$1.25 tree? the question is, what does it say about inflation? it's "way too early" for this. ♪♪ good morning, and welcome to "way too early." the show that knows it has a lot for which to be thankful i'm jonathan lemire on this wednesday, november 24th. we'll start with the news. the suspect in the waukesha christmas parade rampage made his first appearance in court yesterday as officials confirm a sixth victim has died. an 8-year-old boy. nbc news correspondence meagan fitzgerald has the story. >> reporter: the man at the center of a horrific tragedy in waukesha, wisconsin, appearing before the judge for the first time. >> this is case number 21-cf. >> reporter: 39-year-old darrell brooks charged with five counts of intentional homicide after allegedly plowing into a christmas parade. and more charges are pending after the confirmation of a sixth death, an 8-year-old boy. new images appear to show brooks asking a homeowner to call a uber. you can call a uber please? i'm homeless. >> reporter: not long after, police moving in. court records show brooks has a records long history, including sexual abuse, violence and battery. he was charged with running over his child's mother but released days ago on a $1,000 bail. >> it's clearly a breakdown in the american justice to release a man with his record on $1,000 bail. >> reporter: five dead. three of the victims, virginia sorensen known as ginny, lianna owen and tamara grand all known as the marching grannies. wilhelm died while walking alongside them carrying cups of ice. dozens more injured sunday including 18 kids rushed to children's hospital, ten remain in icu, with the trauma of that day setting in. >> people screaming everywhere. panic. we just took off running. >> reporter: taylor mcgrano was there with her 8-year-old son. cow feel the cars moving past? >> it was like a wind, all of the kids they weren't even there. >> reporter: a devastating community finding comfort and grieving all together. >> our thanks to meagan fitzgerald for that report. the 8-year-old boy who died was marching with his baseball team. heartbreaking. the bipartisan panel has issued a new round of subpoenas. the bipartisan panel is demanding testimony and documents from the proud boys, the oath keepers and others leading up to the violence up and on january 6th. commit chairman bennie thompson rights, we believer the individuals and organizations we subpoenaed today have relevant information about the violence erupted at the capitol. meanwhile, there may be setbacks for former president donald trump in efforts to exert executive privilege. the committee issued an order to trump lawyers and the national archives, asking them whether the president even has the legal authority. the committee asked the archives to turn over scores of documents from the trump administration as it investigates the attack. the former president claimed executive privilege over some of the materials. an appeals court granted a brief stay earlier this month. the arguments for the appeals court are scheduled for tuesday. joining us, congressional reporter for politico nicholas foo. thank you for being here. we deeply appreciate it. in the last days we've seen a new batch of subpoenas, proud boys, oath keepers, roger stone, walk us through what the thinking is here from the committee and how much is premeditation weighing in on this situation? >> exactly, jonathan when the committee is doing here, showing no signs of slowing down over the thanksgiving holiday this week. monday subpoenas to people like alex jones and roger stone. and president trump's spokesperson showing that they're looking into the planning and organization on january 5th and 6th, and then the march from -- from the white house that day to the capitol. and the subpoenas on tuesday of these far right groups show the degree to which the committee is looking into whether there's any level of coordination in the violence. whether any of these groups are conspireing to commit violence, whether there's anyone behind it and trying to get to the bottom of that. yes, that brings us to the question of premeditation. you know, this is a central question for the committee. when did people know about the violence that could happen on january 6th and if all and if that all comes together. >> it's been 11 months since the insurrection. at this point, no one has held truly accountable. we saw steve bannon charged with the crime. does have that any impact, the bannon charge, on the others so far refusing to comply, the mark meadows and others in the orbit who have to this point not cooperated with the subpoena? has it had, shall we say, motivating effect that perhaps the committee had hoped? >> well, the committee certainly hoped that this would prod noncompliant witness into compliance. at least, look, it's been two months since that first match of subpoenas went out, mark meadows and kash patel, there hasn't been that much occupant of that subpoena. and scavino has turned over no documents and bannon has not moved the needle there. so it remains to be seen how exactly the committee is going to force these guys to the table. >> it certainly does seem they may have cast a wide net and others probably should expect subpoenas in the week ahead. we'll see what sort of