>> jay: i want to thank my mitt romney, jay mohr, and of course darius rucker. tomorrow night jane fonda will "jimmy fallon" happening right this morning on "early today," double dip threat. the president and his men warn democrats of more recession if they don't pass his tax cut deal with the republicans. polar sos, an antarctic cruise ship gets a thrashing from 30 foot high waves. and x-factor, a privately developed spacecraft makes history as the first to reach developed spacecraft makes history as the first to reach earth's orbit. 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 wheeling and dealing. last night, house democrats managed to advance a nearly $1.1 trillion proposal to keep the government operating before the current budget expires this month. but lawmakers in both houses still have a lot to deal with >> reporter: lynn, good morning. let's start with the big tax fight. vice president biden told fellow democrats that if they try to change the deal between republicans and president obama, this won't happen. democrats are upset not only on the tax breaks or the wealthy, but corporate tax breaks and renewed estate tax that would now be much more generous. 50 of them have signed a letter opposed to this. a house vote could be next week. there could be a filibuster to

delay that. now to up p ante we understand there will be a big e-mail blast from the white house today. plus, the administration saying if this fails to pass we could slip back into recession. also here on capitol hill, don't ask, don't tell, the senate test vote on that has been delayed over one republican susan collins who says we need to deal with the tax issue first and debate that some more. they're hoping to get her on board. and finally, the house has passed the dream act giving a pact to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants who came to this country before they were 16 years old. it looks like a senate vote may not happen. they may not have the 60 votes to get that passed on the other side of the hill. lynn? >> tracie potts there in washington. thank you. sarah palin, mastercard, swedish prosecutors, what do they all have in common? well, apparently they've all been the target of hackers, making a show of support for the website wikileaks in what's

being called "operation payback." kurt gregory reports. >> reporter: the websites of mastercard and visa came under cyber attack along with pay pal and a swiss bank. the four organizations all stopped processing donations to wikileaks after the united states criticized the website's release of sensitive diplomatic communiques. >> technology allows people to amass enough power that they can go up against a major corporation. >> reporter: the credit card's websites were both inaccessible to online customers for parts of the day. the attackers? activists who call themselves anonymous, essentially flooded the websites with armies of computers, an effort to knock the websites off line. a tweak prompted the on websites calling for hackers to fire their weapons. >> if these hackers are clever, they can't be found.

>> the latest salvo in the cyber war came from outspoken conservative sarah palin who responded to nbc's news site request for attacks on her. palin's e-mail said, quote, no wonder others are keeping quiet about assange's antics. this is what happens when he is exposed and you exercise your first amendment rights and speak up against assange's sick, un-american espionage efforts. the battle that started on the internet over national security secrets is now spreading throughout cyberspace. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. new hampshire police say they may have prevented a suicide by cop by debilitating a man with a stun gun. police say the suspected, impaired driver approached the man in an aggressive manner yelling at them to shoot him. but police stunned him instead preventing a situation they say could have escalated. police in new mexico just released video of a wild chase on halloween. the driver of a brand new camaro

led police on an hour-long high speed chase after refusing to pull over. police made several attempts to blow out the suspect's tires and break out his windows. the man has been charged with dwi and aggravated fleeing. if fll after the flawless launch of the rocket, space x became the first commercial company to re-enter spacecraft from low earth orbit after completing two trips around atlantic. after a flawless launch, the they could be hauling astronauts to the space station in two to three years. and a georgia man created a winter wonderland in his backyard. the full-time plumber used cold water, a high pressure machine, two water guns, some compressed air, and voila, he built a slope. he says he made it for his kids and grandkids, but admits he, too, is a kid at heart. now for a look at your

national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> setting the bar high for all the southerner dads, huh? >> exactly. sounds like something you would do when you were a kid. plotting. >> i used to get an ice rink. he would get the two by fours in the plastic and the winter would freeze and we would have a mini ice rink in the back. >> you could predict when it was going to freeze, couldn't you? you had that gift back then. >> all the ponds are freezing on their own. windchills cold, for almost everywhere in the country. the only areas not below freezing is along the west coast. that's where the warmer air is. ever so slowly that's going to move across the country. we have two storm systems, one is huh here in the gulf of alaska drawing moisture onshore continuously now in the pacific northwest. a weak system that's now coming onshore in california. this is going to be the storm that's going to move across the country. pretty big winter mess over the next couple of days. for now, light rain out there.

