"jimmy fallon" happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- face-to-face. president obama set to have his first big meeting with republicans ahead of capitol hill's power shift. damage control. washington scrambles to deal with the leak of hundreds of thousands of secret documents. and picasso's stash. how a retired electrician claims he ended up with hundreds of never-before-seen wor by the master. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pick time zone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with meeting in the

middle. for the first time since the gop's midterm election victory, president obama will sit down with congressional leaders from both parties this morning in hopes of finding common ground on several political sticking points. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. for democrats, for republicans, president obama and staff today talking about whether or not they can get the s.t.a.r.t. treaty ratified, reducing nuclear arms with russia before the end of the year also the big issue, extending the bush tax cuts for the wealthy, for everyone. temporary or permanent? both sides will have to budge on their deeply held position, say the president. democrats will call for a vote this week, but just on the middle-class extension. all this after a day president obama announced the federal pay freeze for 2 million federal workers. not the military, though. he says it will save $28 billion over the next five years but

republicans want a deeper cut. they want a hiring freeze as well. we learned from the congress many budget office that t.a.r.p., the wall street bailout, that $700 billion is not going to end up costing taxpayers nearly that much. more like $25 billion, because the wall street firms are paying it back. lynn? >> good thing there's. tracie potts in washington. thank you. the u.s. government is launching a criminal investigation into the whistleblower website wikileaks after its release of more than a quarter million sensitive state documents. this comes as the white house orders government agencies to impose new security safeguards making it harder for any one person to download secret files. incomes's kristen dahlgren has the latest on efforts to stem the diplomatic damage. >> reporter: after hours on the phone with world leaders, secretary of state hillary clinton in front of the cameras. >> i am confident that the partnerships and relationships

that we have built in this administration will withstand this challenge. >> reporter: but they will also have to withstand embarrassment. the documents released contains unflattering descriptions of other world leaders. italy calls vain, france, thick skinned and -- >> in my conversations one of my counterparts said to me, don't worry about it. you should see what we say about you. >> reporter: the documents detail how clinton and predecessor condoleezza rice come up with passwords. officials say this puts american allies and those under cover at danger. >> to the extent we can find anybody involved in the breaking of american law and who has put at risk the assets and people that i have described, they will be held responsible. >> reporter: wikileaks founder in hiding and speaking via videophone from a conference phone in jordan was defiant.

>> that is a highly and unusual concerning cue from the obama administration into a regime that doesn't believe in the freedom of press. >> reporter: the whistle-blowing website promising more documents as the government begins its review of how agencies share sensitive information. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, washington. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- an arizona detention officer is on paid leave and another charged with aggravated assault against inmates in a psychiatric ward. surveillance video shows the arresting officer with his feet on the neck of a restrained inmate. soon after, the other officer forcibly pushes the inmate's head. the first officer is seen, again, punching the inmate at least four times. he is also accused of hitting and possibly injuring another inmate. in kansas, a major fire

gutted the milburn country and golf club yesterday. fire crews could not save the building founded back in 1917. the historic club has been a local venue for u.s. open qualifiers. no word yet on what caused the fire. in colorado, a mountain lion and her two cubs took up residence in a woman's backyard for seven days. the lions played around for the most part, even got curiously close, making the mother uncomfortable at one point. wildlife officials say they were more than likely in search of food. finally, a solar powered boat in an expedition around the world. the yacht runs entirely on solar energy. while it does cut the cost of gas, living a luxuriously green life will set you back $17.5 million. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with

the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> lynn that boat wouldn't do well in the pacific northwest. >> choppy throughout? >> just cloudy. they need the sun. sitting in port for a while. big storm system moving through the pacific northwest. as you head out for morning around errands for routines, starting to spread into idaho. moisture coming off the pick. a very mois system going into a very cold air mass. a recipe for interior snow. not just the cascades but areas from spokane and portions of western, eastern washington state. now, the storm's kicking through today, exiting tomorrow. about a half inch to an inch of rain by the time it's said in portland. a rainy dar fou's. from yakama to spokane, they could end up with 6 to 9 inches of snow by the time it's said and done. winter storm warnings in pink, olympics, cascades, areas of northern idaho, too.