teeth they have. politico's nicholas wu, thank you so much and have a great thanksgiving. we'll talk to you soon enough. meanwhile, chinese and russian officials are condemning u.s. action near their borders and touting quote unbreakable friendship between the two countries. coinciding with a meeting with beijing and moscow, they issued a statement accusing the u.s. by recently sending a guided missile through the taiwan straight. and fears that china may be plotting invasion of its neighbor. though some of the messaging from the white house has been unclear on this to be fair. as for russia kremlin officials blasted the u.s. for alleged increase for military violence and weapons systems near the country's border with ukraine. this comes as russian satellites show russian missiles apassing near the border. doubting china's alliance with russia beijing officials said yesterday, and i'll quote, standing in the face of frantic u.s. containment and pressure, china and russia are united together like a great mountain. our friendship is unbreakable. together, we countered the hegemony of the u.s. and oppose the fake democratic regime of the u.s. and the fake multiculturism as well as the new forms of manifestation of the cold war. meanwhile, the invite angered china. taiwan is a self-governing democracy but china views it as its own territory. 110 territories are including on the invite las vegas for the event which aims to help strengthen democracies and freedoms worldwide. neither china nor russia are included. "the guardian" reports china accuses u.s. of middle after biden invites taiwan to democracy summit. we urge the u.s. to stick to the one china principle. still ahead, more than four years after the white nationalist rallies in virginia, a you're awards millions in damages. then the biden administration seeks an order to reinstate the vaccine mandate. those stories and more and we check on the weather forecast as we come back, the day before thanksgiving. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. hi. so you're the scientist here. does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? it's true jen. this prebiotic oat formula moisturizes to help prevent dry skin. impressive. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ new daily moisture for face. hi susan! honey? yeah? healthy. it's our nature.™ i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? 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[ding] facing expensive vitamin c creams with dull results? olay brightens it up with new olay vitamin c. gives you two times brighter skin. hydrates better than the $400 cream. defensively he has been the man. look at that, oh no! come on america, america! are you serious! wow! >> that does bring out vintage dick vitale, the hall of fame broadcaster to call the name amid a diagnosis of cancer. vitale could not hold back tears. >> dickie, it's so great to see you, all of you are aware that dick is battling cancer. the fact you that made it out to las vegas for a game that i know you had for a long time is awesome. great to see you. >> great to be here. i didn't want to cry. i can't believe i'm sitting here. this is really a big thrill for me. i want to thank all you people, there's been so many great messages. all of my buddies, i want to thank shirley, my family, and my fans, it's been unbelievable. october 12th, it will be two years they told me i had cancer. and that would be a serious surgery, i never dreamt i'd be here today. i'm sorry. i've been so emotional. >> great to see dick vitale back where he belongs, our wishes for his continued good health. as for the game, the zags show there's a huge gap between the top two teams overwhelming ucla for a 24-point victory. final score, 83 to 63. turning now to the college gridiron in a shake-up. ohio state and cincinnati each moving up a spot on this week's list. the buckies pushing ahead of alabama number two after beating michigan state. unbeaten cincinnati, the bearkats going up to number four after a win over smu. georgia is number one. michigan drops to number five, ohio of its game over ohio state to close out the regular season. that will be a fun one. now to midweek mac -- ion -- get it? >> now, he's loose. in a foot race. the fullback wins it. that was football personified. >> not too often you see 96-yard touch runs by a fullback. this is clint rockovich, but it's not enough to put the huskies past the broncos. northern illinois had already clinched the division and will play for the lead title for the eighth time in the past 12 seasons as they seek a fifth championship in that span. asons as they seek a fifth championship in that span. turning now to the nba and the knicks hosting the lakers. carmelo anthony received an ovation. as for the game, the lakers were, of course, competing without suspended star lebron james that was sitting out after that elbow to the face that caused blood. they won 106-100. tomorrow, of course is that holiday, my favorite of the year. and it means a trio of nfl games being played all day long. you can watch and eat and maybe pay attention to your family. the lineup, bears/lions, raiders/cowboys, bills/saints, should be fun. and time now for the weather and meteorologist bill karins. bill, happy thanksgiving