parade. but let's begin in alabama with the scandal surrounding their republican senate candidate. roy moore's campaign is seizing on this week's almost endorsement from president trump to try and raise some money. moore saying the president, quote, stood up and defended me against the lies and sleazy accusations launched against me by the forces of evil in washington. but with just 19 days to go, moore's communications director has left the campaign. and it's been a while, to say the least, since we've seen roy moore in public. nbc's vaugh hillyard is in birmingham, alabama, for us. vaughn, happy thanksgiving to you. what is the latest on the ground there in alabama? >> good morning, yes, roy moore hasn't been seen in eight days publicly and the campaign says he's not going to have an event until at least this upcoming monday. he's out in etowah county where he's spending the thanksgiving weekend. doug jones, meanwhile, was at a thanksgiving -- at a shelter where he was serving along with

his wife here. he has been on the campaign trail these last several days. roy march's campaign just put out a statement here to nbc news in which they tell us that they are ahead in the polls and that they have seen fund-raising come in at staggering numbers. i want to bring up that statement there because there's been little evidence that's actually backed that up from the campaign. they haven't released exactly what their fund raising totals have been. the polls have been very up and down, inconsistent. some showed doug jones ahead. some showed roy moore ahead. that's because there hasn't been much statewide polling in alabama historically and there's little that give us confidence in looking at these poll numbers. but looking ahead, this is going to be -- roy moore can actually amount to substantial campaign over these next 19 days to keep republicans from going over to doug jones. if you have the tv on here today, thanksgiving in alabama, you're seeing repeatedly doug jones commoiercials. when you're looking at purely

figures, doug jones is trying to pull off not only convincing republicans not to vote for roy moore at this point but then also to go and vote for him, to actually come out to the polls and put a check mark next to the democratic name which is no strong -- which is no easy feat here in alabama. >> vaughn, can i ask you, you mentioned in that statement said that pastors in alabama are using a get out the vote apparatus. what is doug jones' team have in the way of infrastructure? i mean, is there a way for them to try and capitalize on what's happened there? or has that infrastructure -- i mean, alabama historically is not known as a state that has any kind of democratic infrastructure. >> sure, they're going to have to pull in a high vote total in particularly the most populated counties, here in birmingham, montgomery. we used to in the media give candidates a hard time for the sign game we called it, how many signs are going to determine

outcome of the election. we were taken aback last year after donald trump across the country signs were seen in yards that many people didn't expect, never seen political signs in the yards up. it's similar here but with doug jones. you see doug jones signs from the campaign planted in yards in cities across the state. i actually dropped into the huntsville field office just two days ago on tuesday, just to see what sort of an operation they were running in the northern part of the state. and a couple dozen individuals came in and they said they wanted to volunteer and they wanted to canvass. and were actively on an afternoon, a work day afternoon, were going out to go and knock on doors. so from a very anecdotal perspective, there is movement, there is action on behalf of doug jones campaign. what that translates into act wale bei actually pulling off a victory, that's actually yet to be seen. >> nbc's vaugh hillyard down in alabama, thank you, a very happy

thanksgiving to you. but first, i want to talk more about the alabama senate race and the impact of it all here in washington. i've got a panel to break it all down. catherine, "washington post" palestinian you political columnist. and our own jonathan allen, national political reporter, on set. jonathan, let's talk about the president's role in all of this. i mean, when he was in asia, shehe seemed to say, yes, i'll weigh in on that when i get home. testing whether, you know, how far they should go into saying, okay, we don't want a democrat in this seat. >> i think what you saw first was the white house and everybody else in the washington establishment trying to get roy moore to drop out of this race. and the president did it by having the rnc pull out of alabama. he didn't say anything. he held his fire. when that didn't work and they knew roy moore was their candidate and it came down to a question of do we have 52 republican votes when we vote on

the bill or 51. they decided they'd rather have the vote than not. and you see a split in washington republicans on that. there are those who are going to be here sort of the permanent class, the mitch mcconnells and paul ryans who want to make sure this doesn't affect other races for the midterms or the party's brand over the long term versus the president who has a very defined agenda and perhaps a narrow amount of time to get it done. >> and who has his own set of personal experiences. the president has essentially divided himself from one of his family members, ivanka trump. she says, quote, there's a special place in help for people who prey on children. let's -- what a divide, right. the president of the united states of course -- >> well -- >> i'm sorry, go ahead. >> it is and it isn't. supposedly there's this divide between when trump thinks and other members of his administration.

