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 rebuild our country

and to restore the full promise of america for all of our people. >> i want to bring in nbc's kristen welker. she's at mar-a-lago, donald trump's resort in palm beach, florida. good morning. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. >> can you tell us a bit about this devos pick? we hear all about this, this woman is a billionaire, she never worked in education. but she's been working for education for 30 years. >> reporter: that's right. she has been. she's a lightning rod. no doubt about that. she is a billionaire, one of the top gop donors. she's someone who supports school choice. voucher programs which are highly controversial, steph. she's opposed common core. all of that is drawing criticism, the top two teachers unions saying she will actually be bad for students. bad for public education. but then on the other hand, a lot of these are principles and policies that republicans have been supporting and pushing for.

jeb bush praising this pick yesterday. so her confirmation hearing might be a little bit fiery, but remember, republicans do have a majority in the senate. the other pick who's getting a lot of attention, of course, south carolina governor nikki haley for u.n. ambassador. this is a pick aimed at bringing more rivals into the fold, quite frankly. both devos and nikki haley, former critics of donald trump, but now he's picking them to join his team. nikki haley, someone who also brings diversity, not only is she a woman. she's 44 years old, the youngest serving governor nationwide. her parents emigrated from india. again, a sharp critic of donald trump in the primary process. then she got onboard. her one challenge might be that she doesn't have foreign policy experience. so expect that to come up in the confirmation hearings. haley, unlike devos, is getting bipartisan praise. tim kaine even saying her executive experience will serve her well in that position. >> how about former opponent to donald trump, ben carson?

is he in or out? >> that's the big question. yesterday, he posted on facebook that he's getting close to making a decision about how he's going to help make america great again. here's what we know about dr. ben carson. he has been offered the position of hud secretary, and he's mulling that decision. i spoke with his spokesperson late yesterday who said he's still very much considering this. what is he considering? the reality is he doesn't really have experience in this field. he had expressed some skepticism about his readiness to take on this job. but obviously, steph, when the president-elect asks you to fulfill a role in the new administration, the pull is very strong to do that. he's taking this thanksgiving holiday to mull what comes next. i can tell you that donald trump is here at mar-a-lago in palm beach with his family. he is going to have some down time today and really try to enjoy the holiday. we're not expecting any more major announcements until tomorrow at the earliest. again, we're eyeing that position of hud secretary, and then also commerce secretary. i heard you mention wilbur ross.

he's a billionaire investor and someone who seems to be emerging as the likely candidate for commerce secretary. >> thanks, kristen. have a great holiday. hey, she gets to be down there in palm beach. that's pretty good. >> you, too. >> we have to turn to a story, following developments around the tragic school bus crash that took place in tennessee on monday. last night, we learned that a sixth child had died after the crash. and i want to take you now to msnbc's mariana atencio covering the latest from chattanooga. what else are we hearing about the crash? yesterday was really limited information. >> reporter: yes, stephanie. first, i want to touch on what you mentioned in the beginning. the sixth child who died, chianti wilson is his name, he's succumbed to his injuries in this hospital behind me, days after being brought here from the crash site. at least four children remaining in the hospital, and one family, stephanie, has already fieled a

lawsuit against durham school services, the company that hired this bus driver. going back to your question, ntsb revealing late yesterday that the bus driver was not in a designating school route. tally road, that narrow winding road where this crash happened, that was not an approved road to take children back home on. they're also investigating if fatigue might have played a role, how often did he take talley road or was it a one off? they're looking into that. chattanooga police did confirm the toxicology rereport came back clean. you heard earlier in the week, the bus driver's mother asking for compassion. we were able to knock on the door of his sister yesterday and looked in her eyes, and this is a family that is in pain. this community is in pain. and i have already been here for a couple days. when you walk these streets, especially on a day like today, you also see the community coming together. the fund has raised more than $80,000 for these children's families and other victims. >> mariana, the driver, he wasn't just a school bus driver.

he also had an additional job driving for amazon. is that true? >> they have not confirmed that. they're looking into whether or not he had other jobs. ntsb told us yesterday. in that regard, whether fatigue played a role, stephanie. it's also important to note, they have not even been able to look at the footage of the three cameras that were inside the bus because the cameras were so damaged, they had experts from d.c. come in to try to repair them, and they're hoping to look into that footage in the coming days. >> mariana, thank you so much. this is a terrible story. appreciate you staying down there and covering it for us. >> we have to turn to new york city where a massive security operation is under way because today's the parade, of course. the 90th macy's thanksgiving day parade. over 3,000 uniformed officers have been deployed along the parade route, and security tea s s are using sand trucks and vapor dogs to guard the crowd of over 3.5 million.

