i'm craig melvin live here at msnbc headquarters in new york. ahead this hour -- the president-elect celebrating turkey day down at mar-a-lago where trump's transition team stands and some new questions about his daily intelligence briefings or, perhaps, lack thereafter. tragedy in sten ttennessee. another child has died following the horrific bus crash in chattanooga. officials revealing more about the moments before impact. also a look at the man behind the wheel and how this tragedy could have been avoided. and without a hitch, the nypdd does it again, securing the macy's thanksgiving parade, a herculean feat. we'll get to that in a moment. we start this hour with politics. president-elect out with a thanksgiving day message as his

transition teamworks to fill his cabinet. >> it's my prayer on this thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move toward as one country, strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve. >> trump's latest nominees include two women. betsy da voss on the left there, education, and south carolina governor nikki haley at the united nations, on the right there. trump's fellow billionaire ross, and the big debate, mitt romney or rudy giuliani. those are the two most often reported names for secretary of state. vocal supporters and vocal detractors on both sides. nbc's kristen walker joining me from palm beach, florida, on this thanksgiving afternoon. let's start with these interesting tweets here about mitt romney from kellyanne conway this morning. tell us about these.

>> krashgs happy thanksgiving. these tweets are raising eyebrows. let me give you a little context. you set up the stage. the fight seems between rudy giuliani and nit romney. giuliani is a loyalist, a hard-liner. mitt romney is someone who's been incredibly critical of donald trump. one of the first top republicans to come forward and to say, he's not qualified to be president. that is his challenge in terms of getting that post of secretary of state. let me read you the tweets from kellyanne conway. her first tweet saying, receiving deluge of social media and private calms regarding romney. some trump loyalists warn against romney as secretary of state. kissinger and schultz as secs of state flew around the world less, counselled potus close to home, loyal. there's that word, loyal. will this come down to loyalty? a lot of republicans are pushing donald trump to move beyond his

circle of loyalist. he has done that with the pick of nikki haley and even betsy da voss was someone critical of him initially. but a lot of folks think if he were to choose a mitt romney, it would be a real counterpoint to a michael flynn who is his national security adviser. but these tweets from kellyanne conway suggest she may be looking in the other direction. have i spoken to transition official who is suggest rudy giuliani right now is at the top of the list. so, when will we get an answer about the secretary of state. i don't think we're going to get any major announcements on this holiday. i think we could learn something as early as tomorrow. but, we're obviously tracking this very closely, craig. >> what more do we know about these intel briefings, these reports that the president-elect is choosing not to receive the same number of intel briefings that some of his predecessors are gotten? >> this is a striking report. it was a development first reported by "the washington post," confirmed by nbc news.

he intelligence officials telling us that president-elect trump has only received two briefings since winning the white house. why is that significant? well, typically, presidents-elect during their transition process receive briefings on a daily basis. mike pence is receiving briefings on a daily basis. donald trump is a novice to a lot of this. and folks in the intelligence community believe he's missing out on a golden opportunity. president obama when he fir won the white house had daily briefings. he actually asked for more briefings. he asked for in-depth analysis like the iran nuclear program. former president george w. bush had his briefings delayed due to the florida recount. once he started his briefings, he got them on a daily basis. a lot of folks in the intelligence communities hoping he will start getting daily briefings, although one senior official cautioning, hey, look, he's in a transition period.

withhold judgment until he actually assumes office. >> kristen walker, palm beach, florida, on this thanksgiving. always good to see you. >> i'm joined by gop strategist, former aide to george h.w. bush, joe watkins and from los angeles, democratic strategist, chris kofins waking up early. >> good to be here. >> joe, let's start with these daily briefings. why not take them? one would assume you could take the time to take the daily briefings like your predecessors have. >> i assume in time he will. i think it's still very early. there's lots to do. he has to make choices for his cabinet. he has plenty to do and plenty to assume. remember, this is an outsider candidate who became the president-elect of the united states, so he's still learning a lot about the job and going at a pace comfortable for him.

