[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," defending the deal. president obama comes under fire from his own party after his tax cut compromise with republicans. remembering elizabeth edwards. the wife of former presidential candidate john edwards loses a six-year battle with breast cancer. and wrong turn. a spectacular crash at the site of extreme motor racing in chile. 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 a tough sell. vice president joe biden heads to capitol hill today to try and convince rebellious democrats to support president obama's tax compromise with republicans. this comes a day after the president himself launched a forceful defense of his concessions he made, including extending tax cuts to the nation's highest earners. nbc's steve handelsman has the report. >> reporter: in trouble with democrats over his compromise on taxes, president obama took his defense public. >> a long political fight that carried over into next year might have been good politics but it would be a bad deal for the economy, and it would be a bad deal for the american people. >> reporter: he got what democrats want, a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits and a one year, one-third cut in social security taxes to help working class families, but mr. obama gave republicans what they want on

taxes. no hikes on the top bracket to be sure the rest, 98% of taxpayers, keep their cut. bipartisanship, says the president. >> i am happy to be tested over the next several months about our ability to negotiate with republicans. >> reporter: but liberals hate the deal. >> that really works out well for the 2%-er, the millionaire, but it doesn't work out for working families at all. >> house leaders aren't buying in. speaker pelosi, it would fail to create jobs. house democratic leader hoyer, a lot of us have real concerns. vice president biden went to the hill to get democrats behind the obama compromise that the senate looks likely to pass. >> i think the vast majority of the members of the republicans of the congress of the u.s. senate feel that this is a step in the right direction. >> president obama says that the wrong step, but a step he now supports.

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. wikileaks founder julian assange remains behind bars this morning after being denied bail for being what an english judge called a flight risk. assange says he would fight extradition to sweden where he faces sex charges. meanwhile, australian officials are now pointing the finger at the u.s., not assange, for wikileaks massive release of secret diplomatic cables saying those who originally leaked the documents are the ones legally liable. the former australian prime minister kevin rud who was described in the cables as a control freak raised questions about the, quote, adequacy of u.s. security. and despite the attention of assange, the cables keep coming, this time about the controversial release of the lockerbie bomber. they show england feared enormous trade repercussions with libya if al megrahi died in prison.

what is described as thuggish threats by libyan officials, he was released on the ground of passionate grounds after his doctors gave him three months to live. over a year later, the only person convicted in the 1988 plane bombing is still alive today. fortitude, resilience and grace. those are some of the qualities being used to describe elizabeth edwards who died yesterday at age 61 after a long battle with breast cancer. the estranged wife of former democratic presidential candidate john edwards became a compelling figure in her own right, writing two best-selling books and advocating for health care reform. throughout her life, she suffered public hardships, losing her 16-year-old son in a car accident and seeing her marriage crumble after her husband fathered a child with another woman. in a statement, president obama said the nation benefited from the voice edwards gave to the less fortune. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today

in america. in florida, one man had the daunting task of climbing 300 feet up a flag pole atop a hotel. the flag had become tangled and it's his job to fix it. well, he got it free and it slowly fell to the ground. his ride was probably not at leisurely. a water main break in north texas sent water gushing high into the air. a work crew was installing utility poles when they accidently ruptured a water line. the gusher, which was about 75 feet high, slowed traffic and completely flooded the area. and residents in upstate new york spent much of the day digging out from under four feet of snow fed by lake erie. poor visibility and high winds forced a ban on driving in the city of randolph, and forecasters say the grisly blast isn't over yet. they are expecting more heavy snowfall through friday. so be glad you're on the west

coast. now for a look at your national regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with the forecast. good morning. >> earlier in the season, the cascades and sierra mountains with the heavy snow. now the lake effects. quite a start to winter. i can definitely tell you that. this morning, windchill value in orlando, florida, is 26. so that's an indication of, this is just -- looks like a january or february map. we're still only in the beginning of december. scratching their heads wondering what's the rest of this winter going to be like? the eastern half of country or most of the country is very cold, this big ocean storm has poked warmer pacific air over the west. unfortunately coming with it is rainy conditions. a lot of rain out there this morning. especially up in the pacific northwest. portland has heavy rain at this time. further up the coast, bellingham, heavy rain. only the highest elevation, picking up snow with this system. chegg out this gloomy forecast into the upcoming week for