tammy leitner is live along the parade route. this is an extraordinary not just new york but american tradition. this is macy's gift, they say, to new york city and to america. their way to show thanks. we're seeing security as a really big priority today. as you're out there in the crowds, what's it like? >> absolutely, stephanie. i mean, where i am, you can see about 15 to 20 police officers on every single corner. and this is every single block. as you mentioned, there's 3,000 total. 500 of them are specially trained, part of the critical response command unit. they have long guns out here, thick vests and also vapor dogs, as you mentioned. those are specially trained to sniff any type of explosives in the area. stephanie. >> all right, don't just tell me about vapor dogs. talk to me about snoopy the dog. garfield the cat, you have been very lucky with this assignment today. what is it like? i have gotten a sneak peek of the trolls, the newest balloons out there, and they're pretty awesome. >> well, we have got an excited

crowd out here. i want to show you some people who got here at 4:15 this morning, right down there. they're from west virginia. now, if we can pan over, rob, we have parents over here whose daughter is in the west virginia band that will be the first one to come out, and they tell me she plays the tuba. now, there are 28 tubas in the west virginia band. and a little bit of trivia here, each one weighs 32 pounds, and their daughter is only 5 foot. so that will be a big feat for her walking 2 1/2 miles with that tuba. back to you. >> tammy, you know as well as i do, girl power can fuel anything. that little lady taking her 32-pound tuba, i believe in her. don't you? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> tammy, happy thanksgiving. coming up, we're going to talk donald trump yet again. his pick for education secretary being met with fierce opposition from teachers unions. the head of the american federation of teachers, randi weingarten, joins me next. >> plus, jill stein raised

millions of dollars overnight to call for a recall in three states. could it change the results of the election? a live look at times square right here in new york city, right now. where it's about 43 degrees on this beautiful thanksgiving morning. your forecast in just a few. per roll more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper all finished.umm... you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way. i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. painter: you want this color over the whole house?

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welcome back. you're watching msnbc. donald trump's choice for education secretary is not exactly a household name. but betsy devos is well known in education, and education reform circles, despite never working in education, she has been working for education for decades. spending millions of her family fortune advocating for things like school voucher. this is not sitting well with some people, for example, my next guest, randi weingarten. welcome. after the nomination, you put out a statement where you had

said she is the most idealogical anti-public school nominee ever. is it anti-public school or is pro-choice being pro-kid. we want our kids to have every chance possible to win. >> it's anti-public school. and let me say this. i just spent weeks working in michigan where the entire city of detroit came together on a school reform plan. republicans, democrats, clergy, teachers, parents, the mayor. betsy devos opposed it and spent $1.4 million in six weeks to get that plan -- to get a failure of that plan. what that -- what she was focused on is to stop charters from being accountable. ultimately, we need to help all kids have a decent education. there's a role for charters in that. but what she's done is she's

taken a sledge hammer to public education, and that's why we are so opposed to it. >> but is it anti-public schools? can we say the public schools are truly serving all american kids when every 42 seconds a kid drops out of school? charter schools weren't started to hurt public schools. they were started to help kids. >> i run a charter in new york. my charter has 100% graduation rate. union charter just got one of these blue ribbon awards. awl shanker, one of my predecessors started the charter movement. there's a big difference between wanting to lift all boats and wanting to destabilize, defund public schools. what betsy devos does, what she did in detroit, was she has done throughout the country, is not have some kids get an advantage in some way, form, or manner, but defund and destabilize public schools. the experiments that she has proposed for the last 25 years actually have no evidence backing them up.