i expect that going forward you will see a change of heart, just as we did after the access hollywood tape. initially there were these widespread condemnations from republicans last year as you may recall that trump needed to drop out of the race, that they were withdrawing their endorsements of the republican presidential nominee, but then a couple of weeks later, it blew over and then they all had a change of heart and they said, you know what, let's move on. i think moving forward, you may see the same revolution, both within the administration, maybe from ivanka, as well as on capitol hill. remember, kellyanne conway, who you referenced earlier as floating this trial balloon about kind of vaguely endorsing roy moore at least, denigrating his democratic opponent, she had said maybe a week or two ago no senate seat is worth a child. so even she has evolved over time. i think going forward, you will see something similar. that if roy moore happens to

win, then mitch mcconnell, despite his fierce words of condemnation a couple of weeks ago, will say you know what, the voters are spoken, let's move on to tax reform. >> do you think, catherine, we'll see anybody take the jeff flake stand? jeff flake has been specific in saying actually a democrat will be way better than this guy. >> it seems unlikely to me at this point. republicans need a win, right, they need tax cuts to go through. they have got no major legislative victory so far this year and it will be too valuable for them to lose that seat. i think that they really need to have every marginal republican vote that they can get in the senate and because of that, they're going to, you know, they're going to bend their will somewhat and say you know what, forget it, it's okay if we have roy moore sitting among us. it's okay if we have an accused child molester walking our halls as long as it helps us get tax cuts through. >> i want to read just quickly this is just in, it's a facebook post from judge roy moore.

saying, happy thanksgiving from the moors. they say they're spending time at home surrounded by family and friends and thanking god for his kindness, his faithfulness and his mercies that are the new morning. they call this campaign the toughest spiritual and political battle of our lives. and say thank you to the people who are continuing to support them. he also quotes ronald reagan a little bit in this facebook post. louis nelson, let's talk about what impact the sort of strategy of roy moore is going to have. it seems to me that he's use in to a certain extent the same playbook. and that in some way ended up drawing more supporters. is that what you see going on here?

>> president donald trump denied, denied, denied, all these women are making it up. this is a conspiracy the media and democrats are out to get me. and that's the same, again, playbook that roy moore is trying to run here to create this idea of us versus them. they are trying to attack us. they're trying to attack me, and therefore attacking your values. it works for the president. people believed him or at least his voters believed him when he denied all of the allegations against him. i think at least 13 different women have accused the president of sexual assault. obviously it worked for donald trump. roy moore is running, trying to win his senate seat with the same base donald trump won with. it stands to reason roy moore would try to lean on that

playbook as well. >> john allen, he's also it seems attacking the media. "washington post" asked for proof of claims that -- proof of moore's claims that leigh korfman wasn't telling the truth. the statement that moore's campaign sent to "the post" says, quote, it is "washington post" is a worthless piece of crap that has gone out of its way to railroad roy moore. there's no need for anyone at the "washington post" to ever reach out to the roy moore campaign again because we will not respond now or in the future. happy thanksgiving. are we living in a world now where, you know, there is nobody who is in this conservative world who is willing to believe what the mainstream press prints because of the atmosphere that the president has created? where are we in this? >> we've seen fairly conservative republican leaders come out and say they do find these stories credible.

they've asked roy moore to drop out. now, they haven't been successful in getting him to drop out. certainly there is a war on the media. there is -- the other comment from the roy moore campaign, the forces of evil in washington -- >> presumably is mitch mcconnell. >> and also maybe "the washington post." >> i think there may have been an instance where mcconnell may have taken evil genius as a compliment. >> we are getting to a point where the distraction for people who are accused of things is to attack the messenger, attack the media. "the washington post" story is as well done in terms of the mechanics as you can do a story. and for roy moore, what he wants this to be is about anything but allegations that he assaulted a 14-year-old girl. and roy moore wants it to be

about public policy and not the media. >> we have new developments in the desperate search for a missing submarine from argentina. officials say they may have a clue about why the sub vanished from the radar. plus, the u.s. navy is expanding its search for three missing sailors in the philippine sea. officials are now asking for prayers to bring them home. and nbc's hans nichols speaks one on one with the top u.s. commander in afghanistan. their frank conversation about the conflict in that country including reports of russia arming the taliban. i don't want to sound paranoid, but d'ya think our recent online sales success seems a little... strange? na. ever since we switched to fedex ground business has been great. they're affordable and fast... maybe "too affordable and fast." what if... "people" aren't buying these books online, but "they" are buying them to protect their secrets?!?! hi bill. if that is your real name. it's william actually. hmph! affordable, fast fedex ground.