to you. give us a sense what the weather looks like today for all of the preholiday travel and the big day itself. >> yeah, i will. wishing you happy thanksgiving to you and your friends and family. the weather on thanksgiving is going to be fine but the weather coming back gets harry. let me get you through the weekend forecast. it's a cold morning in the east. freeze warnings all the way to florida. my apologies to everyone in florida, it's actually jacket season. you actually have to go to the closet and find one. look at jacksonville, 39. panama city, 39. pretty cool air mass. and a lot of ski resorts have their guns blazing making a lot of snow on the east coast and new england. first really significant coldout break. they're hoping to get a lot of the areas open for end of the holiday period here, especially the weekend. sunny and chilly, no problem traveling. late day rain in oklahoma, little rock. a little snow in the rockies but again, a lot of the airports are just fine. maybe minor delays are possible, minneapolis, and detroit, because of weather but mostly because of maintenance, or volume delays. thanksgiving day, we have that rain taking place, corpus christy and houston rain late in the day. and that will continue on friday. lake-effect snow possible in northern new england. most of the country is still pretty good for friday, though. then as we head into saturday a new little storm system comes down in the northern plains. there's going to be snow in areas milwaukee and green bay. then by sunday, some of that snow will be moving into areas of pennsylvania and new york. maybe sunday seeing know for the first time, new york city, hartford and boston. there is a possibility of know in the east come sunday night and monday morning. with the chaos, we'll talk more about that as the week progresses. >> i'll be okay with a little bit of snow. it's fine. bill karins, thank you so much for this. again have a wonderful holiday, obviously everyone out there traveling safe today. still ahead, in a matter of hours we may know the fate of the three men accused of killing ahmaud arbery. we'll take a look at yesterday's closing arguments as jurors prepare for second day of deliberations. before we go to break, we always ask you, why are you awake? 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yes, now, what's he doing? he's running away from them. for five minutes he's running away from them. if they hadn't put him in serious bodily harm running away from him would he be dead? the answer is no. they do not get to claim self-defense. of course, provocation, you can't claim citizen's arrest so you get to claim self-defense. no. they know exactly what they did. when you come back with your guilty verdict, all you're doing is telling them, we know what you did. and we're going to hold you responsible for it. >> jury deliberations resume at 8:30 this morning. joining us now former prosecutor charles coleman who has been providing terrific insight on this network in recent weeks. charles, thank you so much for being here. we just heard the prosecutor there, walking through the jury with the law on citizen's arrest. she pointed out that arbery did nothing buttress pass on a construction site and argued that you can't claim self-defense when you are the one who caused the violence situation is with the defendants. in your estimation was this effective and was there anywhere where she might have missed an opportunity? >> good morning, jon. i don't necessarily think she missed any opportunities. this was a rebuttal and essentially left no stone unturned. she took every opportunity they shto address the defendants' arguments with their evidence, with regard to evidence they put forth, with regard to testimony and as well as their theory of the case. i really like how she took apart their argument. of course, there's the looming issue of race in this case. the prosecutor really didn't touch it yesterday. i thought she might go into it. but the more and more i watch this trial unfold, i believe each side has their reasons for how they're dealing with the subject there. certainly, tell us more how the defense has handled it. we know the racial breakdown of the jury, 11 white people are on it. defense didn't ask for a change of venue. how would you assess, as you say, race is looming over the trial. how would you assess that each side is handling it? >> well, it's very clear that the defense has made it very comfortable handling the case with a bull horn and not a dog whistle. it's just so apparent when you look at what was put out there during summation, particularly from mcmichael's attorney. what they is likened ahmaud arbery to a runaway slave. she talked about dirty toenails. with ahmaud arbery, there's no reason from a legal standpoint, other than a style standpoint, other than to evoke some of the latent racism and bigotry that they believe is in one of those jurors to bring up something like that. however, the prosecution has virtually stayed away from it, they stayed silent from it. the only thing i can think of, jonathan, that going there may not be to their benefit. despite the fact it is the elephant in the room for everybody watching. >> yeah, the dirty toenails line is one that is hard to stomach, i think, for