so idealogically, you want to be a free marketeer, say there should only be private schools and companies should run them and just be testing, then say that. but don't pretend that when you're against every public school and every public school initiative, that you are for the 90% of kids that go to public schools. that's the point that is made by donald trump when he picks someone who has never, never d ended up helping a public school initiative. >> america voted. they wanted a change election. they wanted a change candidate. betsy devos represents change. could one make the argument that's what america voted for, because status quo isn't what's working for this country? >> frankly, the status quo that we had in education was protesting, which betsy devos supports, and was defunding education, which 31 states have still done. frankly, in education, a year ago, republicans and democrats

alike came together to pass a new education law that actually took control of common core out of the federal government, put it back into the states. and frankly, what people also voted for that same day was to get rid of the kind of initiatives betty devos proposes in massachusetts and in georgia. the sledge hammer, no one voted in america to take a sledge hammer to public education. >> until now, betsy devos' job was not to work for the public school. it was to try to help on the fringe, the outside. the department of education has a $200 billion budget. it's not underfunded and we know there are kids in cities in this country where those schools aren't serving them. if you live in an inner city and you have kids, your best chance of economic mobility for your child is through a great education. >> absolutely. >> there are schools that aren't serving our kids. >> those schools need to be fixed like we did in new york

city. >> they're not going to get fixed today. if i had a kid today, which i do, where have children today in school and they went to a public school that wasn't serving their needs and i was in a position where i could send them elsewhere, shouldn't we say we want that choice for our kids? >> yes, we do want choices that are accountable and responsible, but for 25 years, the choices that betsy devos has been pursuing, there's evidence they have not worked. what they have done is further defund and destabilize public schools so when you actually ask parents throughout the country, you're right, every parent should have a decent chance for her or husband kids. we know what to do to do that. we need to have community schools. we need to have cte programs. we need to have a bunch of different things, including funding the schools. the point i'm making about betsy devos is she had a choice to work with public schools. she doesn't do that. she is focusing on only destabilizing and defunding schools. >> maybe she felt she could have

the most impact. when people send their kids to a charter school, do you think it's because they're turning their nose and want to go to a school 45 minutes away or is it because the school that is closest to them isn't the best for their kid, and what they want is what's best for their kid? >> what we need to do in the public sector is we need to make sure every parent has, as a good choice, a neighborhood public school. when you defund and destabilize public schools, that doesn't happen. that's what betsy devos has done in michigan. that is her track record in michigan. not to actually lift all boats, but defund public schools at the same time as she is pushing for this. >> here's our great opportunity. two women as strong as the two of you are, i hope you can work together and best serve our kids in the country. that's what we all want. >> that's the most important thing. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. still ahead, is president-elect donald trump skipping out on his intelligence briefings? he's only attended two since the election. i'm going to be speaking to a security expert next. plus, black friday starts today.

this makes me upset. this breaks ply heart. black friday shouldn't start today, but it does in a lot of stores. should you ditch the family and head out? i'm going to tell you no, but if you are, there is some good deal hunting ahead. i want to show you a live look at the crowd in new york city, fired up for macy's thanksgiving parade, the balloons just got on the move and we're going to pass them by in a few. we'll be right back right here on msnbc. "day to feel alive"♪ ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪ ♪jake reese, "day to feel alive"♪

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welcome back. you're watching msnbc. i'm stephanie ruhle. we're talking security right here in new york city, because today is the 90th macy's thanksgiving day parade and it's going on right now. 3,000 officers are assigned to the parade detail this year with 3.5 million spectators along the parade route. that's beautiful america. but let's talk about serious things. officials have been stressing there isn't a credible threat after an al qaeda publication suggesting the parade would be a, quote, excellent target.

joining me now is msnbc terrorism analyst, malcolm nance. we heard there's no credible threat, but what is the biggest challenge for security teams at an event like this? these are scary times. >> unfortunately, a credible threat means they have some intelligence indicators there may be a plot in the offing. what we have seen with isis and al qaeda is they carry out inspirational attacks. which means that they inspire individuals to go out and do it on their own. isis is a flash mob type mentality. they crowdsource terrorist attacks. right now, without the police knowing anything, there could be a person en route to target, going out to do an attack. that's where we have to use the barriers and all the other physical security measures that they have in place to try to stop these. >> which makes us think about things like what happened in nice over the summer, even in the shooting in the nightclub in orlando. these are dangerous, uncertain times. to turn to president-elect donald trump, we have heard that

he has only received two intelligence briefings since he's eligible to get them every day. we heard that president obama used that as his super cramming period because it was so important. what is your take on the fact that donald trump's only taken two of these? >> well, i'm stunned. i mean, the number one duty of the president of the united states is this physical security of the american public. and the only way to do that is to use our multi-billion dollar intelligence collection apparatus, which condenses down all the information we need to know to protect the american citizens on day one, when he takes -- he swears the oath of office, and to do that, you have to read that information. you have to be briefed every day. for the remainder of his team in the oval office. >> what's in there? we can't get specific. for example, mike pence is doing these. what is in them? what do you learn? >> well, what it is, first, there's a geopolitical summary

