good morning and happy thanksgiving. lindsey reiser at msnbc headquarters in new york back with you for another hour. right now on "msnbc reports," the macy's thanksgiving thanksgiving just begun. it's taking its way through midtown man. we are live for all the fun and we're going to talk to the former nypd police commissioner about the enormous security effort to keep everyone safe. we're also in chesapeake, virginia, learning new details about a gunman who shot and killed six workers at a break

room at a walmart. investigators are still trying to figure out the motive. is it covid, the flu, or rsv? we'll talk to our medical expert on how to tell the difference between these illnesses and how to stay safe as we gather together. good morning. here comes the parade, the an newell macy's thanksgiving thanksgiving, now in its 96th year, tom turkey kicking off the tradition. kristen dahlgren is in manhattan. happy thanksgiving. how is it out there? >> reporter: happy thanksgiving. it is about to happen here, the parade getting started uptown from where we are. take a look. it will come right down the avenue. you can see the crowds here. they have been out here since early this morning. i want to tell you what they have in store because the stats here i just love. there are 16 giant character

balloons. we know about them. we've also got 700 clowns, 4,500 costumes, 300 pounds of glitter, 200 pounds of confetti, and 2,000 gallons of paint. it is going to be quite the show. what are you guys most looking forward to? >> i'm looking forward to the disney float. >> reporter: the disney float. how about you guys? >> i've just been looking forward to seeing, like, yeah, like, everything. plus, i am recording. >> reporter: you're recording. you have your phone ready to go. we've got a little cameraman in the making. make sure you watch it, though, with your eyes and not just your phone because it will be a really cool spectacle out here. >> we have a reporter there. are our jobs in jeopardy? >> reporter: i know. i think so. this is the future here. >> the future. real quick, i want to talk

weather here because it's supposed to be, what like 50 today? >> reporter: yeah. actual li actually, i've been out here some days and it's been so brutally cold. it's going to be up to 50 today. look what people are wearing. a jacket. i don't even have a glove on this hand. >> security, it's a huge event, a lot of security around something like this. what's the latest from the nypd? >> reporter: right. while i'm talking, we'll show you, there's a huge police presence out here. and they said yesterday that because of some of the recent events that we've all heard about in the news, they have even upped their security numbers, their counterterrorism force, trying to keep people safe. there are going to be police patrolling from the air, down here on the ground. they're the ones we can see and also ones we can't see in the

crowds, a huge effort to keep everybody safe out here today. >> kristen dahlgren, thanks so much. have fun. former nypd police commissioner dermot shea. the nypd says there's no specific or credible threat to the parade. but they are prepared. you spent three decades with the nypd and as commissioner you oversaw security at several thanksgiving day parades. what are the biggest concerns you see this year? >> well, it's the unexpected. happy thanksgiving to everyone watching. when you see that last clip and you see the smiles, that's exactly why law enforcement does what they do, and their object sich to take the security off the table and let people have a great time. so there is planning that goes on literally from day one after the parade. they'll be thinking about what went well this year, what didn't. there will be police on both sides of the barricades as you mentioned. there will be uniformed officers, play by play clothes

officers, partnerships with all different agencies. you know, it is a day to come out, enjoy, the weather is great, but new yorkers should rest assured that law enforcement is on it and is there to make sure everyone has a safe and happy thanksgiving. >> your successor current commissioner spoke with savanna and hoda before the start of the parade. let's listen. >> we began planning for this event the moment last year's ended. we have so many resources in place. it's a collective effort between our harbor unit, patrol forces. we'll have people you'll see and people you won't see. we're in the air, the ground. the officers interacting is something we look forward to. >> you talked about planning and how early it begins. talk more about what goes into something of this magnitude. >> yeah. i think the commissioner did a great job explaining it there. the intelligence piece is one that's often overlooked here.

