eye on as games, politics and controversy merge all in one, jose. >> thank you so much from doha, qatar. tomorrow, big game. argentina, 5:00 a.m. eastern, 2:00 a.m. pacific. all of the games you're going to be able to watch on telemundo. you can catch team usa take on wales on telemundo, streaming on peacock. best of luck to team usa. some great games to watch. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can reach me on twitter and instagram. follow the show online at jdbalart. lindsey reiser picks up with more news right now. good morning. i'm lindsey reiser live at msnbc headquarters in new york. right now a community reeling. we're learning new details after

the deadly shooting at an lgbtq nightclub in colorado springs. five people were killed. 25 others are injured. it happened late saturday just before midnight. the shooter brought down heroically by two unarmed people inside the club. what we know about the heroes who stepped in likely preventing more deaths. plus, the still unanswered questions about the suspected shooter and his background. police are set to give an update this afternoon. in a few minutes, i'm going to speak with a witness who was inside the club as the shots rang out. he says he thought the gunshots were part of the music. >> i saw bodies on the floor. blood. shattered glass. broken cups. people covered up in white sheets. we have no choice but to move on, but to rebuild, right? but how can we even feel safe? >> we will talk about the sense

of safety that's now been shattered for so many in that community. also ahead, former president trump staying silent on twitter now that his account has been reinstated by elon musk. will that last? the latest controversial developments after musk's takeover of the company. plus the latest major legal twists surrounding trump. why two former top doj officials in trump's administration say he's facing legal parel. we begin with the deadly mass shooting in colorado springs. priscilla thompson is live there, clint watts is joining us. priscilla, let's go to you, we talked about this press conference scheduled for 2:00. questions are swirling around the gunman, his history, but

also these heroes who brought him down. what more are you learning this morning? >> yeah, lindsey, one thing that we have been able to confirm today is the name of one of the victims who was killed daniel aston. his mom told us that her son was among the victims. and his parents told "the denver post" that they received a notification from a friend of his that something had happened at the club. they rushed to the hospital and when they got there, they learned that he was not going to be brought to the hospital. that he did not make it. and they say he was such a lovely person who could just light up a room. he loved '80s hair and funky wigs and clothes and things like that, and they're calling this an absolute nightmare. and so we hope that with this presser that is scheduled for later today, we'll learn more about the other victims of this devastating violence. yesterday, police were still notifying family members and

they weren't yet sharing those names. but we're also hoping to learn about those two people who are being hailed heroes. officials saying that within one minute of this gunman entering this club, there were people that tackled him and subdued him until police were able to arrive minutes later and that made it much quicker for them to apprehend the suspect and get paramedics in to begin treating people. and it could have been far worse had those people not acted in that way. i want to play what the mayor had to say about those two individuals. take a listen. >> it's an incredible act of heroism. and i think when you look at this and the time frame, that act probably saved a lot of lives. there's no question about that. >> and, of course, the other big thing that we're watching for at this press conference is what more we will learn about the shooter. we know that investigators have been coming this crime scene

here for the past 24 hours. there may be surveillance video that they've had an opportunity to review from inside the club. we know that police were onning search warrants and have carried out a search at the suspect's home. they're looking at social media posts, trying to figure out what they can learn about how he obtained these guns, whether they were obtained legally and the big question here which is motive. many people in this community who i've been talking to as they have come to this memorial have said they feel like this was a targeted attack, a hate crime against the lgbtq community and we'll be looking to see if police have any sort of answer or additional information about that today. lindsey? >> we know that we're in the early stages of the investigation right now, but i want to play part of what the colorado springs district attorney said earlier on "morning joe." >> i think it would be a little bit reckless to say what might

have been motive for those kind of things. we're looking at this as a hate crime incident and we'll learn more as this investigation progresses. >> what types of details will investigators be looking at to make this determination of a hate crime? for example, we know club q was hosting a drag event. they were planning a drag brunch in honor of transgender day of remembrance. >> several things, lindsey. was there any target specific to that individual, that that individual knew had to be at the club. you have to determine motive and that of an ideological cause. when you see a mass shooting like this, it leans very, very much towards a hate crime or a terrorist incident based on a belief or targeting or demonizing of a group. they're going to be looking at any sort of information that's available in public or in private that suggests what the motive might have been for this. is there anyone that had a

