exploring, a, has he done it before. b, if so, why? >> witnesses tell investigators walker was driving well above the speed limit. the local board of education has confirmed it received complaints about how walker operated his bus, and several relatives of victims say he was a known problem. >> it was about him slamming on brakes on purpose, making all the kids hit their heads. >> she said one time before to my mom, granny, that man drives like a fool. >> and we will keep you up to date throughout the day on the conditions of those children still hospitalized. >> turning to politics. president-elect donald trump is broadening the diversity of his cabinet with two new appointments, selecting republican fund-raiser betsy devos to be secretary of education. she's an advocate for charter schools and had ties to the education foundation of jeb bush, which raised questions about her position on common core. the education standards

advocated by the obama administration. in a statement posted to her website yesterday, devos clarified, quote, i am not a supporter, period. adding, have organizations that i have been a part of supported common core? of course, but that's not my position. sometimes it's not just students who need to do their homework. >> along with the selection of nikki haley for u.n. ambassador, trump now has two women in cabinet level positions after selecting five men for the first five. betsy devos is a major republican donor who supported marco rubio this year and comes from one of the wealthiest families in america. her husband, dick devos who ran in 2006 against jennifer granham is heir to the multibillion dollar amway fortune. her father founded blackwater, the private security firm that received billions of contracts in the iraq war and was the center of controversy after its guards shot and killed 17 iraqi

civilians. the new yorker unearthed this 1997 quote from betsy devos about campaign donations. quote, i are decided to stop taking offense at the suggestion we're buying influence. now i simply concede the point. they are right. we do expect something in return. we expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional american values. we expect a return on our investment. >> and the president-elect released a thanksgiving message yesterday in which he addressed the divisions from the election. >> we've just finished a long and bruising political campaign. emotions are raw and tensions just don't heal overnight. it doesn't go quickly, unfortunately. but we have before us the chance now to make history together. >> trump says a new national campaign is now beginning to, quote, rebuild our country and restore promise. let's bring in senior writer at politico and co-author of

"playbook." jake sherman. i want to get to the specifics of the cabinet and what he's going to accomplish in the first six months. healing the divisions. i ask you about this because around thanksgiving tables, people are banning political talk. >> i hope to at mine. >> what has he done. what can he do, do you think, to help do that? would a mitt romney help with some of the people on the other side? >> i think so. and i think a lot of the republicans on capitol hill and around trump want trump to give some kind of major speech denouncing some of the hateful rhetoric that's come out of what we call the alt-right, and kind of assuaging fears. >> are you hearing anything that's he's seriously considering that? >> no, but on 60 minutes, he looked into the camera and said stop it. that's not enough. in "the new york times" interview yesterday in new york, he said i denounce these groups, but people want him to do something more. we'll see if he does that on his victory tour, which he might undertake in the next couple days. if he really gets out there and says we need to bring the country together and we need to

stop some of the hateful rhetoric. >> let's talk about, he's finishing up his cabinet. we talked about two women. strong possibility tomorrow that he's going to bring ben carson in, african-american, to his cabinet. what's the overall message that he wants to send as he appoints these folks or at least nominates them? >> he wants to send the message that he's draining the swamp, he's bringing in political outsiders, bliringing in people who are qualified to do the job. but he's not meaningfully changing the shape of american governing. betsy devos is a major republican fund-raiser, as you said. her husband is one of the we welgiest men in america. ben carson ran for president. nikki haley is a political insider in south carolina. that's not to say they won't be up for the job, but donald trump said he was going to do things differently and he's not. not in a meaningful way. >> i want to ask you about the next six month. he's a person who has said all along, i'm going to get this done. i'm going to make things better. he never really had specific

plans about how he was going to do that. but clearly, their focus as an organization, planning for this presidency to get something done, is infrastructure their first best hope? >> let's break that apart. it's probably their best hope. it won't happen in the first couple months. this is a complicated -- doing a massive tax and infrastructure package is a big undertaking. >> how long have we been talking about this? years and years. >> tax reform is not easy. repealing obamacare is not easy. there's many steps. i would not look at it as the first 100 days. i would look at it as the first six months. i was trying to calculate how many days in my head. i was not a good math student. i would look at it as a longer term undertaken, the first six months to a year. those two items, obamacare and tax reform and infrastructure, three items, i guess, will be, if he does that, will be a massive win for republicans who have been yearning to do these things for long time.

