ones. >> president-elect donald trump with a thanksgiving message for the nation. >> it's my prayer that on this thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country. >> it comes as he's trying to diversify his cabinet today. tapping two women, including 44-year-old south carolina governor nikki haley to serve as the ambassador to the u.n. haley, whose parents emigrated from india is a rising star in the republican party she was sharply critical of trump during the primary. >> i until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the kkk. >> but taking a more measured tone after meeting with the president-elect last week. >> i did vote for him. and i was absolutely thrilled to see him win. >> haley earned national praise for leading the call to take down the confederate flag in south carolina, in the

>> governor haley made eight international trips, but lacks foreign policy experience. >> she's going to have to navigate this role. because of course, it involves a realm of knowledge that she doesn't have. sort of directly in her portfolio. >> if confirmed, haley's appointment could strengthen trump's hand. the move elevating south carolina's lieutenant-governor henry mcmaster, an early trump ally, to governor, giving trump a political edge in a transition official disputing that was a part of the decision. mr. trump's second female pick? betsy devos for education secretary. a billionaire republican donor and school choice activist. who opposes common core, and wants to expand school voucher programs. the move was praised by school choice advocates like jeb bush and decried by the nation's largest teachers union. mr. trump will spend the thanksgiving holiday here in palm beach with family. and isn't expected to

announcements until friday at the earliest. kate? >> kristen welker down in florida. thank you. new york city officials are taking extra steps to secure tomorrow's macy's thanksgiving day parade. after an al qaeda publication suggested the parade would be quote an excellent target. officials stress there is no known threat to the parade. but extra barriers will be in place and dogs capable of sniffing the scent of explosives will be out of the air will be working the crowds. it was just two months ago of course the city s that exploded in manhattan's chelsea neighborhood. another was removed and disarmed by the nypd's elite bomb squad. tonight, in an nbc news exclusive, lester spends time with members of that team, who risk their lives to get that bomb off the street before it could kill. >> it was a miracle no one was killed. a bomb exploding in the heart of manhattan. and where there's one, experience tells

in this case, it was discovered four blocks away. >> unequivocally, we could say anybody in proximity would receive a very serious, if not life-threatening injury. >> the device in chelsea's neighborhood turned out to be linked to a broader plot that began in nearby new jersey, where the suspect was later apprehended and wounded during a shoot-out with police. now for the first time, members of the nypd bomb squad who removed and disarmed the chels b detectives jason halleck and timothy brady were the primary technicians that night. in a perfect world it never goes off and you've got evidence, right? is that the main goal? >> that's our ultimate goal. it doesn't always work the way we planned. we have to change up our plan. >> you're working against the clock in case like that? >> well, you could be. you don't know if it's timed. you don't know if it is timed, what the time is. so you want to get everybody out as quick as possible.

city, so it's very difficult to clear an entire area. that's why we removed it from the scene and brought it to a safer scene for our own facility. >> to do that, they used a robot and a special containment vehicle to cart the still live device to a remote police facility. and that's where halleck had to get up close. >> what is that like when you're face to face with what you are strongly believe is an explosive device? >> one remission, i just don't think about it, i'm so focused on what it is and completing it and finishing it. >> to give an idea what it was like, the team invite immediate to put on the bulky 90-pound protective suit. >>ky walk in it. with some effort. but i can't imagine doing anything that required any dexterity or quick movements. >> you're obviously seeing in the suit, you don't have a lot of dexterity.

ands sweat was pouring into my eyes. >> the nypd has seen an uptick in reports from suspicious new yorkers reawakened to a unsettling fact. >> we're right in the crosshairs of the terrorist. >> bombs are their weapons of choice. home-made, lethal and indiscriminate. to disarm one is to save countless lives. >> not only taking care of it without it detonating on you. which a to collect the evidence and the perpetrator actually caught, is a great feeling of satisfaction. >> the suspect in the new york and new jersey attacks has been indicted on federal terrorism charges. and a frightening moment at new york's grand central station this morning. an e-cigarette exploded in a man's pocket. he was working behind the counter as you can see at a wine store when it happened. one of his co-workers says it looked like fireworks, there were projectiles and he could smell fumes.

