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. >>

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. >> the red power 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 size of the smiles when it all comes together on parade day. >> it makes it all worthwhile. >>> so much fun. and a reminder -- you can watch the parade here on nbc tomorrow starting at 9:00 a

the macy's thanksgiving day parade. overnight. >>> right now, final preparations are under way for alexa, play the song that goes, "oh, take these broken wings." electronic voice: playing "broken wings" from amazon music. (singing along) ? take ? ? these broken wings... ? you're ridiculous. (sniffling) sarah! come on! alexa, turn on the sprinklers. electronic voice: okay. man: (chuckling) got him. (sprinklers whirring) i am totally blind. i lost my sight in afghanistan. if you're totally blind, you may also be struggling with non-24. calling 844-844-2424. or visit my24info.com. when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ? tum -tum -tum -tum ? wi 80% of recurrent ischemic strokes could be prevented. and i'm doing all i can to help prevent another one. a bayer aspirin regimen is one of those steps in helping prevent another stroke. be sure to talk to your doctor >>> right now, final preparations are under wa

but other stores like macy's best buy, walmart, target and kohl's doubling down. 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 cybermonday is also great for electronics, beauty products and kitchenware. 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. exclusive details on the new plan to protect the president-elect. with advil, you'll ask what twisted ankle? what muscle strain? advil makes pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil. your path

macy's saying high volume was to blame. several instances of violence threatened to derail the day. a j.c. penny and sears closed in chattanooga after a shooting in the parking lot. a fight over a parking lot spot in reno left one man dead. near atlantic city a police investigating a fatal shooting outside macy's hours before it opened for the day. for some stores the holiday shopping weekend is make or for retailers like these, poor holiday sales could signal bankruptcy. >> if you can't keep up with the competition you will be under a lot of stress. >> i got a $230 coat for $70. >> reporter: while shoppers may score a great deal, experts say be wary of where you make your purchases. >> if you know you're buying something that a gift recipient might not love, perhaps go to a store thatl around and able to accept returns. >> reporter: shoppers going strong here at the mall and online. those deep discounts expected to continue through this weekend and through cyber monday. the national retail federation expects 40% of americans to buy something online that day. lester. >> jolene kent

but a spike in online traffic was not good news for macy's. its website crashed, macy's saying high volume was to blame. several instances of violence threatened to derail the day. a jcpenny and sears closed in chattanooga after a shooting in the parking lot. analogied fight over a parking spot in reno left one man dead. near atlantic city police investigating a fatal shooting outside a macy's hours before holiday shopping weekend is make or break. for sears, k mart, claire's, nine west and true religion, poor holiday sales could signal closings or bankruptcy. >> expectations are higher. if you can't keep up with the competition you will be under stress. >> i got a $230 coat for $70. >> reporter: while shoppers may score a great deal, experts say be wary of where you make purchases. >> if y something a gift recipient might not love, perhaps go to a store that will be around and anl to accept returns. >> reporter: shoppers going strong here at the mall and online. those deep discounts expected to continue through this weekend and through cyber

near atlantic city a police investigating a macy's hours before it opened for the day. for some stores the holiday shopping weekend is make or break. for retailers like these, poor holiday sales could signal bankruptcy. >> if you can't keep up with the competition you will be under a lot of stress. >> i got a $230 coat for $70. >> reporter: while shoppers may score a great deal, experts say be wary of where you make your purchases. >> if you know you're yi not love, perhaps go to a store that will definitely be around and able to accept returns. >> reporter: shoppers going strong here at the mall and online. those deep discounts expected to continue through this weekend and through cyber monday. the national retail federation expects 40% of americans to buy something online that day. lester. >> jolene kent in new jersey, thank you. in northern california apparently abducted more than three weeks ago is free and back with her family after being found shackled at the side of an interstate. little is known about the circumstances of her disappearance. nbc's goti schwartz i

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we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? ? here comes santa claus ? ? whether sunny or ? the excitement is not getting your best sleep? could be you've got the wrong bed. enter sleep number... she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. you can both adjust the bed for the best sleep of your life. right now save 50% on the ultimate limited edition bed. hurry, ends soon! >>> breaking overnight, florence henderson, the brady bunch mom, beloved by millions, has died at the age of 82. >>> leading americans shopping this weekend, and spending billions. >>> president-elect donald trump spending part of his thanksgiving, looking to fet two carrier jobs in the u.s. the oil pipeline protesters are in full force. >>> an incredible, many totally awesome rendition of the national anthem. >>> soaring in the skies goes to a whole new level. "early today" starts right now. friday morning. we begin with breaking news, overnight the country wak

and, of course, we got macy's parade forecast coming up. and black friday forecast. >> there is that to look past thanksgiving. bill, thank you very much. 21 of the innovators were celebrated by president obama if his final med am of freedom ceremony, awarding them with the nation's highest civilian honor, michael jordan, bruce springsteen, a star-studded class of honorees even the president admitted may be the best ever.

