this morning on "early today." rain, snow reek havoc for residents in the western part of the country. terror in the schoolyard, a driver plows his car into a group of young students in taiwan. and total eclipse, sky gazers experience a once in a and total eclipse, sky gazers experience a once in a lifetime lunar event. captions paid foby 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 old man winter.

only a day into the new season, but already winter is off to a rough start across much of the nation. including central colorado where up to eight feet of snow is in the forecast. nbc's chris clackum has more. >> reporter: in the water logged west, it's still raining and the mud still sliding. mud covers much of the road in both directions near malibu. >> in a matter of minutes, we were slopping around in water. >> reporter: the worst of the storm hasn't hit yet. 5 to 10 inches of rain is expected by wednesday. residents are resorting to any means to keep the water out. >> it's gotten to the point where pretty much we can't get in and out anymore. >> reporter: in the northwest, the roads have been turned into a skating rink.

it will make its way cross-country by christmas day bringing many on the east coast their first white christmas since 2002. >> it's that time of year. i mean, christmas, there should be a little snow on the ground for christmas. >> reporter: the first snow of the season fell in cape cod, but not as much as is expected to fall this weekend. chris clackem, nbc news. they're trying to drum up enough votes to end debateoff a nuclear arms treaty with russia. tracie potts joins us from washington with those details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. today we're looking to see a key test vote on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty, whether or not they will be able to end debate and move on to a final vote.

this would reduce into you cnuc warheads by 700. the pressure is on the obama administration, all making phone calls here to capitol hill lobbying republicans to vote in favor of ratifying this treaty. the chair of the joint chiefs of staff said that the sooner this treaty is ratified, the better. and now we do see more republican support. scott brown of massachusetts has said he will vote for it. judd gregg has said that he is leaning toward voting for it. their compromise seems to be centered around amending a resolution that would go along with the treaty to address some of republicans' concerns about whether or not the u.s. would be able to develop its missile defense. we could see a final vote on this this week. >> tracy pots in washington. thank you. and now here's a being look at other stories making news early today in america.

in massachusetts, police are looking for the person or persons responsible for stealing some 1,500 gifts intended for needy children from a storage facility. police say the thief or thieves took only the more expensive items valued at more than $15,000. amazingly, just a day later, residents have banded together to donate more toys and over $30,000. an indianapolis man proves its never too late to finish what you started. the 79-year-old graduated college this weekend 55 years after service in the army redirected his life. determined to earn his diploma, he contacted his old school and found out he already earned enough credits to graduate. and in florida, one soldier returned home for the holidays with a surprise for his girlfriend she won't soon forget. the young man professed his love in a crowded airport terminal and then he popped the question. as you can imagine, she said yes. he'll deploy a few weeks after their december 26th wedding and she says she's ready for her role as an army wife.

now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, a lot of folks out there on the west coast want to know when this will end. >> quite an event. this is something to tell their kids about. a very rare storm. these are the 48 hour rainfall totals. up to almost four inches in los angeles. the area in yellow here is a widespread two to three inches in southern california. that's what makes it so significant. the storm is hitting places that don't typically get a lot of wet weather and that will include las vegas who yesterday was under a flash flood warning. so even some of the desert areas are getting the moisture. and you can see it tips this morning. the white is the clouds and the white shows you the plume of moisture and now we have it heading up into northern portions of utah where it's cold enough for a pretty impressive snow event. the high elevations will get crushed. the storm system is also another piece of it off the west coast,

we have to wait up that comes on shore tomorrow until we're all done with all of our wet weather. so let's take a closer view of the radar. the green is lithrough los angeles, focused right over that interstate 5 corridor. that's where we could pick up easily another two, three, maybe even five inches of rain. absolutely incredible. notice we're not too bad up here in the northwest. it's really las vega events or . high temperatures in the 50s and 60s, so it's not that cold. wednesday is the last day of the heavy rain. i'll have that forecast coming up. >> an end in sight. i can hear the collective sigh

of relief. >> until christmas when it may come again. keeping the nets neutral, adobe's stellar numbers. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, does harrison ford have a plan to make sure no one else ever plays the role of indiana jones again? also a buzzer beater in indiana. sid the kid turns 21 and brett farve makes his return. but did it last? 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. according to the "new york times," top u.s. military commanders in afghanistan are pushing for more special operations ground raids into pakistan's tribal areas. the military believes special

ops could capture militants and reap a intelligence windfall. until now, intelligence operations have currently been carried out by drones. the procedure would need to be approved by president obama. capital execution was down this year according to a report by the death penalty information center and the report says part of the shortage of executions is because of lack of the drug available. a car packed with barrels of gasoline drove through the gates of school. four children were hurt. amazingly, their injuries were not life threatening. as for the driver, he was also injured. his motivation is being investigated. media reports say he may have been having family problems.

