jimmy fallon happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- on the road again. president obama begins a three-day bus tour, bashing republicans over stalling his jobs bill. high sign. surprising, new numbers of americans support the legalization of marijuana. and designated driver? a michigan man is in hot water after handing his keys over to a michigan man is in hot water after handing his keys over to his 9-year-old daughter. 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. and today we begin with turning up the heat. president obama is using his campaign-style bus tour to take jabs at republicans standing in the way of his jobs proposal. not surprisingly, the gop is firing back. for more on that we go to nbc's tracie potts in washington for us. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the big black buss that the president is traveling in, two of them that cost taxpayers over $2 million. republicans are questioning whether that's a good use of taxpayer money. president obama visits a community college in north carolina and a virginia high school today. >> pass this bill. we need to pass this bill. >> reporter: he's pitching $35 billion to save nearly 300,000 jobs -- teachers, police, firefighters, first responders, part of his bigger jobs bill the

senate rejected. >> we're going to break up my jobs bill. maybe they just couldn't understand the whole thing all at once. >> reporter: republicans are livid about this campaign-style tour. >> he's traveling around on a canadian bus, touting american jobs. is that appropriate on the taxpayers' dime, since it is clearly campaigning? >> we're not playing politics. we're not focused on the election 13 months from now, but we're focused on what can help the economy right now. >> reporter: analysts say it's no coincidence he's traveling through two battleground states. >> his real challenge, though, is winning back those moderate swing voters in north carolina and virginia. >> reporter: but will this tour through the south make a difference in washington?

>> tracie, thank you. an elaborate prisoner swap involving the exchange of hundreds of palestinian prisoners for one israeli soldier is now under way in the middle east this morning. the israeli soldier who's been held captive since 2006 was released into the custody of israeli officials in egypt and he is now in israel awaiting a flight taking him to meet his family. meanwhile, buses of palestinian prisoners are moving from israel through egypt and into the gaza strip. after the exchange is complete, 477 palestinians held by israel will have been freed today, while another 550 will be released in two months. >> secretary of state, hillary clinton, has made an unannounced visit to tripoli this morning.

new aid including medical care and assistance to secure weaponry that many feel could fall into the hands of terrorists. last month scotland asked libya's new authorities to help track down those responsible for the 1988 bombing of panam 103, killing 273 people, most of them americans. a jaw dropping moment was all caught on tape after a drunken father had his 9-year-old daughter drive him to a michigan gas station. he boasted about his daughter's driving abilities before they left. a 911 call led to arrest.

commercial space flights are expected to begin after final testing runs are complete in late 2012. high-speed winds churned up a reminder of the dust bowl days in the lone star state. the dust storm rolled through lubbock, reducing visibility to zero in some parts and causing major property damage there. meanwhile, a blast of winter hits part of colorado. leaving approximately 8 inches of snow on the ground. the storm left icy and snow packed roads, especially over mountain passes. and finally, salem police were recently called to break up a small fray between zombies and witches. the feud stems from a battle brewing between two competing haunted houses in the same strip mall. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's your meteorologist bill

karins with your forecast. >> zombies are already and dead and witches? >> doesn't seem like the perfect fit, but salem, massachusetts? a haunted house could fit anywhere. >> let's talk about the weather on the west coast. dry and warm. yesterday was 97, hot in phoenix. beautiful weather from la to san diego to phoenix. and the weather pattern has not changed much. it is still pretty mild. really typical for a clear night in the fall. we're rally going to talk about no clouds. maybe a little bit of clouds right along the california coast. that will change as we go throughout tomorrow. the high pressure slides away

and we will watch the onshore flow continuing. today is a day if you want to bundle it up and appreciate it. it's going to be a great summer, beginning of fall, instead of the end of fall. one little lone spot has a chance of rain. >> thank you so much. also coming up, europe sinks stocks again. a blackberry peace offering. and the app that nailed a cheating wife. your early-morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, hollywood cat fight. a war of words between two women who apparently have been feuding for quite some time. coming up, a pro bowl wide

