good morning. i'm chris jansing. i hope you're having a great holiday weekend. this morning we're focussed on washington where president trump finally broke his silence with the media only to spend nearly half an hour repeatedly alleging voter fraud on a massive scale. we're also focussed on georgia where republicans are increasingly worried that the president's undermining faith in the system potentially turning off voters that they need in zwran's special runoffs to keep control of the u.s. senate. >> i told them today, i think you're dealing in a fraudulent system. i'm worried about that. they are tremendous people. they should be in the united states senate. they're needed. but i told them today, listen, you have a fraudulent system. you have a system where the flick of a switch or the putting in of a new chip can change the course of history. >> yeah?

we after being asked three times if he would concede, president trump did finally say he would leave office if the electoral college votes for joe biden when it meets 18 days from now are for him. he also said a lot could happen between now and then. >> i'm joined now by carol lee following the president from washington, and ali with the president in delaware. carol, the president repeated a lot of the same allegations we've heard time and time again. anything new there? >> reporter: that's a great question, chris. he did repeat a lot of the things he's been saying on twitter in the last several weeks. he did say something new you referenced which is that he will leave the white house if the electoral college on december 14th as is expected, means joe biden is the next president of the united states. he also said he wouldn't concede

and said there's a long way to go between now and then. take a listen. >> this has a long way to go. this has a long way to go. you're going to find tremendous fraud. you're going to find fraud of hundreds of thousands of votes per state. you're going to find fraud of many, many times the votes that i need. i hate to say it, but this was a rigged -- at the highest level, it was a rigged election. >> reporter: he said if the electoral college does say that joe biden is the next president, that would be a mistake. he has a lot of fight in him yet, as you can see there from the president's comments and he wants to take this through the next several weeks. he said that he -- he was asked whether or not he would attend the inauguration. he said that he knows the answer to that question, but he's not going to give us that answer. a mystery there. and he also was asked about georgia and said he'll be going to the state of georgia on december 5th to campaign in that runoff election there.

although, as noted, he also said there's real questions about the vote there, albeit, no evidence of that. >> no evidence of that, again. ali, we know the president-elect's message is one of unity. talk a little bit more how they're planning to do this going forward? what does he have on his agenda between now and when there may be down time around christmas? >> reporter: the unity message has been laced through from the moment biden accepted being president of the united states. it's carrying through to the people we're seeing him not nate for cabinet positions. in the fist round on the foreign security front, we saw people with deep washington experience. some of them in the obama administration leading where

they once served. that extends to the economic picks we're expecting to get after the weekend in the early part of next week. we've already reported that sources have told us that janet yellen, the former fed chair is the likely next treasury secretary. if she's confirmed, she would be the first woman to serve in that role as well as the first woman to hold the nation's top three economic roles as the chair of the economic counsel under bill clinton, the obama years and now the head of the treasury department, and they're doing a lot of this with the senate confirmation battle in mind. we know that the battle for the senate remains focussed on georgia. we're told biden is likely to go there and democratic apparatus is really churning for get out the vote there. it's also going to be one of the things that helps or hurts his nominees as they head to the senate and really that extends no further than when you look at someone like janet yellen. before biden has rolled her out, he said in a he had chosen a treasury secretary, someone who

would be acceptable to all parts of the party. we expect him to formally roll it out early next week. here's the thing. so far on the cabinet picks, we have lot heard outcry from b progressiv progressives. they've been quiet or tacitly supportive. that's not going to last long. janet yellen has to look at the potential for a double dip recession, and a lot of progressives would like to see her start crafting economic policy that deals with the racial or broader wealth gap across the country. there are skichs within the progressive party and other issues. they might not be evident yet, but they're coming. >> thank you both. i want to bring in matthew sanderson, an election law analyst for nbc, also an attorney. it's good to see you. i want to go back to what the

president said yesterday. there are, quote, hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes in multiple states. is it even possible to rig an election on that kind of scale right now? >> no, and i think it's telling and people at home should not look at what he's saying in a press conference or on twitter or what's being said in court. and in that context, it's easy to kind of lampoon the president'smaneuvering. he's presided over a comity of errors which has been unsuccessful with he and his allies scoring a single modest victory in court and over 30 losses with more to come. but we shouldn't let rudy giuliani's dripping hair dye or a pack of trump lawyers that can't seem to spell lull us into