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a worrisome new development in the ongoing search for a submarine that went missing off the coast of argentina on november 15. the argentine navy held a news conference to announce an explosion was detected the day the sub vanished. it's not good news for the 44 crew members on board the ara

san juan which only has enough air to last seven to ten days. that clock is ticking with increasing urgency. the u.s. navy is working alongside several other countries to assist in the search. and today the u.s. navy expanded its search for three sailors missing after a plane crash in the philippine sea. the three were among 11 on board a c-2a greyhound headed for the "uss ronald reagan." the other sailors were rescued and taken to the "reagan" to receive medical care. navy secretary richard spencer addressed the crash from bahrain, asking for prayers for the three sailors who are still missing. >> i'd like everyone to take a moment and keep some of our navy family friends and loved ones in their thoughts and prayers. we heard a c-2 going out to the "reagan" crashed in the ocean. 11 people on board.

8 have been rescued so far. full search mission is under way. the japanese navy is helping us with many, many assets. but we should keep our fellow navy family people in our thoughts and prayers. >> nbc's ali arusia is following developments from london. ali, what's the latest on the search? >> the pentagon hasn't made any public comments on the possible cause. but japan's defense minister says an engine failure may have been a factor in the crash. that historically has an impeccable record. it's a mainstay for the u.s. navy and hasn't been involved in a fatal crash in 44 years. now, the u.s. navy and the japanese ships and aircraft have been scouring the philippine sea in a massive search and rescue operation that until this morning covered well over 300 nautical miles in an effort to find the three missing sailors but they have been missing, rather worryingly, for over 30

hours now. thankfully, as you mentioned, 8 of the 11 people were rescued yesterday and taken aboard the "uss ronald reagan" and are said to be in good condition. but this has been a horrendous year for the u.s. 7th fleet. the latest in a string of accidents, two of which have been fatal. the "uss john mccain" and an oil tanker collided near singapore in august, leaving ten dead. seven dead in japan, prompting the removal of eight top navy officers from their posts including the 7 fleet commander. now, the navy has said they'll be launching a full investigation into this latest calamity but it had been billed as the premier training event between u.s. and japanese forces. so i think it's going to raise a lot of questions again. kacie. >> ali, this seems to come at the worst time from a broader foreign policy perspective,

considering ways going korea an for the u.s. in the region. >> absolutely. it's going to be rather worrying as well for u.s. allies when they see a string of accidents happening. one after the other. and it raises questions as to how well they can execute their operations in that region because as we mentioned it's been a calamitous year for them. it doesn't instill a lot of confidence in these joint operations the u.s. is conducting with their allies. >> nbc's ali arousee in london, thank you. the president is already eyeing his return to washington with just weeks left in his first year. and looking to get tax reform all done before christmas. we're live near mara lago next. first, senator john mccain tweeted support and best wishes to americans this thanksgiving. and along with his best wishes,

the arizona republican mentioned how much he hates a new boot he's having to wear after suffering a tear to his achilles tendon. you can see it in his picture he tweeted. the maverick pointed out today it's not going to stop him from frying up a whopping seven turkeys and it didn't stop him from walking his daughter meghan down the aisle earlier this week to give her away to her new husband ben dominic. mccain tweeted his love to the newlyweds yesterday, sharing this old family photo, our best wishes to the entire mccain family on this thanksgiving. we'll be right back. i love you, couch.