>> if you and i could do the math in our heads, we would be in a different profession. we'll stick with this. jake sherman, happy thanksgiving. go finish the playbook. i'm wanting to see the playbook. he's never not working. thank you. this morning, security in new york city is at a heightened state ahead of today's 90th macy's thang thank day parade. they blew up the balloons over night, but there's also more than 80 sand-filled sanitation blocks blocking intersections along the parade route. security also includes thousands of heavily armed officers, bomb sniffing dogs, portable radiation detectors. just a short time ago, i spoke with former nypd commissioner bill bratton. let's talk a little bit about the particular challenges that when you have millions of people who are lining the streets of new york city present for the nypd and all the security officials who are here. >> the event is still primarily a crowd management issue. millions of people, traffic control. but over the last several years, the concerns about

terrorist-related activities have certainly added a new element. >> look what happened in nice, france. i know they changed some of the rules to accommodate that possibility. >> right, this year, the addition of 80-some large sand-filled trucks block intersections to prevent someone from getting on the route is an add-on. over my time as commissioner, we created two new units that are specifically assigned to the parade. those are the heavily armed officers you describe with the long guns and the tactical gear. and the addition also of the dogs. the vapor wake dogs, they call them. they're going to walk along the crowd line and sniff and detect a potential explosive. it's a shame we have to go to those lengths, but that's the world we live in. >> that was bill bratton speaking with me last hour. joining us from here in new york city, nbc news correspondent tammy leitner. hey, tammy. not a bad day out there this morning. preparing for this -- >> not too bad. >> as i was coming in and it was

still dark, you saw the police who were mobilizing, as people were lining up along the street. this is no small feat. it also involves volunteers that trained for this all year round. what can you tell us? >> reporter: you know, chris, this parade would not happen without the volunteers. there are about 8,000 people who participate in this parade, and many of those people, they have not slept. they worked through the night to make this happen today. we were there yesterday when they were inflating the giant helium balloons. and this has really become the parade before the parade. this used to be something only new yorkers knew about. now, about a million people show up to see this process. i can tell you, there were thousands of little kids hanging on the metal railings, waiting for these giant balloons to take shape. there's about 150 volunteers out there, a lot of them from stevens institute, and there really is an art form to these balloons. they train four times a year, how to inflate them, how to carry them when they're walking along the parade route. one thing you have to know, it

takes about 50 to 100 handlers to walk with each balloon, and there's actually a weight minimum. you have to be at least 120 pounds to walk down the parade route and carry one of these balloons. back to you. >> yeah, can i tell you, as somebody who has gone to see that prior to it becoming very popular and not having to fight the crowds, it honestly is one of the coolest things. you can't really understand it until you see it. anyway, let's talk a little bit about the crowd that's around you, because i was surprised again. 5:00 this morning, as i'm walking in, there are people with little kids lining up that early. tell me about the mood of the crowd. >> reporter: you know, our crew has been here since very early in the morning, and i can tell you, there were people out here very, very early, when it was almost dark. and yeah, there's people with kids. people with chairs in the very front row. and they're bundled up. thousands of people just waiting anxiously for the parade to start. >> i think that their patience will be well rewarded. a cool thing to see in person.

tammy leitner, thank you very much. >> a lot of folks traveling, not to new york, elsewhere. 49 million people expected to travel this holiday weekend. according to aaa, the largest number of thanksgiving travelers since the great recession nine years ago because gas is averaging just $2.13 a gallon. the vast majority of those people driving. also a record 3.6 million people are expected to fly somewhere for the holiday. the busiest travel hubs this year, atlanta, l.a.x., chicago o'hare, dallas ft. worth, and new york's jfk airport. let's bring in bonnie schneider with a look at what to expect outside this turkey day. bonnie, how is it looking? really looking good across much of the country. the midwest clearing out. we are getting some showers and even some wintry precipitation in upstate new york. all the way into northern new england. and some of that into michigan as well. when we're looking at the flights, so far, no delays, but we anticipate them potentially into pittsburgh and seattle due to weather.

