tonight, giving thanks and taking heat. the president draws controversy this thanksgiving by authorizing troops along the u.s. mexico border to use deadly force to stop migrants, if necessary. >> if they have to, they can use force. >> the question tonight, is it legal? holiday , more than a million people turn out to celebrate the macy's thanksgiving day parade despite record cold temperatures. how long will the bitter blast last? shoppers hit the stores and web to find n eep discounts what's expected to be the biggest retail season ever. what should you buy now? a missionary is killed. the keys to living

longer, how leaders in a texas city are using simple secrets to decrease obesity and improve everyone's health. and more than a meal. >> at the end, it's es america the country it is. >> celebrity chefs and hundredslunteers spending this thanksgiving giving to those that lost everything. ouncer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and happy thanksgiving. i'm kate snow in fle er tonight. president trump began this holiday thanking service members, but then weighed in on a nu er of contentious issues offering another sharp critique of the american judicial system and contradicting the cia on the death of the journalist jamal khashoggi and sealing the border and defending his decision to allow u.s. troops to use lethal force. hans nicls is on the boarder. good evening. >> reporter:ere in texas the job of the

u.s. army and border patrolay have gotten more complicated after president donald trumpth atened to close the entire u.s. mexico border if the arrival of those migrants leads to disorder. nearly 6,0ops received new orders from their commander in chief today. >> if they have to, they are going to use lethal force. >> reporter: the official white house order that may be challengcourt says deadly force could only be used to ensure the protection of federal personnel. the president also threatened a total shutwn of the u.s. mexico border if the mexican government fails to secure its side. >> we'll close entry into the country for a period of time until we get it under control. the whole border. >> reporter: mr. trump praising the troops g pending thanksgiv reinforcing the southern border against what he called bad people. >> you could call it >> reporter: for the

troops in texas, trump's comments may mean another holiday m home. way f >> as long as the mission takes, that's how long wll be here. >> reporter: the focus was to celebrate a holiday with their brothers and sisters in arms. >> i get to spend thanksgiving with my family here. >> reporter: today's dinner, the culinary operation that began before dawn. deep frying 800 pounds of turkey and preparing 3,000 servings of roastud ey, 300 pounds of mashed potatoes. >> the home cooked meal. >> reporter: and plenty of dessert. >> sweet potato pie, apple pie, pumpkin e. >> reporter: with two thanksgiving traditions in tactni leaders serving the troops they command and a friendly game offo ball at camp donna, texas. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker with the president that gavehanks to members of the military today but things quickly turned political as mr. trump escalated his extraordinary war of words with the

ie judiciary and justice of the supreme court john roberts. >> i like him and respect t i think we have to use some common sense. >> reporter: iall started when the president slammed san francisco's ninth circuit judge as an obama judge this week s for halting attempts to crack down on those seeking asylum prompting roberts to counter telling the associed press, we do not have obama judges or trump judges, bush judges or clinton judges. president trump then fired back in a series of tweets including this morning. justice roberts can say what ws. our justice la enforcement should be ntble to do their job and versy over saudi arabia and contradicting his cia that suggested the saudi crown prince ordered the killing. the president ignoring mounting bipartisan calls to hold the

saudis responsible and to punish them. >> i hate the crimi te what's done. i hate the coverup and i'll tell you this, the crown prince hates it more than i do. >> reporter: and a twist from capitol hill tonight. s house republicve subpoenaed former fbi director james comey and former attorney general loretta lynch to testify about their actions during the 2016 campaign, but the move may be re political with democrats set to take control of the house in the new year, kate? >> kristen welker, thank you. here in new york, the biggest thanksgiving day parade in the country got hit by a bitter blast of arctic air. it was the coldest parade day ever and if the icy blast wasn't enough, some computers had a dealith a rather unusual problem on one amtrak train.

nbc's ron allen has those details. >> reporter: on this frigid thanksgiving, the show still went on. >> the best parade in the world. we don't feel co it's so much fun. >> reporter: more than a million ndled up braving the record cold. >> how is it? >> fantastic. i'm so excited to lead santa. this is my tenth year in the parade. ten years, double digits. ♪ >> reporter: but pop star rita was pannedcu d of poorly lip syncing her hit and john legend defending aher, fun fact we have to lip sync, ma 's apologizing and smaller parades across the country in vermont, a turkey trot in the snow. in the season of giving, door to door deliveries in houston. >> you'r12-pounder turkey. >> reporter: turkey talk in chicago more than 30 years butter

ball helping prepare the bird just phone call away. two cars separated bound for new york n laight, no ries but a long delay. here in new york, despite e blustery wind and bitter cold, another successful celebration ringing in the holiday season ron allen, nbc news, new york. let's turn to dylan eyer tracking the holiday weather for us tonight. good evening. g, >> good evenate. we got some brutally cold temperatures ho working in for early morning shoppers on friday. we're looking at a windchill of nine in new york city. it will feel like two below up in portland, maine and rodchester three below. through the afternoon high temperatures will stay below freezing. it gets soggy through the middle of the country and mountain snow on friday. saturday pushes eastward a little bit across the rockies and plains and gets ve sloppy through parts of the appalachians where we could see a wintery mix and sunday, a huge travel

