A guide to the 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Meet the “Witches of Bucha” from Ukraine: the all-female firefighting teams that protect the airspace against Russian drones. And what’s turning heads so far for the 2025 Oscars.

Here’s what you need to know today.

 What you need to know about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is about spending time with loved ones, eating good food and watching lots of TV, starting with the 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

NBC’s TODAY show stars Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker will host this year’s show, which features 22 large balloons, 34 fantastic floats, seven-wheeled “balloonicles” and more. In between, you can expect dozens of artists, including Jennifer Hudson, T-Pain, Idina Menzel, The Temptations and more. And don’t forget the 11 brass bands and 28 clown crews.

The parade will be broadcast on NBC and simulcast on Peacock from 8:30 a.m. to noon ET, and will replay at 2 p.m. We’ll also be following the action, sharing big moments and photos along the way.

Follow our live blog for the latter. (CHECK LINK — NOT YET SCHEDULED)

Once the parade is over, there won’t be much of a “leg” to be seen. The 23rd annual National Dog Show presented by Purina will feature more than 205 different breeds competing for the prestigious title of “Best in Show.” Here’s how to watch the showscheduled for 12 noon.

And don’t forget all the sports. The Chicago Bears will take on the Detroit Lions at 12:30 PM as Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looks to extend his hot streak. The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys face off at 4:30 p.m. in a game our sportscaster called “the kind of matchup only a mother could love.” And during prime time the Miami Dolphins face a big test against the Green Bay Packers.

Read more about the holiday matches.

More about Thanksgiving:

• A spell of winter weather is expected over the holidays, which is likely to impact flights and busy roads. Here’s what you need to know.
• In an interview with Lester Holt, NASA astronaut Suni Williams shared her Thanksgiving plans in space – and said she is not “stranded.”
• Have you not seen the Northern Lights? Parts of the US may catch a glimpse of it on Thanksgiving Friday. You can spot them here.
• Looking for last-minute cooking ideas? Swap in these Korean side dishes for your typical Thanksgiving sides.
• Five Latino Families Share How They Prepare for Thanksgiving – with a twist.

RFK Jr. compared vaccinating children to sexual abuse by the Catholic Church

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has a dim view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which falls under HHS. In 2019, he called the federal agency’s vaccine division a fascist enterprise and accused it of knowingly hurting children. He also compared what he saw as a widespread conspiracy to cover up the harm caused by the childhood vaccination program to covering up child sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

Kennedy made these and other comments — most of which were previously unreported — during years of appearances at AutismOne, a parent-run autism conference. The comments, which date back to 2013, include claims that the CDC is a “cesspool of corruption” filled with profiteers, harming children in ways he also likened to “Nazi death camps.”

Brandy Zadrozny reports on the extreme language and metaphors Kennedy used when talking about vaccines, that offer new insight into what Kennedy might do to the CDC if the Senate confirms him, from disbanding panels that study vaccine safety to misrepresenting government data in ways that reduce public trust or cause manufacturers to skip vaccines withdraw from the market.

Read more:

• Several Trump appointees were subdued to carry out bomb threats and “swatting” attacks.
• Once Trump takes the oath of office next month, US-China relations will be in order as one of the greatest foreign policy challenges for the new administration.
• John Phelan, a businessman with no military experience, was appointed Secretary of the Navy by Trump.
• Trump chose retired General Keith Kellogg as the president’s assistant special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian ‘Witches of Bucha’ volunteer to shoot down Russian drones

A volunteer civilian defense force in Ukraine, made up of 90% women, has been tasked with helping defend the country against an ongoing bombardment from Russian missiles and drones. They call themselves the ‘Witches of Bucha’.

The group is already going out on patrol, but like many others in Ukraine, they expect the fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces to be suspended soon, even if not for good.

Many of the women come from the city of Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, where some of the worst atrocities took place in the early days of the war, including the execution of civilians in the streets. A woman from the volunteer group told NBC News that her husband and her brother both died in the war, and the group gives her an outlet to channel her anger.

As Ukraine’s military struggles with battlefield setbacks and declining morale, the specter of a peace deal promised by newly elected President Donald Trump looms has added a new layer of uncertainty.

Do you hear that? It’s the buzz of early Oscars buzz

The presidential election may be over, but campaign season is just beginning in Hollywood. The 97th annual Academy Awards are scheduled for March 2, which means a slew of publicists and film industry executives will mobilize to drum up support from the nearly 10,000 members who vote for the Oscars. (Read the “For Your Consideration” ads all over Los Angeles).

This year, the best picture race lacks a clear frontrunner — unlike the previous two Oscar cycles, when “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Oppenheimer” delivered clear and early advantages. A handful of films have entered the 2025 Oscars conversation, leaving a “wide open field” where things could change in the coming months, according to an awards prediction expert. Maybe “Anora,” the Sean Baker-directed film about a Brooklyn stripper who marries the spoiled heir of a Russian oligarch, goes to the extreme. Or the sci-fi blockbuster ‘Dune: Part Two’ could build on the success of the first part of the series, which won six awards in 2022.

Look at some of the top contenders and why there is so much fuss before the first ballots are cast.

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Tomorrow is Black Friday, but there are already tons of sales going on at your favorite retailers. NBC Select editors rounded up the best early Black Friday deals to shop:

 Register with De Selection newsletter for practical product reviews, expert shopping tips and a weekly overview of the best offers and sales.

Read all about it

• Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attempt to get out of jail before the holidays was denied by a New York judge.
• Wendy Williams is ‘permanently disabled’ as a result of early dementia, according to her court-appointed guardian.
• The US Federal Trade Commission has a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft.
• Democratically controlled cities are finalizing plans to combat mass deportation.

Personnel choice: A $6 million apology

Palm Springs is one of Los Angeles’ weekend playgrounds, a desert oasis packed with mid-century architecture, golf courses, quirky shops and hip restaurants. But to make room for these attractions, the city government over a period of several years in the late 1950s directed the bulldozing and burning of the only neighborhood where black people were allowed to live. Lucille McFarland, now 101 years old, lived in the area called Section 14. She had moved west from Mississippi thinking the racial terror that characterized her upbringing would be less of a constant threat. Her son remembers that “traumatizing” moment when their family was told they had the weekend to pack up and move.

This is the remarkable story of a California city’s attack on its black residents and how it tried to make amends earlier this month.

— Michelle Garcia, NBC BLK Editor-in-Chief

Thanks for reading the Morning Review. Today’s newsletter has been put together for you by Elizabeth Both.