weather and windy conditions, also clouds lowering visibility. something to keep watch on. if you're driving today, most of thener states look really good with the exception of the pacific northwest. that's where we could see poor visibility if you're driving. windy weather in southern california, but drier conditions thou the midwest today as opposed to yesterday. buffalo to albany is where the gets dicy. the mix of rain and snow changing at times, even though accumulations will be light, it could cause the roadways to be slick. be careful driving, especially into the evening hours. the rest of the day looks fantastic temperature wise, not too cold. 36 in minneapolis. that's better than yesterday. look how warm it is in dallas and san antonio. in the 70s. a mild thanksgiving, and a calm one, at least weather wise, across the country. >> bonnie schneider, thank you so much. still ahead, what donald trump's election means for the fight against terrorism. we'll talk to a security expert about that. plus, a new report finds that the incoming president has received a notably low number of intelligence briefings since the election. we have the details on that coming up next.

♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪ ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪ ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪

nbc news confirms that president-elect donald trump has received only two classified intelligence briefings in the first two weeks after his surprise election. that breaks with a precedent set over the last 40 years in which incoming presidents begin receiving almost daily reports shortly after their victories. sources tell "the washington post" which was first to report on the briefings that vice president-elect mike pence has set aside time for intelligence officials almost every day. house intelligence committee chairman devin nunez of california said trump is taking national security very seriously. quote, look how many leader he's met with, how many phone calls he's doneering positions he's filled. people who are being critical need to get a life. joining us from philadelphia, executive director of the terror

asumymmetrical project. malcolm nanls, who is also a combat veteran and navy collections officer. good to see you. happy thanksgiving. >> good morning. >> so the fact that donald trump is not getting these daily intelligence briefings, he's only done two in two weeks, is it much ado about nothing or a big missed opportunity? >> it's not even a missed opportunity. what's happening here is the person that will be responsible for the national defense of the united states is not getting the information, which you must get on a day-to-day basis in order to understand the myriad of threats which are potentially in the face of the united states. including potential indicators of an attack, which might be in process or which we're developing through the intelligence community. this is really a dangerous situation. he needs to start taking this game seriously and get these briefings every day. >> have any of the appointments he's made made you feel better

or at least calm some of the nerves, do you think, of people within the intelligence community that he's making good choices? >> well, my own opinion, no. i done think he's made any appointments thus far. we haven't seen whether general mattis will take over the defense department, but he's setting up people in his cabinet, especially general flynn and steve bannon, for clash of civilizations between islam as a religion and christianity with the united states and russia as a lead. this i only going to create a mass exodus of people into the arms of terrorists. could possibly save isis and al qaeda, and create a wave of terrorist attacks in the united states and around the world. >> let me ask you about that, because i was talking to bill bratton just a little earlier, and isis has said they want to test donald trump. that they're predicting terror attacks. is that isis just causing more concern and discontent, or is that something you're really

worried about? >> it's something we're really worried about because isis is essentially a flash mob terrorist group. they have crowdsourced terrorism, which means anyone can carry out on act of terror in the name of isis. you also see this difficulty that we're having now with donald trump saying that he has no conflict of interest in his business holdings can essentially keep running with his name on them. well, that means all of his business holdings worldwide will become terrorist targets for groups that don't have the capacity to push into the united states. which means that, you know, we're looking at an exponential number of difficult situations which the president will have to face. and he has to start taking intelligence seriously. he can't dismiss it. he's not smarter than the generals or the intelligence collectors in the field, and it will only put americans at risk. >> the other thing that the threat of a terrorist attack does, even without one, but threat raises a lot of concerns