you mentioned no credible threats. the intelligence piece of this from our intelligence bureau working with federal partners, what is the landscape currently, what has changed since last year? where do we have to put extra resources? another thing that's often overlooked is the partnerships with private businesses, whether it's building owners along the route, because unfortunately the new normal is, you know, hundreds of thousands of people will come out and it will be a great day, but all it takes is one person, and we've seen that tragically across the person, to turn a great day into a tragedy. so, having the eyes and ears of other people, working with private business, partnerships, if you see something, let us know. and these things have been going on now for weeks and months in terms of reaching out to organizations along the parade route, having those tie-- dialogues to tell the nypd is there anything out of the ordinary. all this comes together. as i watch this and you see the

kids and hear about the clowns, i'm gel owls because last year was much colder, but one of the best days in new york city. >> i don't want to, you know, bring up something tragic, but unfortunately this is the world we live in. we are a year out from the waukesha parade attack. how does something like that impact future planning? >> well, it absolutely does. you think of, you know, whether it's july 4th or any of the other incidents that we see, law enforcement knows that it has to be vigilant, and that's the piece. you know, one of the things that's often not talked about here is cost and the cost is significant in terms of resources that have to now be deployed across the country anytime you have large numbers of people gathering together to make sure that something doesn't happen. and nothing will happen 999 times out of 1,000, but think of the cost that goes into that. it's money that could be spent elsewhere. but as you said, this is the new

reality, so it's having the resources on the ground, but it's also having the resources up high. it's making the partnerships. it's blocking traffic instead of maybe one block out, maybe it's three blocks out on each side now. where are you having buses cross? so it's a real significant amount of planning that goes on, but i will tell you that you just heard the commissioner speaking, nobody does it better than the nypd. and i can say this with 100% confidence, it will be a great day. everyone will be out of there early in time to get home and enjoy their turkey. >> dermot shea, hope you and your family enjoy your turkey. >> thanks so much. if i could say -- we want to turn to that tragic mass shooting at a walmart in virginia. a suspect worked on the overnight shift for years. our reporter is back with us in

chesapeake, virginia. bring us up to speed on what we know. >> reporter: look, lindsey, almost 36 hours after this happened tuesday night, we still don't have a motive. investigators have been poring over this scene yesterday, overnight, still this morning going in and out of the store, trying to figure out and put the pieces together of what happened here when the gunman opened fire, killing six of his fellow employees. he was an overnight manager. according to walmart, he worked for company for 12 years. i want to talk about the victims, though, because that's what's really important here. families are gathering around the thanksgiving table tonight, they'll be missing six people at the table. their names lorenzo gamble, brian pendleton, kelley pile, randall bleve vins, tamika johnson, and a 16-year-old boy, a minor that law enforcement will not identify by name or put up a photo up, all of these people losing their live, the victims ranging in age from 16 to 70 years old. family and friends coming overnight, even just this

morning, laying flowers at the makeshift memorial behind me, eve on a holiday, getting up, members of this community, coming together to remember this tragedy. the governor glenn youngkin and the senator tim kaine and people are showing thanks and asking the community to come together in prayer not just for this tragedy but remember the shooting that happened at charlottesville over a week ago at uva when three football players lost their lives. all over the state, a community in reeling. and one person still in the hospital nipgs to a few others. jalen jones, a 24-year-old who was shot in the store, listen to what his mother said last night. >> his exact words were, i got shot. i actually got shot. he said hi, just got shot again. i'm taken back by the whole experience and i'm just thankful

that he survived. the people you love in your life, just make sure you let them know you love them because you never know when they walk out the door if you're ever going to see them again. >> reporter: people just going to work and faced with this tragedy, unimaginable in a community like this that is generally safe. i was talking to people who live here, including the shoppers who were inside that store on tuesday night, grabbing some last-minute items for thanksgiving, they are in complete shock of what happened. >> julie, thank you. murder mystery, almost two weeks ago four people were killed near the university of idaho campus. there are new details but still no suspect.