of all activities that are going on in the world. then there's the status of u.s. forces around the world. then there are risk by region terrorist threats. nonstate actor threats, cyber threats and they're laid out in such a way the president can see them in priority. if you recall, also, special products are produced like the presidential daily brief that warned about the 9/11 attacks one month in advance. a good president, a person who takes this game very seriously, is going to not only just get the briefing, he's going to study everything there is to know in the lead-up to his transition because on that 12:00 noon on the 20th of january, he takes krael of the most awesome military power in the world. anything that happens on his watch is his responsibility. >> without a doubt. he's not the president yet. in terms of time management, you can't say he has his feet up on the desk and he's hanging out. he has been spending his days focused on studying who potentially would be the best

possible team to serve in his cabinet, to serve in the white house. could one not argue that's not the best use of his time right now? are we overblowing this argument that he should be taking these intelligence briefings or reading them every day? >> i understand your question. and right now, on the basis of that question, every intelligence watch officer in the world that has this program on has just raised their eyebrows. no. the single most important thing the president or a president-elect of the united states can be doing is absorbing the intelligence. he can -- must start his day with that, and he must end his day with that. anything else after that, if it is not an immediate economic meltdown of the united states, is secondary to the defense of this nation. and if he doesn't take it seriously, mike pence isn't going to clean up for him. the buck stops with him. even though he's the world's greatest delegator and he knows better than the rest of us, it is his responsibility to keep this nation safe. >> malcolm, let's hope he's watching right now and taking

note. thank you so much. happy thanksgiving to you. really appreciate your insight this morning. >> all right, coming up, could there be a recount? well, jill stein raised millions of bucks overnight. last night, she raised this money and has said she wants to demand a recount in the three states where some computer science experts say hillary clinton may have won. and those states, they're biggies. let's see what happens next. >> i want to share with you a live look, of course, at new york city, where the 90th macy's thanksgiving day parade is under way. we're looking at the crowds. they're getting excited to see these extraordinary balloons go by. this is macy's gift to new york city, to america. a great way to show thanks. stay with us on this thanksgiving morning. you're watching msnbc. to folks out there whose diabetic nerve pain... shoots and burns its way into your day, i hear you. to everyone with this pain that makes ordinary tasks extraordinarily painful, i hear you.

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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. you are watching msnbc, and it is time now for your morning primer.

everything you need to know to get your day started. we're going to begin taking you back down to that heartbreaking story for an update surrounding the deadly bus crash in tennessee monday. authorities say a sixth child has died last night from their injuries. five children are still in the hospital. investigators say the driver, 24-year-old johnthony walker, was not on the designated bus route when he crashed. he's charged with vehicular homicide. >> president-elect donald trump, he is taking a quick break from the transition to spend thanksgiving day with his family at his mar-a-lago resort in palm beach, florida. intelligence officials tell nbc news trump has only received two of his daily intelligence briefings since winning the election, which is a much lower number than his predecessors and lower even than vice president-elect mike pence. and this one is a positive. annual macy's day thanksgiving day parade, 90th, amazing, has just kicked off here in new york city with more security than ever. a record 3,000 police officers

are stationed along the parade route with 83 sanitation trucks filled with 16 tons of sand blocking cross streets in an effort to thwart an attack like the tragic one that took place in nice over the summer. and you have to check this one out. the snowy scene, not in minnesota, not in vermont. it's in tokyo. it's the first time in 54 years tokyo has gotten snow in the month of november. and president obama wishing the nation a happy thanksgiving in his weekly address today. saying no matter what our differences are after this election, we're still one people. the president, mrs. obama, and daughters sasha served up a thanksgiving meal at the armed forces retirement home in washington yesterday. where some 400 veterans from every campaign since world war i call home. to the election, jill stein is breathing new life into efforts seeking a presidential recount in pennsylvania, wisconsin, and michigan. states hillary clinton was

expected to easily win. after meeting her initial $2.8 million fund-raising goal, jill stein quickly raised another $2 million to pay the filing fee for recounts in all three states. right now, nearly $3 million has been raised. the filing deadline is tomorrow in wisconsin, and next week in pennsylvania and michigan. we have to talk about how real is this? well, i'm joined now by msnbc contributor james patterson, associate professor at lehigh university, and by washington examiner white house correspondent gabby margelo. i'm going to apologize, you're definitely not going first, because i went to lehigh yiefrt and that's where james is a professor. what do you make of this recount? >> the recount is an important effort. essentially, what jill stein is saying is that when you look at the closeness of the voting in these three states, i think it's almost 70,000 between trump and clinton in pennsylvania. but it's as low as about 9,000 in michigan.