for people about immigration. something he talked about on the campaign trail. a new poll shows 50% of americans support suspending immigration from terror-prone regions. is that something that you think needs to seriously be looked at? >> well, no. it's absolutely ridiculous. you know, we have been fighting this war on terror since 2001, with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of u.s. service members, intelligence officers and support personnel, out in the field, supporting our muslim allies. in the fight against these nations, against these terrorist non-state actors. what this does is this will just taint the muslim world into believing that the united states no longer adheres to its own values of equal opportunity, of faith in government, and democracy. and it will push people towards terrorism. this is the wrong way to go about it. it will only make us far, far more prone to terrorist risk in

the future than we have ever been. even since 9/11. >> malcolm nanls, happy thanksgiving. thank you for taking the time to talk to us this morning. >> it's my pleasure. enjoy the parade. >> thanks. and still ahead, if you're nervous about sitting down with your family following this contentious election, boy, you're not alone. a new poll shows just how many americans are dreading the talk around the thanksgiving table. we'll take a look at those numbers ahead. we live in a pick and choose world.

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for the past seven years i have established another tradition. embarrassing my daughters with a corny-copia of dad jokes ability turkeys. this year, they had a scheduling conflict. actually, they just couldn't take my jokes anymore. >> do you remember the looks on their faces last year? it was like, we're done. we're so done, dad.

but many americans, they're not worried about a turkey pardon. they're worried that politics could disrupt an otherwise pleasant thanksgiving meal today. there's this amazing new poll that finds that 53% of americans are dreading the thought of talking politics over thanksgiving dinner this year. and perhaps not surprisingly, 58% of republicans are eager to do so. 63% of democrats want to skip the topic entirely. but get yourself ready because nearly two thirds of those celebrating the holiday today think the topic of politics is at least likely or somewhat likely to come up. still, most americans are grateful for many things as they silt down to dinner with family. their health, life in america tops the list. politics, however, doesn't make the cut at all. 5%, only 5% are thankful for the political outcome or a political leader this year. just ban it. if it's at your house, say we're

not talking about it. >> still ahead, donald trump transformed the republican party with his 2016 campaign and victory. "new york post" columnist frank buckley called it the end of checklist conservatism. he'll explain what that is ahead. world ugly and messy. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are. yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care, they become something beautiful. for your pet, to do the best you should know more about the food you choose. with beyond, you have a natural pet food that goes beyond telling ingredients to showing where they come from. beyond assuming the source is safe... to knowing it is.

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nausea, upper respiratory tract infection, and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ask your dermatologist about otezla today. otezla. show more of you. generosity is its oyou can handle being a mom for half an hour. i'm in all the way. is that understood? i don't know what she's up to, but it's not good. can't the world be my noodles and butter? get your mind out of the gutter. mornings are for coffee and contemplation. that was a really profound observation.

you got a mean case of the detox blues. don't start a war you know you're going to lose. finally you can now find all of netflix in the same place as all your other entertainment. on xfinity x1. we thought it might be a good idea to update the story of thanksgiving to reflect our modern sensitivities. with that said, we proudly present the students of edward james olmos elementary school in the first ever politically correct thanksgiving pageant. kids. >> whoa, we don't eat turkey. it's not justifiable. >> frankly, i'm offended by the sight of it. >> check your privilege, pilgrim. >> you check your privilege, indian. >> whoa. >> and just as everyone's triggers were being alerted, a thanksgiving miracle happened. >> hi, everyone.

>> what are you? >> i'm a tofurkey. i'm made of 100% bean curd and wheat protein. and i am gmo-free, so dig in. >> this is disgusting. >> you see? when we all come together and compromise and spend all of our time trying to please everyone, we end up with a lumpy mound of brown goo. now, let us sing. ♪ we wish you a safe thanksgiving ♪ ♪ we wish you a nonconfrontational thanksgiving ♪ sn ♪ we wish you a multicultural thanksgiving ♪ ♪ and a mick croaggression free new year ♪ >> microaggression free. welcome back to msnbc on this thanksgiving day.