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nearly two weeks after a quadruple homicide rocked the university of idaho campus and the surrounding community, new details are emerging, though

police still don't have a suspect and no >> reporter: investigators say they are working around the clock and through the holiday to solve the murders asking the public for any tips that could help. fear and frustration are growing, but officials say they are making some headway and they're not going to stop until this killer is caught. for the tight-knit college town of moscow, idaho, and the family members of the four students brutally stabbed to death nearly two weeks ago, this will be a thanksgiving filled with grief. >> definitely devastating for the community. >> reporter: with no suspects named or arrested, frustration is growing, including among family members who worry investigators may have followed behind during the first crucial 48 hours of the case. >> we all want to understand why this happened and what drove someone to do this. >> reporter: others are raising concerns about the lack of information coming from officials, though police say protecting the integrity of the investigation is a top priority. >> we don't want to put our investigation into jeopardy by releasing what we have.

>> reporter: police say the case is complex involving more than 100 personnel from local, state, and fell ral agencies. they've conducted 150 interviews and processed more than 100 pieces of evidence and more than 1,000 tips. they're asking the public for their help and their patience. >> we have the utmost confidence in this investigation and that this investigation will be done right. >> reporter: police also say after pursuing hundreds of pieces of information, they have found no evidence that victim kaylee goncalves had a stalker. >> so far we have not been able to corroborate it, but we're not done looking into that piece of information. >> reporter: as students head home for the thanksgiving holiday or longer, law enforcement and the president of the university of idaho saying for those who feel safe returning to campus, they are upping security for the foreseeable future. >> we will endeavor to find the balance among safety concerns, the need to grieve, and the long-term needs of all of our students and employees. >> reporter: until the killer is found, police are advising vigilance, traveling in pairs, and general awareness. >> we should as a community have

always been doing that. in some ways this took our innocence. >> reporter: a loss of innocence, safety, and four young lives. as the community continues to mourn and grooefr, there will be a candlelight vigil to honor the victims next wednesday. such a difficult start to the holiday season by all of those touched by this tragedy. back to you. >> gadi schwartz, thank you. the suspect accused of killing five people at a colorado lgbt club last saturday has made their first court appearance. the 22-year-old was barely able to speak after being beaten and pistol-whipped by club-goers who fought to disarm him, including a veteran. the suspect appeared on video from jail and was ordered to be held without bond. they face possible murder and hate crime charges and are expected to be formally charged at court hearing next month. well, one more to go. the 2022 midterms are almost over with late-night calls in alaska. now it's just the runoff in georgia that's left and the

state supreme court there has just ruled on early voting.

former vice president mike pence is reportedly open to

considering testifying in the department of justice's investigation into january 6th. "the new york times" reports that the doj is now looking to question pence and its investigation. that's according to two people familiar with the matter. joining me now, former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst joyce vance. so what do you make here of pence's apparent willingness to cooperate with the doj's investigation but not with the house's january 6th committee? >> well, you'll forgive me for being a little amused when i saw the formulation of pence's thoughts in the reporting. the fact that he'll consider it is interesting given that a federal subpoena, if one is issued for him, has the force of law and can be enforced. and people who don't comply with federal grand jury subpoenas typically are brought in front of grand juries by u.s. marshals. they can be held in contempt. so it's not like pence has a whole lot of choice here. technically, he shouldn't have a choice when it comes to congress' efforts to subpoena him either.

the problem is that the because they are running out of time to enforce the january 6th committee's subpoenas and to take testimony and issue their report, i suspect pence felt pretty safe flouting that one. doj is an entirely different story. >> in terms of what we could learn here that we don't already know, you write about this, you write when did trump start discussing the idea of interfering with certification with pence? did he threaten or offer anything? what do we know that pence could shed light on? >> this is exactly the proper focus with pence. he is a fact witness. this isn't a political witch-hunt. no one cares about his views on trump. the questions they'll have will center on what the former president asked him to do, whether or not the president ever indicated he knew he had lost the election, and on and on. pence is in essence a witness to the formation of the conspiracy

to interfere with the smooth transfer of power. and so there are a lot of important blanks that he -- and uniquely he can fill in because pence's testimony will involve his private conversations with trump, and those are conversations that are very difficult for investigators to access otherwise. >> do you expect pence to engage some of the same strategies like executive privilege to avoid testimony, even though he's no longer tied to trump himself? >> it will be tough for him to successfully assert executive privilege here, whether or not he might try it is a different question, but because joe biden is the current occupant of the white house and he has control over when the executive asserts privilege or not for the most part, it's hard to believe that an executive privilege claim could work here. even if there was some sort of attempt to assert it, the executive privilege isn't

