and, of course, kylie minogue. tomorrow night, denzel washington will be here. "jimmy fallon" coming up next. thanks. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," obama's shellacking. the president and the republican poised to be house speaker square off over how to run the nation. hot pursuit, a robbery suspect leads police in florida on a dangerous chase through two counties. and on the lamb, scores of sheep make a run for it after escaping from a new york sheep make a run for it after escaping from a new york slaughter house. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with election

fallout. democrats are picking up the pieces in the wake of tuesday's elections after seeing several colleagues run out of office by republicans, including the leading lady in the house, nancy pelosi. meanwhile, president obama preparing to depart tomorrow with a trip to asia met with the media and signaled his willingness to compromise with the gop. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: michael bennet was finally declared the winner in colorado's senate contest. democrats held that seat. a win for barack obama after a midterm he called a shellacking, democrats losing the house. >> it feels bad. i've got to do a better job. >> reporter: the president said he's done the right things for the economy, but many voters hadn't felt the effect. >> i think i have got to take direct responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress as we need to make. >> reporter: but the soon to be

new house speaker, republican john boehner, says voters told the president to change course on taxes, spending, and the debt. >> it's pretty clear that the obama/pelosi agenda is being rejected by the american people. >> nancy pelosi's laid low, aides say she is considering her future. republicans made her a target and stripped the speakership from the woman once called the most powerful in washington. >> no regrets because we believe we did the right thing and we worked very hard in our campaigns to convey that to the american people. >> president obama says he's ready to compromise on global warming. and he made no mention of his pre-election promise to hike taxes on the rich. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. meanwhile, there could by more devastation on the horizon for earthquake ravaged haiti. the impoverished nation, still recovering from a deadly cholera outbreak last month, is now bracing for tropical storm tomas. tomas battered st. lucia over

the weekend. at least 14 people were reportedly killed as a result of the powerful storm, then hurricane force wind and flooding rain. nbc's mark potter reports from the haitian capital of port-au-prince. >> reporter: with an estimated 1.3 million haitians now living under tarps and tents after the earthquake, the fact is very few of these people have a place to go to get away from the storm. this is where they'll likely ride it out. red cross officials and other relief agencies say their biggest concern here is rain. even if they don't get a hurricane, a tropical storm, a depression, a major rain storm here can cause catastrophic problems as happened in the past. earlier this summer, there was a 30-minute storm here in the city. it flooded a lot of areas and a number of people were killed. and there's the concern about the spread of cholera, a deadly problem that could be made worse by torrential rains. >> it seems so cruel after everything haiti has been through this year on, that they

should be facing this. >> even if they don't get a hurricane that people have talked about or a storm, they could still have major problems here in haiti at a time when they certainly don't need those problems after the earthquake. back to you. >> certainly not. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in florida, a robbery suspect led police on a dangerous high speed chase, swerving in and out of traffic, hitting several cars along the way. the 19-year-old driver and his alleged accomplices, all under the age of 18, stole the truck after pulling a knife on the owner. the chase ended when police surrounded the suspect after cornering the truck. police in central kentucky are looking for a man who broke into a pharmacy by slithering through a one-foot wide vent through the ceiling. the suspect made off with a bag of pills, but left evidence behind, a half empty soda and a lighter. in puerto rico, friends and fans honored three-time world surfing champion andy iron, who was found dead in a dallas hotel room tuesday. despite conflicting reports, no

cause of death has been determined by the dallas medical examiner. and in new york, a flock of sheep attempted the great escape. police and plant workers at a slaughterhouse spend the night rounding up the flock of over 100 that broke out. no one is sure how the animals got out, but the owner says he'll be checking the latches on all of his fences. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. the owner rounded them back up and they -- >> especially after they pull the wool over the security guard and got out. >> my goodness. you just don't think that bill karins can come up with anything better and then he can. >> he can. he's kind of pathetic like that. let's talk about the rain out there this morning, gin. we have a big wet weather maker up and down the eastern seaboard. and then the rest of the country, gorgeous. clear skies and beautiful weather from the mid of the

