gave the remaining $1,000 in cash to the couple, along with a frozen thanksgiving turkey and he also fixed the car's headlights,

topped off the radiator, and changed the oil. >> yeah, that was very good. a feel good story. >> i'll be back in a minute. >> you have the feel bad coming up. remember the ice bucket challenge from a couple years back? it's being preserved now at the smithsonian. the original bket from the first ice bucket challen has been donated to the national museum of history and is going to be part of the new long-term exhibit giving america. that exhibit opens november 29th. okay, now some negatives. so a cow has made his bid to bring the running of the bulls to pennsylvania. a young bull escaped from the philadelphia slaughter house yesterday afternoon, led police on a chase for more than four miles, including a stretch along i-95. as concern for public safety mounted, a pennsylvania game officer shot and killed the animal. if you happen to be looking at the night sky, good chance you reported a meteor.

the american meteorological society reports over 100 sightings from across the sunshine state, which should be renamed the fireball state, as long as you're not talking about fireball whiskey. >> now we're changing pace. >> you might need some of that. you have surgery coming up, mr. bill karins. >> no painkillers for me. >> i know we have weather, but sorry you have to go with your basketball injury. >> 11:00 a.m., couple pins in the finger, all good to go. as far as the forecast goes today, showers and storms. currently didn't get any severe weather in texas. chance of isolated tornados, didn't happen, no complaints at all. treacherous weather is in minnesota and wisconsin. there was some snow overnight, inch or two and ice, so that can be slippery. a lot of rain through arkansas and headed to memphis shortly. as far as thunderstorms, white on the map, this is where we have lightning strikes. that's heading into areas around

huntsville. again, not severe. it's going to be a downpour or two. let me take you to the travel maps today. this is our thanksgiving holiday map. as far as airports go, potential for delays is highest early today around minneapolis, o'hare, also midway, and then detroit got the possibility, indianapolis included in that. minor issues in st. louis, but i think that will go away. as far as traveling on the roads, east coast you're fine. i meant to mention the chicago airport also light rain early today, clears in o'hare this afternoon. as far as the highways go, interstate 65, rainy, a few thunderstorms possible, into the afternoon, you'll clear later on this evening. for our friends on the west coast, heavy rain comes in late tonight, into tomorrow, and interstate five, so some issues out there today, but i don't think we'll see anyone getting cancelled as far as flights or on the roads. should be just delays with the weather. >> okay, everyone wants to get where they want to get to for thanksgiving, thank you, bill. still ahead, bad news for

the bears after quarterback jay cutler suffers a possible season ending injury. plus, rapper gucci mane proposed last night, however, an engagement ring was not the only thing he gave away. sports is next. beyond is a natural pet food that goes beyond assuming ingredients are safe... to knowing they are. going beyond expectations... because our pets deserve it. beyond. natural pet food.

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and we hit the mute button there. louis is out. the president there was with michael jordan. do you guys have it? no, we don't have it. let's move on. let's talk about the nhl. remember the nhl awarded vegas a hockey team and everybody was trying to think what would be the good name? black jacks, gamblers, well, they came up with the vegas golden knights, fitted with a new logo and the colors steel gray, gold, red, and black. sin city's first major league sports franchise will hit the ice in 2017 as part of the pacific division in the western conference. turning to the nfl, where this could be the beginning of the end of the jay cutler era in chicago. not one bears fan upset about this. his season is likely over after tests report a torn throwing shoulder, but this is bigger problems for cutler and his future for the bears who signed

quarterback david fails. never heard of him. i follow a lot of football. cutler is technically under contract until 2020, but the bears have to find a way out that won't be too costly and will likely look for a new franchise quarterback in the draft. university of notre dame's 2012-2013 football season wiped away. the ncaa announced academic misconduct on the former student athletic trainer, who the association says provided several players with extra academic benefits. the trainer has been given one year probation and two-year disassociation with the university. in addition, notre dame was placed on a one-year probation, received a $5,000 fine. that's like fining my 6-year-old a nickel. the ncaa did not name any of the players involved. notre dame is expected to appeal the penalty, forcing the school to vacate their wins. turning now to nba action in los angeles late last night.