absolute. there's precedent here from the nixon era that says that particularly in a criminal investigation when law enforcement needs the evidence, needs the testimony, they're entitled to get it and executive privilege must fail. >> joyce vance, thank you so much for joining us on thanksgiving. appreciate it. turning to the late nest georgia, where the senate runoff election is just under two weeks away. the next matchup between democratic incumbent raphael warnock and republican herschel walker is set for tuesday december 6th. the georgia supreme court has now denied the republican party's effort to block early voting statewide. joining me now, u.s. house editor of "the cook political report," david wasserman, former director of the new york state democratic party, michael, and political analyst susan del percio. so what are you forecasting for the runoff as it stands now? >> i like senator warnock's odds in this runoff.

first of all, brian kemp, the most popular republican official on the state, is not going to be on the ballot driving turnout. senate control is not on the line so republicans can't make that argument. that's one of the reason herschel walker is using transgender athletes in sports as one of his closing messages and not dethrone chuck schumer from senate majority leader. finally, democrats simply have a better oiled turnout machine after the runoffs in 2021, and so far there appears to be solid democratic enthusiasm to turn out early. >> susan, herschel walker underperformed on election day compared to governor brian kemp's numbers. can you see him possibly making this up? >> i can, and one of the reasons is if you look at the kemp/abrams race, you saw 28,000 people vote on the libertarian line. and then it popped up to 80,000 when it came to the herschel walker race, which basically tells me since it was the

libertarian line, there were a lot of republicans who voted for kemp and then said there's no way i'm voting for walker but i still want to vote so they voted libertarian. so the republican turnout i think is going to be very -- is surprisingly low and there's no way walker is motivating those center right republicans to the polls. >> basil, how much is it for georgia democrats if the supreme court blocked republican-led efforts to halt early voting in the runoffs? >> it's an extraordinarily -- it's a very important win in part because, as was said earlier, if republican turnout is depressed in any way, any opportunity to get democrats out with a very strong turnout machine is going to be -- is critical to this race. look, raphael warnock has muscle memory. he's gone through this before. democrats in the state have gone through this before.

there is an important argument to be made not so much about democratic control of the senate because, yes, that needs to be a foregone conclusion, but they're just a lot more reasons to vet against herschel walker in this race. and i think being able to have this additional day to vote is not just an important win for democrats in terms of actual turnout, but it's a moral victory for them as well. any opportunity to curtail the vote would be seen as -- seen clearly as problematic and this gives democrats more motivation. >> susan, yesterday it was reported that herschel walker is getting a tax exemption on his texas home, which is meant for primary residence in the state. how do you think that will resonate with voters? >> i don't think anything like this surprises georgia voters right now when it comes to herschel walker. there have been so many things kind of thrown out there, i

don't -- maybe it has a marginal issue, but really not much. if anything, it just forces people to stay home and say i'm not coming out for this guy. >> basil, yesterday's georgia supreme court reinstated a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. what's the potential impact of that ruling? >> well, you know, again, here, you know, it's a motivating factor to get more voters coming out to say yes, even though democrats control the senate, we voters have to do more because so much is being shifted to the states at this point. so number one, it's a motivating factor for democrats to be -- to have more control of the senate and to be able to of course push their agenda throughout in the senate, but it also is -- it's leaning to show the rest of georgia that this issue the still very important, still very critical for the state and for

voters across the country. so there's stale lot to be discussed in georgia and across the country. >> david, i want to talk about alaska because two trump-backed candidates lost in their senate and house races. those were just called overnight. what are your take-aways from those races? >> yeah. this has been an extraordinary accomplishment for the democrat who started out as a long shot in this house race back in the august special election, beat sarah palin with the help of both right-choice voting and sarah palin's unpop tarly in the state. but, look, she is one of five democrats from a trump one district who is elected, but she's from a state that voted for trump by ten points. meanwhile, in the lower 48, there are five race where is republicans won seats in districts that biden won by ten points or more. those are in california and new york where democrats didn't have as strong a turnout. and as a result, that's the