. >>> 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 it was just two months ago of course the city was rocked by a bomb 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. experience tells police there's often a second. 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 near

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ♪ ♪ here comes santa claus ♪ ♪ whether sunny or snowing ♪ ♪ the excitement is on "extra". >>> think you know trump? >> i can call you donald, right? >> how about calling me mr. trump? >> fair enough. >> every secret about our next president as we go boack to his roots. those roots, too, he's at ivanka's lost photo shoot. >> it's always been an ambition to make a name for myself. >>> and from the reel washington to jessica chastain's political thriller. what she found out about the beltway's power women. >> it shows power. >> brad pitt sleeping with the enemy. opening up about their steamy love scene. >> the car was so small. >>> john stamos. this is 53? >> i have a syndrome about me. >> the scream queen's star about what he's about to expose about daytime soaps. >> it's basically sort of boogey nights in the soap world in the '80s. >>> plus, look out. paula deen sharpening her

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? snowing ? ? the excitement is >>> the turkey is called but the deals are hot. are the crowds turning out for a post-thanksgiving bargain hunt? we're going to show you what's happening at bay area stores >>> right now on news channel 8 at 7:00. >> it evening and happy

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? ? here comes santa claus ? ? whether sunny or snowing ? ? the excitement is growing ? ? here comes dear >>> how much am i going to put away? >> i'm natalie morales. from the turkey to their traditions. how the stars are spending their thanksgiving day. >> now i want to see the main thing i came here for, your closet. >> our exclusive tour of kyle and mauriceio's manx.

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving d parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? claus ?comes santa ? the excitement is >> right now on milwaukee, this is today's tmj 4 live at 6:00. >> ready or not, too fast and -- chew fast and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. many of you may be digging into the thanksgiving dinner. > moved in and are from the checkout line at toys r us. >> forget thor the ku and the football. i -- forget the turkey and the football. and black friday professional wal-mart and gurnee mills and the outlet stores and target, kmart, kohl's, and one more. menards. that is in there somewhere, and ese guys don't finish until 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. check out this line wrapping all around. the big item is cindy says hoverboards are where it's at. they aren't the only ones waiting in line this morning. i found one couple earlier this afternoon. >> if they are not done eating, i have to leave. >> 1:00, get your food and got to go. >> that

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? ? here comes santa claus ? ? whether sunny or snowing ? ? the excitement is growing ? ? here comes dear ? ? can you feel that ? >>> over generations, football has become a thanksgiving staple. >> looks, throws to marvin. touchdown. peyton with his sixth. >> often, providing lasting memories. tonight, it's the colts and the steelers. >> touchdown, antonio brown. >> on sunday, each team with an

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? ? here comes santa claus ? ? whether sunny or >> anchor: now at 7 o'clock mall madness is here. shoppers go a spending spree. >> anchor: city leaders stepping up to the plate. and listening to community concerns. >> anchor: a touching tribute. the moving ceremony to honor a fallen officer. >> anchor: a driver killed in a wrong way higher terrain. rain on the way throughout the weekend. how much is on the way. >> anchor: calling troops over seas. president obama saying thank you to our soldiers. >> anchor: as they spend the holidays far from home. >> 7 news at 7 o'clock starts now. >> anchor: chilly evening out there. clouds over head and scattered rain throughout the evening. best advice get an umbrella. >> anchor: that's right.

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? ? here comes santa claus ? ? whether sunny or black smoke and popping, yeah pretty scary" a massive thanksgiving day fire at a distribution plant here in eastern iowa sending one firefighter to the hospital with possible life- threatening injuries. plus.. a thanksgiving eve fire causes a lot of damage to the upper level of a home. and.. one local sheriff's department getting ready for whenever we see the first snow of the good evening, and happy thanksgiving. i'm amanda goodman, ron has a massive thanksgiving day fire. thick black smoke billowing through the air in central city - where dozens of firecrews worked to put out the fire at iowa gold distributing. the business deals with waste oil - and as crews were working to put it out, one of the barrels of oil inside caused multiple small explosions. more on this big fire coming up in our newscast, but first. many of you will be travelin

we leave you tonight with some of the highlights from macy's thanksgiving day parade. i'm kate snow in for lester. from all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. ? ? here comes santa claus ? ? whether sunny or snowing ? >>> ready, set, shop, the black friday sales are here. and we're live with the holiday shoppers looking for bargains. >>> and it could be the new winter white house, we'll get an inside look at donald trump's estate in palm beach florida. >>> well, thanksgiving in northeast ohio, a little damp, a little chilly, black friday same. i have details on what to expect. and a little snow to throw on top. festive if you will. >>> disney's newest film hits theaters. the animated movie has an ohio connection. learn more as we go behind the scenes of what will no doubt be another blockbuster hit. >>> from the station that sees the possible, this is channel 3 news. brought to you by universal windows direct. you'll be saying, i love my windows. and now, channel 3 news at 7:00. >>> well, happy thanksgiving everyone. i'm sara. jimmy is off tonig