the lakers trailing the thunder by one point and the clock's ticking down. >> over with eight to play. nick young for the lead. he's good! the lakers lead by two! >> the lakers rally back after blowing a 14-point lead in the final minute, that's nick young, aka swaggy p. hitting the go ahead three-pointer with five seconds to play. l.a. hangs on to beat oklahoma city 111-109. not too bad in the post kobe era. finally in atlanta, love is in the air, gucci mane popped the question on the kiss cam, proposing to his long time girlfriend while sitting courtside as the hawks hosted the pelicans. the rapper also performed at half-time and gave away a rolex watch to one lucky fan. as for the matchup, the pelicans beat the hawks 112-94. she did say yes. >> that's good. >> regrettably for the rest of

her life she'll have to answer the question where did you get engaged. >> notre dame's 2012 and 2013 wins over usc? >> don't bring up the usc thing. move on. they are playing well this year. >> i'm going to move on. still ahead, more on donald trump's potential cabinet picks, including what role ben carson may be considering. plus, donald trump's foundation acknowledges violating irs regulations. that's coming up next. we'll be right back. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪

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he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast.

hey there, welcome back, everyone. i'm alex witt alongside ali velshi. it is just about the bottom of the hour. we're going to start with the morning's top stories for you. federal investigators are on the scene of the deadly school bus crash in tennessee. according to an affidavit, the 24-year-old bus driver, johnthany walker, was driving well over the 30 mile per hour limit on the road when he lost control of the bus. five children were killed, six children remain in the intensive care unit. durham school services, which owned the bus, has had 142 injury crashes, three fatalities just in the last two years, ali. >> alex, new reporting on donald trump's transition this morning. the charleston post and courier worts nikki haley has been selected to be president-elect trump's ambassador to the united nations. governor haley, the nation's first female governor of indian descent would be the first woman to accept a position in the incoming administration.

as it is every year, aaa says today will be the busiest travel day of the holiday weekend, no matter the mode of transportation. the auto association expects nearly 49 million travelers to hit the roads, rails, and skies over the thanksgiving holiday. that would be a 2% increase over last year and the highest level of travel since 2007. like a broken record, more trump transition talk, ben carson the acclaimed neurosurgeon says he has been offered the role of hud secretary. >> have you been offered, sir? >> we have had offers, yes. >> is it the hud position? >> i would say that was one of the offers that's on the table. >> what would steer you to take a job for which a lot of folks say, hey, you have these ample medical degrees and one of the nation's top neurosurgeons, what do you know about doing this? >> well, i know that i grew up in the inner city and have spent a lot of time there, have dealt

with a lot of patients from that area, and recognize that we cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities. >> earlier in the day president-elect tweeted, "i'm seriously considering dr. ben carson as the head of hud. i've gotten to know him well, he's a greatly talented person who loves people." a week ago carson's camp cast doubt that he'd have a position. "dr. carson was never offered a specific position, but everything was open to him." continues, "dr. carson feels he has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency. the last thing he'd want to do is take a position that could cripple the presidency." former chancellor of washington, d.c., schools, michelle rhee, cleared speculation she was up for a job tweeting that she is not pursuing a position with the administration, though she appreciated having the opportunity to share her

thoughts with the president-elect. and one more note, politico reports that former democratic congressman harold ford jr. is a possible contender for transportation secretary or another cabinet post. alex? do y remember the ben carson stuff is interesting, he said he wasn't prepared for a government position, but he ran for president. >> yeah, there was that. good point, ali. okay, also harold ford jr., of course, a good friend to "morning joe." president-elect donald trump's foundation acknowledged it may have violated regulations barring it from using money or assets to benefit trump, his family, his companies, or contributors to the foundation. according to "the washington post," the admissions were contained in a 2015 tax filing made public after the presidential election. in the filing the foundation checked yes to answer a question about whether resources had been directed or used to benefit a disqualified person, that means one of the organization's central people. the filing also reveals that trump used the charity to settle