margin in the house, where republicans are likely to control 222 seats to 213 for democrats. but lisa murkowski's re-election is also a big deal for the anti-trump forces within the republican party. the fact that she is there as a counterbalance on some of the more pro-trump members of the republican senate. >> susan, what do you make of susan palin's -- sarah palin's, rather, her loss and murkowski's win? >> well, it's interesting to see a former, you know, vice presidential candidate, i mean, sarah palin was on the ballot with john mccain, and to see her go down really quite spectacularly in this case because she was the governor of alaska, does say a lot of what the anti-trump sentiment is. when it comes to lisa murkowski, wow, i mean, this woman, the last time she ran, won on a

write-in campaign with the last name murkowski, and you have to spell it right. even though donald trump was after her from the get-go, murkowski was one of trump's first targets, and i'm delighted she came backswinging and will be returning to the u.s. senate. >> david, basil, and susan, thank you all. tripledemic fears, hospitals overwhelmed, and key medicine now in short supply. how to try to keep your family healthy this holiday season. this is "msnbc reports." shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. and it could strike at any time. think you're not at risk? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. what if we wanted to electrify all of this... 100% carbon free... is it possible? ♪♪ aes has been leading energy transitions for decades...

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are. officials are now racing to get basic services restored. what are people doing to keep them warm? >> reporter: yeah, so really the biggest impact to energy were those strikes you saw yesterday. you can sort of see behind me and get a sense of how dark things are in kharkiv. ukrainian officials say that electricity power is now being supplied to all regions, but the focus initially is on getting power and electricity back towards critical infrastructure. the process getting it on for regular people. that is a gradual process. again, you can see just from where i'm standing that really hasn't happened for many people in the kharkiv area. what we were able to see today was sort of this rush, if you will, for volunteers in this community to set up what will eventually be a warming center, a warming station. they are literally building this in the basement of a church in a village not far from here. ultimately they're hoping to

have enough things set up that they can get generators in there and set up a couple of heaters for people. there's one stove in there right now, but even though this is called a warming center, it is a place for people to seek refuge when there are blackouts like this. the anticipation is there will be a lot more of them throughout the winter months. the people we spoke to there today, they said ultimately the goal is not necessarily for these station, these centers to be warm but just for it to be bearable, almost room temperature. it's not really about comfort in these places. it's just about surviving. and that's what many ukrainians are having to prepare for. they're already having to prepare for it right now, and the blackouts from yesterday's barrage of missiles has impacted some of that work to get things ready to help people at warming center stations like the one we saw today. listen to what one volunteer told us about the impact the black oupts have had just on their efforts to get supplies here. listen.

>> they have a truck with humanitarian aid coming to kharkiv. we can't get in touch with people in the warehouse. we had to bring generator for place of heating and they couldn't bring it because again can't get in touch in people. so everybody has been this schedule permanently. we just have to get through it. it's a mess. >> reporter: president zelenskyy addressed the united nations security council last night. one of the arguments he made was that he accused russia of crimes against humanity, telling the u.n. security council that they should pass a resolution designating what he described as energy acts of terrorism like the one that took place with the missile strikes yesterday as something that is a violation of charters saying that the whole world needs to stand up to this and say energy attacks like the ones ukraine has been experiencing, they are no different than other mass casualty-type attacks because

they say in ukraine that the goal of these attacks is to make the ukrainian people suffer and even die from lack of just basic access to things like heat when it's so cold out. >> i know you've been reporting on the fact this could be another refugee crisis. have you noticed a lot of people packing up and getting out of there? >> reporter: you know, we were at an apartment today that is a dormitory for internally displaced people, and they already had about 120 people there. most of the people had come in the last month or so. but what they told us was they were expecting to get another group of people in today. so we're certainly already seeing the impacts of some of this. that number, the big number that we'll see what happens in the coming months, but that the world health organization has predicted, is they say they think 2 million to 3 million ukrainians will be forced to leave their homes this winter because they need to get somewhere safer largely because of the lack of electricity, lack of heat, and the winter weather. that's on top of some 6.5