seattle. chance of rain on and off throughout the next five day and little in the way sunshine. temperatures are not bad. kind of damp from san francisco northward. carryyakima, washington, mixtur of rain and snow. 34 degrees for you. i think i gave away the extended forecast, lynn. in case anyone wants it, i'll bring it back, anyway. >> please, stick around. we would love it. all right, bill. thanks. citigroup soars, talbot dies and your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. who do you think was the year's highest paid reality tv star? coming up, a perfect ten for the mavericks, the yankees sign

their captain and soccer's version of a strikeout. 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 -- protests and gunfire broke out in haiti's capital last night after an announcement that the country's inconclusive presidential election would go a runoff vote. the current president's hand picked successor and the former first lady will now face off in a deciding second round in january. u.s. diplomats question whether the results are consistent with, quote, the role of the haitian people. u.s. officials say the obama administration has abandon attempts to persuade israel to settlement construction in the west bank. that development is a major blow to middle east peace talks and one of the president's top foreign policy initiatives. in a significant setback to

japan's space program, scientists say a spacecraft sent on a two-year mission to venus failed to enter orbit yesterday, and may have flown past the planet. the $300 million probe was designed to monitor volcanic activity and provide information on venus' climate. . and a driver practicing for a notoriously dangerous off road race in chili sufficiee suffere call. the driver was fortunately not seriously hurt. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day -- the dow opens at 11,359 after shedding three points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction, and the nasdaq edged up 3 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning -- in tokyo, the nikkei gained 91 points, but

in hong kong, the hang seng fell 333. wall street's enthusiasm over the tax cut deal ran wild tuesday morning, but by the afternoon, the markets had gone flat. the s&p hit a two-year mid session high as traders celebrated the tax compromise. but that rally fizzled after bond prices fell sharply and the ten-year treasury note yield hit its highest level since june. also stressing investors news that the securities and exchange commission issued more than a dozen subpoenas investigating insider wall street trading, even though volume was heavy. more than 11 billion shares moved tuesday, many in citigroup which rose almost 4% after the government sold its last shares. 3m fell 3% after issuing a sales outlook that was lower than expected. natural gas distributor nikkor climbed over 4% after agreeing to be bought by rival agl resources for $2.4 billion.

talbot's was down a whopping 22% after issuing a disappointing look for the holiday. the "new york times" rose 4% after reporting expense cuts and that print ad losses were easing. elsewhere, oil jumped above $90 a barrel tuesday for the first time in more than two years. overseas, european finance ministers did not rule out in increasing their bailout tuesday. a correction to our report regarding the swiss bank settling for half a billion dollars representing madoff victims. the bank that settled was ubp, not ubs. finally, the fbi has issued a cyber crime alert for a new barbie doll equipped with a tiny video camera in her chest warning the toy could be misused to make child porn. kansas has double trouble for memphis.

dallas looks like a dynasty and a super blooper from soccer. plus, last night's battle between top ten teams wasn't much of a battle at all. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. cold conditions continue in the east and a storm system for the west coast. your wednesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." - thank you.

mmmmmm. ( shattering, thud ) mmmmmm. ( crash, shattering ) it's good! ( shattering ) when you add velveeta and rotel tomatoes... and green chilis to chicken and pasta, it's so good... - mmmmmm. - it'll blow 'em away. ( crashing ) man, that's good. man, that's good. velveeta and rotel. man, that's good.