discussion with this individual. he expressed views that were antilgbtq? is there any sort of postings or any sort of discussion that's been happening in the online space that might point to this as a target. and above everything else, when we look at this -- and i'm sure brandy is going to talk about it. there's been a massive spike in antilgbtq speech online and in person particularly during an election year when it's been a focal point issue at times. when you combine all of those things together, i think that's what investigators are going to be looking for in terms of how they go about charging this incident. >> clint, also, we know a man with the same name, same age as the suspect was the subject of a bomb threat report last year. that's according to a news release from the el paso county sheriff's office. if this is the same person, how could that factor into the case against him? >> it would show that there was some sort of pattern to this

person's behavior and that is unfortunately normal it seems like in these investigations when we go back and look, there's a criminal record oftentimes. there are many instances where we would have suspicious activity reports coming out of a school or community suggesting the individual might be moving in a way that is a profile suggestive of mass targetings and shootings. and how do we start the two parts of this problem that is playing our country. the frequency of these attacks. i think we're all worried about a contagion effect when something like this happens. we see copycats. we're going into a holiday weekend. it's going to be trouble for law enforcement across the country. and the impact of each of these events. if you look at any other country regardless of the fact that people may have hateful views, how many people are shot and killed it comes down to weapons. a potential bomb threat a year ago now showing up with body arm

and a long weapon, it speaks to the fact for a country just being unable to get our hands around trying to prevent this violence. >> brandy is here with me now. the motive is still investigation. i want to play something that the ceo of glaad said moments ago. >> the rhetoric is driving it. whatever the motive comes out on this, we know that we've seen an uptick in violence against our community. we feel it and we don't feel safe when we're out and about. >> you've been sounding the alarm for so long on this rhetoric, against the trans community, drag queens who are labeled as groomers. what are the coincidences of this rhetoric? >> we've been seeing it around march or april, about the time that the "don't say gay" bill came out.

calling gay and lesbian people groomers, dehumanizing these folks. the pride event that we saw in the spring and the summer were all visited by counterprotesters and several events we had proud boys, neo-nazis. 31 nazis were arrested over the summer. we're seeing trans librarians accosted and assaulted. this is having a real-world impact. >> and you saw after the shooting in colorado springs, you saw more of this type of rhetoric obstacle. what were some of the things you were seeing? >> that was upsetting. you would think that at a moment when so many people have lost lives and people are injured, at this moment of extreme violence that people who have been pushing this groomer narrative would say, hold up, wait a minute. unfortunately, we have not seen

that. we've seen an emboldening, we've seen a double down. the accounts that started this groomer nonsense and this hate speech are doubling down and said we will work harder to stop these groomers, these pedophiles from infiltrating our society. >> thank you for your reporting. also, our thanks to priscilla thompson and clint watts. i want to bring in joshua thurmon who was at club q. joshua, i'm sorry for what you're going through, we want to thank you for talking to us, for giving us some of your time. how are you feeling today? >> i'm still broken. i'm here. i'm thankful. my heart goes out to the

families who lost their loved ones. my heart goes out to the injured. i stand with my brothers and sisters. this is a horrible stain on our community and it sucks being in this position. but we will get through this. we are a strong community. we will survive. the roads ahead will be tough. >> joshua, it's hard to take you back there and is to ask you what you were going through. you were dancing, you thought that the gunshots were actually part of the music. i think it's important to take us back on what was going through your mind when you realized what was happening so people can understand the fear that you lived through. whatever you're comfortable telling us, what was that like?