buckingham palace has announced queen elizabeth's granddaughter is engaged to marry a rugby star. according to the daily now, the daughter of princess ann and 12th in line for the thrown is unlikely to pick a wedding date anywhere near william's. and sky gazers around the world got the chance to see their first total lunar eclipse in over three years. it's the first to coincide with the northern hemisphere's mid winter solstice in almost four centuries. if you missed it, don't worry, next year there will be two lunar eclipses. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,478 after shedding 13 points yesterday. the s&p inched up 3 points. the nasdaq rose 6. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 154 points

while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 354. it is safe to say there are few companies as eager to say good-bye to 2010 as toyota. after recalling some 11 million vehicles this year, transportation safety officials say the world's largest automaker has agreed to pay $32.4 million in fines, the maximum penalty for its unprecedented safety related woes. in two separate investigations, it was found toyota mishandled steering recalls in several of its models. canada's bank is reportedly in a deal to buy the lending arm of chrysler for more than $6 billion. the fcc appears to be close to passing new network neutrality rules designed to keep phone and

cable providers from abusing their control over internet access. even if the controversial vote passes in washington today, it could face an uphill battle of appeals in the months to come. american express was the biggest loser on the dow on monday falling 3.5% in the wake of an analyst downgrade brought on by the fed's proposed cap on merchant fees. boeing was another drag on the dow, despite vowing to ramp up production of its 777 aircraft. amazon enjoyed a boost thanks to a jump in online shopping this holiday season. keep an eye on adobe systems. after the bell, they exceeded expectations. shares shot up in late trades. and finally, just in time for christmas, prince william and kate middleton's official royal wedding china is on sale in england. all proceeds from the officially approved cup, plate and pill box will go towards the royal collection trust which maintains the queen's art collection.

orlando's new guys produce the same old results and there's no stopping sid the kid. plus, brett farve made a surprise start last night in minnesota, but he probably wishes he stayed on the bench. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. two more days left of heavy rain on the west coast and then that storm moves across the country. your tuesday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." what can i get you?

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, minnesota witnessed its first outdoor pro football game in 29 years last night. and probably wished they hadn't. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. brett farve surprised everyone and made the start against the bears. his night was over after another big hit. to minnesota in subzero temperatures, farve looking good in the beginning connecting with percy harvin from 23 yards out. 7-0, vikings, but it doesn't last. second quarter, farve sacked hard remaining down for a couple of minutes. jay cutler finds devin hester in

the end zone. bears up, 17-7 at the half. hester was just warming up. takes the punt in the third quarter and returns it 64 yards for the score. it's his 14th return for a touchdown in his career. that's a new nfl record. bears wrap up the nfc north with a 40-14 win. basketball, the last time the heat lost a game was three weeks ago in dallas, and now the mavericks have done it again. dirk nowitzki leading the way. dallas snaps the heat's 12-game winning streak with a 98-96 win. gilbert arenas, just not enough. josh smith to joe johnson counted. hawks win, 91-81. pacers and hornets, indy down one. mike is there to tip in the rebound at the buzzer. pacers win, 94-93. sydney crosby had a goal to

bring his scoring streak to 21 games. penguins win big. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. the improbable happy ending in shaniya twain's love life. plus, this woman is so into christmas spirit, her neighbors called the cops on her. we'll explain. you're watching "early today."

another soggy day in southern portions of california. many people haven't seen a rainy period like this in a long time. we have two more days of it, today and tomorrow. just some showers in san francisco. heavy rain l.a. down to san diego. even vegas will pick up rain. a mess around salt lake city. and then tomorrow, we could even see the heart of the storm coming in, maybe thunderstorms. so we'll end this big rain event with a bang in southern california. we'll dry it out thursday. if you're watching us in medford, see a world class of traditional dance in a celtic christmas. and that's your pacific event of the day. >> bill, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

if there is another indiana jones film and harrison ford has his way, it's reported that ford told george lucas and steven spielberg that jones should die in the next film but not before passing on his hat to his son. comedian tracy morgan was diagnosed with cancer this month. month. he will miss at least two "30 rock" episodes. vince vaughn and his wife welcomed a baby girl into their household this weekend. according to england's daily mail, the former "american idol" judge is about to get a knighthood from the queen. and finally, you definitely can't make this up. a few years ago, shaniya twain's best friend cheated with her husband. now shaniya has confirmed she's

engaged to her now ex best friend's ex-husband. and this comes to us from wnbc 4 new york where nearby union beach, new jersey, one singing santa is stirring everybody in the neighborhood, even the mouse. neighbors say the life size mechanical santa drives them crazy with his loud singing. the owner was slapped with a noise citation after one owner called the cops. he's regretful and he's offered to pay the fine as long as santa shuts up. but the owner says santa is not going anywhere. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

if you think your neighborhood lights are impressive, you have some competition. a spectacular light show decorated this cathedral in france as part of the town's holiday celebration. an array of colors were projected on to the old facade giving the structure new life. the impressive show is expected to draw about 100,000 visitors to the area this holiday season. taking a polar plunge may sound painful, that is, unless, you're a penguin. then it's just exercise. at this zoo in japan, they are let out of their pen for much needed workouts in the snow. it's part of the zoo's workout regimen for the season. one dog in germany welcomes more than a bundle of joy.

she gave birth to 17 of them, nine male, eight female. thankfully, all the puppies survived, which is unusual for a litter of this size. the new mom is doing great. but she needs extra help caring for the newborns because each requires five feedings a day. >> poor mommy. so as a new papa, you probably understand. >> oh, no, i could not understand that. >> what it must be like. >> no. that would be a lot of kicks in the bed to go feed the kid or go take care of the kid. >> you think you had it rough, bill? >> you noticed the dad was nowhere to be seen. >> exactly. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the census bureau will release data from the 2010 census. the tally, which includes a count of the nation's population could have political ramifications because the figures will be used to reapportion seats in the house of representatives based on any population changes.

a somber anniversary on this day in 1988, pan am flight 103 exploded over lockerbie, scotland. 270 people died in the bombing. and on a more celebratory note, on this day in 1620, the pilgrims aboard the mayflower went ashore at present day plymouth, massachusetts. 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. get the latest forecast for rain-soaked southern california and when the heavy downpour may finally let up. and funny man jack black talks to matt lauer about his new film, "gulliver travels." 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

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