most observers. certainly, there are some observers who watched this trial who watched the trial ahead of the thanksgiving holiday. let me get your thoughts on that. does this have the likelihood of a jury perhaps splitting the verdict, and what would that look like? >> well, first to your first question. i don't think the jury coming back today is completely out of the question, i don't think it's unreasonable. it is important that viewers understand despite the case that they got the case yesterday, today is virtually the physical day they have. f they don't come back with a triple homicide, if they don't come back today, that would not be at all surprising. although it could absolutely happen. to the second question around them splitting the baby, so to speak, deciding to acquit two or one, vice versa, it could happen. they're going to divide it between the mcmichaels and mr. bryan. so william bryan and travis and gary mcmichael, they're going to look at them as a tandem pair, whereas mr. bryan is on his own. and mr. bryan tried to argue the summation. i don't necessarily believe they'll go that route if they do, that's my prediction. >> charles coleman, we appreciate, with the nation watching what the verdict will be whenever it may come. thank you and have a great thanksgiving. still ahead from the cereal bowl to the thanksgiving table. inflation is hitting home for many americans, we'll go to cnbc for the business that you need to start your day when "way too early" returns. there's the christmas tree. it will be lit soon. do i need to pretreat my laundry? nope! with tide pods, you don't need to worry. the pre-treaters are built in. tide pods dissolve even when the water is freezing. nice! if it's got to be clean, it's got to be tide. there's a different way to treat hiv. it's once-monthly injectable cabenuva. cabenuva is the only once-a-month, complete hiv treatment for adults who are undetectable. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider once a month. hiv pills aren't on my mind. i love being able to pick up and go. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems,...and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. with once-a-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. ask your doctor about once-monthly cabenuva. ♪♪ this flag isn't backwards. it's facing this way because it's moving forward. with once-a-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. ♪♪ just like the men and women who wear it on their uniforms and the country it represents. they're all only meant to move one direction which is why we fly it this way on the flanks of the all-new grand wagoneer. moving boldly and unstoppably forward. you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick. it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick. with less than a year into the midterm elections, former president donald trump reportedly believes that campaigning on the big lie will boost voter turnout. according to "the wall street journal" trump has told advisers that pushing claims of the rigged 2020 election which again repeatedly debunked will help republicans regain the white house in 2024. he also floated the idea of an early campaign announcement. but the journal writes fellow republicans have dissuaded him from that strategy for now the people said. but the disagreement was over whether mr. trump's presence in the midterms would be a better motivator for democratic voters than republicans. not as an issue of voter fraud as an issue they said. joining me, john bresnahan, john, thank you for being here. look, we know historical trends. the gop is in great position, undeniable, they're in great position to regain the house and senate. it doesn't mean they're going to. but the gop is set up well. will running in your estimation, people you talked to will running on the big lie hurt or help the republicans' chances? >> you know, there's a lot of ways to look at this. i mean, this is not new. january 6th the republicans voted -- 137 republicans voted not to certify the election. this is trump doing this since the day he lost the election. the thing is it suits donald trump's needs more than it suits republicans' needs. although there is something here, angry voters vote, but angry voters also attacked the capitol. they threatened election officials, they completely -- you know, they're unpredictable. they don't vote -- they didn't vote in georgia in january. there's a lot of ways this can be cut. this is more -- this suits trump's needs more than the broader republican party's needs. the republicans are already motivated to vote against joe biden. and independents have turned against biden. do they really need this? you can see there's a lot of discussion about this. there's a lot of discussion on the hill about this. you know, they -- i feel like a lot of rank and file republicans on the hill, yes, they've got trump out there. and they've got this issue, but they've got so many other issues to hit biden on, inflation and other issues. why not with those. >> yeah, there does seem to be at least an appetite among some republicans to try to change the conversation as much as they think trump will be useful in some way next. res, as you know, as much as anybody, congress has a packed schedule