>> honestly, i don't know. when i heard the second round of gunshots, immediately, i ran. and i'm familiar with club q. i used to be a part of the employees back in the day. that's not the point. i ran to the dressing room and a customer followed me. i don't know what happened, but something kicked in. as soon as we got in the dressing room, i told them to close and lock the doors, we cut the lights off and got down on the ground and one of the people who was in the dressing room with me immediately called 911. just laying there on the floor hearing everything, a third round of multiple shots, people yelling, crying, glass being broken, just -- i even heard the people that subdued the assailant. it was just fearful. and i'm, like, it was reported

earlier, i'm glad that the people stopped him because even though we were in a locked room, there was nothing from stopping that man from coming in there to kill us. so my heart -- i'm so thankful for the people who stopped him. again, this shouldn't have happened in the first place. >> terror that you're describing, joshua, when you heard those two heroes, what exactly were you hearing? what were some -- did you hear them exchange any words? did you hear a scuffle? >> we did. a lot of those things that were said are not allowed to be repeated on television right now. but it was pretty much, you know, stay on the ground, don't get up, there was a lot of cursing. but just pretty much, you know, you messed with the wrong place and the wrong crowd and the wrong community to come in and do some stuff like this.

even though you already took some peoples' lives and caused damage, you're going to feel the pain and wrath of our community. >> absolutely heroic to -- while unarmed, tackle something who is armed and, joshua, we've been talking this morning about the rise in anti-lgbtq rhetoric in recent years. you gave an interview with one of our affiliates yesterday and it's gotten a lot of attention. you said this is the only place you could go in the community and you're not sure now where you can go. can you talk to me a little bit about that? >> yes. and i want to make a correction about that. we do have other places here in colorado springs, but the main fact is that club q was home for a lot of people. it was -- it's a place for performers to make a name for themselves. it was a home. it was not just for the lgbtqia

plus. it was for everybody. we're a welcoming community. it's so much to say about that place that i don't know where to begin. it's been there for years. i've been going there since 2010. and it's always been a home. no matter what -- whenever i felt alone, whenever i just wanted to be around friends, whenever i just needed a good drink or just to see a good drag show. that place i could always go to. and now it sucks that we don't have that place no more. but, again, it's not the end for us. >> joshua, what's the last thing you want people to know? >> again, i stand with my brothers and sisters through this tragedy.

we are a strong community. this is not the end. no matter what, this is not the end. we will come back stronger and better and more powerful than we ever were before. you thought we were weak. now wait until we come back. >> joshua, i know you lost friends. i'm sorry that you're having to go through this, you and your community. our condolences. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. all right, we have some breaking news that we're following overseas. a 5.6 magnitude earthquake has rattled indonesia's island of java. 25 after shocks were recorded. more than 50 people are dead and so far we know that more than 700 are injured. that's according to the national disaster mitigation agency there. those numbers are expected to rise as officials say people are

trapped in isolated parts of the island. indonesia home to more than 270 million people lies on what's called the ring of fire. that's a string of volumes and fault lines subject to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. world leaders were just in the country for the g-20 summit last week in bali. the shocking leadership change at disney after a messy succession and what it means for the media giant. back from the twitter graveyard. first donald trump and now kanye west. what it means for the site. with the investigation into former president trump's handling of classified documents, what his attorney general is saying about a potential indictment. >> given what's gone on, i think they probably have the evidence that would check the box. checkb ew. gotta get rid of this.

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feast your eyes on the white house. any moment now, president biden is set to pardon the national thanksgiving turkey. this year's turkey and its alternate are both from north carolina. this also happens to be the 75th anniversary of the tradition. we'll bring you a serving of that when it happens. forgive us for the puns. former president trump donald trump has an open invitation to start tweeting again. twitter's new owner elon musk announced saturday that he was reinstating trump on the platform almost two years after he was banned over his role in inciting violence on january 6th. musk revealed the decision after he asked his followers to vote on lifting the ban and after weeks of turmoil for twitter. but it's unclear whether trump will actually resume using the account that fueled his political rise. joining me right now, nbc news correspondent jake ward and former u.s. chief technology

officer. trump was reinstated after that informal poll. what went into the decision and what do we know about how twitter will handle disinformation under musk's leadership? >> it is not clear what went into the decision. you'll recall that elon musk when he purchased twitter, finally went through with the acquisition that he fought against for so long, he mentioned the possibility of putting together a moderation council, an outside body along the lines of what meta has that would somehow be reviewing controversial content choices. that's not come together, at least not in any public form. and now we have of course this, the big decision everyone was wondering and expecting from musk about reinstating the former president. and the -- you know, the public mechanic we have seen that went into this seems to have been nothing more than a simple twitter poll. 15 million people voted in this online poll and the -- the