million people already internally displaced within this country. >> ellison barber, thank you. health officials are warning about a so-called tripledemic as millions of families get together for the holholidays. covid, the flu, and rsv are pushing hospitals to the brink. across the country, more than three-quarters of hospital beds are full. joining us is nbc news medical analyst dr. vin gupta. doctor, i know you're in regular practice. you probably are answering these questions for your patients every day. how can americans tell the difference between covid, the flu, and rsv? >> well, lindsey, good morning. happy thanksgiving. for those wondering how to tell the difference, because we don't have any at-home test that can test for all three at the same time, hopefully that comes down the pike soon, rsv, especially in young kids less than 2, can caused high-pitched wheezing, noisy breathing, nostrils can

flare out. you can see the chest get sucked in, the abdomen, abdominal breathing. those are the signs to work out for a young kid having rsv. flu, high fever, body aches. we've all probably experienced something to that effect at some point in our lives, and covid -- and all these viruses can cause this presentation, let's be clear, but covid can often cause nonpulmonary symptoms, cause g.i. upset, brain fog in long-covid cases. those are three high-level differences, but they can mimic each other. >> what's the risk to children especially? >> rsv by far of the three is most commonly associated with upper respiratory symptoms, especially in those under 2. rsv is by far the leading risk factor for hospitalization, so to be most on the lookout for,

the cause of those symptoms i mentioned earlier, noisy breathing, high-pitched wheezing. really important to drill down that fact. in some cases kids will have to go to the hospital for supplemental oxygen, so something to keep an eye out for. >> why now? what's behind this surge in the rsv and the flu? >> so-called immunity gap, that for the last few year, especially young kids who haven't had a lifetime of exposure to these viruses, lindsey, now they're finally catching up, they're getting new exposure for the first time in a few years to these viruses, and as a result they're not able to fend it off as easily as say adults, so that's why we're experiencing this surge, on top of potentially a covid surge, your team might have a chart here on where we're headed into the winter around christmastime, and what we're seeing is well into december, a potential spike or a rising gradual spike of

covid hospitalizations, potentially even depths, well into the christmastime, and then we expect maybe a peak in mid to late january. so covid hasn't gone away, and because of this immunity gap for young kids, especially when it comes to rsv and flu, that's why we're worried about this so-called tripledemic. >> what can we do to protect ourselves? because we want to get together, we want to live our lives. is it make sure a door is propped open when we're all getting together? >> number one, we know that booster rates for covid are quite low, so it's important right now that everybody that's watching this realize that whether it's the flu shot or the covid booster, these annual shots, most likely in the case of covid, of course in the case of flu, are meant to provide four to five months of some level of protection against ending up in a hospital. they do not eliminate the risk of ending up in a hospital. they reduce your risk of it.

really clear to set expectations. when it comes to rsv, great hand hygiene, and let's be clear, i recognize people are tired of talking about all these things and masking, but we know masks work. if you are a family that has young children less than 2 or someone medically at high risk, important to mask in a public setting, especially in transit for today, thanksgiving holiday. masks work. booster shots, let's be clear, and lastly, lastly, if you're medically high risk, standing prescriptions. i'm a big believer in standing prescriptions for things like paxil and tamiflu. talk to your medical provider. ask them do i need something like a paxlovid or tamiflu and ask for a standing subscription to you don't have to navigate a health care maze when you need that medication the most. you already have it ready, prescription standing at the pharmacy of your choice. really important we do more of this.

dr. vin gupta, thank you. hope you enjoy the day with your family. travel troubles. how staffing shortages at the airport might impact your plans this holiday season. through, it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reaction may occur. best move i've ever made. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx®.