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president trump is celebrating this thanksgiving day on what the white house is calling a, quote, working vacation at his mara lago resort in florida. while speaking with members of the armed forces via conference at his private club, he couldn't pass up the chance to tout his tax plan. >> companies are starting to come back. now we're working on tax cuts, 12 fat beautiful tax cuts. hopefully we'll get that and then you'll see things happen. >> next week, the president plans to meet with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss the december deadline to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. congress has to pass a federal spending plan to avoid a looming government shutdown. let's bring in nbc's white house correspondent kelly o'donnell. she's in west palm beach, florida, near the winter white

house. kelly, this is i'm told the 100th day he's spent at a trump property since he's president. they're calling it a working vacation. what's on the agenda? what have these phone calls been about? >> well, kacie, you always get me going when you say looming government shutdown. it's the 100th day in the ten-month presidency of donald trump that he's at a property where he has a home but it's also branded in the trump name and that certainly fits mara lago where the president is for this extended holiday weekend. he is calling it a working vacation. the white house we've seen a number of times has emphasized that because they're hearing the criticism of the time the president spends away from the white house or on the golf course and they want to emphasize he is president all the time. which is true of any president. today, two public events that were on camera, we don't know if he had any other personal work

business such as phone calls behind the scenes or things like that. but he began the day with a tweet to the nation wishing happy thanksgiving and then brought in the white house press pool for his video conference which connected the commander in chief with five difference installations of military personnel, where he talked about wide-ranging subjects that are top of mind for him. everything from the economy to military readiness to taking some jabs at the media. then went on to a coast guard facility here in florida where he and the first lady brought food that he described as made by the trump people as a luncheon for the coast guardsmen. and there he went to great lengths to praise the work of the coast guard, especially during the hurricanes. and he talked very much like the donald trump of the business world prior to being a candidate or president where he talked about the brand value of the coast guard having gone up considerably, given their heroic work with rescues and really

going to the heart of the storms and the hurricane season when there was so much devastation. so there is some work in the working vacation. the white house also tells u a little bit about the family menu for tonight. it's all the standard favorites with turkey and stuffing and vegetables and then a nod to florida with some red snapper and some crab. so the trump family will be, like many americans, dining around a table together. unlike many americans, we will be following their every move. >> i bet it's a big fat beautiful turkey. nbc's kelly o'donnell with the president in west palm beach, florida, thanks so much and happy thanksgiving. america's longest war. the conflict in afghanistan is at a stalemate. that from the general who's commanded u.s. forces in the country for a year and a half. in an exclusive interview with nbc's hans nichols. >> we're still in a stalemate. we're only 90 days into this

policy. with the u.s. forces that will be arriving with the new authority we've been given, with the fact we're conditioned based, not time based, we set all the conditions to win. >> the general also said he's heard reports of russia providing support to the taliban with small arms. nbc's hans nichols joins us from kandahar, afghanistan. hans, that was a pretty frank assessment from the general this thanksgiving, no? >> well, what the general wants to do and what i think everyone here wants to do is provide accurate information up the chain of command to political leaders so they can make decisions they need to make. sometimes there's signalings from generals. you remember general nicholson in february was calling for more troops. an additional number of troops have arrived in afghanistan. the number is roughly around 14,000. there are about 3,000 down here in kandahar. in reality, the troops that they're talking about is part of this new strategy won't arrive

for a couple of months. those are going to be advisers at the brigade level. they will be advising much more closely out front with the afghans, helping them bolster, make progress against the taliban. because the strategy here is not necessarily to defeat the taliban but to force them to the negotiating table. with isis in the east of the country, still pockets of al qaeda, the goal is annihilation. for the taliban, it's to bring them to the negotiating table and that's why they're there for the long term. it's a conditions-based approach. when you look at the footprint here, they really are trying to strike a quality of life for soldiers here. we talked to several soldiers whose wives are expecting children. they're going to be able to fly back for those life events. it's really the goal here as you look at a long-term solution and a long-term presence. when i spoke to general nicoleson, i asked him whether or not he would be long term in this country, have a listen.

nbc news has reported that the president wanted to relieve you of command. do you have confidence that you have the president's confidence? >> yes. >> what makes you say that? >> because of the authorities i've been given and the policy we received on august 21st. it's everything i asked for. >> now, casey, most of the missions that go outside of the wire here are either one, clearing routes, route clearance, making sure that vehicles are free of vbied, that's see born improvised explosive device. and not worrying about having any political violence against them by taliban who infiltrated the afghan forces. at the same time, they're also doing a lot from the air. when i say a lot there are drones pretty much 24/7. apache helicopters. just a few days ago, they took a

strike against some taliban. right now, i hear some activity in the air. they are constantly looking for targets of opportunity, dynamic targets, working with their of an began partners to provide more security and force the taliban to the negotiating table. >> nbc's hans nichols, thanks to you and most importantly thanks to the men and women who are fighting for us in kandahar, afghanistan and, in fact, across the world on this thanksgiving day. thank you. up next, how busy hackers are this holiday season. with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection.