next month. they're leaving this week for the holiday. but next month, they've got defense, and they've got to keep the government open and of course there is the build back better act. with so many things with hard sand fad deadline, build back better, as much as some democrats want to get it done in december, is that a thing that can slip into the new year? particularly when you hear someone like senator manchin saying, hey, i wouldn't mind delaying that? >> oh, absolutely. you basically read the top of my column coming out in half an hour, jon. december, they'll have to do something for government funding to avoid the shutdown. and now december 15th is the current "x" date for the treasury. that's when treasury secretary janet yellen has said the date to raise the debt level which could be catastrophic. it's going to happen, december, january, it's going to happen soon. those are two things that cannot be avoided. they have to be done right away. as you mentioned the defense build, the defense authorization act, congress has done this every year for the last 60 years, coming out of the cold war, and this has got to be done as well. i feel like build back better, as much as there's urgency around it, it's -- also, there's going to be, you know, there's going to be discussions over all of these issues. immigration is a huge issue. taxes is a huge issue. paid family leave, that's something that manchin has talked about that he doesn't like. so that's a huge issue. these are going to take time, senate's going to have to work through them. it's going to take a week of floor time for the senate for the voterama. there's a lot of possibility that these could get pushed back with these other priorities that you mentioned today well in your setup. >> a true friend of the show, john bresnahan from punchbowl. stale ahead, a look at what's driving wall street. 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>> you know, ironically, oil had been moving lower ahead of this announcement because people are anticipating that it was going to come. now, we're seeing prices stabilize. and if you look out to the contracts for crude oil several months ahead, they're actually higher. the sense is that there is strong demand here, and we're just not really going to be able to keep up with that demand. again, supply chain is an issue as well. trucking the oil to gas stations, getting it there. and often, as we see with prices at the pump, you know, they take the elevator up. but they take the stairs back down. so, it's going to be a while before we see that impact and prices coming back down at the gas pump. >> so, switching gears, apple is suing nso group, an israeli firm that sells software to government agencies and law enforcement that enables them to hack. what more can you share about this? >> well, apple is just the latest tech company that's suing them. whatsapp, a division of facebook has also sued this company. apple says what they did is create about 100 or more fake apple i.d.s which allowed them to get on to the apple servers. while they didn't hack the servers itself, they were able to install malware. and one of the big complaints by this company is that spy ware has allowed governments to go after. in some cases dissidents, to go after human rights activists. earlier this month, the biden administration blacklisted the company because of that. so they are facing mounting pressure about the way they do their business. in fact, earlier this week, moody's, the rating agency, said that they're getting closer to risk of default because of all of these accusations and actions coming from tech firms and governments. >> really important story. we will be staying on it. bertha, we appreciate you being here today. have a great thanksgiving. few more economic stories. a bowl of cereal could soon cost more. general mills is expected to raise prices on cheerios, cinnamon toast crunch, and lucky charms are seeing price hikes, as well as items from betty crocker and ppillsbury. that's according to a letter sent to a wholesale supplier. some item prices are expected to go up 20% mid-january. general mills has not commented on the reported price hike yet. dollar tree is increasing prices. the retailer will sell most products for $1.25 early next year. $1.25 tree is not as catchy. it'll allow them to expand the products. it shows the pressures retailers face during high inflation. earlier in the show, we asked this question, why are you awake? today, why are you thankful? heather writes this. after a six-month battle with breast cancer, i am cancer free. heather, that is great, great news. we are grateful to hear that. dan, what have you got back there? >> bridget is thankful for this guy, caleb, who woke up early to remind her it's his fifth birthday. >> happy birthday. you can sleep in later next year. probably okay. titus tweets this. i'm thankful for the covid-19 vaccines that are helping me and my family stay healthy, enabling us to gather for thanksgiving dinner this year. happy thanksgiving. and charles coleman who was on the show tweeted that he was up. criticizing me that i was wishing for snow and loving his lakers lost. we appreciate you being on earlier today. i'll say it once and say it again, every time the lakers lose, an angel gets its wings. up next, the axios 1 big thing. coming up on "morning joe," the potential for global conflict after the renewal of an unbreakable reliance between china and russia. that's not great. all eyes on the courthouse in georgia after closing arguments leave the jury to decide the fate of the three men accused of killing ahmaud arbery. and for all the talk of joe biden's struggles, there is a past president who could pave the path forward for him. is ronald reagan the key to his comeback? we'll dig into that. 