victim's injuries appeared to be minor leg and hand burns. still ahead tonight -- taking back thanksgiving. with more stores staying closed this year, we'll tell you what to buy and when to find the best deals. also, just what

this holiday shopping season, there's a backlash against the recent trend of stores opening on

to stay closed, giving workers the day off. while other stores will open to give shoppers a jump-start on black friday. jo lynn kent reports on what stores to hit and when. >> for the last three years, maria has pulled double duty on thanksgiving. preparing an enormous feast for 30 family members. before rushing off to open the mall doors to shoppers on thanksgiving night. >> having do leave my own thanksgiving dinner when i'm the host, it's sad. >> so this is where you would come on thanksgiving? >> it is. >> this year is different. maria has the day off because morristown mall outside philadelphia has chose ton close on thanksgiving day. it's one of dozens of major companies now bucking the trend of opening on thanksgiving, as retailers worry opening early may steal some of black friday's thunder. without increasing overall sales. even the mall of america putting up the closed sign. but other stores like macy's best buy,

throwing open their doors on thanksgiving. k-mart kicks off at 6:00 a.m. jcpenney opens at 3:00 p.m., will give away $500 coupons at the door. toys 'r' us will open at 5:00 and stay open 30 hours straight. but retailers say thanksgiving is not the only day to land great discounts, black friday has the best deals on tvs, drones and home appliances. cybermonday is also great for electronics, beauty products and and the deepest discount on toys come the second week of december. and hold off on buying any winter clothes until the week before christmas. bekovic is grateful she won't being be working the crowds this year. >> i'm happy to be spending it with my family. >> giving thanks for the things money can't buy, jolynn kent, nbc news, morristown, new jersey. >> i'm waiting, back in a moment with exclusive details on the new plan to

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new challenges ahead for the secret service.

family safe. donald trump's large family including children and grandchildren making the mission more challenging. and more expensive. we get exclusive details now from cynthia mcfadden. >> as the soon-to-be first family gathers for thanksgiving, it's clear they'll need a bigger turkey than usual axt cording to internal homeland security documents reviewed by nbc news, at least 150 secret service personnel are joining them. here the 45-vehicle last night at mar-a-lago. >> we're sort of in uncharted waters. >> we haven't had adult protectee children of a president-elect in a long time. >> that makes the job tougher. it's a big family. 18 in all. melania trump and barron, then four adult children, their three spouses, and eight grandchildren. >> you see everyone around the president becomes a target?

goes, he's drawing the attention of every bad guy in the world. >> mr. trump has long been a fan of the secret service. >> these are incredible people, incredible individuals and they are tough. >> but still, living with agents 24/7 takes some getting used to. >> just think about you, at your home. tonight. four strangers just show up. and they're standing in your kitchen. >> once mr. trump becomes president there will be about 920 secret service personnel assigned to day. about 80 more than the obamas. none of this comes cheap. according to classified documents reviewed by nbc news, the daily cost is already well over $2 million. including reimbursing the trump organization for secret service seats on his plane. this weekend in mar-a-lago, a source involved in the protection operation says it's a $7 million

news, new york. president obama today fulfilled a long-standing tongue-in-cheek white house tradition. pardoning the turkeys, tater and tot, the pun-maker in chief said sasha around malia are fed up with the corny-copia of dad jokes. and a spectacular moment in the skies over florida my burst of light soaring overhead, illuminating the entire sky. it might have look liked an alien invasion, but it turned out to be a meteor called a fireball. when we come back, there really is a magic to it, isn't there? the macy's

right now, final preparations are under way for the 90th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. tomorrow morning an estimated 50 million people will watch enormous balloons float past our studio here down 6th avenue in new york. as kristen dahlgren found out what happens

>> on manhattan's upper west side today, child-like wonder, watching giant storybook characters come to life. it's a journey that starts here at macy's new jersey warehouse. >> take a look at the size of just his ear. >> that's charlie brown. getting some last-minute patching to his enormous hand-painted shirt. >> it's never-ending. it's continuous upkeep. >> a year-round operation. led by macy's john piper. >> it feels a little workshop here. >> for 90 years, the macy's thanksgiving day parade has been the stuff of holiday dreams. it started as the christmas parade. with animals from the central park zoo. a few years later, giant balloons took flight. and for a while, were released at the end of the parade. felix the cat was one of the original characters. back this year, as an almost exact replica. >> every one of them has a magic about them.

ranger's arm is the size of a school bus. but they start out much smaller. scale models help engineers figure out how to make them fly. >> that's our job. take what looks like it's impossible and make it come true. >> here's a secret -- each of these floats has its own license plate. it's still got to get from here to new york city. that means this three-story float needs to be disassembled so it can fit through the lincoln tunnel. a massive task. matched only by the when it all comes together on parade day. >> it makes it all worthwhile. a reminder, you can watch the parade here on nbc tomorrow starting at 9:00 a.m. that will do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm kate snow in for lester. i'll see you back here tomorrow. for all of us at nbc news, have a great