country all of the way to the west coast. yesterday we had a record high in many spots of california. and it's not going to be quite as warm today. but this cold front is going to linger offshore for another day or two. that means we're going to continue with really nice weather. huge area of high pressure. in this time of year, high pressure can be chilly but this is a summer like high providing us with down-sloping winds over much of california. yesterday, 97 in l.a. one of the highest temperatures you've ever seen in the month of november. 92 in phoenix. 86 in vegas. even san francisco, right up the west coast, was much warmer than it should be. seatt seattle, 74 this time of year. somber note, tomas is going to be heading today, all the rain for the system for haiti should be a hurricane between cuba and haiti sometime in the middle of the night tonight. and then by the time we get to friday night and friday afternoon, the storm begins to pull through the bahamas. haiti is going to get a lot of rain. maybe as much as ten inches of rain. that's a bad story and bad news

for the earthquake ravaged country. now, as far as your forecast goes, sunshine just about everywhere and mild temperatures continue. smiles on everyone's face. that's cloudy sikies. it's not raining, so appreciate it. it looks like we're going to hold to the nice forecast through friday, lynn. may be issues this weekend. details coming up. >> bill, thanks so much. also coming up, the fed finally acts, auto sales perk up, and beauty in the eye of the bidder. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, is charlie sheen taking steps to end his wild manways? the giants parade through san francisco. randy moss is on the move, and kevin garnett said what? you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a qantas super jumbo jet with 459 people on board made an emergency landing in singapore today after one of its four engines failed over western indonesia, showering down large chunks of metal. the airline says the plane landed safely, although it is suspending all flights of its six airbus a-380 jetliners for precautionary safety checks. gas and molten lava are shooting out of indonesia's volatile volcano today in an explosion scientists say is three times more powerful than last week's blast. the eruptions have killed six people, bringing the death toll over the past nine days to 44. more than 75,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.

federal authorities in san francisco have made one of the largest ever marijuana busts, confiscating 20 tons of pot that was smuggled through an elaborate underground tunnel. a tunnel roughly the size of six football fields connected a california warehouse with one in mexico where local authorities seized another four tons of pot yesterday. "forbes" magazine has chosen hu jintao as the world's most powerful man that is the ahead of the leader of the free world, president obama, who slipped to number two after occupying the top spot last year. and a southern california district will hold a special election after voters re-elected a state senator who passed away last month. jenny orapaza died of complications of a blood clot two weeks before the election, so the democrat incumbent's name remained on the ballot. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,215 after adding 26 points yesterday.

the s&p edged up 4 points. the nasdaq rose 6. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei climbed 198 points while in hong kong, the heng sang gained 390. after months of anticipation and speculation, wall street finally found out how much the fed spend on the economy and how long it will last. and after all that build-up, unimpressed investors sent stocks lower after the central bank announced it will buy up $600 billion in treasury bonds spread out in monthly purchases through the middle of next year. in an op-ed piece in this morning's "washington post," fed chief ben bernanke downplayed widespread inflation fears tied to the plan known as quantitative easing calling them, quote, overstated. markets recovered later in the day, thanks in part to upbeat auto sales. gm and chrysler both beat the street with their reports while ford hit a fresh 52-week high on better than expected sales.

canada's potashcorp has rejected a $39 billion takeover bid in a move that makes a merger between the world's largest miner and the world's largest fertilizer producer increasingly unlikely. whole foods reported strong quarterly earnings and upped its physical forecast. the shares were sent 8% higher. more upbeat earnings rolled in after the bell from qualcomm. shares of the chipmaker shot up 7%. newscorp also beat the street's quarterly estimate thanks to a rebound in ad sales. its shares were up 2% in late trade. finally, a life-size bronze of a woman's back has been sold for over $48 million in a new york city auction, a record price for the french impressionist's work. coming up, another chance for randy moss, a magical half in orlando, and the giants love a parade. plus, after making news off the court, boston celtics star kevin garnett let his play do the

talking on the court. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. it's a soggy morning up and down the east coast. on the west coast, the heat remains. your thursday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports, he's running out of chances but troubled wide receiver randy moss mass managed to get at least one more. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it takes take randy moss long to find a new team after two days of being released by the vikings, the tennessee titans picked up the wide receiver. he's expected to join the team sunday and he'll play next week against the dolphins. merriman claimed off waivers by the buffalo bills. his first game will likely be next week against the lions. the celtics' kevin garnett may be the biggest trash talker in the league, but according to piston's charlie villanueva, garnett took it a step too far. garnett called him a cancer patient, which is nothing to joke about. villanueva suffers from a medical condition that results in hair loss. he tweeted, saying garnett called him a cancer to his team. garnett got tied up late in the fourth.