results came back in favor of donald trump. that i don't think the social scientists and political scientists, i don't think they would say that that is the mechanism we needed. and what's so fascinating now, lindsey, is to be going back to the donald j. trump account as i am forced to this morning, refreshing it throughout the morning to see if and when he's going to post. that brings you right back to the twitter thread that led to his being taken off the platform at the time. it's a way of revisiting the events of january 2021 and you see tweet after tweet after tweet in which you can see his sentiment and is the places that went. this flies in the face of the sort of growing up that the social media industry has done in the last few years about their responsibility when it comes to divisive and even dangerous speech. seeing elon musk going back this way is a really interesting trip back to that time, lindsey. >> jake, let's take a trip back to very recent memory lane.

he's fired engineers for criticizing him. giving an ultimatum to those who remain, commit to long hours or three months severance, who's left there to handle content moderation? >> in addition to everybody else who has been fired are the content moderation and academic researchers, the expert that is would have told musk that bringing the president back simply on the basis of an online poll would not have been okay. at this point, it is not at all clear. there are reports that some of the folks left are the people who have to stay there because of the agreements with their visa requirements, the highly skilled worker visas that so many workers use to come to this country for tech jobs. at this point, we know that the majority of twitter is gone and the latest reporting is that the sales department has been hit in the last 24 hours. so the cut dos not seem to be over and it's not at all clear

how many people are going to be left. it's no longer anywhere near the 7,500 people who once worked there when musk first acquired it. >> adam schiff spoke about trump's reinstatement over the weekend. let's listen. >> i think it's a terrible mistake. it just underscores the erratic leadership of twitter under musk but also the security concerns with security people fleeing twitter and what that means for the protection of americans' private data. >> what kind of effect does deplatforming someone have? and what effect will replatforming him have? >> well, let me be a little bit more of a cautiously optimistic voice in the conversation. i think many including me were obviously stunned by the events of january 6th and don't wish to make light of any of the challenges at that time. but the root regulatory question at issue with social media is where and when they are obligated to provide more

consumer trust and today that is largely left unregulated. that is to say social media platforms have their own rules of the road and they build their own algorithms that determine whatever content you and i see that might advantage them from an advertising standpoint but may create this harmful spreading of disinformation or harmful content. what i see cautiously optimistic in what elon has done is to move towards a policy that he stated over the weekend that he would be moving away from necessarily big decisions on platforming or deplatforming, but mostly about managing, if you will, reach. that is to say the underlying algorithms that would be used as to how information is spread on the platforms. and explicitly voting that harmful content at large would be de-emphasized and not used for monetization.

if you go back to the earlier comments from elon musk, a commitment to open sourcing these algorithms, it might actually create a lot more transparency as to what it is that's fueling information flows on the internet. to some degree, it was a marketing or a separate side matter. i don't know if the poll had much to do with the policy. but the policy says if president trump begins engaging in tweet that is have harmful content, that information would not be amplified. it may put the rest of the social media networks on notice that they should begin thinking about transparency of their algorithms as to how content is distributed across their platforms. i'm optimistic, frankly, that we'll move towards more transparency and explainability. >> fascinating. very good to talk to both of you. a major corporate shake-up at what's supposed to be the happiest place on earth. disney announced it had

reappointed long-term former ceo bob iger back to his old post. he served as ceo for 15 years and had been out of the company for 11 months. his hand-picked replacement, bob chapek, has faced growing criticism over his management. joining me right now is david faber. what can you tell us about the shake-up? >> it was stunning. mr. iger is returning to ceo, mr. chapek has been in that role since february of 2020 and facing no shortage of difficult times, of course, dealing with the pandemic, with theme parks and movie theaters, and then moving on from there to other challenges. recently my reporting indicates that there was sort of growing tension within the highest ranks of management in terms of his leadership and it was most recently after the company

reported earnings a couple of weeks ago and those earnings includes significant losses on its direct to consumer, its streaming business, that the board of directors became very concerned. perhaps also coupled with these concerns about losing key talent. they decided to make that move. again, chapek's reign, there have been those that were not expecting that he would be fired, but certainly wondering how long he would last. what is truly stunning is the reemergence of mr. iger. the predecessor who appointed chapek to the job taking over for a period of two years. no shortage of challenges that he will be facing as well. the key amongst them, figuring out how to get the streaming businesses or the streaming business at disney to be profitable. back to you. >> thanks so much. president biden is pardoning the national thanksgiving turkey in a ceremony on the south lawn right now. chocolate and chip are the turkey and its alternate. let's listen in.