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the popular ride sharing app uber disclosed this week they suffered a so-called ransom where attack in 2016 and then covered it up for a year. the company paid $100,000 to recover the private information of more than 57 million customers and drivers. though they insist there is no evidence the information was used for criminal purposes. this news follows the revelation that a similar ransomware attack against hbo earlier this year was conducted by an iranian hacker with ties to that country's military. with cyber monday around the corner, do you need to re-evaluate how your information's handled online? i'm joined by sean henry, the president and chief security officer for cloud strike services. now an nbc news contributor. thank you so much for joining me today on this thanksgiving day.

we've seen a rise in these rans ransomware attacks where the information is stolen and held hostage until the hacker pays a fee. are these the kind of attacks that are the future i guess of cyber warfare? >> well, this is certainly a step forward in the future. there are a lot more devastating things actors can actually do. we're seeing companies across the spectrum in every single sector, in transportation, in hospitality, retail, the commercial sector, that are being targeted by organized criminal groups but also by nation stations that are ratcheting up these attacks not just holding data for ransom, which is what we saw here in the uber attack, but looking to actually destroy data and you referenced the hbo's attack where hbo was extorted for 6 million u.s. dollars in order to not release the game of thrones and some other data they had

pilfered. they had actually threatened to destroy the servers at hbo. we're seeing these much more frequently. that should be very disconcerting to consumers and the commercial sector here, kacie. >> can you explain about what the iranian's government might be in attacking hbo? i mean, what is their national security interest there? is it simply to just get the money in this kind of ransom attack or is there something else at work? >> so in this particular case, the particular hacker that was charged, an indictment out of the southern district of new york, he had previously been associated with attacks by the iranian military on u.s. military sites, nuclear information, et cetera, and in this particular case, it appears he may have been working actually on his own. interestingly, we've seen nation state actors who have worked previously to break into companies and government

agencies around the world on behalf of their governments but actually moonlighting on the side where they're using some of the similar tools and tactics for their own personal gain. so in this particular case, this hacker this indictment didn't charge him with acting on behalf of the iranian government but he has been associated previously with hacking on behalf of that government, kacie. >> uber in this case obviously is very troubling because they covered it up for such a long time but this hack was actually relatively small compared to other ones we've seen this year, yahoo!, equifax, for example. it's kind of sparked a conversation about how we all identify ourselves in the united states. we all have social security numbers. one number on which all of this hinges. do you think that way of identifying yourself is that going to have to change over time? is it too outdated for the sophistication of these types of attacks? >> it actually has started to change. we're using in many cases dual factor authentication. in the physical world, you think about showing two separate forms

of government issued i.d. maybe you have your driver's license and your passport but when it comes to identifying yourself online using two factors of authentication. whether it be bio metrics, you're using a thumbprint as well as a user name and password. there's many changes that need to be made in this regard, kacie. >> sean henry, thanks very much, happy thanksgiving to you. >> thank you, to you too. coming up, we will turn to the latest claims against democratic congressman john conyers. a woman talking to nbc news about what she calls his mistreatment of his hill staffers. that story's up next. it's what's inside the person who opens it. ♪ give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions... ♪ ...and open up a world of possibilities. ♪

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and this president and the republican congress are making a bad situation even worse. they won't tell you that their so called "tax reform" plan is really for the wealthy and big corporations, while hurting the middle class. it blows up the deficit and that means fewer investments in education, health care and job creation. it's up to all of us to stand up to this president. not just for impeachable offenses, but also to demand a country where everyone has a real chance to succeed. join us. your voice matters.