i think he's thinking first things first and better start naming members of my cabinet and then to become more fully climateized to the office of the presidency. >> chris, do you agree with that assessment? one would assume if you're leader of the free world, you would be able to multitask. >> it's concerning, to say the least. considering he's never had any real policy or governing experience. you would consider all the briefings you would want to get the intelligence briefings would be at the top of your list. we're not talking about education department. we're talking about national security here. and dealing with all that. there's probably no more important job when you're president of the united states than commander in chief. it's concerning and i think it raises even more concerns, to be even more frank, when you can start considering who's going to be around him. if this is going to be the mindset where he delegates these

national security responsibilities to his advisers, you know, the people that he puts around him, whether it's national security adviser like flynn or the whole debate raging now about who's going to be secretary of state, those become even more significant issues. >> you mentioned secretary of state, chris. if it is rudy giuliani, how bumpy of a confirmation process are we looking at here? >> pretty bumpy. i mean, my guess is you're going to get it from folks on both the left and the right. mostly on the left. dems are going to come at him pretty hard, especially given his past relationships. a lot of the criticism, for example, that the trump campaign made toward secretary clinton about money and foundation and speeches, that's going to come raging right towards giuliani in those confirmation hearings. more than that, it's a question of substance and capability and his ability to do the job.

i think that is a real question people will have in these confirmation hearings. the romney pick would be a smart one politically but would probably cause more headaches for him amongst his supporters. >> joe, reported last week trump's economic adviser told top house republicans that they are no longer the party of reagan. in is steven talking about that headline. take a listen. >> ronald reagan was elected president and the republican party became reagan's party, a conservative party. the point i was making to members of congress, with trump's election it is a new republican party. >> this is mr. trickle down, this is the guy that founded the club for growth. no he's saying the party is more working class and populist. is yours no longer the party of reagan, joe? >> it certainly is a different republican party. there's a lot of work that has to be done to heal the country

and also heal the party. i've long argued the party has to be a much broader tent, maybe people don't like what i say, but i've said it has to be a party that reaches out to lots of people, people who haven't been part of the party in the past, african-americans, it's got to reach out to the lbgtq community, reach out better to women, to latinos and to young people. and, of course, president-elect was able to put together a winning coalition to win the presidency. and he's got the advantage of having both the house and the senate being republican as well. but that doesn't mean that the republican party can't be a bigger tent that it currently is. a lot of people that did not vote for the president-elect are very worried. and don't want to be left on the outside and so he's got a lot of work to do. >> really quickly, i mean, you're talking big tent here, save the most -- the two most recent picks. so far, president-elect trump seems to be big on old, white guys to fill a lot of his cabinet posts in top-level

positions. no? has your phone rung? >> no, my phone hasn't rung. my phone won't ring. i'm not looking to go into the administration. i'm looking for the country to be a better place to live, especially for my kids and grandkids and people that i know and love. thipt to be a great country. i'm not looking to go inside. i'm glad to see two women appointed, i'm looking for african-americans. ben carson is named as maybe taking on h.u.d., ken blackwell, we'll see. >> really fast, chris. >> listen, his picks right now do not reflect the america i think we all want and love, a very diverse country. they are basically a lot of old, rich white guys up to this point. i think he has a lot more work to do if he's going to create a more unified country.

>> happy thanksgiving to both of you. >> happy thanksgiving. right now new york city in clean-up mode after this morning's 90th macy's thanksgiving day parade which aired on nbc. the floats and balloons were not the only things grabbing attention for the estimated 3.5 million people lining the streets here. this year's turkey day tradition saw a stepped up security presence, including police officers on horseback, some officers with assault weapons. msnbc's tammy leitner in new york city along the parade route. looks like folks have emptied out of the city pretty quickly. >> yeah, we're some of the few left. i can tell you, craig, people were very pleased to see the police presence. it was obvious that there was a huge presence out here. 3,000 police officers. i'm not sure if you can still see some of them down the street from me. 500 specially trained to deal with mass events like this. and let's talk the parade for a minute. 8,000 people in the parade.

it started raining just a few minutes ago. 24 floats, 50 ba lons. just a fantastic day. kids hanging alongside the fence waiting to see their favorite float go by. it was a fantastic moment. if we can come back here live, sixth avenue is almost cleaned up here and getting back to normal. one little tidbit, they are expecting to clean up around 32 tons of trash. an amazing feat. >> tammy leitner in new york city. thank you. heartbreak in tennessee. a community coming together to remember the six very young lives lost in monday's school bus crash in chattanooga. investigators now say the driver steered from his usual route. what that could mean. we'll go there live. before danny got what he was dreaming about for the holidays. before his mom earned 1% cash back everywhere, every time.