receiver is traded, the jets get a much-needed lift, and a victory that was 15 years in the making. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. a sobering milestone. the world population is estimated to reach 7 billion by the end of this month. sub issaharan nations continue drive the rise. according to a new gallup poll, a record high of 50% of americans now support legalizing marijuana use. that's up from 46% last year. support is highest among liberals and adults under 30. texas law enforcement officials say several mexican

drug cartels are luring american children as young as 11 to work in their smuggling operations. a texas public safety official says the gangs have named these children the expendables. the lapd is red-faced after announcing 30 guns have been stolen from a s.w.a.t. training center. officials admit the training weapons, including 21 submachine guns, can be converted back to lethal use. and according to nbc affiliate wwbt in richmond, virginia, a truck filled with $200,000 worth of equipment for the president, including his podium, was stolen ahead of a campaign-style stop in virginia. the vehicle was later recovered. it's not clear if anything was taken, but officials say no classified information was inside. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,397 after dropping 247 points yesterday.

the s&p was down 23 points. the nasdaq fell 52. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dipped 137 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng plunged 797. when european leaders promised to solve the region's debt crisis in less than a month, it sounded too good to be true. and it turns out, it was. the painful reality is that the broad rescue plan will not come this week and will likely take a while longer hit markets hard yesterday. lackluster earnings also helped stock see their worst day in two weeks. the fallout could continue today after a rare revenue miss from ibm, which dragged its shares lower in late trade. after the bell, analysts expect apple's earnings to shine on news it sold more than 4 million new iphones in three days. wells fargo lost 8% after its disappointing report, first one in two years. meanwhile, traders sold off citigroup, despite its impressive report.

a prominent analyst brewed up trouble for green mountain coffee, calling the stock overhyped. shares fell 10%. kinder morgan's $21 million el paso energy buyout sent both companies higher. el paso gained 24%. american airlines' failure to strike a new deal with its pilots sent its shares skidding 6%. retailer lowe's is cutting 20 of its weakest stores, cutting nearly 2,000 jobs. a troubling, new report shows five of the nation's top six credit card issuers say late payments are on the rise. blackberry maker research in motion's offer to give people $100 in free apps as a peace offering for last week's outage has gotten a mostly sour reception. finally, a new york city man is divorcing his wife after apple's new gps-based find my friend app showed she was lying about where she was and led him to her secret meeting with another man. coming up, another nfl

receiver is traded. on the ice, winnipeg rejoices. plus, the lackluster new york jets' offense suddenly comes alive, running over anything in their way. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. well, if you're on the east coast, be prepared for wet weather the next two days. pretty big storm system heading your way. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, after three ugly road losses and rumors of team friction, last night home-cooked dolphin was just what the new york jets needed. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the new york jets desperately needed a win and the dolphins were up to the task. the dolphins have not won all year and it wasn't going to happen last night. matt moore looking for brandon marshall, but instead, he found darrelle revis, first of two interceptions. revis took it up the middle, end zone to end zone, 100-yard pick six. that touchdown tied a franchise record. jets defense allowed just two field goals all night. we'll move to the fourth and mark sanchez feeling the

pressure. slings it out to santonio holmes. picked up a block and cruised 38 yards down the sideline. jets running away with it, up 24-6. so, you think it's easy being an nfl official? when was the last time had you a 230-pounder run over you at work? shawn greene took out referee fred brian. fortunately, he popped right back up. in fact, he was chuckling about it afterwards. the jets win a laugher, 24-6. one last nfl note. broncos traded brandon lloyd to the rams for a sixth round pick. lloyd expected to play sunday against the cowboys. the nfl trade deadline, today. hockey, the winnipeg jets picked up their first franchise win and kyle wellwood gave the fans reason to cheer. just eight seconds into the game, that goal nearly blew the roof off the building and the jets were on top 1-0 over the penguins. after a 15-year absence, the winnipeg jets get their first win, 2-1. now to tampa bay, florida. bragging rights on the line between the panthers and the lightning. chris versteg scored his first goal of the year to give them the lead. they win 6-4. finally, the avalanche are the surprise team of the young season, picked up another win