it's not that impressive. snow levels are high because of the warmer air that's moved in. this is a little more impressive. stay i have rains through oregon and up interstate 5 from seattle to bellingham. wet ride rain around tahoe and roseburg. temperatures, you know, they're cool for this time of year. we're in the 50s with a cloud cover and the rain. friday forecast, coming up later p. >> thanks, bill. also coming ub, bond yields shoot higher. mcdonald's stocks slide lower and who do you think santa likes better, dogs or cats? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, she's a pop star who is far from conventional, but we'll tell you what katy perry

is going the old-fashioned way. the coming up, the knicks get a friendly bounce. the florida gators are looking for a new head coach and the red sox sign another all-star. you're watchin"early today." t

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. house and senate republicans have blocked a democratic proposal to provide a $250 check to social security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost of living increase. most gop members say the nation couldn't afford the estimated $14 billion cost of the payment. haiti's president is urging calm after violent protests erupted across the country yesterday over claims of a rigged presidential election which goes to a runoff vote next month. thousands of angry demonstrators set barricades and political offices on fire, clashed with

police and u.n. peacekeepers and shut down haiti's only international airport. an antarctic cruise ship is limping back to an argentinean port this morning after slamming into treacherous waves measuring some three stories high. the ship suffered damage in the rough seas yesterday, but fortunately none of the more than 160 people on board were hurt. and scientists in texas say they used stem cell technology to create mice from two fathers. researchers say the breakthrough could help endangered species and help same-sex couples have their own genetic children one day. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,372. the s&p was up 4 points and the nasdaq rose 10. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 53 points while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 79.

money has been moving in massive amounts in the last two days, but it hasn't been on wall street. the president's tax cut deal has absolutely smashed the bond market. for a second straight day, treasury prices tumbled, sending the 10-year treasury note yield to its highest level since june, a huge jump from monday before the deal was announced. investors appear to be convinced we're headed for better than expected growth. the higher treasury rates pushed the dollar up against other currencies, including the yen and the euro. also, the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan rose to 4.66%. not surprisingly, stocks were led by financials, with bank of america jumping almost 4% to lead the dow. on the down side, mcdonald's fell 2% on weaker than expected global sales for november. fortune brands rose 1% after announcing its plans to split in

three. fortune will keep its liquor business led by jim beam bourbon but sell units making titlist golf balls and master locks. on the nasdaq, semi conductors led the way after solid outlook from texas instruments and novellis. the securities exchange commission told congress yesterday regulators are probing whether traders intentionally caused scares to manipulate market prices and volume. the agency also charged a maryland business consultant and his uncle with insider trading saying they used codes from the 1987 movie "wall street" to hide their scheme. and finally, it's official. dogs are santa's favorite. a new poll shows 56% of dog owners say they'll buy their pet a gift this christmas against only 48% of cat owners. well, a fantastic finish in milwaukee. the head gator leaves the swamp and sid the kid continues to

melt the ice in pittsburgh. plus, new york is a basketball town again because the knicks are getting all the right bounces. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. nnchts weather, we've hit the peak. from here, slow arctic weekend. you're watching early today. that's going to go right in your glove. ohhh.

oh. see that? great job. ok, now let's get ready for the ball... here it comes... here you go. good catch. perfect! alright now for the best part. let's see your pour. ohhh...let's get those in the bowl. these are way too good to waste, right? oh, yea. let's go for it... around the bowl and... [ male announcer ] share what you love... with who you love. mmmmm. kellogg's frosted flakes®... they're g-r-r-reat!™ good catch, dad. [ laughs ]

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, turns out it's the boston red sox and not their rivals, the new york yankees, who make the first big name free agent signing in baseball's off season. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. while most people were asleep, the red sox were burning the midnight oil and they did sign highly coveted outfielder carl crawford to a seven-year, $142 million deal late last night. crawford spent the last night seasons with the rays. basketball, the jazz handed the heat last month was not going to happen again. dwyane wade stopped and popped from beyond the arc. he had 28. wade to lebron james started to click and look out, heat won, 111-98. off to cleveland, there are plenty of empty seats. unfortunately the cavs anderson couldn't find one of them.