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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.

a sixth child is dead today after that tragic school bus crash in chat noog gashgs tennessee. five other kids are in the hospital on this thanksgiving. witnesses telling investigators that 24-year-old bus driver was going well above the speed limit at the time of that crash. some new information today that he also may not have been on his designated route. live in chattaoga. what can you tell us about this deviation from the standard route. >> reporter: craig, that is one of the factors the ntsb is looking into as part of its investigation. we now know that street behind me was not part of the approved school bus route. they're also looking into the

three cameras that were inside the bus. those devices were so damaged, however, when this crash happened that they haven't been able to review the footage. the ntsb also looking into the driver's history. they're asking whether fatigue played a role because they know he held another job. the bus driver's toxicology report, however, did come back clean. there's a third factor they're looking into which is durham school services, that's the company that hired the driver. that company, craig, up until 2015 had what you call a -- i have it here, i'm going to read it from the ntsb report. it was only recently in 2015 it received a satisfactory rating. those ratings are given by the federal motor carrier administration. for the eight years before that, from 2007 to 2015, it had what you call a conditional rating. the ntsb is looking at whether those deficiencies were handles

and at point they were handled by this company. federal records show durham school services in the last 24 months had 142 crashes with injuries across 32 state. to put this in perspective, this is a company that oversees 13,000 buses. so, that is something to consider as well. i'm standing in front of the small memorial where the crash happened, where we've seen a steady stream of people getting away from their thanksgiving table for a little bit to pay theirespects to these children. this is where we found melanie. you were one of the first people who heard this crash. you came running to the scene. tell us what it was like. >> it was horrible noises. lots and lots of screams and -- it was just something i'll never forget.

it was horrible site to see. it stopped me cold in my tracks. i don't even remember moving past the stop sign. and to this yard where there was a little boy laying. it just made me realize that god is very big and, evidently, he moved me to that boy's side so that he wouldn't be by himself but still, so much going on and all the noises were just so loud and everything. everybody was hustling to help one another. seeing the neighborhood come together like they did, i knew god's presence was here in this horrific place and we are thankful for that. >> reporter: thank you. thank you for what you did. something she's taking about is something i've witnessed in the past couple of days, this community coming together on a holiday like today, thanksgiving.

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for so many of us, thanksgiving is traditionally a time for family and friends to get around the table to celebrate the holiday, but so many of our troops serving overseas today are having to give their thanks from afar. lo lucy is 50 miles from the front lines at camp swift. what are troops telling you this thanksgiving? >> reporter: craig, it's always hard to be away from family and loved ones. harder, still, when you're trapped effectively on a tiny, frozen, isolated base just a few miles from the fighting against isis and mosul. but we had the honor today of spending our entire day with 150 brave men and women, who got some much needed relaxation time and a little taste of home.

inside this tiny kitchen on a remote base far from home, it's time to chop, stir and roast. 120 pounds of turkey for 150 hungry mouths. it's a big day at camp swift. roughly 50 miles south of mosul, near 6,000 miles from home. it's private jordan white's first deployment. it means missing thanksgiving with your family. >> definitely miss my family. sacrifice so others can be with their families. >> reporter: for lieutenant peter chun from baltimore, downtime before the big meal meant sprucing up. >> i can't wait to see my family back home. >> reporter: others worked out to work up an appetite. the business of war doesn't stop for thanksgiving. >> we're the front line of defense here on camp swift. and we're what everyone relies on. >> reporter: operation inherent resolve is the fight against isis.

