williams. good evening. ray rice has won his appeal with the nfl. he's been cleared to play in the nfl, but right now he's a man without a team. it was ray rice with the woman who is now his wife in that elevator surveillance video so violent we will no longer air it in its entirety. so violent it caused national and public outrage and led to a huge conversation about abuse. at the time ray rice was a running back for the baltimore ravens, that was before his indefinite suspension from football. and that has now been overturned. big story during a big football holiday weekend. it's where we begin tonight including a portion of an exclusive interview with rice's wife. nbc's kristen welker starts us off this evening. >> reporter: embattled former ravens running back ray rice is cleared to play and can sign with any team effective immediately. late this afternoon former u.s. district court judge barbara s. jones serving as an arbitrator overturned the nfl's indefinite suspension of rice calling it arbitrary. rice and the nfl players union has argued he was being punished twice for the same offense and that he should be reinstated. the nfl first suspended rice for two games in june upon learning about the incident in the elevator. and then suspended him indefinitely in september after tmz sports released graphic surveillance video showing rice punching his then-fiancee. nfl officials argued they hadn't seen the tape and that it wasn't consistent with what rice had initially told them about what happened. today, the judge decided after careful consideration of all the evidence, i am not persuaded that rice lied to or misled the nfl at his june interview. in a statement, rice thanked the judge and his wife and said i made an inexcusable mistake. i am thankful there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue. a spokesperson for the nfl said the league respects the decision to reinstate rice and acknowledged "ray rice is a free agent based on judge jones' decision he will be eligible to play upon signing a new contract." but it's not clear a team will make him an offer. >> is it worth the distraction? is it worth the media scrutiny? coaches are very obsessed with minimizing distractions. with ray rice there's going to be an unknown. >> the nfl players association called the decision a victory. meanwhile, it is a setback for commissioner roger goodell whose leadership has been called into question because of his handling of this and other domestic violence incidents. still, ratings, sponsorship and attendance haven't taken any major hits, brian. >> kristen welker starting us off tonight. kristen, thanks. as we mentioned we have a bit more on this topic tonight. it's in the form of an upcoming nbc news exclusive. ray rice and his wife janay are telling their story for the very first time on television. they sat down with matt lauer for a wide ranging interview. in it janay rice opens up about her anger towards her husband immediately after that brutal assault that we've now all seen. >> because we've only seen you months after the incident. >> yeah. >> and i can't imagine that you were that calm when you started to realize exactly what happened in that elevator. can you describe those emotions? >> i was furious. we came home and we didn't talk the entire ride -- well, i didn't speak to him the entire ride home. he tried to talk to me. i didn't want to hear anything. i just knew he hit me. and i was completely over it. i was done. didn't want to hear anything. i just didn't want to even entertain him, anything that he had to say, any explanation. of course in the back of mind and in my heart i knew that our relationship wouldn't be over because i know that this isn't us and it's not him. >> this is part of what's going to be a two-part interview, an exclusive with ray rice and janay rice. it airs this coming monday and tuesday on "today." this friday after thanksgiving long ago became known to all americans as black friday, the way it's always been known to retailers for the huge volume this day brings in every year. this day was a bit different for a number of reasons this year, but it appears the numbers didn't disappoint. tom costello's at a mall outside washington, d.c. for us tonight. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. in fact, talking about a 4% increase in holiday spending this year. yesterday was probably the best day for bargains, but today a lot of people seemed to be blinded by price. at retailers nationwide today the crush was on. chaos, frenzy, even fighting. >> this is the most dangerous to black friday shop. >> reporter: it's serious business to this woman in muncie, indiana, who kept a video diary for us starting yesterday. >> we obviously did not have thanksgiving dinner today because we spent the whole day planning black friday. >> reporter: for her black friday is a two-day event. the turkey dinner can wait. but it turns out black friday specials aren't always so special. consumer finance website nerdwallet.com found plenty of examples. at gander mountain a spider woman's jacket at $109 same price on november 6th. at k-mart, a hamilton beach toaster oven was the same price in late september. >> they can call it a special price or a great deal or a doorbuster, but it doesn't necessarily define that this is the best price given all the best price given all year long. they haven't done it before. >> reporter: for retailers it's a bit like fishing. use flashy bait to lure them in and hook them with other deals and get them to spend more. research shows there's even a color that gets us to open our wallets. red. >> we love a sale. we love the shopping. we love the crowd. wonderful. >> i came in for one thing, came in for ugg boots but came out with hat, scarves -- >> reporter: look at all this. >> yeah. it's pretty bad. >> reporter: a recent creditcards.com survey fnd 75% of those surveyed admitted to making impulse buys. consumer psychologist kit yarow. >> people that are really crazy for the bargain actually end up spending more money than people that aren't. >> reporter: in muncie, indiana, falina