>> and research universities north carolina state. now, when we told them they were joining the wolf pack, they got a little scared. but then we explained it was just a mascot for the school. as one of the nation's best pollster science departments in the country. now based on their temperament, i hereby pardon -- yes. i pardon chocolate and chip. >> why don't we put them on the table? >> can you do that? that's a big bird, man. we have more chickens than anybody in the nation in delaware. but we don't have turkeys.

look at this. god love you. this is chocolate, right? >> it is. >> chocolate, you are pardoned. you are pardoned. you had to tell me that? yeah, you are. i'm serious. he said, i don't know, man, you didn't have to pardon me. i knew i was pardoned. any rate, thank you both very, very much. thank you very much. appreciate it. how many turkeys you got down there? >> about 9 1/2 million turkeys a year. >> god love ya. 9 1/2 million turkeys. i tell you what, that's like some of the countries i've been to. anyway, you want to talk? look, folks, in all seriousness, let me close with this, we can't forget the reason for thanksgiving in the first place.

the pilgrims thought it was important to come together and thank god and be grateful for what we have. that's what the thanksgiving tradition is all about, being grateful for what we have. and grateful for fellow americans who we may never meet. but who will be -- there you go. they're grateful. and think about the scientists and researchers, doctors and nurses keeping us safe through the pandemic. two years ago, we couldn't even safely have thanksgiving with large family gatherings. now we can. that's progress and let's keep it going. we have new covid vaccine updates to deal with, new variants, to protect you and your loved ones. get it today. get your flu shots as well. this winter can be a much happier than recent holiday seasons, but you have to do your part. please visit vaccines.gov to decide what you're going to do. we're also grateful for frontline workers keeping essential services going and growing and providing food on our tables.

we're grateful for our faith leaders and their council and comfort and support. later today, jill and i are going to be flying down to north carolina for a friendsgiving where we'll be serving thanksgiving dinner for troops and military families to demonstrate our gratitude for their service and sacrifice and so many of those families are missing someone at their table today like our family. so many military folks that we have lost and the -- and so it's just really -- it's important to keep them in our hearts. those who have lost so much and those who are going to have an empty seat at the table this thanksgiving. this is a special time and the -- and it's the greatest nation on earth. let's be grateful. scripture says let us rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. folks, let's remember all the political fighting goes on, you read about, let's remember one

thing, this is the united states of america. the united states of america. there's not a single solitary thing beyond our capacities as a nation, nothing beyond our capacity if question do it together, united. united. you picked two great turkeys. from the biden family to all of yours, happy thanksgiving and may god bless you all and may god protect our troops. thank you all for being here. >> and chocolate and chip will go out and live the rest of their days at pasture north carolina. i want to bring in monica alba. a light-hearted tradition at the white house today. >> exactly, lindsey, and one that is a time-honored tradition. the first act of poultry clemency took place in the 1860s. but the actual formalities of pardoning turkeys started under

president george h.w. bush. president biden coming out here today and granting that pardon to chocolate and chip, making some typical jokes including the only red wave he said that would be seen this election season would be of his dog commander were no knock the cranberry sauce off of the thanksgiving table, referring there to the better than expected results of democrats in those races just a couple of weeks ago. of course, lindsey, the president here also noting the seriousness of the thanksgiving holiday, talking about how covid over the last couple of years really did affect the ability of people to gather. he encouraged everybody to get their vaccines as well and he noted that tonight he'll be heading to north carolina to be with military families for a friendsgiving before heading tomorrow to nantucket to celebrate the holiday with family for the rest of the week. >> monica alba, thanks so much. next, what the new special counsel means for donald trump's