i'm chris jansing here in new york city. we begin this half hour with politics and the news of donald trump's latest cabinet picks. joining us from palm beach, florida, nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. happy thanksgiving. what's going on down there? >> reporter: happy thanksgiving, my friend. well, we got two big cabinet picks yesterday, chris. two women, and it really underscored that donald trump is moving to diversify his cabinet. the first is south carolina governor nikki haley. for u.n. ambassador. she is someone who's 44 years old, the nation's youngest serving governor. the first diverse governor of south carolina. she was a former critic of donald trump, which may be one of the most interesting things about her. we're starting to see a little bit of a team of rivals come together. the one challenge for her is she doesn't have foreign policy experience. that's an issue that is sure to be raised during the confirmation hearings. however, she's expected to be confirmed. republicans do have the majority in the senate.

then the second pick, betsy devos for education secretary. she supports school choice, voucher programs. she's opposed to common core. you had people like jeb bush praising the pick, but then the two biggest teachers unions saying it was a pick that would actually hurt students and hurt public education. i think there's going to be a little bit of a broader fight for betsy devos. then if we look beyond the holiday, i don't think we'll get any more picks today, we're watching dr. ben carson closely. the reason why, he has been offered the job as hud secretary. i spoke with his spokesperson yesterday who said he is still very much mulling the decision. one of the challenges is he really doesn't have background in housing and urban development. so i think he's trying to think through if he's right for that position. but we're anticipating we're going to get an answer soon. he posted yesterday on facebook that he was nearing a decision, chris. >> so kristen, let's talk about something that's very important to everyone who is in the white house press corps. we joke about it all the time.

that is where does the new president spend his holidays. where does he spend his summer break. obama, it was hawaii and martha's vineyard, not bad. i think you'll see a lot of donald trump at least in the winter for sure, like at what will be his winter white house down there in mar-a-lago. a lot of pretends have had homes in florida. nothing quite like this. >> nothing quite like this. you're familiar with these presidential vacations. you know the deal. but you're absolutely right. this is quickly earning the title winter white house, mar-a-lago here in palm beach. it's a storied estate. it's steeped in history. mr. trump has actually spent the past 20 thanksgivings here. now that he's president-elect, everything is different. >> absolutely magical. it's the most beautiful place in the world. >> tony knows a thing or two about mar-a-lago.

donald trump's palm beach, florida, estate. he worked there for half a century, up until 2009, for more than 20 years as the trump family's personal butler. >> this one i like. >> but the situation at mar-a-lago is about to change. big league. >> it's just mr. trump and ms. melania and myself. excuse me. president-elect trump. got to get used to that. >> mar-a-lago is soon to become a very opulent winter white house, or as some speculate, because of its color, the pink white house. >> it's so great to be at mar-a-lago with friends and the press and the media. and everybody. >> the 20-acre estate was built by marjorie merryworth post. she envisioned it as a retreat for presidents. now say it's the most valuable parcel of land in florida. much of the 126-room estate is used by the members only mar-a-lago club, which includes a spa, pool, and tennis courts. the trump family maintains

private quarters in a separate, closed off area of the house. mar-a-lago has always been a center of attention in wealthy palm beach. at times, something of a party place. hundreds of celebrities have made their way there to mingle with the trumps. but now as president trump, residents are not quite sure what to expect. >> i think it will bring a lot of attention, a lot of tourism, so it's a bit of a double-edged sword i suppose. >> we'll see how it goes. it's a welcome presence. just as long as it's not too bad traffic wise. >> we have a wonderful picture. >> benjamin is the curator of the palm beach county historical society. he's seen this before. >> he's not our first president palm beach. >> presidents have been escaping washington winters and spending time in florida for decades. the kennedys liked to winter at their compound in palm beach. before that, harry truman had a place in key west, and richard nixon had a house on key biscayne, just outside of miami. now, it will be president trump's sunshine state.