widespread, 3 to 6 with special area, higher elevations mostly, up to a foot of snow. that's the northwest from arizona to california, everything's cool and chilly but it's dry. that's a high of 63. chilly weather continues to cover the western half of the nation. lynn, wednesday's forecast coming up later. >> all right, bill. thanks. also coming up, wall street worries about europe. holiday figures sparkle and the burger made with what? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus a big shift this year when it comes to who hosts the oscars. 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 -- there is no word yet on the condition of a wisconsin high school student who police say shot himself after holding a teacher and nearly two dozen other students hostage yesterday. after a five-hour standoff, all the hostages were freed unharmed. a somali-born teenager accused of trying to bomb a tree lighting ceremony in portland, oregon has pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. lawyers for mohamed osman mohamud suggested officials may have entrapped his client, a possibility which u.s. attorney general eric holder has specifically discounted. a retired french electrician has shocked the art world coming forward with more than 270 never-before-seen works by pablo picasso.

the electrician who worked for picasso says the paintings were a gift. however, picasso's son disputes that, all but specifically alleging theft, and filed suit to gain possession of the works. the electrician is being questioned by police. and a rare 14 carat diamond nicknamed the perfect pink has sold at a hong kong auction for more than $23 million, making it the most expensive jewel ever sold in asia. experts say it is very unusual to find pink diamonds with such an intention color that are over 10 carats. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day -- the dow opens at 11,052 after falling 39 points yesterday. the s&p shed a point. the nasdaq dropped 9. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei sank 188 points while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 158. losses on wall street over

european debt worries were kept in check monday thanks to a late rally in energy and bank stocks. while the european union came up with a loan package for ireland, investors worry they'll have trouble handling a wider crisis with spain and portugal. the volatility index rose 3%. and may affect stocks today, the european union is launching a formal antitrust probe into google's online search practices. the probe following a complaint from other search providers google put them in a disadvantage in both its paid and unpaid search results. more good retail news. according to one survey, the number of shoppers in stores over the long thanksgiving weekend rose almost 9% over last year. and according to ibm's tracking service, as early as yesterday afternoon, online sales for cyber monday were running 15% ahead of last year.

it's expected sales for the day could top $1 billion. holiday shipping optimism helps fedex which added almost 5%. banks stock jumped with little exposure to europe's problem and thought they'd be able to take advantage, while fargo, bank of america and jpmorgan all rose. a note of caution when it comes to bank stocks. wikileaks' founder julian assange tells forbes magazine early next year a fresh mega leak will target a major u.s. bank. finally, mcdonald's has its mcrib, but the french fast food chain quick has its supreme -- for three days the chain offers a burger with the normally expensive and very fattening duck delicacy topped with relish and lettuce for just a little over six bucks. the 49ers continue their resurgence and the nfl lays down the law for fighting. plus, miami finally showed a

little fight of its own as things got heated last night in south beach. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. in weather, continuing to track the storm in the pacific northwest. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." ah, this is just what the eight layers needed.

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is "early today." and in sports, since losing their first five games to opened year, the san francisco 49ers have turned their season completely around. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning to you. the 49ers and cardinals are two of the worst teams in the nfl. but believe it or not, one of them could make the playoffs. the niners took a win in arizona. cardinals fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and that set this up. troy smith to michael crabtree. the very next play, the touchdown made it 7-0. brian westbrook up the middle for the score. they had 261 total yards on the ground. 49ers won it 27-6. throwing punches sunday. yesterday the nfl hit them where it counts. in the wallet. the league fined both players $25,000 but did not defend them after their scrap.