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports -- michigan state's head basketball coach didn't mince words when it came to last night's game against syracuse. syracuse played like men and his guys played like sissies. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. college basketball took center stage at madison square garden with four top 20 teams going at it in new york city. we'll start with two unbeatens, to number 14 memphis. the jayhawks has something no other teams have. twins. marcus and marquise lawrence dominating inside the second half. the duo combined for 30 points. kansas ran away and won it, they won it 81-88. syracuse and michigan, the orange men moved the ball to perfection. couldn't get over the hump. ticktacktoe. syracuse remains unbeaten and

one it 72-58. after rumors, the yankees have re-signed derek jeter. the bobcats spoil george carlos' bid to win his 1,000th game. it was lawless who threw it down. the nuggets had a chance. chauncey billups for the tie. it won't go. carl will have to wait another day. they play the celts tonight. bobcats won it. dirk nowitzki has averaged 25 points a game and he scored 25 against the warriors. mavs won it, 105-100. finally, if you think you had a bad day yesterday, could you have been this guy. champion's league from the netherlands. all he had to do was calmly kick it away and completely missed. the ball rolled right into the net. all the time in the world and he simply missed. it doesn't get much easier than

that -- or maybe it does. he called it the biggest blunder of his career, and who would argue? that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> plus we keep showing it in repeat in slow mo. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. how many people do you know that would buy a lottery ticket, see if they won the drawing and then give it all away to charity? you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday morning. raef rain moving up interstate 5. expect a wet day in many areas of the pacific northwest. even san francisco and northern california you'll need the umbrella. dry and beautiful, some of the best weather in the nation found from l.a. to san diego into phoenix. thursday's forecast, keeping it nice in the desert southwest and start to clear out in san francisco, but the moisture continues with a chance of showers on and off, thursday, friday, right into the weekend in the northwest. if you're watching us on kget, nbc 17 bakersfield, california, tour the world at christmas. the nutcracker, gingerbread houses and nativity items from over 40 countries at "christmas around the world 2010" at the timeless design center. that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. i think it's fun to see the

different customs. some do the stockings, stuffing shoes under the bed. >> bill, thank you. yeah. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. johnny depp is looking back to his roots, but he may not want to hold his breath. depp tells mtv news he would love to do a cameo for the film "21 jump street" but producers haven't asked him yet. in today's list news, kim kardashian is reality tv's highest paid star at $6 million a year as reported by "the daily beast." lawrence conrad, former star of both "laguna beach" and "the hills" has her own show in the works and is second with $5 million. "real life" star bethenny frankel who has books, and other items, came in third with $4 million. frankel made another list.

"fitness" magazine's best celeb bodies in 2010. lady gaga was awarded the title best pop body. kelly osbourne tied with jennifer hudson for best slim down and courteney cox tied with kathy griffin for best age defiers. and baltimore, maryland, one man won big and decided to give a lot of it away. marco won $250,000 in ta lottery but is not keeping it all for himself. he's actually handing a portion of his winnings over to an organization he rund, affecting the lives of children throughout the world providing dental and medical attention to needy kids. now many more kids will get the care and attention they need and all it took was $1. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

when it comes to holiday decorations, this puts clark griswold to shame. it took 800 lights and three months to re-create what's being called the world's largest christmas tree. the design is strategically placed along a mountainside in italy where folks use solar panels for power to make the tree greener than usual. for children in the czech republic, jolly old st. nick isn't quite so jolly. on st. nicholas day, children come face-to-face with a costumed st. nick and his devilish friends who question whether they've been naughty or nice.

unlike santa, these characters read a list of wrongdoings out loud. and by the looks of it, the kids find the tradition less than amusing. it is for a good cause. you can't go wrong with a adorable pandas, but look closely. these are costumed caretakers in china nursing a pair of baby pandas. this isn't just for the theater of it. they're trying to avoid human contact to increase the babies' survival rate when they're released back into the wild. but i've got to say, they should go into the market for halloween costumes. those are pretty good. >> not bad at all. i mean, imagine you get to handle a tiny panda bear. that's cute. >> and you're looking at the scary face of a polyester panda. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. involving credit card companies hiking interest rates. the justices will be deciding whether credit card companies must noi card holders that the

rates will increase following next payments. also in washington, the city's special committee on aging holds a hearing entitled until there's a cure. how to help alzheimer's patient it's now. according to the association, over 5 million americans have the disease. a somber anniversary. 30 years ago today, john lennon was shot outside the dakota building in new york by mark chapman. 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 -- a look back at the life and legacy of elizabeth edwards. and with the wedding of prince william and kate middleton just months away, why american, so obsessed with england's royal family. 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