they just want to ask for a recount. here's what's interesting here, too. this may not overturn this election, right? but it will give us important information. one, it will give us a more accurate account. it may assuage some of folks' fears about what may or may not have happened and it will let us know how polling has worked or failed over the course of the electoral season. we'll know if the recount holds us the president-elect trump's position, we'll know that the pollsters, the public polling especially, was inaccurate, largely because folks were not telling pollsters the truth. so either way, important information will come out of the process. >> gabby, hillary clinton is surely a fighter. she has been fighting for years. and the fact that her campaign is not commenting, it doesn't seem they're participating in any way in a potential recount, does that tell you that team clinton tinks this is over? >> yeah, absolutely. i think hillary clinton's team would have immediately come out and requested a recount in a number of these battleground

states if there were any question about the results or concerns that electronic voting may have been compromised or hacked. this is a remarkable turn of events, when you consider the fact that donald trump spent the last four or five months of his campaign urging americans to be aware of potential cheating or voter fraud, telling them that the system was rigged, and now to have a candidate who earned .36% of the popular vote, requesting a recount to, quote, shine a light on just how untrustworthy the u.s. election system is, i think it is important. i think we could potentially learn a number of things about where polling went wrong. but hillary clinton's team would have been on this in the immediate aftermath of november 8th if there were any serious and legitimate concerns. >> james. let's talk cabinet appointments. there was fear going into this that donald trump was going to pick the posse that had been around him for months. but when you look, we have seen some diverse picks. south carolina governor nikki haley, who had been an opponent to donald trump. betsy devos, who has been a big

republican for years but had not been backing donald trump. she had been critical of him, and ben carson was once donald trump's opponent. so what do you make of these choices? >> i mean, this is not a satisfactory level of diversity for him. women make up 50%, 51% of this country, so a couple picks here and there in a cabinet of this size i don't think reaches the threshold for what we would say is diversity. also, for any cabinet pick, the american public deserves to take a good, hard look at what they represent. and when you look at these picks and what they're charged with overseeing and what they're charged with dealing with in a political realm, for example, carson dealing with urban development, you think about devos, think about secretary of education, for progressives in particular, these are picks that are hard-right picks. they don't seem to have the vision of the future for any of the entities they're going to be overseeing going forward, and my sense is this is sort of the trump campaign making good on

its promises in the sort of the electoral moment. there's no sort of rationale for progressive thinkers to put stock in the fact that even nikki haley, being chosen for the trump cabinet, somehow means that donald trump is going to govern from the center or not from the far right where he's been throughout the whole campaign. >> gabby, if he was going to drain the swamp, wouldn't it be challenging, though, if he were to find diversity candidates, if he were to find people from the outside, isn't it a little tricky? if you're going to go with establishment people, well then, they would have the expertise. if you go for people who are not part of the establishment, they're going to be kind of on the fringe. >> yeah, donald trump has said from the beginning he's looking for the best people for these positions no matter if they're from the inside or outside. nikki haley, i would say she's an outsider. she never served in the federal government, nor has betsy devos. she's been in michigan. involved with republican politics for decades. both of these women are outsiders and their appointments

suggest that all signs are pointing toward mitt romney to be named secretary of state. if you consider the fact that both of these women were especially critical of donald trump during the election, nikki haley, as you know, used part of her state of the union rebuttal speech to take aim at him. betsy devos told one of my colleagues that donald trump does not represent the republican party. yet he forgave them ostensibly and has appointed them to cabinet-level positions in his administration. so -- i mean, arguably, mitt romney was far more critical of donald trump during the election cycle, and is also perhaps more qualified for the position of which he's being considered than either of these women were for theirs. >> james, what is your take if mitt romney is selected? mitt romney was hypercritical of donald trump, and though we have heard donald trump likes those who have been loyal to him, nikki haley, betsy, and especially mitt, you wouldn't say are donald trump loyalists? >> listen, stephanie, we can play this game of incrementalism