battle captain katrina fedd has been here for eight months. her 10-year-old back home is counting down the days. >> he sent me a message this morning and, you know, he said, happy thanksgiving, mom. i love you and i miss you. can't wait for you to come home. then had a #48days on it. >> reporter: it's his sixth thanksgiving away but it doesn't make it any easier. >> 500,000, 400,000 brothers and sisters and then my family at home. i'm in a pretty good spot. >> reporter: you're covered this thanksgiving. >> yeah. >> reporter: so, it was a happy day. they finally got to eat that turkey. but now, craig, it is back to their mission, back to that war. the soldiers here aren't fighting on the very front lines. they're not ground forces but they are critical to the mission against isis, helping to collect intelligence, going through monitors, video feeds from drone operations and helping to coordinate with all the different iraqi factions that are leading in that fight against the islamic state.

craig? >> lucy, thank you so much for that report. we needed that. our thanks to you. and the much bigger thanks to the thousands of soldiers and troops who are stationed away, away from their families on this thanksgiving. thanks again, lucy. safe travels. chances are, a few hours from now, you'll be deep in a food coma somewhere. retailers want you to shake it off, though. black friday wheeling and dealing already under way. tips to finding the best bang for your buck. after the break.

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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. i'm craig melvin at msnbc headquarters in new york with a look at stories we're following this hour. police in charleston, west virginia, are investigating the deadly shooting of a black teenager as a hate crime.

detectives say the 62-year-old gunman, a white man, open fire after james means bumped into him at a street intersection. investigators say the gunman showed no remorse. claims he open fire in self-defense. also this afternoon, a sixth child has died following monday's horrific school bus crash in chattanooga, tennessee. today the community gathered for a vigil to remember the young victims there. this after investigators revealed the bus driver was not driving his normal route when the crash happened. and president-elect trump spending his turkey day working on his transition to 1600 pennsylvania. tweeting everyone a reminder he working hard today down at mar-a-lago. no official names revealed but a senior aide to trump says billionaire investor wilbur ross jr. will likely be tapped to lead the commerce department. still no official word on whether mitt romney or rudy

giuliani will be tapped for secretary of state. black friday marking the start of the christmas shopping season with stores opening early to get a jump on sales, but some retailers are pushing back again on the tornado this year. barnes and noble, home depot, neiman marcus, just a few of those, along with some 45 others that are keeping their doors closed today. other doors still opening their doors eager for shoppers to get those deep discounts, including best buy, jcpenney, k-mart, macy's, walmart as well. nbc's jo kent live at the walmart in north bergen, new jersey. checked in with you earlier before the lines had formed. looks like i see a steady stream of people heading in behind you. >> reporter: that's right. happy thanksgiving, craig. it is packed here at walmart. 137 million americans are planning to shop this holiday weekend. we found one shopper, yvette.

happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to everyone out there. >> reporter: you're getting last-minute groceries for anksgiving day. >> that's right. >> reporter: are you going to be shopping for those major deals we see advertised? >> most likely not only because it gets really crazy. i mean, ever store i've been to on a black friday is horrendous. the long lines, fighting with other customers trying to get the deals. i'll just go on my leisure, get what i get and hopefully get some good sales. >> reporter: there's been talk of online sales taking a cut out of these old school brick and mortar stores. are you going to be shopping online at all? >> no, not me. i'm old school. i'd rather come in, see the items in the store, look, browse, and then make a final decision. with online shopping, as nice as it might be, you don't know if it's going to fit, if it's going to be damaged, if you get it in time. i'd rather pick and choose my items and take them home. >> reporter: thankfully if you are shopping this season, more and more sales are going on earlier and later into the holiday season. what have you noticed in terms

of retail deals targeted at you? >> well, for me in particular, i'm not one who's ever really watched those kind of items. i just -- i've been very fortunate, you know. i'll go to kohl's, i'll go to walmart, go to the malls. depending on what i find it depends on who i'm shopping for. i'm fortunate to get the deals. the last-minute shoppers you get the percentage off or special coupon deals. there's something for everyone out there. >> reporter: would happy thanks. >> thank you for having me. >> reporter: the madness is only getting started. behind me, new barricades going up. walmart's new door buster deals start at 6:00 p.m. and we expect major lines in a couple of hours. >> jo kent in north bergen, new jersey. rachel abrams of "the new york times" is here with me in the studio. happy thanksgiving to you. >> happy thanksgiving to you. >> jo was talking about online sales. you mentioned there's a website