he saved the ball from going into the crowd and sat on a pair of fans. tough being a cavs fan these days. final minute, the bulls won it, 88-83. that game decided in the final minutes. bucs and pacers down to the final second. tied at 95-95. bucs mounted the ball to andrew who tips it in for the win. he had 17. none bigger than that. bucs won, 97-95. knicks and raptors went down to the wire, tied at 110-110 under 10 seconds to play. raymond threw up a three and talk about your friendly bounces, that's your game winner. knicks won, seven straight. quick final note on college football. forgive me if you've heard this before, florida gator's head coach urban meyer is retiring. he had stress related issues. now calling it quits for good. his last game will be the outback bowl against penn state. one person you can always count on to be there is sydney crosby. penguins captain is as consistent as they come. two points against the maple

leafs. penguins are reaping the benefits, winning 11 straight after a 5-2 win. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. early today sports is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard. keep your edge. a hollywood actress comes clean about entering the country illegally. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, this man had a chance to play for his dream team in the nfl. so why did he turn it down? you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. pacific northwest, another damp day. heavy rain going through on interstate 5 all of the way from central oregon northwards from portland through the puget sound. some of the best weather in the countrys will be found here in arizona and los angeles, san diego. some of the warmest temperatures, too. compared to the rest of the nation, you're about the only ones that will be in the 70s. the northwest, unfortunately you don't get a taste of that. if you're watching us on kc-24 news in fresno, california. see the classic cyst mall film "it's a wonderful life" performed as a live radio play by cal state fresno students at the john wright theater. >> bill, thanks so much. now here's an early look at the morning headlines in

entertainment. beverly hills police believe they have solved the killing of hollywood publicist chason. police now believe chason was gunned down in a robbery gone wrong, shot by the two-time convicted felon who killed himself last week when approached by police investigating the police. actress selma hyak has admitted that she herself began her time in the united states as an illegal immigrant. she said she started out in hollywood saying it was inconceivable to producers that a mexican woman could have a lead role. well, it didn't quite take with eva longoria parker, so we'll see if a name change works with katy perry. she's officially changing her name and branding to that of her husband, russell brand. finally, laugh all you want at jessica simpson while she laughs all the way to the bank. wwd.com reports her shoes, bags,

jeans, perfumes and other simpson branded products have earned a total of $750 million in sales this year. it's estimated simpson herself is worth $100 million. good to be jessica simpson. this comes to us from wxia 11 alive in atlanta, georgia, where one man sacrificed his dream to focus on what's really important. when the super bowl contending new york jets needed to replace an injured player, they called on keith who had been cut months earlier. remarkably, he said no. he stayed home to take care of his parents. it's a tough decision he deals with every time a game is on, but he says it's the right one, sticking by those who never left his side. >> see, lynn, he was only going to be on the practice squad, $5,000 a week guaranteed for five or six weeks. and then he was going to lose his regular job. >> still. still. >> i don't blame him.

i'm lynn berry, and this is n stop of the day today on your nbc station. t

a trip to the dentist is never pleasant. but for kangaroos in israel, it may be life saving. zookeepers are bringing the animals in for a disinfecting toothpaste treatment believed to prevent a deadly gum disease for those in captivity. the kangaroos are subdued and scrubbed down to avoid a dangerous bacteria and caretakers hope other zoos will follow their lead. the festival of lights is definitely living up to its name in france. the four-day spectacle includes 70 colorful displays that

illuminate the city streets. it started with simple candles and it's progressed into high tech laser shows and projectors. even the buildings seem to take on a life of their own which would explain why 3 million visitors are expected. like all technology, there's always an upgrade, even for singing cats. you may remember the jingle cats of 1993 fame with their version of holiday favorites. well, welcome to the 2010 version, "jingle bells 3d." the man behind the paws kicked it up a notch using a team of cameramen and 3d cameras and this time he's using professional cats, which makes me wonder why are there professional cats? >> i guess there could be professional cats, a little cat nip, that's all you need. >> yeah, but it's like, model cats? i don't get it. but it's going to be amusing, i'm sure of that. >> i'll dig into it for you. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in california, authorities will incinerate a so-called bomb

factory belonging to a suspect who allegedly packed his house with explosives, grenades and guns. prosecutors say the only way to safely dispose of the explosives is to burn down the home. in florida, officials are expected to vote on posthumously pardoning doors singer jim morrison for a 1969 indecent exposure conviction. it appears governor charlie crist has the votes to approve the pardon. and tonight, the national christmas tree will be lit. the first family will be on hand along with blues legend bb king and rock band maroon five. 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. msnbc's rachel maddow weighs in on whether the white house has taken its tax cut compromise too far. and hear what johnny depp has to say about his new thriller "the tourist." 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.