where we can try to make president-elect trump seem to be magnanimous about bringing people into the fold who maybe disagreed with him. but remember, the tone of the campaign was the tone of the campaign. the vit rctutriol that was expr in the media was the campaign itself, the fact that he's making ovtures to some of these folks does not mean he's expanding the way in which he's looking at the world. the reality is for progressives to have mitt romney as secretary of state, to have nikki haley as the u.n. ambassador, or to have devos as the secretary of education or carson as the hud secretary, those are not picks that suggest that he's trying to be politically diverse in the ways in which he's running his cabinet. so i don't think there's much to say here. we can applaud him and pat him on the back for coming to terms with folks who were vitriolic and negative toward him in the campaign, but that was the nature of the 2016 presidential campaign. i don't think it says a lot

about him as a presidential that those folks who views are represented squarely in the republican party, that he's reaching beyond the bounds he needs to reach at president-elect. >> james, nice job beating lafayette on saturday. huge win. >> it was. >> james, gabby, thanks so much. happy thanksgiving. >> it's time for a check on the holiday forecast on this thanksgiving day. meteorologist bonnie schneider joins us for that. how is it looking? >> really looking very well. we don't have delayed right now to tell you about. we want to let you know where there might be some. seattle, where rain is expected throughout the day today. then into pittsburghering light showers in the morning. clouds remain, and we'll be watching for that to taper off later on in the afternoon. we have had a little rain and some wintry precipitation into upstate new york, parts of northern new england, but overall, most of the interstates are looking good in terms of driving if you're heading out for thanksgiving. a couple places where it might be slick, icy, buffalo, albany, if you're driving on i-90, or

seattle to missoula, we could see bands of heavy snow. take it slow on the roadways because we're still looking at the rough travel there. really through the center of the country, along the southeast, really looking great. interstate 10, we had storms yesterday. that's cleared out. smooth sailing, smooth driving, and i think everyone should have a good thanksgiving, at least weather wise. >> there you go. all right, still ahead, people camping out overnight. why? to get gear at best buy. hoping to score some great deals. not on black friday, but today. up next, a retail expert joins me with the big scoop about the prices this year. but first, a live look at the macy's thanksgiving day parade, which is heading down sixth avenue now. hello there, charlie brown. one of the originals right outside our studios here at 30 rock. what a day in. stay with us. we'll be right back on this thanksgiving day.

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these bargain hunters have been camped out all night at a best buy store in the los

angeles county community of glendale, waiting for crack deals on hot electronics. they have still more than ten hours to wait. just to get the store open. not going to open until 5:00 p.m. there. but a growing list of chains will be closed today, and have said they want their employees to be home spending thanksgiving with their families. thank you very much. so what kind of bargains can shoppers expect to find today and on black friday? of course, which is tomorrow. retail expert marshall cohen joins me live. marshall, you tweeted, hot deals on tvs and toys and lower prices than consumers expect. what do you mean? people expect low prices on black friday. >> even lower than what they have seen ever before. >> why? >> you can get a 60-inch high-def television for under $500. that's beyond belief. what's happening is i thought that big tv craze was over, you know, because you don't have that many more walls in your home to put a tv. but because these prices are so low, and think about it.

electronics. every year, it comes down in price, so the maturation of electronics causes lower prices. that's why people are waiting in line, because they're getting prices beyond their belief. >> i suffer from sale confusion. back in the day, it was the day after christmas, you knew everything was on sale. now, we've got black friday, cyber monday, thanksgiving day. when are thinks the cheapest? when are the best sales? >> the best sales are actually right after the holiday, roth after christmas, if the inventory is there. and that's what's happening. because the stores are competing with online and they keep moving the days earlier and earlier, it's not black friday. it's not black friday weekend. it's not even black friday week. it's now black november. stores started as early as november 1st offering best deals of the season sales. now, what happens, to answer the point of when is the best prices? actually, after christmas is the best price, but the inventory is so stripped down because the stores sold so much earlier in the year. >> right now, those who are going to go shopping today, and