that tracks black friday deals? >> yeah, there's a site called bestblackfriday.com and you can compare deals from walmart to department stores, even dollar general, and this site basically has a bunch of scans from all of the best deals from these retailers that they've put out ahead of time. you can pop from one to another to see what they're going to be offering in store and online. >> it's called -- >> bestblackfriday.com. >> bestblackfriday.com. >> uh-huh. >> let's talk about some of the things you found out there. >> yeah. so, according to phillip dangler who runs best black friday, one of the best deals he's been asked about is a toshiba on sale for $199.99 at best buy. normally about $450. it's only available in store because retailers are increasingly under pressure to get people to come out to the stores, to brave the cold. instead of sitting on their couch and shopping, which is what more and more people are

trying to do. >> you also mentioned you discovered something very interesting at macys.com. >> i was looking for a dinnerware set for myself and i was looking at what macy's had to offer. they had a beautiful -- i think it was from a couple called charter, a 40-piece dinner set from -- it was about $150. so i just went over to amazon, i was curious. amazon is doing its own black friday sales and amazon was selling the same item for $200 from third-party sellers. i was surprised because you think everything is cheaper from amazon. it goes to show retailers are really -- especially department stores, are really trying to offer stuff to get people to not go to their stores but at least shop on their website. >> i do a healthy amount of time doing shopping amazon as well. is it fair to say they've been a complete game-changer when it comes to online shopping? what makes them a leader in deals? is it their size 1234.

>> it is their size. they have everything you could possibly want, obviously, but it's also this idea that people can comparison shop, people can shop from the comfort of their own homes, and the biggest affect this has had on the holiday season is it's pulled sales earlier and earlier. so, instead of it being black friday when deals would really start, that idea seems quaint now because deals really start around even october or halloween. so, it's really good for people, but not so good for stores that have to slash prices. >> is black friday the traditional black friday because i remember vividly being a kid and my mother dragging me out on friday morning to the mob scene at walmart or toys "r" us or wherever. is that going to be a thing of the past 10, 15 years from now? >> well, younger people certainly prefer to shop online. and that's probably going to -- a trend that's going to continue. more and more people are shopping online. and we're seeing -- we're still see millions of people go out to the store and the dollars

themselves are actually increasing year over year. but i think stores are always going to offer stuff to try to entice people in. i don't know whether it's going to disappear in ten years or 20, but it's certainly going to become harder to get people out into the cold. >> and not just on black friday. >> not just on black friday. >> unfortunately, other days as well. what are you going to do, head out to jersey? >> i am. >> taking something nice out to the folks. >> now that you told me i should, i'd take tom wine. >> don't show up empty-handed. you work at "the times." you can afford a nice bottle of wine. thank you. >> thanks. hillary clinton leading in the popular vote. officially topping 2 million now. mounting calls for a ballot recount across several states. millions have been donated to the calls already. the big question remains, why? this car is traveling over 200 miles per hour. to win, every millisecond matters. both on the track and thousands of miles away. with the help of at&t, red bull racing can share critical information about every

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be a park ranger, i got really excited. gabe's obviously really sick. and there's a lot that he isn't able to do, and make-a-wish stepped in. we had to climb up the mountain to get the injured hiker.

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they're counted accurately? we should not have a voting system in which we have to prove that there's been fraud or tampering in order to have confidence. >> jill stein telling why she is mounting a late crowd-funded initiative to recount the votes of the presidential election. the stein campaign has raised more than $3.7 million for recounts in wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania. just in the last 24 hours. the campaign says it's looking for another $800,000 to fully fund the effort. a group of scientists and activists emerging in recent days are asking if the election results can could have been manipulated. i'm join joined by jonathan allen, columnist at roll call and sam levine, columnist at "the huffington post." thank you for being with us on