lawsuits, make a $25,000 political contribution, and purchase items including a football helmet and a painting of trump himself, which hangs on the wall of one of his golf courses. neither the trump transition team or irs responded to requests for comments yesterday. trump could be required to repay the money the charity spent on his behalf. donald trump is weighing policy options and is suddenly indicating he could shift away from some of his fiery campaign positions. in a wide ranging interview with "the new york times," the incoming president said he was surprised by the position of retired general james mattis on waterboarding. "i met with him at length and i said what do you think of waterboarding? he said, i've never found it to be useful. he said, i've always found give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and i do better with that than torture. i was impressed by that answer, i was surprised. he's known as being the toughest

guy, mad dog mattis, mad dog for a reason. i thought he'd say it's phenomenal, don't lose it." trump also seemed to moderate on climate change, refusing to repeat his campaign promise to abandon the climate accord reached last year in paris, saying i'm looking closely at it. despite appointing a fierce critic to the paris accords, the president-elect said, "i have an open mind to it and clean air and crystal clean water were vitally important." also learning president-elect trump is getting behind the scenes advice from president obama. responding to reports obama described him to others as overwhelmed, trump said, i think if he said overwhelmed, i don't think he meant that in a bad way. i think he meant it is a very overwhelming job, but i'm not overwhelmed by it. trump added he and obama come from different sides of the equation. i didn't know if i'd like him, i probably thought maybe i wouldn't, but i did. i really enjoyed him a lot. i've spoken to him since the

meeting. yesterday the white house confirmed the conversations but said there'd be no further details. >> reports the two have talked after their white house meeting, i think, are not particularly surprising. i'm not going to read out or confirm every reported meeting or phone call or conversation. i can tell you that the president has had a conversation with the president-elect since the oval office meeting. >> a spokesperson for joe biden says the vice president has ruled out the possibility of leading the democratic party once he leaves office in january. in a statement, biden's communication director said, "the vice president is not interested in being dnc chair but intends to be deeply involved in shaping the direction of the democratic party moving forward." keith ellison has launched a bid to be the next dnc chairman, while steadily adding endorsements, he may be facing resistance from the white house. according to "the new york times," some of president

obama's advisers are discussing possible alternatives for the chairman role, including labor secretary thomas perez and jennifer granholm. ali? all right, let's turn to business, where there were huge moves in the stock market yesterday. the dow jones industrial average reached 19,000 for the first time in history, but the s&p 500 also reached a record high. poor s&p 500 doesn't have a big board, so people don't pay as much attention to it, but this is what it means to your investments. this is over time. the s&p 500 has had an average return of about 6.5% annually between 2005 and 2015. but this just to give you some perspective is a big year. we're now almost at 8% in 2016 alone. the market continues to respond very positively to president-elect donald trump. the idea is that once he takes office he will loosen regulations on companies, making it easier for them to make money. remember, though, that despite

enthusiasm and momentum, smart investors base the price they pay for a stock on a sensible multiple of what the company is expected to earn in a year. some experts point to the fact that on this basis, entire industries, financial stocks for instance, may be a bit overvalued and may not be able to continue this rally. but that's just opinion and the market is based as much on fact as it is on sentiment, so govern your investment decisions accordingly. and more bad news for samsung, this morning south korean prosecutors raided the company's offices, as well as those of the national pension fund as part of a corruption investigation linked to the company's president. cnbc's carolyn roth joins us live from london. carolyn, this is a growing investigation that's already seen calls for mr. park's resignation. >> you're absolutely right. this is in connection with a wide ranging scandal that's engulfed the south korean president park geun-hye over the last couple of weeks or so and her friend, close confidante,

but not part of the government. prosecutors now believe that close friend has extorted companies like hyundai, lg, and samsung to push money into her trust funds. now, this is really sparked an outcry in south korea and many people have taken to the streets and demonstrated against that friend and against the government, but so far no plans for park geun-hye, the president, to step down. also want to tell you about amazon. potentially bad news for the company as we come up to the all important holiday shopping season and cyber monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year. yesterday pilots at abx air, an express cargo airline servicing amazon went on strike in a dispute over working hours. some 250 pilot s wep s went on but amazon says we have contracts in place, so you'll still get your parcels on time, at least that's the hope.