>> we're starting to collect things on the trump presidency just like we did for the kennedy presidency. >> last year, trump made almost $16 million for mar-a-lago. according to his financial disclosure statement. now, its value may be immeasurable. >> i can just see mrs. post smiling because it's become what she always wanted it to be. its time has come. >> and chris, just as you would imagine, security has been ramped up here. the coast guard is patrolling the waters around the estate, and the faa has restricted the air space for as long as mr. trump is in town. >> thanks so much, and again, happy thanksgiving, kristen. >> let's bring in professor of law at george mason university and author of "the way back, restoring the promise of america," frank buckley. so you write in this week's "new york post" that trump is a shape shifter who has utterly transformed one political party and confounded the other. let's start with the first. what does donald trump mean for

the republican party? >> well, a complete change from what had gone before, at least in the person of someone like mitt romney. romney came out with, as you'll recall, a 57-point plan which absolutely nobody read. but while he communicated a perfect fidelity to right-wing principles, he also conveyed an indifference to people, and voters got that, and president obama conveyed the message that i've got your back, and people voted for him. so that kind of conservatism, that kind of right-wing ideology just died in 2012. what trump came up with, i think, is something a little different. i mean, the primary message is, i'm going to look after the american people, and frankly, i think he's going to surprise a lot of people. i think he's going to be governing as a, well, rather more moderate than people expect and we're beginning to see that in some of his choices. >> where do you see that, like, showing itself in the first 100 days? do you think? >> a lot of change in the first 100 days, but a lot of the

initiatives are going to be legislative, so the interesting question is going to be him working it out with people like chuck schumer in the senate and with mitch mcconnell. paying a lot of attention to constitutional issues and to the filibuster. >> let me ask you about the second part of your statement in "the washington post" which is you say, obviously, he also confounded the other party, and the democrats now are trying to figure out what happened, first of all, how to go forward, who will be the dnc chair. where do you think the democratic party lands as a result of the donald trump election? >> well, the one thing the two parties had in common is they didn't seem to like the american people much. i mean, you know, mitt romney's 47% of takers, and as for the dems, if you put all your eggs in a diversity basket, you're ignoring all the people who aren't in that particular basket, and it doesn't help if you talk about people clinging to their guns and religion or being a bunch of bigots or what

not. i think, you know, the democrats would do much better to try to have a party that conveyed the message that, you know, we like all americans, and we want all americans to do well without exception. and that message seemed to be lost a little bit last time around. >> let me ask you quickly because joe scarborough, during these hours likes to talk about the fact that donald trump was a democrat. and he is a new yorker. he is a dyed in the wool new yorker, which by definition means that you tent to talk about social things like taking care of those who are less fortunate than you are. it's a very open in terms of things like same-sex marriage. how much are we going to see the new yorker in donald trump as he governs? >> well, i think quite a bit. and i think that's great. i mean, we don't want to get back to the culture wars. and we would like to have a health care system that's going to take care of the most vulnerable of americans. i mean, that's not the message you got from the mitt romneys. >> frank buckley, from george

mason university, good to see you. and happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. take care. >> still ahead, the brexit effect sweeping the uk means americans are now getting more bang for the buck in britain. we'll get a look at how folks abroad are cashing in on a few thanksgiving traditions including black friday. we'll be right back. [vo] quickbooks introduces jeanette. and her new business: i do, to go. jeanette was excellent at marrying people. but had trouble getting paid. not a good time, jeanette. even worse. now i'm uncomfortable. but here's the good news, jeanette got quickbooks. send that invoice, jeanette. looks like they viewed it. and, ta-da! paid twice as fast. oh, she's an efficient officiant.

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tip six, create new things to talk about by changing up tradition. for instance, this year, deep fry the turkey. you can't talk about politics when you're busy battling the garage fire. tip seven, definitely prepare a vegan option for your niece coming home from college. that way everyone can gang up on her. tip eight, remember, these are your relatives. try not to see them as political opponents but rather as potential kidney donors. >> oh, stephen. and there's a new report that

says president-elect trump's most prominent supporter in the uk will soon be returning to the u.s. london's daily telegraph reports nigel farage will head to washington to meet with trump team members. it's essentially a run around behind british prime minister theresa may, who unlike faraj, has yet to meet with the incoming president. trump tweeted many people would like to see farage represent great britain as their ambassador to the united states. the conservative government was quick to dismiss that suggestion. he told a brexit celebration party in london that while in the u.s., the revelation is total. in the uk, quote, we're still run by the career professional political class. >> speaking of brexit, maybe one of the unintended results will be a strong american dollar compared to the pound, giving americans more buying power abroad. joining us, matt bradley. what kind of effect are you