>> on the way to grandma's house. many on the move, even if they have to large first family. ahead of the annual macy's thanksgiving day parade and the commander-in-chief parting words for pardoned turkeys, tator and tot. >> we are thankful this is my final presidential turkey pardon. what i haven't told them yet is we are going to do this every year from now on. no cameras, just us, every year,

cold turkey. zblth "early today" starts right now. great day being with you this morning. happy thanksgiving. i'm frances rivera. ayman is off today. if you are getting recalled to hit the road, you are in good company. 50 million people are on the move, hoping to join family and friends for a feast. us off. >> reporter: the thanksgiving crush. it started on the west coast tuesday night, nearly 49 million of us traveling this gobble day. the vast majority are driving. meanwhile, a potential record breaker in the air which 2.6 million people are expected to

are adding new dog teams and thousands of screeners, opening this new airport command center to track real time every tsa checkpoint at the 30 busiest airports. >> down here, tell me how many lanes they've opened. >> reporter: a power outage in louisville that slowed things down an hour. >> it's the largest day of the weekend. that's when everybody comes home. so just give yourself time. >> as variable weather. snow in indianapolis, while in l.a., comfort dogs to ease the stress. >> to make sure the weather cooperates, i will check in with meteorologist bonnie schneider. good morning, happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving, frances. we really do have pretty good weather. you have a wintry mix. rain for cleveland and a little bit of snow as you head towards syracuse.

skies in the new york area. generally speaking, temperatures are comfortable. we run the risk of a couple spotty showers in washington a. little bit of wet weather toward seattle. cooler in the 40 and windy conditions but mild across california. frances. >> all right. good to see you. hopefully, no troubles out there. thank you very much. we take a turn for the latest on that hor risk school bus crash in chattanooga, tennessee. authorities say a sixth child died from the crash. five children remain hospitalize. the driver 24-year-old jonathan walker faces several counts of vehicular homicide. investigators have announced the toxicology report show nos signs of drug or alcohol in his system. however, walker was not driving the approved route. >> in the course of looking at the history of how many roads, we ascertained that road was not on the designated route for that

we are exploring is a, has he done it before, b, if so why? >> witnesses tell walker was driving well above the speed limit. the local school board confirmed they have received some complaintsened several relatives say he was a known problem. >> it was about him slamming on brakes on purpose. makeing all the kids hit their head. >> he was acting like >> it's tragic given those warning signs. nbc news has learned that president-elect donald trump has intended two intelligence briefings since winning the election earlier this month. it's a much lower number than his predecessors and lower than the vice president-elect mike pence, who has received a briefing nearly every day. however, a senior intelligence official cautions it's too early to know what this significance really is, given that trump is

process. >> that as democrats elijah cumminings call to look into trump's potential conflict of interests, including alleged meetings with business partners during the transition t. news comes as the president-elect attends his thanksgiving holiday at his mira lago resort. it includes filling out the rest of his cabinet. he selected two public women for the nbc's kristen walker has more. >> reporter: president-elect trump with a thanksgiving message for the nation. >> it's my prayer that on this thanksgiving, we begin to heal our division and move forward as one country. >> reporter: it comes as he's trying to diversify his cabinet, tapping two women, including 44-year-old south carolina governor nikki haley to serve as ambassador to the u.n.. haley, whose parents emigrated from india is a rising star in the party.

>> i will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the kkk. >> reporter: but taking a more measured turn after meeting with the president-elect last week. >> i did vote for him. and i was absolutely thrilled to see him win. >> reporter: haley earned national praise for leading the call to take down the confederate flag in south carolina in the wake of the church massacre. while she opposed trump's ban, she speertd block on new syrian refugees in her state, something trump also supported. governor haley made eight international trips but lacks foreign policy experience. >> she will have to learn to navigate this role, it is a round of balance she doesn't have directly in her portfolio. >> reporter: if confirmed, she could strengthen her hand t. move elevating south carolina governor an early trump

state a. transition official disputing that was a part of the decision. mr. trump's second female pick. betty dehaves for secretary of education. she wants to expand school voucher program t. prove was made by jeb bush and decried by the nation's largest. this morning, security in new york city is in a heightened macy's thanksgiving day parade. this follows an al qaeda publication suggesting the parade would be quote an excellent target. officials stress there are no credible threats. jay gray is live along the route. security must be in everyone's mind, certainly the fun and balloons behind you. >> reporter: yeah. no, you are absolutely right, fran sechlts happy thanksgiving.