fryberger finished shopping and finally got her turkey dinner. and retailers are determined to prevent something they call showrooming. that's when people literally come to the mall or store, check out the product in the store then they go home and try to buy it online cheaper. retailers are trying to match prices so they convince people to buy here and now, brian. >> tom costello with the masses in virginia for us tonight, tom, thanks. in some places black friday collided with the still potent anger over the events in ferguson, missouri. some shoppers in their hunt for a deal found themselves confronted by protesters who marched from the streets into the aisles on this busiest retail day of the year. that story tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> hands up don't shoot! >> reporter: a wave of protesters swarmed through a st. louis mall demanding justice for michael brown and more. >> black lives don't matter, black friday shouldn't matter. >> not one dime! >> reporter: urging shoppers to shut their wallets and focus on issues like injustice and poverty instead of buying more stuff and best bargain. aren't you pushing it a bit? >> it needs to be pushed a bit. we need to get people's attention. >> reporter: stores closed security gates, shoppers tried to take it all in stride. >> you can shop and learn a little bit about civics at the same time. >> reporter: it must be close to 100 people. so far the police are staying back letting them do what they want to do. and there haven't been any confrontations. but several hours later police briefly shut down the st. louis gallaria mall. the call to boycott black friday spread on social media, twitter hash tags and videos. >> hands up, don't shop! >> reporter: today burst into life in shopping meccas like new york's herald square. demonstrators in the aisles of macy's, the world's largest store. and on the streets of chicago's magnificent mile. >> getting the best sale is just silly when people's lives are being wrecked every single day. >> reporter: in oakland, protesters stopped trains in and out of san francisco for over an hour. but in ferguson where hundreds of businesses, many family-owned, struggle to recover from months of unrest, anita says a boycott is misdirected. >> i feel that the business didn't have anything to do with what happened. and when you hurt the business, you hurt people that have jobs. >> reporter: a day of protest and prayers for the family of michael brown, set to attend a vigil in florida were the parents of trayvon martin, a day after tweeting a picture of their thanksgiving, an empty chair at the table. here in ferguson there are few other obstructions reported at area stores and shopping malls, but no damage, no violence and no arrests. brian. >> ron allen who has covered the story there in ferguson throughout for us. ron, thanks. there was a chaotic and dangerous situation early today in austin, texas, where a gunman targeted several government buildings and police before he himself was taken down following the shooting rampage that was largely captured on video. we get the story tonight from nbc's jacob rascon. >> there's something bad, bad going down in austin, texas tonight. >> reporter: when corina pressed record on her phone, she'd already heard three or four bursts of gunfire. [ gunfire ] in the video austin police cruisers race to their own headquarters where the gunman was shooting at an officer. >> the sergeant at approximately 2:33 a.m. returned fire, upon returning fire the suspect went to the ground. >> reporter: that's when officers noticed what looked like a bomb in the shooter's van. and after dragging him away, they noticed what looked like another bomb on the shooter. >> potentially an ied suicide-type vest that is known to be used around the world. >> reporter: police identify the dead gunman as 49-year-old larry mcquilliams and say he targeted the federal courthouse and mexican consulate, which he also tried to burn down using camping stoves. police say the shooter fired more than 100 rounds in ten minutes in what might have been an anti-government attack. >> when you look at the national debate right now about immigration, that certainly comes to mind. >> reporter: in the end there were no bombs and no other casualties. just a stunned public. >> what happened? >> reporter: and downtown austin on lockdown. jacob rascon, nbc news. tonight, we are coming to the end of a very nasty week of weather. in the northeast more than 100,000 customers are still without power after the thanksgiving eve snowstorm. and in the middle of it all one family went into crisis mode when two boys went out to play in the snow and went missing. we get our report tonight from nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: the northeast whiteout wiped out power across pockets of the region. so much snow in new hampshire and maine, frozen power lines snapped. some 300,000 lost power during the holiday. >> been pretty hard. >> reporter: today, from as far away as toronto crews scrambling to help. no lights, no heat. many spending black friday in the dark. in upstate new york, a critical situation, this the desperate scramble to save two boys buried under six feet of snow. >> me and my cousin were building a fort in the snow. and the whole top of the fort just fell on us. >> i'm thinking me and my cousin are going to die. >> reporter: an unsuspecting snowplow driver dumps snow on top of 9-year-old jason and his 11-year-old cousin elijah. >> i couldn't move this whole part of my body. >> reporter: trapped for four hours, the boys struggled to survive. >> motivating each other to like not go to sleep. keep yelling. >> reporter: from snow to black ice a 50-car pileup near niagra falls. in cleveland, slick streets stranded dozens in blinding lake effect snow. heavy snow in new jersey toppled trees. rod borden lost his vehicle, a falling power pole almost took his life. >> this humongous flash and the next thing i know i heard this crash. >> reporter: while the cold seems here to stay, at least there's less snow in the forecast. good news for everyone headed home. miguel almaguer, nbc news, new york. still ahead for us on this friday night, a contender for the least loved holiday dish and the good people of minnesota do not want the blame for it. and later, the force awakens, at least the trailer has awakened. our very first glimpse of the new "star wars" movie. very fir new "star wars" movie. share her passions.ho lovo grandma! mary has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts her at a greater risk of stroke. rome? 