day. we could see whiteout conditions with wind and snow possible across the midwest. it will be tricky getting back home from ?wherever you came from, >> thank you to another thanksgiving tradition, shopping. reilers expecting a record holiday season and of those shopping this weekend, e in five say they are buying today. filling their carts online and flooding the stores ahead of the black friday frenzy. nbc's jo ling kent is in the thick of it all. >> reporter: tonight, the black friday frenzy is already in over drive. 164 million americans are expected to flood stores and websites this holid weekend. as of 10:00 this thanksgiving morning, consumers spent $406 million online, up a striking 23% from last year. the best deals tonight and tomorrow will be

on tvs and electronics. target offering $600 off a vizio 65 inch tv. best buy knocking $400 off an lg 70 inch and walmart advertising 00 off the playstation four and spiderman d amazon offering $200 off the samsung smart phone. the deep discounts come as iconic retailers including sears and kmart shuttered hundreds of stores this year o partly becau online shopping but amazon is having oblems of its own alerting some shoppers the website exposed personal e-mail dresses. the company didn't say how many were affected saying the issue has been fixed for many americans, the convenience is worth the risk. >> the benefit of using possible for a consumer, it's always with them and always on. >> reporter: it woul't be black friday eve without lines of shoppers. lot of people out here out since 5:00 a.m. tget the best tv deals proving that if you really want the deepest discounts, you still got to show up

in person. kate? >> all right. fao, thank you. thly of an american man is in mourning after he was killed by a tribe. the 26-year-old was warned against the journey so why did he do it? >> reporter: an who loved the onary outdoors, john allen chow often documented adventures on instagram but these photos would be his last. authorities say the 26-year-s killed possibly by bow and rirrow on what police descd as a misplaced adventure in a highly respected area to a remote island east of india. he was trying to meet and convert an endangered tribe photographed in 2004 that's been isolated for centuries t and rejects cont to the ciders that might expose them to disease. he attempted to reach them by boat in the days before his death but was shot at with an arrow that pierced

teis waterproof bible. he wou guys might think i'm crazy and all this but i think it's worthwhile to declare jesus to the people. god, i don't want to die. in a statement shared on his instagram. chow's family wrote words cannot express the sadness we experienced about th report. he had nothing but love for the people. we forgive those reportedly responsible for his death. >> this was a er das trip for the missionary and tribe. >> it was incredibly dangerous for him but even more dangerous for the people. they are the most ol isated tribe on earth. >> tonight, authorities are working to figure out how to recover cw's mains without further disturbing the tribe. tonight, we're remembering the oldest pearl harbor survivor served in 1941 two years agen chavez was 104 we watched him train in the g to build the strength to travel to hawaii to

mark the 75th anniversary of pearl harbor. at chavez was btling pneumonia and died in the age of 106.y at on this day when so many gather togeth, a story about reconciliation. th 50 years later bombing of a church in birmingham, alabama, the kids that lived through that awful day are coming together as adults. here is nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: the baptist church bombing r in birmingham, f little girls were killed and dale long oas there. >> aa sudden, the mood started to shake and lights went out. l ked at each other and ran. we didn't know anything else to do. >> reporter: he and jefferson drew friends of the girls were 11 and 12 at the time. >> it was an atrocity beyond belief, it was

common place at the time. we were coping with racial terrism 24/7. >> reporter: now, 50 years later, the children of segregated birmingham who scattered across the wiountry returned to connec each other. >> your mama taught me a lot, too. >> reporter: something that was strictly forbidden back then. did you socialize with anybody black? >> no, no, the laws were against it. >> reporter: he grew up when jim crow law kept the races separated. rc they were en by his father, a bus driver. >> my father, when he retired from gray hound was very much a racist. nd> i see it in your faceyes. it's painful. >> it is painful, yeah. >> reporter: a chance . to overcome the pa >> make something of yourselves and do something for somebody else. eporter: tearing up to tell their stories. >> if we can do it in birmingham, alabama, you ought to be able e to do it anywh the face of the earth.

>> reporter: a powerful example for students and the rest of the coury. hema ellis, nbc news, alabama. >> powerful story. still ahead, the keys to living longed one city's example help your community? giving thanks and giving back to those who lost so much. in severe cases, pneumococcal pneumonia can put you in the hospital. it can hit quickly, without warning, making you miss out on what matters most. a single dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. don't get prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine.