i don't want you to, please don't shop on thanksgiving, i want you to be home. for those shopping today and tomorrow, what do you want now? >> the key is to do your homework and understand that the stores offering the door buster deals and those door busters are the best deals, that's the thing to capitalize on. the ability to be able to buy these really great prices. and remember, the stores want you in the store. they don't want you necessarily buying online the great deals, they want you in the store because they get an even bigger sale. 45% of all products sold in the holiday period in store is on impulse, meaning you may have bought this for someone on the gift list, but the deal was so great, you bought it for yourself. self gifting becomes a huge part of the holiday business and it happens much more in store. 45% in store, compared to 23% online. >> help us understand the economy really quick. holiday sales for the last three years have been declining in terms of overall. what do you think it will look like this year? >> it's going to be relatively

small growth because the economy is in very good state. now, the question is some people are a little upset because of the election process. well, some of them are going out and already telling us they're going out for retail therapy. you have 50% of the population who is happy and shopping, and 50% of the population who is saying, hey, i feel lousy but i'm going to go shop and feel better. >> shopping does make me feel better, especially for shoes because you know what, no matter how bad i feel about myself, my shoe size never changes. >> doing some sole searching. >> happy thanksgiving. still ahead, when president-elect donald trump takes the oval office, will he want to take air force one as well? i mean, his own plane has got rolls roiz engines, gold plated seat belts and a vip lounge, but air force one is a security beast. we'll compare the two next. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, isn't it time to let the real you shine through?

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you are watching msnbc, i'm stephanie ruhle. and we're talking donald trump. his signature plane became a staple of many of his rallies during the presidential campaign. it is without a doubt one of the most recognizable planes in the country with, of course, one exception. the most famous air force one. so we went and did a little homework to find out how did these boeing jets compare with one another? we take a closer look at both planes. they're the two most famous planes in the skies. air force one. the most secure airplane in the world. and trump's own plane, perhaps the most ostentatious. one represents the strength of the united states. it even has its own movie. >> get off my plane. >> the other, the strength of the trump brand as seen in this promotional video. >> you'll notice the seat belts as well as everything else are 24 karat gold plated. >> when donald trump assumes his presidency, is it updating his

ticket or taking a trip back to basic economy? let's do the numbers. air force is a souped up boeing 747 coming in at 231 feet long. it can seat more than 100 and reach top speeds of over 700 miles per hour. trump's plane is a much smaller 757. it's only 155 feet long, seats only 43 and reaches speeds of 660 miles per hour. >> on air force one, you are struck by the sheer enormous size. all of the white house, the defense department and some other departments cram into one airplane. >> but trump's plane is no budget airline. gold plated seat belts, a bathroom with gold plated fixtures, on board home theaters and a special vip lounge. a trumpish flair that could be brought to air force one. >> there's an enormous budget to take care of the president.

>> what air force one lacks in amenities, it makes up for in security. safety shields that block electromagnetic pulses, a fully functioning hospital and capabilities including 87 different telephones so the president is always in touch. for air force one, security is priority number one. so if trump wanted, would he be allowed to fly on his plane? >> the secret service would say it can't be done. the security will win out in the end and trump won't get his way. >> donald trump may do things differently than other presidents but most likely, he will be flying in on air force one. i have to say, the fact that donald trump's plane has a vip lounge, i mean, that is a whole other level. extraordinary. we're going to take a break. when we come back, we'll be talking and u.s. forces.

the team out there that's celebrating in their own way, thanksgiving, in the fight against isis. those are some extraordinary americans and it is our gift to honor them today. we'll have that in the next hour but first, if you were dreading thanksgiving dinner after the election, stephen colbert has tips for surviving the day. don't dread it, come together. this is america. >> 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 potential kidney donors.

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that wraps us up for the hour. i'm stephanie ruhle. a happy thanksgiving to you. i'm telling you what a gift you're getting right now. my friend craig melvin is back. we haven't seen him in a few weeks. he's a new dad. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you, my friend, safe travels down in dc and to you as well. good morning as we begin another hour of live coverage on msnbc. president-elect donald trump making a plea for unity in a thanksgiving video message. >> it's my prayer that on this thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country, strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve. >> and as mr. trump pushes for unity, partisan battle lines drawn over his pick for education secretary. billionaire ifphilanthropist. brand new reporting on why trump may be courting mitt romney.

we're live in palm beach, florida, and chattanooga, tennessee. where there's been yet another tragic turn in the deadly school bus crash. a sixth child has now died. this morning, we learn new details about the bus driver not on the proper bus route. and there's unprecedented security this morning and famed macy's day parade that got under way last hour and making its way past 30 rock as we speak as the famous balloons float down the herald square and a live report from the parade route as well