thinking this is a laughable effort. this could have long-term consequences for the cohesion and interest of our country. that's what's worth paying attention to. baselessly and repeatedly attacking the american election system. >> yeah. and to that point, we've seen the court case and hand recounts. all kinds of things that are designed to instill more faith in the system. you've had any number of republican elections officials saying all of this is legit. all of this is something you should have faith in, and yet, we see in the polls that there are millions of americans who still don't. is there something you think can or should be done to convince people that this election wasn't fixed or they shouldn't worry going forward about casting a ballot and it won't be counted fairly? >> well, long-term, we can certainly talk about what additional security and verifying measures should be implemented within our election

system, but take georgia for example. they will count the votes for a third time. they're counting those now, and yet, president trump has characterized the republican secretary of state as a, quote, enemy of the people. there's no -- there's no satisfying president trump at this point. his objections are not based on inefficiencies in the process. his objection is because he doesn't like the election outcome that has been reached. and as i said before, this is damaging. i think both to the party and to the republican party and to the long-term interests of the country. as someone who has been a republican longer than the president, i'm troubled at the prospect that republican voters will stay home in future elections if they feel like the system is rigged. and in terms of the country overall, a corner stone of our

republic is voters' elected faith that election results reflect their will, and if we would all be upset if president trump set fire to the white house on his way out of town. he's doing something just as damaging here. and that might seem like it's hyperbole, but it's not. this is a foundational concept of our democracy. >> well, one of the other things that the president said is that if the electoral college certifies the election, he will leave. so that's going to happen next month. right? is this a real end date for all of this or not? do all of the challenges go away once the electoral college meets? >> he might leave. and nothing that the trump team has done or will do has changed the fact that joe biden will be sworn in as the president of the united states.

i don't think this ends with the inauguration or with the voting or the electoral college, because this really isn't -- this isn't about vindicating a legal right or providing for the faithful application of the law. this is at bottom, an exercise in shifting blame away from the president for his electoral loss. this is an exercise in emotional catharsis for the president with each new lawsuit and parking lot press conference a little bit of balm for the presidential ego. and that's a bottomless pit. that's why i don't think this ends with a legal deadline or a lawsuit dismissal. this only ends when my fellow republicans muster the courage to tell the president to sit down, have himself a good cry, and come back some other time. maybe with a message and a plan that can finish first. >> matthew sanderson, great note

to leave it on. thank you so much. appreciate you coming in on a holiday weekend. we've got a lot more news this friday morning. the cdc says it believes the country is undercounting the number of co-vid cases. why the real number could be eight times higher. and overseas europe is crippled by the second wave of the paebndemic, fighting to sav christmas. we're life from paris nec. it's smarter trading technology for smarter trading decisions. fidelity. we started by making the cloud easier to manage. but we didn't stop there. we made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. no matter what it does, or how it changes. and we kept going. so you only pay for what you use.

because at dell technologies, we stop...at nothing. ♪

the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. here are the facts at this hour. right now we're closing in on 13 million confirmed case the in the country. more than 1.2 million cases in the last week alone. so far we've lost more than 264,000 americans. empty seats at the dinner table this thanksgiving. for the loved ones we couldn't see because they're in nursing facilities, here's a devastating

statistics. about 37% of all u.s. coronavirus deaths are linked to nursing homes. this has infected residents at more than 26,000 facilities. this puts the importance of social distancing for loved ones at another level. around the globe, germany's total case count has surpassed 1 million. plus the south of italy which was largely spared earlier in the pandemic faces a health care crisis that has the government redeploying resources and calling on war zone doctors for assistance. i want to go to our reporters on the ground. gabe gutierrez in new york city and matt bradley in paris, france. ma what is happening in paris? >> reporter: well, everybody here in europe, all governments

and politicians, they're all struggling to save christmas. and i know that sounds like a christmas movie, but it's true. that's going on. they're really trying to make public policy efforts so people not just here in france but throughout the continent can go home and see their families on christmas and new year's. that's what we heard from the french president earlier this week. he said that starting tomorrow shops and businesses are going to be open here in paris and throughout the country. it's all part of a long, about two-month long plan to slowly ease up on this lockdown that's been here. i keep telling you that we're in the middle of this second wave. we're still in the middle of the second we've here, but the french president said we've crested that wave. now, the number of new cases per day has plummeted by 40 %. it's no longer that sky high number we saw weeks ago.