after the dunk, they got tied up. both received technicals. paul pierce had 28. he became just the third celt to reach the 20,000 mark. 105-102. 78 points in the first half, that's more than some teams score in an entire game. magic remained perfect at home with a 128-86 win. finally, to the victors go the spoils. the giants celebrated their world series win with a ticker tape parade. hundreds of thousands lined the streets of downtown san francisco. the players rode trolley cars through city hall. the only thing weirder than brian wilson's dyed black beard was watching awed write huff do this, dug deep, i mean really deep into his pants for the rally thong that he wore throughout the playoffs. thankfully he wasn't still wearing it. that was something no one wanted to see. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin.

what made rhianna miss her best friend's wedding? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, they're literally going head over heels to help out a friend in need. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. record heat yesterday. very warm once again. southern california, 93 in

downtown l.a. today. even warmer than it will be in phoenix, arizona, at 88. mild conditions up the west coast. a little cooler in seattle. enjoy today's sunshine because i don't have a lot for you from here on out. starting on friday, a chance of showers and wet weather. i think saturday has rain in the forecast, the pacific northwest and even on sunday, too. that's the bad news in the forecast. but today and tomorrow look pretty nice in much of the west. if you're watching us on ksnv minus 3, las vegas, nevada. release your inner book room, book signing, food and various performances at the vegas valley book festival at the historic fifth street school. that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. >> bill, thanks. now here is a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. while calling reports of his recent wild week in new york overblown and overplayed, charlie sheen is taking steps to get his life under control. sheen has hired a sober coach to help keep him on the straight and narrow.

the move comes as "life and style" magazine printed photos of sheen from a reported drunken party in belize earlier this month that took place less than a week after he left court-ordered rehab. elsewhere, why did rihanna miss her best friend's katy perry's wedding in india? the magazine reports the real reason is because rihanna had a big argument with her boyfriend, los angeles dodgers outfielder, matt kemp. finally, modern medicine wasn't the secret behind mariah carey pregnancy. in "us weekly" her husband quoted it as acupuncture treatment that helped her out with all over body stress relief. if you see us in the newsroom with needles in our face -- >> i thought you were going to sigh sober coaches. >> that's the friend -- no. it's because we're trying to

destress. let's get this back on track, why don't we, bill? this comes to us from wvla, nb 33 l.a. in baton rouge, louisiana. one young gymnast is facing the competition of her life. doctors diagnosed brenna with an aggressive cancer that will make them amputate her leg in order for her to survive. but to the champion gymnast it's just another competition that she is determined to win and friends helped raise over $5700 at a cartwheel-a-thon, money that will help with the bills and help her with a prosthetic game so she can get back in the game. that's what friends are for. >> i've never heard of that before, cartwheel-a-thon. >> me, too. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

zookeepers in australia are happy to say, it's a girl! the zoo has welcomed its first female elephant calf. the breeding program had only produced two other elephants, both male, which makes the cute newborn all the more special. the yet to be named bundle of joy weighed in at 264 pounds, heavier than both her brothers when they were born. and she's pretty cute. it's not your everyday piece of art, but it's for sale, anyway. a german anatomist is taking his controversial body parts exhibit

to the real market. his works are made of real body parts that have been preserved. those willing to spend $97,000 on a piece of a body must qualify and prove that it will be used for research purposes. soccer's newest star has very big shoes to fill, or rather tentacles to fill. germany's late world cup oracle octopus paul has been replaced by paul ii. the first paul passed away before he was able to train his successor in predicting the outcome of world cup games. it's still unclear whether paul ii has those psychic skills, the soccer community will surely be watching. we will, too. he is sure to make an appearance on "early today." we're just waiting. >> there's a way to go before the next world cup. there's always the european championships. >> he'll make his appearance, i have no doubt. >> germany, they'll be happy. >> it was very convenient, wasn't it? time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in california, there will be a

hearing in the case of phillip and nancy garrido, the couple accused of kidnapping and holding hostage for 18 years. a judge will consider a motion by the media to unseal documents in the case. one of the chilean miners who was trapped underground visits new york. edison pena, nicknamed the runner, because every day while waiting his rescue ran back and forth in the mine, will run in this weekend's new york city marathon. and congratulations to former first lady laura bush. it is her 64th birthday. and all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. an exclusive one-on-one interview with write-in candidate senator lisa murkowski on her potentially bid in alaska. and details on how one u.s. city is cracking down on toys in happy meals. now keep it on this channel

for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com to help keep your family healthy, especially during cold and flu season. and lysol disinfectant spray is approved to kill more germs than any other brand, even h1n1. learn more at lysol.com