speaking of scraps, the wizard and heat got into a scuffle. howard came in and shoved armstrong from behind. they were both sent to an early shower. to the game -- lebron james may be feuding with his coach, but it's not affecting his play. he scored 30. the heat won it. 105-94. to oklahoma city, long alley-oop to kevin durant. 11 assists. fast forward to the fourth quarter. westbrook started a fate break with a steal. russell had five steals, but saved his best for last. scored 12 of his 25 late in the game. thunder beat the hornets, 95-89. finally a classic floemt the world go-kart championships. daniel morad crossed the finish line and tried to keep it together. keep it? oh, boy. he lost it. lost control while celebrating on his victory lap. fortunately he was okay except for a bruised ego. the worst thing that can happen to a man, premature celebration. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin.

the kardashians want out. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, every boy's dream, at some point, of being a fireman. we'll introduce you to one little guy who gave up the contents of his piggy bank to help firefighters in need. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. big storm system. a lot of moisture moving into

the pacific northwest. rain at lower elevations. once again, cities okay, plenty of snow at higher elevations and interior sections of the west. boise itself looks like mostly snow. maybe a little rain mixed in. high of 35 today. your wednesday forecast, the storm begins to move out. we clear it out in the northwest. still cool, though, through much of southwestern portions of california. if you're watching on krnv reno, nevada, black friday at the mall, it wasn't your thing, visit a smaller venuepick up hand-made gifts at the artists co-op gallery. that's your pacific event of date. lynn? >> bill, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment -- the kardashian sisters have finally found something they can say no to. their attorneys are seeking to cut ties with pre-paid debit cards that feature their name and likeness after coming under attack for the cards' high fees.

connecticut attorney general richard blumenthal is investigating and calls the cards' fees "predatory." florida released video from earlier this month of a wobbly and confused david cassidy failing a field sobriety test. in it, the former partridge family singer tells the trooper he has a wandering eye condition, but other coordinating tests convince the trooper cassidy was impaired. finally, in a move seen as appealing to younger viewers, anne hathaway and james franco have been proven to host february's party, the oscar telecast. in fact, this year, both cohosts are getting possible oscar buzz themselves. see how that turns out. this comes to us from charleston, west virginia, where one little firefighter in waiting is doing his part and inspiring others to follow his

lead. 5-year-old joshua donated his life savings, all $45.85, to help rebuild a local firehouse recently destroyed in a fire. and the honorary junior firefighter hopes this fund-raiser will help put a further dent in the $1 million tab. other areas have helped raise more than $5,000. a lot of kids can learn from little joshua there. good for him. well, i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

one baby at the san diego zoo is getting lots of attention. the two-week-old cheetah cub spends most of the day in an incubator to build up strength from its tiny 1.5 pound frame. abandoned by its mom, the little guy is thriving with about 22 hours of sleep a day after being awakened to feed. a barge filled with shipping containers made an unexpected pit stop. the 140-foot barge got stuck on the shore in florida. the barge had broken loose from a tugboat while in transit over the weekend and settled on a popular beach area. according to the coast guard, its owners are making arrangements to have it towed.

serving hard time in ukraine doesn't seem so hard, especially when a group of inmates are treated to weekly dance lessons. the tough guys initially resisted the offer, thinking it wasn't manly enough. but after the first week, the class doubled in size and now they're planning a big performance in the spring. see, bill? i told you, you shouldn't be embarrassed about your ballroom dancing classes. >> as long as you wear the black tank tops and the ripped leotard, then you're fine. >> you're fine, bill. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, the pentagon will release its long-awaited report on how members of the military feel about the repeal of a controversial don't ask, don't tell policy regarding gay service members. also in the nation's capital, as part of our series, watching for the release of the report building a graduation,

which details the struggle of america's schools to help more high schoolers graduate. and an a-list lineup of entertainers will be rocking around the christmas tree tonight at the annual lighting of the rockefeller christmas tree right here on your nbc station at 8:00 eastern time. 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. damagematic damage. details on the fallout in washington after the massive wikileaks release. and tangled web. spider-man, turn off the dark, had its opening preview weekend, and it seems to hate sour note. 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. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com