the numbers of admitting into the intensive care units is down by 15%. we're starting to see the other side of that wave, but they're going to start to slowly ease that lockdown. but there are some restraints if there aren't enough -- if there are too many new cases, more than 5,000 per day, then they're going to go back to the lockdown. same if they get more than 25 00 people in intensive care units. lockdown is the only thing that's been shown to work here, but it's a painful strategy, and business owners are complaining, as you can see, it's right before christmas. this place would be packed. there's not that many people here. i spoke with one business owner in paris who had gotten the disease. her whole family got the disease, and now just two weeks before that reprieve, announced by macron, she had to shudder her business. here's what she said.

>> to get out of this boutique, i will lose a little over 100,000 euros, but it's better to lose the cash than to lose the business, because this business, it sounds silly, it's like my soul. i've put so much blood, sweat and tears into it. i'm not willing to be washed out by a crisis. >> reporter: it's an impossible situation. in many ways, the treatment is worse than the disease. chris? >> yeah. that's the complaint of a lot of business owners gabe, 45 states have seen a rise in co-vid cases over the last couple weeks. what are the concerns in new york now that we're deep into this holiday season? >> reporter: well, it's a different situation here in new york city than it is in paris where matt is.

over there you heard of the easing of restrictions potentially over the next coming weeks. here in new york and in many other places throughout the country, there's a concern that there could be more restrictions because of the rising cases over the next couple weeks following the thanksgiving holiday. many public health officials worry that because of the increased gatherings and travel during this holiday, that the cases will dramatically rise over the next coming weeks. chris, also we're hearing from the cdc, the agency saying it believes that the amount of cases in this country have been vastly undercounted, saying they were up to 53 million coronavirus cases by the end of september, but that is nearly 8 times or was reported at that time. so we've been hearing this since the beginning of the pandemic. the concern among public health officials is we didn't have a handle on exactly how many cases there are, and the cdc saying that continues to be the case.

the major reason is many people either asymptomatic or showing minor symptoms might not get tested, and so that case count appears much lower than it is. here in new york over the next coming weeks, again, the governor saying he plans to have some sort of different plan that his office is taking a look at that. >> gabe, matt, thank you so both of you. president trump continuing with his baseless claims of voter fraud in the election. we're going to go to georgia where republican candidates there are trying to walk that tight rope of supporting the president, but also making sure people trust the system enough to vote for them. and we have breaking news. iranian news outlets are reporting a high level nuclear scientist has been assassinated. we'll have the details coming up. details coming

up when i was in high school, this was the theater i came to quite often. the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today. ♪ itthe north pole has to aand be feeling the heat. up,. it's okay santa... let's workflow it. workflow it...? with the now platform, we can catch problems, before customers even know they're problems. wait... a hose? what kid wants a hose?!

fireman? says "hose". -it says "horse"! not a hose! cedric! get over here! now our people can collaborate across silos, from across the globe. so how's the new place? it's a 4 bed, 2.5 bath igloo... it's great! yeah, but you have to live in the south pole. sir... -wait, are you sure? yes, we're that productive now. you hear that?! the kids get twice the presents! about time 2020 gave us some good news. whatever your business is facing... let's workflow it. servicenow. research shows people remember so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. wow! what'd you get, ryan? it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual! what does it do bud? it customizes our home insurance so we only pay for what we need!

and what did you get, mike? i got a bike. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

we're just 39 days out from georgia's senate runoffs. races are heating up with senate control hanging in the balance.