another person is accusing democratic congressman johniers of abusive behavior as more harassment claims pile up on capitol hill. the accuser, a former staff member of conyers. she sat down with nbc and described her experience working with the congressman. >> he became increasingly verbally abusive and would berate me loudly and over ridiculous things. there was also the incident in which i walked into his office after i'd been called up there and he was walking around in his underwear. >> conyers' attorneys denied those claims but they told "the washington post" that the congressman, quote, has never done anything inappropriate to melanie sloan, that's the woman you just saw there, and says conyers will not resign. this comes after conyers

confirmed he settled with an ex-staffer after she says he fired her when she refused to provide sexual favors. let's bring in our panel, the guardian's political reporter sabrina sadiki and msnbc legal analyst danny cevellos. thank you for being here. sabrina, you and i have both, you know, covered capitol hill for quite some time. i think we're both pretty aware of what the culture on the hill can be like. but i will say i think we can show our viewers the process here for what it would take to formally report a complaint. and it's as convoluted as it appears to look. if you have an incident of harassment, you have to do it within six months. you have to go to mandatory counseling. mandatory mediation. you can't talk about any of it. do you think that this process is on the way to being changed considering now we're hearing people actually speak out? >> certainly there have been calls to change the process to

reevaluation. congresswoman jackie spier has introduced a bill that would overhaul the process. i think what's apparent as you mentioned is that it's so convoluted that it provides no incentive for women or anyone who faced sexual harassment on capitol hill to come forward and put forth a complaint. it's inheritly designed not just to silence the accusers but to make it look like, for example, when it's settled, there was no wrongdoing. if you look at the conyers, it looks like the payments that were given was just for, you know, work she was doing as a staffer. that tell also you everything you need to know about the perception and the way it is portrayed in the public as to what the actual misconduct is or if it even happened. >> and it's totally opaque to the tax payers because that money was supposed to have come out of a fund for the office of

compliance. melanie sloan said in her interview with us she told committee staffers, she told the leader's office. it was then dig gephardt was there at the time. she says nothing was done. do you think that's something that would conceivably happen now a days? at the evidence the day, congressmen wrong these rules for themselves. >> if the victim reported to a supervisor or somebody in management, because at least under federal law and often under state law knowledge by supervisors of harassment will create liability. that's under both federal and state law. so it's very significant and now a days a lot of times that's done electronically. it might be done by e-mail. certainly in today's environment, i think supervisors recognize whether it's a

company, congress or anywhere, that if they get a complaint, to take it very seriously. >> danny, from a legal perspective, one major question has been around these nondisclosure agreements a lot of these women are essentially forced to sign at the conclusion of the settlement process. and oftentimes these agreements prevent them from talking to the house ethics committee. sometimes their family, their friends. now the house ethics committee launched this investigation into conyers. but if both parties are bound by an nda, i'm not clear on how the ethics committee can get the information it needs. >> nondisclosure agreements can prevent a lot of people, parties, from talking about their case. ultimately they can not stop a subpoena or a court order. but just to present the other side, because i can see how this looks like it conceal these cases and forces people into these agreements but there's an analogy to regular civil litigation. if the parties want to settle a case, neither side may believe they did anything wrong, but

they decide to settle and one of the conditions of the deft might be that the settlement be confidential. it's the same thing in the civil world. the plaintiff, the accuser, has the choice. they can either enter into the nda or proceed to trial. it's not an appetizing set of options but that is the chase. and it's the choice here. at the end of that very long obstacle course you just put up is of course a federal trial and that is a very public event. you can see it right there at the end. federal civil case and that will be in the public. the reality is, is that most plaintiffs do not want to go through this ordeal and would rather it be over sooner rather than later and if confidentiality is required, a lot of them choose it. >> and that's what happened in the case of the second woman who accused john conyers. she filed this suit and then withdraw it after the judge denied her motion to keep it private. sabrina, quick last word to you, do you think conniers is going

to be able to keep his post as the top democrat on the judiciary committee? >> i think there will be calls for him to at least step aside while the investigation proceeds. think the biggest question that will be facing lawmakers on capitol hill is what will be the line, is there going to be a zero tolerance policy? because what johniers has been accused of is different from what senator franken's been accused of, doesn't compare to what moore has been accused of. what they'll have to do is determine what will be the line because there are varying degrees and is it career ending, does it mean that someone has to resign if they've been accused or do they have to lose certain seniority? it remains to be seen. >> and a lot of different pressures, plit dal pressures, on nancy pelosi around that.