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we've seen lots of reaction to attorney general merrick garland's announcement friday to appoint a special counsel to investigate former president donald trump. among the people commenting on jack smith's appointment, two men who know a lot about special counsel probes, bill barr and former deputy attorney general rod rosenstein who oversaw robert mueller, the first special counsel to look into donald trump. >> despite the fact that the department has been at this for some time, almost two years on the january 6th investigation, close to a year of the mar-a-lago investigation, that they still believe they have a viable potential case. >> i personally think that they probably have the basis for legitimately indicting the president. i don't know. i'm speculating. but given what's gone on, i think they probably have the evidence that would check the box. they have the case. >> that was in reference to the

mar-a-lago case. joining me right now is ken dilanian. both bill barr and rod rosenstein seem to think a case is likely here. what can you tell us about special counsel jack smith and the job he's now tasked with? >> jack smith is first and foremost a career prosecutor. he's not a household name. he's not famous, obviously. he began his career in the trenches as a line prosecutor in new york and he worked his way up the chain. he eventually became head of the justice department's public integrity section which is the anticorruption unit and that means he's very familiar with filing high-profile charges against famous politicians, including a case where he prosecuted -- or he led the prosecution of former senator john edwards over alleged campaign violations and edwards was famously acquitted on one count and there was a mistrial on the other counts in that case. that was a failure for the doj. it showed that he was willing to bring a high-profile marginal case. he thought it was important.

there have been other similar high-profile political corruption cases. what people who know him say he's tenacious, a tri athlete. he's getting knee surgery right now. he was in the hague prosecuting war criminals. but they say that he's independent, he's a registered political independent, we are told, and will work this case without fear or favorite. >> what can you tell us, also, about just the -- how far along the investigations already are that jack smith will be picking up? >> so, as rod rosenstein said there and bill bar, one thing we can draw from the appointment of a special counsel is that criminal charges against former president donald trump are very much under consideration. if they weren't, you wouldn't need a special counsel. he said that the reason that the counsel had to be appointed because donald trump has announced his candidacy for president and joe biden may run

for president and that created an improper appearance. it's different from what robert mueller inherited where he had to build a prosecution team. particularly in the mar-a-lago case, a lot of legal experts think that case may be ready to charge and jack smith's only role in that case is to decide whether to bring those charges and take that decision away from merrick garland who was appointed by joe biden. >> ken dilanian, thank you. former president barack obama is getting back on the campaign trail. he'll head to georgia to campaign for senator raphael warnock on december 1st. five days before his runoff against republican challenger herschel walker. obama's office tells nbc news that after the former president's october campaign rally for warnock, attendees, quote, signed up to complete hundreds of door-knocking shifts. next, rising concerns about

europe's largest nuclear plant in ukraine after a weekend of intense shelling. and with frigid temperatures setting in, millions of ukrainen households don't have power. despite the cold, defiance. >> even if we are sitting without light and water, i will not leave. i love winter. but now i don't like because i know at the same time soldiers eating cold food and sleeping in cold place and i hate winter for now because it's very bad for ours soldiers. soldiers.

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there are renewed fears in ukraine of a potential nuclear accident after shelling this weekend near the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. the largest nuclear power plant in europe. these attacks come after weeks of russian targeting of ukraine's power grid leaving millions without water, heat or power. also this weekend, ukrainian authorities have vowed to investigate video footage that moscow says shows ukrainian forces killing russian troops who may have been trying to surrender. russia's foreign ministry says it shows an execution. ukrainian officials say that is very unlikely, but say they'll look into it. we should note that nbc news has not verified what the heavily edited footage shows. nbc's ellison barber is now with us from kyiv. what's the latest on the status of the nuclear plant? >> reporter: hey, lindsey.