jon ossoff r jon ossoff tag teamed while the republican opponents perdue and loeffler did not hold any public events. the new fear this morning for loeffler and perdue is president trump's baseless voter fraud claims will trust voters not to trust the voting system and stay home. we have been all over the story in atlanta. julia, you've been talking to the candidates. have president trump's claims changed their campaign approach at owl or caused additional concern for them? >> yes. this is a growing problem on the line. it remains to be seen whether it will extend to voters in georgia. i did say it play out at a perdue campaign stop when one voter shouted what are you going to do to help trump's fraud case? they're trying to encourage their voters to turn out for an election as the president is

saying the system in georgia is fraudulent. and while the secretary of state has said he's worried that's going to depress turnout, the candidates are welcoming whatever help that trump will give them. he's actually heading here to the state next saturday, and just moments ago senator david perdue tweeted president trump is right. no republican can sit this election out. there's so much at stake. thanked him for his support and looked forward to seeing him next saturday. now, all eyes will be on the messaging, because for loeffler and perdue, they want to hold the line, hold the senate majority as the last line of defense. in order to do that, they have to acknowledge that the defense is against a democratic president. chris? >> julia, thank you for that. i want to dig deeper and ring in rick tyler, a republican strategist and msnbc analyst. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. >> do you think the voter fraud

claims complicate things for perdue and loeffler? >> it's a huge problem. i've been saying this all week. donald trump, by undermining the results of the election, he's claiming machine fraud and claiming it in georgia. voter machine fraud. except in dgeorgia, they eliminated machines and he still lost. if people begin to believe in georgia that this election was stolen, which is the claim of the president, and that there is fraud, then why turn out? why turn out to a fraudulent election? so he's definitely going to suppress his own vote, and chris, when he goes down there in georgia, it will be a disaster, because he will not be able to refrain from talking about how the election was stolen, how it was all fraud. he'll be completely off message. instead of promoting the importance to republicans for them of why they need to get out and vote to control the senate

with perdue and loeffler, he'll instead go into a 9 0-minute grievance tirade on how the election was stolen and it's fraud. that's going to hurt the two candidates. >> yeah. it's even gotten so far as politico is reporting this morning that some of these maga groups online and some of the more right-leaning conspiratorial maga groups are saying don't vote in the election because it's going ton fraudulent. to the point where donald trump junior who is no stranger to misinformation tweeted, nonsense, ignore those people, but his dad doesn't seem to be getting the connection between voter fraud and people not voting. >> donald trump created those people, and now those people are against the so-called establishment republicans because remember, donald trump -- what donald trump says all the republicans got

reelected and had a good year throughout the country. they didn't lose seats in the house. they gained them. they may control the senate. we'll see what happens in georgia. yet, donald trump lost. so the message around the country was clear. we'd like things pretty much the way they are, legislatively, but let's just get rid of donald trump, and people do like divided government. they're going to provide a check on joe biden from what they've heard. they got rid of trump, put in biden, and maintained a republican, more republicans in the house and in the senate. that have not my desired outcome. i think the republican party needs to be punished for putting up donald trump and maintaining him and not standing up to him. but now we're going to have a situation where donald trump is once again for himself justifying why he lost the election at the expense of the republican party in general. >> rick tyler, always good to

see you. and your background as well. thank you for coming on. >> thank you. a growing number of coronavirus cases on university campuses complicating college basketball's much anticipated return. just days into the season how plans to play are already in trouble. and if you did get together with family on thanksgiving, what you can do right now to keep others around you safe. afe. dry, distressed skin that struggles? new aveeno® restorative skin therapy. with our highest concentration of prebiotic oat intensely moisturizes over time to improve skin's resilience. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature™. good morning, mr. sun. good morning, blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. i'm gonna grow big and strong. yes, you are. i'm gonna get this place all clean. i'll give you a hand. and i'm gonna put lisa on crutches! wait, what? said she's gonna need crutches. she fell pretty hard. you might want to clean that up, girl. excuse us.

when owning a small business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. -and i'm gonna -- -eh, eh, eh. -donny, no. -oh. narrator: upgrade your protectin this holiday season...