seeing so far, matt? >> reporter: well, of course, this brexit happened about five months ago, or the vote for the brexitt happened five months, and ever since, the british pound has tanked by about 16%. now, that's very bad news for the british economy as a whole, but good news for exporters and retailers. you're starting to see some knock-on effects already. american tourists have increased by 8% this year from last year, and foreign tourists in general are up by about a third. that's good news for people trying to cash in from foreigners coming to the country to shop. the british just voted to brexit. they haven't actually brexited yet. theresa may, the prime minister, said this will move to invoke clause 50, the european clause for brexiting, after march. after that, it sets the stop watch on a two-year-long negotiatation. that could send the pound tanking even further. >> interesting to see what happens. for the here and now, and i have

friends in london who are used to american black friday, and they said some of that like this push for shopping around thanksgiving, even though they don't celebrate thanksgiving obviously in the uk, has really taken shape. are you seeing that? >> well, if you look behind me, black friday starts today. on thursday, and it's going to be lasting all weekend. so while most people here won't be slicing turkey at home, they will be out shopping. it's one of the only thanksgiving traditions that have actually managed to wash up on british shores. a lot of the shoppers here are going to be taking advantage of lower prices in the same way they would in the states. as you can see behind me, the retailers are trying to take advantage of this and bring in shoppers. if you're like me and you're paid in pounds, you're probably going to end up with coal in your stocking this year. >> sorry about that. matt bradley, thank you, and happy thanksgiving from here in the states. coming up, the salvation army is ringing in the holiday season with its annual red kettle campaign. this year, the organization is debuting a new fund-raising

tool. we've got the details about that and how you can do some good this year. we'll be right back.

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the macy's thanksgiving parade is kicking off in just a couple minute. new york city officials taking extra steps to secure the event after an al qaeda publication suggested it would be, quote, an excellent target. officials stress there's no known stlet to the parade, but police are stepping up security. it was just two months ago the city was rocked by a bomb that exploded in manhattan's chelsea neighborhood. another was removed and disarmed by nypd's elite bomb squad. in an nbc news exclusive, lester holt spent time with members of the team who risked their lives to neutralize that threat. >> it was a miracle no one was killed. a bomb exploding in the heart of manhattan, and where there's one, experience tells police, there's often a second. in this case, it was discovered

four blocks away. >> unequivocally, we can say anybody in proximity would receive a very serious if not life-threatening injury. >> the device turned out to be linked to a broader plot that began in nearby new jersey where the suspect, ahmad khan rahami was later apprehended and wounded in a shootout with police. now for the first time, members of the nypd bomb squad who removed and disarmed the chelsea bomb are telling their story. jason and timothy were the primary technicians that night. in a perfect world, it never goes off and you have evidence, right? is that the main goal? >> that's our ultimate goal. doesn't always work the way we plan. we have to change up our plan. >> are you working against a clock in a case like that? >> you could be. you don't know if it's timed. you don't know if it is timed, what the time is. so you want to get everybody out as quick as possible. secure everybody. it is new york city, so it's

very difficult to clear an entire area. that's why we removed it from the scene and brought it to a safer scene for our own facility. >> to do that, they used a robot and a special containment vehicle to cart the still live device to a remote police facility. and that's where halak had to get up close. >> what is that like when you're literally face-to-face with what you strongly believe is an explosive device? >> you want to complete your mission, so i just don't think about it. i'm so focused on what it is and completing it and finishing it. >> to give an idea what it was like, the team invited me to put on the bulky 90-pound protective seuss. i can walk in it, with some effort. but i can't imagine doing anything that required any dexterity or quick movements. >> you obviously see in the suit you don't have a lot of dexterity. the other thing, it was a pretty hot day. the sweat was pouring into my