with an overtime win over the maple leafs. david jones scored the game-winner. colorado a perfect 5-0 on the road after a 3-2 win. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. what susan sarandon says that has national organizations calling her dumb and arrogant. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, all right, we haven't even carved the thanksgiving turkey yet, so it's way too early for tinsle and mistletoe, right? we'll tell you why one oklahoma family gets a pass. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this tuesday. morning. medford looks grade, northern california mid 80s. a little cooler in san franci o francisco. everyone looks ideal today. as we go through tomorrow, one spot we introduce more rain chances in seseattle. if you are watching us in los angeles, california, the united states pariots and founders in ventura, california. that's your pacific event of the day.

now here's an early look at your entertainment headlines. susan sarandon has never been shy about her opinions, but she's taking extreme heat over comments she made last weekend. in an interview, she twice referred to pope benedict xvi as a nazi. while the pope did grow up in nazi germany, he said he was registered against his will in the hitler youth and had no choice but to serve in the german infantry. sarandon has drawn heavy condemnation from both catholic groups and the antidefamation league. elsewhere, steven seagal is now an official texas border sheriff. a state official insists the post has nothing to do with the reality show "steven seagal: law man." apparently for a long time, christina aguilera, seen here last weekend at michael jackson's tribute concert, has been taking shots at kelly osbourne over her weight. well, now that osbourne has slimmed down, she's dishing it back, saying about aguilera, "she called me fat for years. i was never that fat."

ladies, ladies. bigger newses. a reality show? he didn't even need to package it. well, this comes to us from kjrh 2 news works for you in tulsa, oklahoma, where in nearby broken arrow, one family was determined to celebrate christmas together in october. just days before a seven-month deployment to afghanistan, jared's family surprised him with a christmas celebration send-off with all the trimmings. the family decked out their home inside and out, even placing gifts under the tree, all for the marine who won't be home for the holidays, won't miss a thing. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

usually, safety is no laughing matter, but in venezuela, it kind of is. fed up with reckless drivers and hasty pedestrians, one mayor put mimes at a crossing to silently scold traffic violators. the mimes dressed as clowns jokingly mocked violators, shaming them into obeying the rules. the stunt is part of an effort to promote better manners. one way of doing it. well, there were heated games over a board game in poland. players at the world scrabble championship clearly take the game seriously. when the letter "g" disappeared from the board, one competitor demanded that his opponent be strip-searched for the missing

tile. officials did not comply. while the opponent won that game by one point, neither man -- >> he can keep that "g". >> -- won the top prize. depends on where it was. well, mom always said clear your plate, but one restaurant in saudi arabia takes it one step further. to cut food waste, it has begun charging a tax to those with left-overs. proceeds go to charities to famine-stricken areas, such as somalia. some diners are happy to pay since it's for a good cause. in fact, the restaurant sales have actually increased. i'm not surprised about that. i would pay a little more if i knew it was going to a good cause. >> but that doesn't help the whole obesity epidemic problem we have. >> well, that's a good point. >> if you're forced to finish your food. >> hopefully, they're not super-sized plates. it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. nba team owners and players are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator, hoping to resolve the

issues that led to the owners' lockout. they'll use the same mediator who tried to resolve the nfl's labor dispute months before it eventually ended. chelsea clinton will kick off the george washington university's phones for hope campaign. a project for the clinton global initiative aiming to collect 20,000 used cell phones. the electronics will be recycled with proceeds going to help fund child health projects around the world. and rock and roll pioneer chuck berry turns 85. no relation. all day long you can stay on top of the 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. the death of indy car driver dan wheldon is raising questions about the sport's safety. mario andretti and a driver who survived the deadly crash speak to matt lauer. and two-time oscar winner kevin spacey is live in studio to talk about his new thriller "margin call." and now, keep it on this channel for continuing 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.