before we talk about tax-s-audrey's expecting... new? -twins! available at boomer naturals,n nanocvs stores & cvs.com.or you. ♪

we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. finding the right words can be tough.n it comes to autism, finding understanding doesn't have to be. we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org. iwith vicks sinex saline nasal cmist.tion for drug free relief that works fast. vicks sinex. instantly clear everday congestion. robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are -

even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. stayingtakes a plan.ur game that's why at aetna, we take a total, connected approach to your health and wellness. with medicare advantage plans designed to surround you with the care you need every day. aetna medicare advantage plans. 8 1/2 months after cancelling the ncaa tournament, college basketball is back with a full slate of games tipping off last night. as we've seen with professional sports, coronavirus is taking a toll. the nfl's reigning mvp lamar jackson was the highest profile athlete to test positive. capping off a week where another game was moved. if a professional league can't keep athletes safe, with a sport

made of student athletes make sure its athletes are. morgan is join us. what stepping are being taken to keep the fans and athletes safe. >> reporter: there are numerous safeguards to try to keep college basketball in play. we're already seeing some cracks starting to form. this tournament that's been going on for the past several days is being billed an an 11-day basketball extravaganza held at a casino in connecticut. they have 40 teams there, men and women, split up among the hotel properties. each program essentially getting their own dedicated floor to hopefully isolate from exposure to other teams to try to keep covid-19 in check. on top of that, we know upon arrival each member was given a nasal swab and they're tested before every game. all that aside, there were several programs, big games, in

fact, that didn't even take part, because of co-vid issues prior to the tournament. since it began, we've been keeping a close eye on the progress. so far so good as of right now. that said, there are some other teams that are kind of very closely watching how this plays out. one of those florida state men's basketball program. i had a chance to speak to their head coach about his main concerns trying to conduct as normal a season as possible with the presence of this virus. take a listen. >> well, the thing of it is, you can't worry about that which you can't control. be consistent. that's the only thing you can do and hope that's enough for us to stay safe and be true to each other. i hope we have a good season, but i'm more concerned about let's get through the season healthy. >> reporter: and florida state, one of the programs that so far has not reported any positive tests since this season has

begun. they hope it stays that way. there are still plans in place for a spring tournament. of course, that's what really made everyone realize how serious this virus was when march madness was cancelled last year. the ncaa pledged to bring it back last year. but instead of having games across the country, they want it to be in one city. right now the early front runner is indianapolis where all the teams to be gathered similar to the nba bubble style that we saw during the playoffs this past season. as for the potential impact on how this is all going to play out, they're working out the final details. as of right now, at least the preliminary hope. and a lot of college programs are going to be playing to if not empty arenas, ones that have socially distanced fans spaced out. chris? >> morgan, thank you so much for that. joining us now, an infectious disease physician and

medical director to the special pathogens unit at boston medical center. i want to talk about restarting college basketball or any college sport for that matter. and let's be honest about this. this is not whether or not your kid can play little league or soccer. it's big business. it's big business for the school and potentially for the players who may want to go pro. if we're just looking at this from a health perspective, is college basketball or any college sport restarting a good idea as we enter the pandemic's dark winter? >> good morning. good to see you again. you know, all of these activities, no activities we take part in during this pandemic are without risk. and the trouble is the risk, any businesses, they're all tied into community transmission. there is a great amount of community transition in cases, all the layers, the testing,

creating a bubble, you know, making sure that everybody is keeping away and keeping healthy as much as they can in terms of interaction depends on how big and how sort of widespread the transmission is elsewhere. so the worry here is what we see in schools in particular is that as numbers in the community go up, it becomes harder to do that, and then you see outbreaks that spill over. my own perception is we're entering some of the worst months of the pandemic. and some of the restart date and the ability for the college basketball and other sports to do this is going to depend on when we bring the numbers down and how quickly we get the vaccine rollouts and immunity up in the community. >> the cdc says as you know, doctor, the real number of co-vid cases in the u.s. could be eight times higher than reported, and what's being reported is pretty horrible. if that assessment is accurate, what are some of the broad implications here?