thanksgiving. sam, there has been this team of computer scientists, activists as well, asking if the election results, perhaps, were hacked because of some of the disparities and problems with electronic ballots versus paper ballots. why do you think they're raising this issue at all? >> i think what they're saying is there's no evidence but there's a statistical anomaly, and it's unclear. all they're saying is in an election where there was so much evidence of hacking, let's be clear, let's just be sure and let's get this out of the way and make sure the results are definitive. >> one of the things that strikes me is jill stein, she referred to hillary clinton at one point a warmonger and said some things that were not necessarily all that favorable about her. why? what's her motivation here, launching this effort just yesterday and you've got to

think her people know they're not going to emerge victorious. >> yeah, i'm not sure exactly what her motivation is. obviously, it keeps her in the news for a while. probably pays for some people in the green party to remain active, probably takes care of her for a little while. you know, look, a lot of people on the hard left are looking right now at these election results and they're seeing what donald trump is doing with his cabinet and thinking to themselves, oh, my god, hillary clinton is not the one that is going to promote wall street bankers into cabinet positions or necessarily be the most strident on the military. so, i think there's some -- there may be buyer's remorse among some folks in the green party and some of the democrats that crossed over and voted for donald trump. >> i would like to float another theory, my own personal theory, that this could be an effort, an early effort to through and delegitimize a president before he's sworn in. if you can create this idea,

plant this seed with a significant number of people in the country, that it was rigged, oh, the irony, then, perhaps, maybe that's -- maybe that's part of it, sam? no? >> that's an interesting theory. i don't think it's really the case. i think you've seen the white house come out very clearly and say that the election is over. it's time to support the president-elect. what i've read is that the white house is actually pushing for a smooth transition of power. >> we should note here, jonathan, we have not heard from the clinton campaign folks on any of this. this is not an effort that seems to be getting encouragement from her campaign. >> you wouldn't hear from them on this, even if they're supportive or happy to see it going on. for her to be engaged in that or involved in that would delegitimize, perhaps, the process of trying to get these votes recounted and it would make it look more partisan that,

you know, than sort of an objective desire to see a real count to make sure there wasn't hacking. i think you would see the hillary for america crew stand away from this under any circumstances. >> her popular vote lead continues to increase. do we think this is finally the election is that is going to act as impetus to have us re-evaluate the electoral college system in this country? is this something we'll talk about a few weeks and four years from now we'll be back at the same point? >> i think it's a little more of the latter. the electoral college is something that would be difficult to undo. you would need bipartisan support for that. it's written into the constitution. you would need an amendment to do it. you would need three-quarters of the states to sign off. if you're in a situation where one party is winning presidential elections because of electoral colleges and the other is losing because of electoral college, you're not going to get that kind of support for repealing it.

and unless someone comes up with a different system, aetter system, a lot of states have something at stake there, that is to say, there is a perversion of the hop lar vote that goes on. obviously, the electoral vote is different than the popular vote each time, in terms of pesage for each candidate. getting three-quarters to sign off would be extremely difficult. >> sam, really quickly before we get out of here, this vote recount, this jill stein effort, again, do we know who these people are that are funding this? i mean, again, we're talking about close to $3 million in less than 24 hours. who's writing checks to jill stein to force a vote recount in three states? >> i believe it was a crowd funded effort. so, it's lots of people. and i think, you know, the speed with which they were able to raise that much money makes it clear that, you know, there is this kind of disappointment still lingering from the election. >> this would be a manifestation of that. >> right. >> all right.

sam, happy thanksgiving to you. >> happy thanksgiving. >> jonathan, happy turkey day. always good to see you. nice to see you sporting the november beard as well. >> i'm in solidarity with you. >> it's a good look. black friday, cyber monday, days made for shoppers looking for an in-store steal, right? wrong. the deals, want just the gifts, but for getaways, too. some tips to travel for less. some news you can use right after this. 9-10, ready or not... wait...what am i doing? you're searching!! oh, that's right! here i come!!! ohhh. i bet someone is hiding in that house... ouch!!! ohhh. oh, i bet someone is hiding in that...ahhh!!! oh, dory, are you okay? oh, let's cover that, it'll get better quicker. wait, what were we doing? hide and seek. oh, that's right. ready or not, here i come! guys, i'm still hiding! for all of life's mishaps, band-aid brand's got you covered. and bring home disney pixar's finding dory, today! here you go.picking up for kyle.