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i was born ready. go get 'em, kev. well planned. well invested. well protected. voya. be confident to and through retirement. frequent heartburn? not anymore. the prilosec otc two-week challenge is helping people love what they love again. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. find your rhythm. your happy place. find your breaking point. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. joining us now with a look at axios a.m., our friend, the co-founder of axios, mike allen. good morning. what is the 1 big thing axios has for us today? >> jonathan, happy thanksgiving eve to you and yours. my thanks to the staff of "way too early" and "morning joe," daily musicians. today, we're looking at the anxiety of u.s. hostage families. while we're enjoying our families -- i'll be in north carolina with my brother scott, where he will fry a turkey -- there's so many families who have someone abroad with only uncertainty in their future. jonathan, here's what's happening. there have been a few things that have gotten the hopes up of families in the u.s. who have hostages abroad. we saw recently the former new mexico governor, bill richardson, helped get the u.s. journalist out of myanmar. during the obama administration, there was a special hostage negotiators office created. during the trump administration, he loved the deal making, swatch buckling part of it. for better or worse, he prioritized these negotiations. there were all these factors, getting hostage families' hopes up. for colleague who covers national security for axios talked to a number of the families and found they're very anxious to meet with president biden. here's behind the curtain, they think that because president biden is well-known for his empathy, over 50 years in politis has often worn his emotions on his sleeve, his more hard-nosed national security aides are keeping cases away from him so he doesn't make emotion-driven decisions. the administration says these are high priority, frequently raised with other countries, but doesn't make it easier for the families. >> important note on too many forgotten families who often are not in the headlines. axios also has reporting on proposed funding to revamp the nation's 911 center. it was slashed to reduce the price tag on the president's social spending package. how will this affect the future of the centers if this comes to be? >> this is a big deal. this was not on my radar. i paid so much attention to what was in the build back better bill that the house passed and sent to the senate, but here's something big that was missing. money to upgrade 911 centers so that they can get texts, so they can get videos, so they can get photos. my colleague, margaret harding mcgill, talked to people who run 911 centers across the country. for instance, a smartwatch can send in an alert about a heart attack. we talked to one official who had received reports from inside a closet during a domestic violence incident. this can be a life-saving capability that roughly half the country's 911 centers don't have, and they ain't going to have it for a while because this addition, this modernization was pulled out as part of bringing the total number down to appease the senate. >> one more. thanksgiving is obviously tomorrow. many families are reuniting. many americans chose not to travel last year, the height of the pandemic, and are doing so this year. a lot of experts are recommending they take covid tests beforehand. how readily available are these tests? will americans be able to get their hands on it today, tomorrow, the rapid tests they perhaps need to make sure their holiday is as safe as possible? >> you make a great point. there is a shortage of rapid tests. you can get them. we talked to a number of families who maybe have an unvaccinated member or are concerned about an older member. they're doing rapid tests on the way in. before you get around the table, you have to get a negative rapid test. so we have a new job, thanksgiving bouncer. nobody wants it, compete for my editor, justin green, who relishes the idea of being the bouncer for his family in lincoln, nebraska. >> mike allen, thank you so much. have a great holiday tomorrow. travel safe. >> great holiday to you. >> thanks to all of you for getting up "way too early" this wednesday morning. with thanksgiving tomorrow, we have so much to be thankful for, including all of you. "morning joe" starts right now. have a great holiday, everybody. this week in covid history. as we end november 2020, president butterball is for the birds. >> i hereby grant you a full pardon. >> victory, we've won the war on thanksgiving. >> passengers in the united states have set a pandemic air