>> so some of the numbers are actually from cities, the perception there are eight to tenfold number that were never diagnosed. when we look at the blood for evidence of prior infection, they end up being positive. the implications are despite the newest study says an average this year of prevalence is about 10% of the population. yes, it's a lot more number dwlun expected who might have been expected but the overall number of percentage of people in the community that might be immune that might have had the disease remains low. the implication is we know there's a lot more community transmission from people who are not symptomatic. but we're nowhere near the number we need, even with the eight to ten times higher than expected, nowhere near where we need to be to achieve herd immunity. the vaccine is the safest and only way for us to get there. >> and in the meantime, we know the way to stay safe if you have to go out is to wear a mask.

there's some new information about masks. in fact, there was a big wall street journal article about the new masks hitting the market. the manufacturers say they're more protective than face cloths but they don't get the protection provided by an n-95. what's our latest knowledge on masks? >> i want to start by saying all masks help. there's a study from a couple months ago that shows that n-95s block about 95% what's going through. and surgical masks, 60%. the barriers protect you. higher quality masks are important. the medical masks are great. they're looked at by an agency that certifies their quality. the national institute for occupational health and safetiy. they ensure the barrier is a

good seal so you're not letting air through or out. and it withstands moisture for a long period of time. the high quality masks would be great for a lot of our workers who work indoors for a long teerd of time where wearing the mask needs to be comfortable and well-fitted and would stand that moisture over time from sweat or sali saliva. i'm heartened to see manufacturers are taking the step. the important thing is institute for health and safety hasn't made a stance on certifying commercial masks. i wish they would. it would great to see certification of the masks available to the public saying this meets this level of safety. the other is cost. manufacturers can make the masks but if they're not affordable for a majority of our essential workers, that's not going to help reduce the transmission in the community. so i hope those masks make it out there. i hope they're certified and they're portable for a lot of

people to use. >> certified key there. we only have about 45 seconds left. i want to get to this. there are lots of americans who went out. i know it was against cdc guidelines, but they held thanksgiving gatherings with their family or friends. if that's the case, what should they do now? should they self-quarantine for the next couple weeks? >> if they're traveling back, a lot of states have quarantine laws. they have put them into place, laws if you travel back or from another state, about 14 days is what most states are requiring, or they're requiring some combination of quarantine and testing. so when you travel back, remember, we always have to act like we have the disease, because we may not be aware that we may be without symptoms carrying the disease. wear personal protective equipment on the planes. when you get back, look into policies and quarantining if you need to. access a test if you can.

>> doctor, always great to see you. i appreciate your reassuring voice all week long. thank you so much. black friday, that's today. looking very different this year. that doesn't mean there aren't some deals out there. keep it here. ...this one's for you. you inspired us to make your humira experience even better... with humira citrate-free. it has the same effectiveness you know and trust, but we removed the citrate buffers, there's less liquid, and a thinner needle... with less pain immediately following injection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. and you can use your co-pay card to pay as little as $5 a month. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,... ...including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common... and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,... or have flu-like symptoms or sores.

don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. the same humira you trust with less pain immediately following injection. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. stayed on my mind... was another around the corner? or could it be a different story? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. ...and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding,

like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be your moment. ask your doctor about eliquis. find a stock basedtech. on your interests what's around the corner could be your moment. or what's trending. get real-time insights in your customized view of the market. it's smarter trading technology for smarter trading decisions. fidelity.

we started by making the cloud easier to manage. but we didn't stop there. we made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. no matter what it does, or how it changes. and we kept going. so you only pay for what you use. because at dell technologies, we stop...at nothing. ♪

black friday like so much in our country is different this year because of the pandemic. remember those crowds, the stam peeds, the endless lines. right now retailers are encouraging more folks to stay home and shop online. according to insights from edison trends, online sales are up dramatically year over year. target, walmart, best buy, all up compared to 2019 spending. nbc's jo ling kent is following this unprecedented black friday from a best buy in los angeles. hey, jo, what can you tell us about how critical black friday is to the economy and how the pandemic is changing what this important shopping day is like this year? >> reporter: hey, chris. consumer spending is the main driver of the economy. when you don't see lines outside a best buy, you may think that's

not good news. here is the deal. overall people are spending online. we know 50% of shoppers say all the sales leading up to black friday and cyber monday have actually diminished their interest in shopping on this particular day. that has not taken away the fact that so many people are shopping online right now. yesterday was a record day for online shopping. thanksgiving day saw $5.1 billion in online sales alone. that's the latest information according to adobe. that's a record broker. that's where you see stores like best buy prieg to rise to the occasion to meet this major demand. they do have their doors open. inside that store -- we were just in there -- you can see what's happening on the online front. you place an order, say, for a big tv or another appliance and you can either pick it up curbside or have it delivered, oftentimes by one of the best buy employees themselves.