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. this year's macy's thanksgiving day parade brought out all the floats and bands and a heavy security. officers with assault weapons and sharp shooter on the roof and portable aviation detectors

among the crowd. nbc rehema ellis is joining us live. >> is security more than usual? >> it really was. the parade just passed us by not so long ago. now, we are in the clean up stage. prior to that, there were millions of people lying the streets and layer and layer of security in part of the terrorist attack occurred here back on halloween and ag peopei people were killed. authorities brought out security in full force. you pointed out that there were officers and patrol who were in uniforms and there were also those in plain coats waraincoat. every intersection was blocked.

there is no way any vehicle that did not belong in this parade is going get in. yet, millions of people came out to watch the parade. just listen. >> there is a lot of security and fire power from the police, does it both eer you? >> no. not a bit. i feel secure and safe. ta it is a great time. >> reporter: nisan in fact when police officers came by from this parade, everybody in this crowd applauded. >> nbc's rehema ellis, thank you very much, happy thanksgiving. >> black friday starts on thursday. who knows? >> more and more people are choosing to shop online. retailers are offering some hefty in store discounts to encourage shoppers to show up in person. many big box stores got an early start today. k-mart and the gap opened their door to 6:00 a.m. to early

birds. other trend had big retailers closing for thanksgiving. i like this one. allowing workers with their families. in store spending is still out pacing online shopping with americans projected to pay $549 billion in person and 129 online during the holiday season. put me down for the online shopping category. joining me now is our consumer saving expert at nerve wallet. kourtney, that's the best strategy for approaching holiday shopping that black friday is not actually black friday and all these discounts. i feel like i got all my e-mails about the discount two days ago. >> yes, it seems like black friday starts earlier and earlier every year. the best strategy is online shopping. in many cases, retailers are

offering the same buster deals online. there will be a few exceptions of great deals they want to have to try to draw you in stores. in most cases, you can shop today. black friday is really is on thanksgiving. >> so there are some places where you mention this, that are offering special coupons if you actually go to the store in person rather than online. what's in it for retailers and why is it better for them to have somebody going on the doors than on the website. >> we have seen these frenzy crowds of the stores. that's what retailers thrive on. once you get there, you have to spend all this time shopping and online. if you come up with one item, chances are, you will leave with a lot more than that. there is some products that are on sale. you may buy something that's a great sale but you will get something else that's not discounted or only discounted a little bit so retailers are banking on that as well.

>> how did shoppers figure out these holiday hours. i sometimes feel like google is a little behind on opening hours for stores sometimes this holiday situation. is there a good place to figure it out? >> that's a great question. retailers announce hours oen line and varied by locations. you may need to check your local stores to see what that'll be. a lot of these sales are happening right now. if you can get that then don't bring in those crowds. >> i certainly will not be braving the crowds. i will certainly will be doing small online shopping. courtney jespersen, thank you very much for your time. >> that wraps things up for us at this hour. ali velshi is picking things up right now. >> hello to you, i hope you get to enjoy the rest of the day,

you can go home? >> that's the right answer. kas kasie hunt, have the great rest of your day. i am ali velshi. president trump is working on twitter today telling everyone what he's got planned for the future and his talk plans while talking to the troops. >> we have big fat, beautiful tax cuts and hopefully we'll get that is and you will see things happening. >> as we give thanks for this holiday, i speak for all americans when i say this, we totally support you. >> i can speak behalf a few of americans when talking to the troops on thanksgiving. when donald trump heading to washington, he has a big decision to make, is he on campaigns with roy moore. >> roy moore is using the president's own words.

kelly o'donell near the winter white house. we are told this is going to be a working holiday. any updates? >> reporter: good to be with you again, ali. the white house stresses working on the holiday. so they emphasize the working. we did see some of that today with the president holding a video conference with five different military outlets where the commander in chief was able to send a holiday message and speaking broadly of his priorities and assessment of ten months in office to you as service members. that started the day. then he went to the u.s. coast guards aloong wing with the firy melania trump for a lunch t service for them as a thank you. the president there touted the