as you said, that plant, the nuclear plant in zaporizhzhia is currently controlled by russian forces. it came under heavy shelling yesterday afternoon, as well as in the evening. right now, you have russia blaming ukraine for the attacks, ukraine blaming russia. the head of the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog has called them just completely unacceptable, regardless of who carried it out, adding this in part, quote, whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. you're playing with fire. heavy fighting continues all across the front lines here. the heaviest fighting, the fiercest battles right now are in the donetsk region. yesterday in his evening address, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said, because of the winter weather, they are starting to see russian forces change some of their tactics. he said, there's still a lot of heavy shelling, particularly in the donetsk region, but he says they are seeing less of a ground offense from russian forces. and attributing that change to

the weather. in indonesia, meanwhile, you have the u.s. secretary of defense talking to reporters and he said that he and the united states believe ukraine is prepared to continue this fight throughout the winter months. listen. >> we've seen a number of successes on the battlefield. and as we go forward into the winter, we have done a lot to try to prepare the ukrainians to be prepared for a fight in the winter and enable them to continue to keep pressure on their adversaries throughout the winter months. i think they'll be in much better condition than their adversaries because of the things that we provided. and again, our focus is to support them throughout. >> so this cold weather, the blackouts, it's impacting every ukrainian from the battlefield to cities like this one in kyiv. and we are seeing and hearing that. in kherson, the city that was recently libertied right now,

lindsay, they are voluntarily evacuating civilians because the infrastructure in that city was so severely damaged. ukrainian officials say for some people, the only way to survive the winter months without heat, without electricity, without running water is simply to pack their bags and leave home. lindsey? >> ellison barber, thank you. up next, what you need to know if you are one of the nearly 55 million americans expected to hit the roads or take to the skies for thanksgiving. sks iefor thanksgiving re eczema. it doesn't care if you have a date, a day off, or a double shift. make your move and get out in front of eczema with steroid-free cibinqo. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and it's proven to help provide clearer skin and relieve itch fast. cibinqo continuously treats eczema whether you're flaring or not. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c,

have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. it's time to get out in front of eczema. ask your doctor about once-daily cibinqo. with t minus three days until turkey day, lots of americans have hit the road to get a jump on the holiday rush, but there are still many hurdles for the 55 million people expected to be driving or flying this thanksgiving. nbc's sam brock joins us now from the miami airport. so what are the issues that travelers are contending with and what kind of crowds are you seeing there? >> reporter: it's never as easy as you think it's going to be,

lindy. that said, there is cautious optimism right now from travel experts that this is going to be relatively smooth sailing, as we saw a meltdown over memorial, but since then, the other major holidays that have come and passed, whether it's july 4th or the labor day holiday, it's been a lot smoother. if you look at the travel patterns right now, lindy, you're seeing about 1,100 delays, 60 cancellations nationally, that's pretty typical of a normal day. what wave seen from airlines is they've sort of trimmed down their flight schedules, been a little bit less ambitious, and added more pilots. we know there was a shortage in that department. that's definitely helped. but as far as what you need to know, the heaviest volumes for when to fly, tuesday and wednesday and the sunday after thanksgiving, which is to say that monday right now is really your opportune time. one other cheat code to keep in mind, if you can, book the earliest possible flight. here's an explanation as to why. >> the data shows that the first flights of the day have an on-time arrival of about 90%, whereas the last flights of the day have about an on-time

arrival of about 65%. 25 percentage points higher likelihood of getting there on time if you take that first flight of the day. and that's both because weather tends to be better in the morning than the afternoon or evening, but also because when you take that morning flight, your aircraft is already at the airport. >> reporter: and lindsey, about 4.5 million people are expected to fly, but almost 49 million are expected to drive. so if you are one of those families, just know that on wednesday, between 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., and also on thursday between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., those are the most congested hours if you're going to hit the road. and this is my favorite part. if you're flying, the tsa has officially published a list of what the tsa can bring through security. you cannot bring gravy, fruit preserves, and -- wait for it -- cranberry sauce. because what could possibly go wrong in that scenario, lindsey? >> i always thought the first flight of the day would be the

best bet, basing it on absolutely nothing and now i have a statistic to back it up. >> oh, no, that's proof. >> that does it for me this busy hour. "andrea mitchell reports" starts next. "andrea mitchell reports" starts next ey have no idea what's going on here... -hi. -...a little something of their own will get them in the spirit. black friday deals up to 50% off at chewy. ever notice how stiff clothes of their own can feel rough on your skin?. for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin,

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," colorado springs, the latest community to be devastated by america's plague of mass shootings after a gunman fired randomly into a crowded gay