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. . . good to see you and thanks for being with me. >> five weeks left in a year and there are as i understand it is still a significant number of people who still have vacation days left. >> that's right.

don't become a statistic, nearly 375 million vacation days, paid vacation days will go unused in 2016. americans are trailing well behind the rest of the world in the healthy workplace balance. we get 15 paid vacation days annually and this year, we only use three full paid days left in the table compares it to the rest of the world, brazil, spain and france, they're all getting 30 vacation days and using 25 and 28 respectively but not to worry, black friday and cyber monday are on the horizon. >> it is a good time to find deals for travels. >> yes, and great get aways. >> what's the best time to start looking. >> well, beginning of tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m. specific noon eastern, you will start to see

50% off select hotels and booking on expedia.com and looking ahead on cyber monday, the big story is flash sale coupons on the hour every hour from 9:00 a.m. pacific to 9:00 p.m. pacific. down load your travel agency booking apps where there is exclusive to the mobile app on cyber monday and black friday. >> the deals will go through cyber monday, a lot of these days. >> a lot of travel companies will continue to roll out the deals from friday through monday but check with your specific website. >> what are the most popular destination this year. >> this year, we are looking at new york city, las vegas,

atlanta, florida. the destination that ranks high for popularity as well as price is mexico. >> mexico. >> what kind of deals can we expect south of the border this year? >> we are looking at 25% savings on vacation packages to beautiful destinations like the rivera myra, cancun and flights out of new york city, about 40% less this holiday season to cancun than last year. >> wow. >> christmas for the holidays, christmas in mexico is looking better and better this year. >> any idea why it is so much che cheaper than last year? >> there is a lot of great deals for the holidays. >> yeah, all right. >> thank you very much. courtney scott headed out for thanksgiving. where are you going? >> i am heading out to long e

island. >> and you? >> i am going to head out to connecticut in a little bit. >> happy thanksgiving. >> imagine that last mad dash minute last night, face to face, the latest clinthillary clinton sooi sighting on the other side of this break. blacher yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care, they become something beautiful.

. some folks at the super market at north new york city. check it out, hillary clinton spotted at the village market last night alongside former bill clinton, and first daughter chelsea and grandson, aiden. they set aside their turkey and shopping list and talked some politics and snapped some selfies. one shot telling us hillary clinton seems relaxed and cool and ready for life to return to

normal. good weather for today's parade here. the big question is what does the skies from in store from returning. or molly sniyder is tracking th forecast. >> we do have a little bit of rain and some snow in some areas, not too much. temperatures have been nice and mild and comfortable for today. a little cold in minneapolis at 37 degrees. sunshine and dry conditions throughout much of the u.s. which will be good news for retailers. everything changes over the weekend weekend. if you are flying back, we are going to be seeing delays this weekend after thanksgiving. look at the delays anticipated in san francisco on sunday rain and that fog can slow you down and new york, more delays in the west coast as well as new england. we are likely to see delays on saturday and sunday in boston

due to rain and wind. make sure you call ahead because you may have some delays due to weather this time. we did not see much of that on wednesday and thanksgiving. as we wrap up this holiday weekend, we may have to contend with weather related delays. craig. >> all right, molly, thank you. craig melvin is here in new york. from all of us here from msnbc, a happenty thanksgiving to you and yours. >> my friend, colleague, is speaking things up. >> good to see you, first time i have seen you since you are a new dad. congratulations and have a good one. >> happy thanksgiving everyone, i am ali velshi, carving out his team. donald trump is spending the day in florida. he's still hard at work but there are new concerns over a key part of his transition and what are his key advisers

sending mixed signals of romney. a sixth child has died of the bus crash. we'll go live in chattanooga where the community is rallied behind the victims' family. the count down is on. shopping frenzy and why some are oping to open much later than in years past. let's start with politics. president-elect trump operated a message of peace and solidarity this thanksgiving. >> it is time to restore the bonds of trust between citizens because when america is unified, there is nothing beyond our reach and i mean absolutely nothing. >> nbc's kristen welker is joining me now from palm beach,