eyes. >> since the chelsea bombing, the nypd has seen an uptick in reports of suspicions objects from new yorkers reawakened to an unsettling fact. >> we have long said that we are right in the cross hairs of the terrorists. >> and bombs are their weapons of choice. homemade, lethal, and indiscriminate. to disarm one is to save countless lives. >> not only taking care of it without it detonating on you, which is a big plus. to collect the evidence and the perpetrator actually caught was a great feeling of satisfaction. >> that was lester holt with that exclusive report. we're grateful for everyone who serves, especially those who keep us safe like our police forces. >> and let's talk a little bit about the giving spirit behind the holiday season. joining us from dallas, colonel ron from the salvation army, the organization's community relations and developments secretary. this year, the salvation army is once again sponsoring msnbc's coverage of giving tuesday,

november 29th, giving tuesday and the iconic red kettle campaign celebrates its 126th anniversary this year. and it helps raise millions for needy families, seniors, and homeless. colonel, thanks for joining us. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you, chris. great to be with you on this thanksgiving day. >> it's really always remarkable. i think especially here in new york, because some of the people who are at those kettles are really performers. right? so for the money we put in that we know is doing good, they're also often singing and dancing. we're all familiar with the kettles because they're in literally every zip code across america. but beyond putting z dollars in there, what else can the aaverage american do who wants to help? >> i think everybody has a little time on their hands that they could give and help those who are less fortunate in their communities. they can volunteer. i couldn't encourage them to go volunteer today because this is a day when people really want to turn out and volunteer, particularly at the feeding programs. we'll feed over a million people today. but tomorrow, we'll still be

feeding. we serve almost 60 million meals a day. that's two every second. so tomorrow and any other day, they can stop by the salvation army to volunteer, to help serve. but also during the christmas season, we have toys coming in. we have angel trees that need to be adopted. angels that need to be adopted through our angel tree program. there are many, many opportunities. they can volunteer to be a bell ringer. that's the way i got started with the salvation army in new york city. >> wow. >> so it's a great opportunity to ring the bell and meet your friends and encourage them to give to the salvation army. >> we only have a short time left, but i do want to get to something new this year, which is people can start their o own #redkettle fund-raisers. tell us about it. >> red kettle reason. why do you want to support the salvation army? you go to redkettlereason.org, you can tell people why you want to support the salvation army and at the same time, you can

set up a peer-to-peer fund-raising page so you can give and encourage your friends to give. and the important thing is whether you give to the kettle, whether you give to the red kettle reason, whatever you do, that money stays local. right there in your community, helping your friends, helping your neighbors who are in need this christmas season. >> an organization that serves 25 million people every year. our thanks to you and to all the good people at the community relations, everything else in the salvation army because you're extraordinary, and in almost every town in america. >> thank you. great to be with you. >> you can find out a lot more about what the salvation army is doing this holiday season. go to salvationarmy.org. >> donald trump names his education secretary, not sitting well with everyone. randi weingarten, who is president of the american federation of teachers will join that conversation straight ahead. stay with us.

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happy thanksgiving, everyone. i'm stephanie ruhle. this morning, we have a lot to cover. it starts with coming together. donald trump out with his first holiday message. >> it's my prayer that on this thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country. >> as nbc confirms donald trump has only received two, that's right two, of his daily intelligence briefings. most president-elects take them daily. his new pick for education secretary is causing controversy. the head of the teachers union weighs in live this morning. >> and a thanksgiving tragedy. a sixth child has died after that awful tennessee school bus crash. new details on the driver, the results of his blood tests are in, and why on earth was he not even on the proper school bus route?

>> we have ascertained that this road was not on the designated route for the bus. the things we're exploring is, a, has he done it before. b, if so, why? >> plus, they're off. the new york city parade starts right now. and we're live on the parade route as americans come together to celebration this great holiday. we're going to begin this morning with donald trump's transition. taking a break, i'm going to see a much needed break for the holiday, but not before adding a seventh member to his official team. billionaire philanthropist and education reform betsy devos. she's going to be the education secretary. a lot of noise around that. and potentially around this name, another billionaire, wilbur ross, may be next to join the team, and how about ben carson? all part of president-elect trump's attempt to turn the page and unify the country before he takes office. >> this historic political campaign is now over. but now begins a great national campaign to