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tonight on this thanksgiving, we bring tonight on this thanksgiving, we bring you a story about a city ranked as one of the unhealthiest in the country when leaders in fort worth, texas vowed to make a change, many had doubts but they got results and their example be a prescription for other cities. here is cynthia mcfadden. >> when we rode into fort worth, betsey price was on a mission to rescue her beef obsessed, obesity plagued city. >> you guys are on life support. you're not good. >> reporter: back then they were one of america's lest heahy cities with soaring health care costs,

stressing commuters and over weight school kids but the health conscious mayor found inspiration thousands of miles away in remote places where people live longer and healthier than here else on earth. national geographic fellow discovered the blue zones a decade ago. he took us to one of them a couple of years ago. >> the lgest lived man on the planet lived right around here. >> reporter: people here are always onhe move, often uphills, eat a moly plant-based diet and wash it down with a glass of wine. family ties are important, too. common threads throughout most blue zones. d >> what you learneis there is no silver bullet. >> it's 20 or 30 little things, but they are little things you can transport from places and bring them home and have them work for you. >> reporter: back in fort worth, the mayor asked to help her do just that. convincing big steak houses to put healthier choices on

the menu. >> mushroom is completely different. >> acorn squash. >> reporter: having police hand out fresh vegetables and fruit instead of tickets and encouraging everyone, including sunday morning church goers to exercise. >> i don't recognize that girl, anymore. >> reporter: latosha s.nspired her to shed 70 pou >> my golfs to change little things to feel better and i woke up and the weight was gone. >> reporter: she's not alone. fort worth's child obesity rates dropped 6%. in fact, a gallop poll of america's healthy els cities are changing. >> we jumped up 15 slots in four years. that's a long way. >> reporter: they say everytng is bigger in texas, well, it's the little things imported from places that are making fort worth healthy. cynthia mcfadden, nbc

news, fort worth. texas. up next, best in show, can you guess who it is? we're back in a moment with the nation's top dog and using humor on the highway to get drivers to slow down. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment.

upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

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time for another thanksgiving day tradition, watchg our favorite k 9 contest. of all the adorable dogs, whisky the whip it won best in show. the 3-year-old hound it beat crowd fav including a pincher, spaniel and a wire fox terrier. for the more than 50 million of us on the road this holiday we end, there will be plenty of signs reminding us to buckle up or slow down.re gey for corker messages, kristen dahlgren has the story. >> reporter: in iowa it's a struggle to get people to go d

gobble, gobble, go easy on the throttle. dr texting and iving is clever said no one ever. >> we make the fun, humorous, some people say snarky >> reporter: a chuckle gets drivers to buckle up. >> we had to change our way of thinking. >> reporter: messages play with puns, pop swift and classic cartoon characters. >> we're that little angle that's on the side of ur shoulder reminding you don't text and drive. >> reporter: they are catching on from arizona to massachusetts where drivers are told use yah blinker. >> i love messages we in usther states. >> reporter: and driving suggests, too. >> we love to create a teetter relationship. >> rep using humor to keep highways safe and that's joke. kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> love that last one.

when we come back, feeding the soul, and lifting the spirits of ata community devaed by disaster this thanksgiving. every day, people are fighting type 2 diabetes with food, family and farxiga, the pill that starts with "f". farxiga, along with diet and exercise, helps lower aic in adults with type 2 diabetes, it's one pill a day. and although it's not a weight-loss drug, it may help you lose weight. do not take if allergic to farxiga. if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking 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, serious urinary tract infections, low blood sugar and kidney problems. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have signs of ketoacidosis which is serious and may lead to death.

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sh from the of the devastating wildfires in california, today there was light. nkeople found a way to give tfor what they have as volunteers did their part to nourish the survivors. steve patterson has the inspiring america report. >> reporter: in a place where it seems there is nothing left to e thankful for, today, this is hope in the heart of this

community. 800 volunteering serving those who lost everything. >> we had it allpl anned out. >> what better place used to come where people really need soup. >> celebrity chef jose and his nonprofit kitchen have cooked for disaster viabilities around the globe and ing souls is the best way to lift spirits. >> all these people you see here wouldn't be anywhere else. it makes america the country it is. we the people together. >> reporter: including chef guy who makes sure the turkey is sliced to perfection. >> thanksgiving is giving thanks we're fortunate to be in the situation to help tether people. >> rep patty rough is grateful to see her family smile. >> it really warms our hearts that, you know, we had a place to go together since we lost our house in paradise. >> reporter: to the chefs, food is love is thanksgiving, there is plenty to go around. >> happy thanksgiving. >> reporter: steve patterson, nbc news, chicco, california. nightly news" on this thanksgiving.

i'm kate snow. lester will be back with you tomorrow. for all of us at n news, happy thanksgiving. have a great night. f us at nbc news, happy thanksgiving. have a great night.

♪ lights, camera, access "access hollywood" -- ooh. i spit. did you see the spit? "access hollywood" starts now. >>eah, we s the spit. >> we saw it. >> that's a little will throwback for you