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according to aaa, more than 50 million americans will be traveling during the long thanksgiving weekend. they'll be crisscrossing the country as they plan to visit family and friends with air travel up more than 8% from last year. joining us right now is nbc news correspondent ron allen and also joining us is scott keys, founder of scott's cheap flights. how is the situation looking right now? >> it looks like a great day to fly. and there was no traffic getting here. usually it can take up to an hour to get here some days. it took me 20 minutes to get here. it's -- i think the biggest problem people have traveling today is whether they're going to be late for thanksgiving dinner or not. there's that. and it's been a relatively good few days going back. here's the flight aware map that kind of tracks delays and cancellations across the country. yesterday, you can see there were just, what, 4,000 delays. 60 cancellations.

today so far there's only a little over 500 delays and 28 cancellations. that's out of about 45 to 50,000 flights. so the weather is good. the airlines have kind of been on notice that the summer/spring travel season was a disaster, step it up, and they seem to have done that. there aren't any staffing shortages that we're hearing about around the country that are impacting travel in a serious way. at least not in the bigger airports. ticket prices are up. that's a thing. on the roads, gas prices are certainly higher than they've perhaps ever been. down a little bit. but the bottom line is, here's a tweet from the secretary of transportation pete buttigieg saying that so far there's been 0.5% cancellations of flights which is an incredible number if we can stick to that going on through the rest of the holiday season. today is not really a busy

travel day. of course, sunday is going to be the busiest day going back and that's a day when -- in the forecast, there are some weather problems and some uncertainty around the middle part of the country moving this way. you may have that to contend with. at the moment, i think the biggest problem is getting home or getting wherever you're going on time for thanksgiving dinner. lindsey? >> scott, ron talked about the prices being up. what i want to know is why? is it a matter of demand? is it the staffing issues? >> look, there are a couple reasons why airfare is quite a bit higher this year than last year. first is the fact that air fare was abnormally low the last two years for understandable reasons and it really did spike this spring as a lot of folks were looking to take the first trip that they might have felt comfortable taking in years. since june, airfare started to come back down again and it's starting to look something new

and that's normal. and normal airfare means we're going to see expensive flights over the holidays, but it also means we're starting to see some of those really cheap flights for those off-peak periods. just in the past week alone, we've seen flights over to madrid for $362 round trip. flights over to hawaii for $197 round trip. those types of fares are popping up once again in a way they weren't six months ago. >> what's your biggest piece of advice for people who after they've eaten all the turkey and fixings are trying to get home on time? >> if you're trying to get home on time, first thing you want to do is try to get the first flight of the day. it turns out those early morning flights have an untime performance about 25 percentage points higher than the afternoon and evening points. the weather tends to be weather in the morning and because the aircraft is already at the airport. it's parked there waiting for you. whereas for those afternoon flights, the plane has to flight

in. if that flight gets delayed or cancel, your flight is at risk or well. if you've already booked an evening flight, see if you can switch to a morning flight. chances are, most airlines now are waiving -- have gotten rid of change fees so you can switch without having to pay the 2, 3, $400 penalty that you used to have to pay prepandemic. >> ron allen, thank you. well, less than 24 hours to one of the biggest shopping days on the calendar year. but this year with retailers offering sales months earlier, does black friday really have the same big savings it used to? >> reporter: with america's banner day of holiday deals on check and promises of staggering savings on display, shoppers are looking beyond the thanksgiving feast to black friday. >> looks like there's going to be good sales. >> reporter: in some cases beyond. >> i usually find the sales just keep going on through the rest

of the season. >> reporter: indeed amid sky-high inflation, discounts have been mounting for months. >> with the christmas creep not just applying to early decorations but deals too, it begs a question? are black friday and even cyber monday for that matter as big of a deal this year? >> they still are a really big deal. >> the national retail federation estimating more than 166 million americans plan to shop between thanksgiving and cyber monday. the group's highest estimate ever, up nearly 8 million from last year. given inflation's fluctuating effect on prices, experts recommend shoppers do their research. >> it's harder to know if you are getting a good deal. but the deals are still out there. for electronics, the lowest prices are on black friday. with clothing, especially winter clothing, those prices will drop in january. you want to wait if you can. >> reporter: if you have your eye on something specific like this year's hottest toy, consider buying early in case

stores run out. setting up santa for a successful holiday too. >> thanks to maggie. that does it for me this hour. my colleague "jose diaz-balart reports" picks up our coverage after this. everybody have a wonderful thanksgiving. everybody have a wonderful thanksgiving

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