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>> salad? no. >> i've never heard of grape salad before in my life. i was born and raised here in minnesota. >> reporter: when the seemingly urbane urbanites at the new york times chose each state's recipe for its united states of thanksgiving feature, the grape salad, broiled with sour cream and pecans optional was picked the favorite in the land of the nice. 10,000 lakes. apparently it comes from a minnesota born heiress. the times wasn't expecting 10,000 protests. >> we don't have grapes. we don't have pecans. we don't broil them together. i mean, it's just from mars. >> reporter: the grapes of our wrath fired back the minneapolis star tribune. minnesota nice, nonexistent on facebook. i can't wait to have grandma's grape salad at thanksgiving said no one from minnesota. ever. opined one. i have lived through 74 thanksgivings, both in minnesota and wisconsin, and have never even heard of grape salad much less been served it, grumbled another grape griper. the times public editor replied saying the paper had committed an epic recipe fail adding that food is really regional, not state-by-state. >> it is no way representative or even a good idea because i tasted it after the uproar. it's terrible. >> reporter: in minnesota, the grape salad is leaving them mighty sour. kevin tibbles, nbc news. >> this is just getting started. we're back in a moment with the story behind the embrace after a week of so many troubles. ♪ people with type 2 diabetes come from all walks of life. if you have high blood sugar, ask your doctor about farxiga. it's a different kind of medicine that works by removing some sugar from your body. along with diet and exercise, farxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. with one pill a day, farxiga helps lower your a1c. and, although it's not a weight-loss or blood-pressure drug, farxiga may help you lose weight and may even lower blood pressure when used with certain diabetes medicines. do not take if allergic to farxiga or its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction include rash, swelling or difficulty breathing or swallowing. if you have any of these symptoms, stop taking farxiga and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems, are on dialysis or have bladder cancer. tell your doctor right away if you have blood or red color in your urine or pain while you urinate. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including dehydration, genital yeast infections in women and men, low blood sugar, kidney problems, and increased bad cholesterol. common side effects include urinary tract infections, changes in urination, and runny nose. ♪ do the walk of life ♪ yeah,you do the walk of life ♪ need to lower your blood sugar? 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w alka-seltzer plus day powder rushes relief to your worst cold symptoms plus chest congestion. oh, what a relief it is. here we go! finally here tonight, after a holiday that's all about being thankful for what we have while it can also be about the excess of what we have, we get a reminder tonight about those much less fortunate. a california pastor decided to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. and what he discovered on the streets may have changed him forever. his story tonight from nbc's harry smith. >> may that be our prayer -- >> reporter: it all started as a kind of stunt. pastor rick cole surprised his congregation this fall when he told them he was going to live on the streets. it was a way to bring attention to the homeless. in turn, raise money for a citywide program in sacramento that provides shelter and food for those who have little or nothing. cole raised the money in a matter of days, but he felt compelled, somehow, to stay on the streets for two weeks. >> i walked past people that stayed in some of the places of homelessness, and really almost not even notice them. not considered their plight and what's going on in their life. >> reporter: unrecognized by his new neighbors, the pastor spent his days looking for food and worrying about where he'd sleep at night. he didn't preach. he just listened. what's it like to be homeless? >> i think i began to experience how people ignore others. i became the one ignored. people walk by me like i didn't exist. >> reporter: which for cole was a life changing experience. until then cole perhaps pitied the homeless. but he honestly lacked compassion for them. >> it might be like, man, those people just need to get a job. they need to get themselves out of the hole they dug for themselves. >> reporter: holes he found that were filled with addiction and mental illness, bad breaks and bad decisions. who was he not to help? >> they mattered to god. they mattered to me. now i'm trying to figure out why they didn't matter to me before. >> reporter: the poor are blessed, the bible says. until he lived among them, pastor coal says, he didn't know they would be a blessing to him. harry smith, nbc news, sacramento. and that is our broadcast for this post-thanksgiving friday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. please join us for "nightly news" this weekend. then of course we hope to see you right back here on monday evening. in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night. monday. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. at the end, you would be like, no! >> i'm billy bush. our question that prompted those scandalous reactions from karen. >> i was molested by my female babysitter for four ar

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