in automotive news, seems the diesel cars in the u.s. may be a thing of the past, according to one of their executives. after that big diesel emissions scandal settled earlier this year, they no longer plan to sell diesel cars in the u.s. back over to you. >> carolyn roth in london, thank you so much for joining us. alex? well, the dalai lama is offering an optimistic outlook about donald trump. when questioned about the campaign season by a reporter this morning, the nobel peace prize winner had a message of hope. >> sometimes i feel during election, the candidate has more freedom to express. now once they are elected, having the responsibility, then they have to carry their vision,

and reality. so i'm not worried. some programs go to the united states. so i am looking forward to seeing the new president. meanwhile, jordan's king echoed the dalai lama's sentiment, this while speaking in australia. >> i have had the opportunity to speak to the president-elect donald trump last week. the synergy was very good in the phone call conversation. i know many members of the transitional team, and, obviously, america e's an institution, so there will be some changes in policy, but not to the extent everybody is panicking about. let's give them the benefit of the doubt. still ahead, bill karins tells us where to expect the worst weather over the holiday weekend. plus, president obama awards his final presidential medals of freedom. some of the biggest names of

movies, music, and sports were honored. we'll bring you the highlights. >> in 1973 a critic wrote of robert de niro, this kid doesn't just act, he takes off into the vapors. it was true. his characters are iconic. the sicilian father turned new york mobster, a mobster who runs a casino, a mobster who needs therapy, a father-in-law who's scarier than a mobster, al capone, a mobster. we are the tv doctors of america.

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did we just see that? >> that just happened. >> he was kind of a cool guy out there. >> he was. >> all right. it's a new look for rick perry. he wasn't that bad. he was owning that. >> yeah. >> all right. all right. there you go. and it was certainly a star-studded day at the white house as president obama honored 21 distinguished americans with the nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. >> today we celebrate extraordinary americans who have lifted our spirits, strengthened our union, pushed us towards

progress. first we came close to missing out on a bill and melinda gates incredible partnership because apparently bill's opening line was, do you want to go out two weeks from this coming saturday? fortunately, melinda believes in second chances, and the world is better for it. in 1976 lauren michaels implored the beatles to reunite on his brand new show. in exchange he offered them $3,000. which was early proof that lorne michaels has a good sense of humor. it's easy to forget now just how much courage was required for ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago. what an incredible burden that was to bear, to risk your career like that. people don't do that very often. from a philadelphia courtroom, to normandy's beach, to the dark side of the moon, he has introduced us to america's

unassuming heros. tom says he just saw ordinary guys who did the right thing at the right time. well, it takes one to know one. there is a reason you call somebody the michael jordan of. they know what you're talking about. because michael jordan is the michael jordan of greatness. along with her honey voice, her soulful sensibility, diana exuded glamour and grace and filled stages that helped to shape the sound of motown. bruce springsteen has brought us all along on a journey consumed with the bargains between position, justice, pleasure, and pain, the simple glories and scattered heartbreak of everyday life in america. i am the president, he is the boss. ladies and gentlemen, i want you all to give it up for the recipients of the 2016 presidential medal of freedom. >> president obama has now awarded 114 presidential medals

of freedom, and that is more than any other president before him. one honoree, though, almost did not make the ceremony. before it was set to begin, you see ellen. she tweeted, "they haven't let me into the white house yet because i forgot my i.d." as you saw, ellen did make it, fortunately. there was also this viral moment in the honorees taking part in the mannequin challenge, which i think looks great. that's fun, ali. >> i was doing my mannequin challenge, yeah. >> it took a second. >> i think bill might be doing the same thing, too. let's get a look at the weather with meteorologist bill karins. >> doesn't work on tv. >> people expect a little. >> that was good. the travel today, we don't have horrible issues anywhere. this is the future radar at 1:00 showing you where the snow or rain will be. snow over northern wisconsin and northern michigan. rain showers and isolated thunderstorm in the middle of the country through mississippi, louisiana, snow in areas of the west. a lot of the airports today will