they're trying to make these mini fulfillment centers nationwide to fulfill this huge demand for quick shipping that's convenient and delivery. that's really the name of the game this year. so many people say, no, i don't want to be going out during this pandemic to go shopping for health and safety mornings. last quarter, best buy shot up 170% in online sales and expect a very strong quarter this year as well. overall, when you look at the folks who go in shopping in stores, it's a different experience. of course, we're wearing our masks. you'll see those arrows and a traffic flow inside the stores. you'll see lots of social distancing and different ways they're organizing their merchandise this year just preparing for possible crowds, but bracing for them not necessarily to come out in the same ways that they used to. so overall, a quiet black friday

when you look at it with your own two eyes, but online, that's really where you're seeing the surge. we're expecting the biggest black friday sales ever today and monday online. this comes as competitors to best buy, like amazon, are ramping up. they've hired about half a million people in their workforce this year alone. just announcing yesterday they're going to offer a holiday bonus to their workers, spending about $500 million, chris. across the board, we are seeing spending rise this holiday season despite the very difficult economic realities. the national retail federation still expects spending overall to increase between 3% and 5%. they're bullish about this holiday season, although the pictures certainly feel very different this year, chris. >> do they ever. it also gives me angst watching those pictures from last year. jo ling kent, thank you. we want to go to the

breaking news out of iran where the country's defense ministry confirmed that one of japan's nuclear scientists is dead, apparently assassinated. nbc's ali arouzi joins me with details. ali, what do we know? >> reporter: chris, that's right. state media, the defense ministry is reporting one of iran's very, very top nuclear scientists, one of the leading figures in iran's nuclear and missile program was assassinated several hours ago. that's how they're putting it. apparently he was on a family vacation in the north of iran while he was traveling back towards tehran. he was in an area about an hour east of tehran. the reports coming out saying there was a truck in front of him or pickup which exploded and armed men descended on his car and shot him. his family members, who we don't have any details of how many

were with him, were injured. he was flown to a hospital we believe in tehran, but he died of his injuries there. i can tell you, chris, officials here are already up in arms and they're already laying blame. the foreign minister javad zarif says this bears all the hallmarks of an israeli operation. there's a man who is a candidate in the upcoming elections in june. he said there is no depth that iran's enemies won't travel to. their revenge for his death will be swift. this is a scenario we've seen again and again, chris. i remember in 2012 before iran embarked on the nuclear talks with then president obama, there was a string of assassinations in iran of nuclear scientists. iran talk it very seriously at that time. they also blamed israel. that was probably to put

pressure on iran to come and start talking about this nuclear program. this is going to be interpreted as putting pressure on iran to make concessions on a deal that they've already signed. as if tensions weren't high enough between these two countries, this is going to make it a lot worse. i've got to say, this is not a figure like suleman any who was known everywhere, but within iranian circles, this man was very important. >> ali arouzi with the latest on this. we appreciate you watching this hour of "msnbc live." i hope you have a fantastic holiday weekend. up next, stick around. we've got more news with ellison barber. at fidelity, you'll work with an advisor

to help you build a flexible wealth plan. you'll have access to tax-smart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. personalized advice. unmatched value. at fidelity, you can have both. our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. with us... turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. daughter: slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide.

. good friday morning. i'm ellison barber here at msnbc headquarters in new york. we start this hour with the latest facts on this pandemic. there are nearly 13 million coronavirus cases reported here in the u.s. we have lost more than 264,000 americans to the virus. this morning the cdc reports the real numbers could be much higher. the cdc believes they miss one for eight cases for every one counted. firefighters in silicon valley spread out to enforce public health rules like