be great after the delays with the winds in the northeast, no problems at all. i have these in red as major, but maybe lower these to moderate. rain is not going to cause huge delays in detroit, cleveland, indianapolis, and o'hare. those will be the airports to watch today and also our friends in seattle. that's late today. they are going to get heavy rain late tonight, early in the morning for anyone traveling in there. across the ohio valley you'll get rain. 65 from chicago to nashville. but it's not going to pour, not the kind of thing you don't cancel your travel plans today. thursday morning, maybe some isolated showers in the northeast. that's really about it. i'm happy to report that the parade forecast for macy's is improving. now it's down to a 30% chance for showers and we're going to have a lot of fun out there, temperatures in the mid 40s. alex, looks good. still ahead, sobering new statistics, not good on how bad the situation is in syria and iraq. back in a moment with that. beyond is a natural pet food

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the united nations is out with some sobering statistics about the crisis in syria. according to the u.n., there are more than 1 million people living in besieged syria. doubling from six months ago. they also described the situation in aleppo as a, quote, slaughter house. >> it is a level of violence and destruction that the world appears to consider normal for syria and normal for the syrian people. month after month i have

reported to this council that the level of depravity afflicted upon the syrian people cannot sink lower, only to return the following month with hideous and shocking disbelief new reports of ever worsening human suffering. i hear the arguments that this council should not pass a resolution because it would be, quote, premature. mr. president, it is never, never too premature to save a life. >> new report highlights the tactics isis has used to gain and maintain power. according to intelligence collection and analysis service ihs, since 2014 isis has used chemical weapons at least 19 times in mosul and at least 52 times throughout iraq and syria. the chemical attacks include chlorine and mustard agents, as well as dirty bombs, which spread radio logical material using conventional explosives. peace has been elusive for decades in colombia, but now

it's closer than ever. a deal between the government and farc rebels failed once before, but now a revised agreement. some still oppose the peace accord saying it doesn't do enough to punish the rebels for years of human rights abuses. when we come back, a look at the day ahead. on wednesday at the white house, president obama will pardon his final thanksgiving turkey. after all these years, i'm not sure he enjoys it as much as he used to. >> today i have the awesome responsibility of granting a presidential pardon to a pair of turkeys. we can't wait to pardon these turkeys. and with that, i think we are going to bestow the official pardon. the most powerful position in the world brings with it many awesome and solemn responsibilities. this is not one of them. it is a little puzzling that i

do this every year. oh, boy. >> oh, boy. i thought i married an italian. my lineage was the vecchios and zuccolis. through ancestry, through dna i found out that i was only 16% italian. he was 34% eastern european. so i went onto ancestry, soon learned that one of our ancestors we thought was italian was eastern european. this is my ancestor who i didn't know about. he looks a little bit like me, yes. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com ♪ simulation initiated. ♪ ♪

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before we toss it over to "morning joe," let's get a check on the stories that you're going to be hearing about in the day ahead. the uk chancellor of the x chapter is set to lay out the nation's economic vision for the first time in the wake of the brexit vote. philip hammond will unveil his forecast for growth, inflation. check this out, it's a live look at hartsfield jackson international airport in atlanta this morning. the crowds are going to be picking up. there's a lot of people there already. many americans heading out on their thanksgiving holiday on what is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. 49 million people will be traveling more than 50 miles away from home. keeping with the thanksgiving spirit, president obama is set to hand out the final turkey pardon of his presidency during the white house tradition. this year's candidates are two turkeys from iowa named tater and tot. both turkeys will, in fact, be spared. they will be retiring to a life

of leisure in virginia. >> they appreciate it. we saw jimmy fallon didn't think so much, but tater and tot are going to love that. that does it for wednesday. happy thanksgiving to all of you. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> he's more than just a logo. more than just an internet meme. there is a reason you call somebody the michael jordan of. michael jordan of neurosurgery or michael jordan of rabbis. they know what you're talking about because michael jordan is the michael jordan of greatness. he is the definition o