jimmy fallon happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," political firestorm. new revelations in the sexual harassment controversy swirling around gop presidential candidate herman cain. wheels up. some frightening moments for passengers on board a poland-bound jet. and golden gadget. an english engineer creates a and golden gadget. an english engineer creates a tablet fit for a king. 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 details

and denials. according to "the new york times", an entire year's salary was paid to one woman who alleged she was sexually harassed by herman cain back in the 1990s as another former employee says she's already to speak out to refute what cain has called, quote, a witch hunt. brian mooar joins us from washington with the latest on this. >> reporter: good morning. for the cain campaign this a crash course in crisis management. presidential hopeful herman cain heads to capitol hill today to pitch lawmakers on his 9-9-9 economic plan. but the media spotlight is on the 1990s. and sexual harassment allegations from his time at the national restaurant association. one of his two accusers wants to be released from a confidentiality agreement. >> when he says he never sexually harassed anyone, i know that's not the perception of my client. >> reporter: a second accuser

reportedly received $35,000 in severance. cain initially denied there was a settlement, but now acknowledges there was an agreement. still, he's vigorously denying the claims and insists this bad publicity has not hurt his presidential hopes. >> in the last 24 hours, our fund-raising has been the highest it has been since i've been in this campaign. >> reporter: his fellow republicans are steering clear, at least for now. >> until, you know, things going past allegations to fact. i just try to leave them alone. >> reporter: mr. cain comes to washington with some serious baggage. and just a few hours ago, cain had dinner with at least ten senators. one called it a nice conversation, but no endorsement. lynn? >> brian mooar for us in washington, thanks. on capitol hill yesterday, the house of representatives

took a break from working on fixing the nation's economy to reaffirm the nation's motto "in god we trust." with a vote 396-9 the nonbinding resolution while potentially reopening the debate of separation of church and state, christian conservatives praised the effort. critics called it an attempt to drum up support for gop support. it seems unlikely the senate will pass a similar resolution. sad news with the passing of 92-year-old dorothy rodham, mother of hillary rodham clinton. she died at a washington hospital at midnight. frequently by her daughter's side, secretary clinton credited her mother. rodham's mother will remember her as, quote, an extraordinary friend, loving wife, mother and grandmother. now here's a look at other

stories making news early today in america. an amazing scene erupted on a san diego street after a car plowed over a fire hydrant. a powerful geyser helped up the back end of the unoccupied car for over an hour. the allegedly stolen car's rear wheels returned to the ground after firefighters shut off the water. a controversial depiction of president obama is forcing virginia republicans to do some serious damage control. a mass e-mail from a group of republicans featured a halloween-themed cartoon featuring a zombie president obama with a bullet wound to the head. the group's communication director has apologized and taken full responsibility for what he called a poor choice. lubbock police have more than arson on their hands after discussing 50 pounds of marijuana hidden in a truck's incarcerated remains.

firefighters had a difficult time dousing the flames due to small explosions inside the vehicle's exterior. sheriff's deputies are looking for the owner but finding it difficult since the truck's identification number was removed. and finally, a team of wee bowling official in addition aficionado they took the ground at last month's tournament are preparing for next year's. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with weather channel forecast. >> that's my goal for retirement, do things like that. >> we can do that while we are still working as well. >> there is no time for that. good morning, everyone. things have changed in the west. the cold hair has moved in. weather patterns about to get a little more active and another lined up for the upcoming

weekend. temperatures are cold. boise down 24 degrees. that is one of the coldest readings we have had so far this season. a big snowstorm in colorado helping to draw down that cold air from the north. blizzard conditions outside of denver. right behind it there is another storm. it will drag another front through the west today. we should see mostly a dry day early. could get showers especially tonight. it gets a little more active. showers wednesday night into thursday. that's going to in general be the forecast.a little chilly at

elevations. a high of only 47. more on the upcoming weekend system coming up. coming up, greece gums up the works. bank of america says uncle. and a strange casino prize option. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, he's young, clean-cut and selling tons of music. now he's at the center of a scandalous allegation. a record-breaking college football game and a celebration gone bad. 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. in london, a bid is lost for

extradition to sweden. he denies wrong doing and insists the cases are politically motivated. it's uncertain whether he will be granted another appeal. four suspected members of a fringe right-wing north georgia militia group were arrested tuesday in what the department described as a plot to use guns, bombs and the toxin ricin to kill federal and state officials. court documents say the suspects, all age 65 and over, were recorded telling an fbi informant they wanted to kill federal judges, irs employees and atf agents. closing arguments are set for thursday in the trial of the doctor charged with administering a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to michael jackson. conrad murray has chosen not to testify in his defense. a 757 jetliner flown by poland lot made an emergency belly landing in poland after

its landing gear failed to extend. all 220 passengers and 11 crew members were evacuated without injury. 2-year-old twin girls, who were joined as the chest and abdomen were separated tuesday during more than a nine-hour procedure at stanford university children's hospital. doctors say the operation went smoothly and their prognosis is good. and for the person who has absolutely everything, an english luxury goods maker has customized an ipad 2 with 24 karat gold, 65 diamonds and a frame made from dinosaur bones. the asking price, a cool $8 million. unbelievable. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,657 after dropping 297 points yesterday. the s&p sank 35 points.

and the nasdaq plunged 77. taking a look at overseas trading this morning n tokyo the nikkei skidded 195 points but in hong kong the hang seng jumped up 363. stocks tumbled again tuesday after greece threw a giant monkey wrench into the europe's debt crisis solution. greece's prime minister suddenly called for a national referendum on europe's bailout plan with voters nearly certain to reject unpopular belt tightening, a hard default by greece would be inevitable, causing bigger losses for banks, which revived fears of global financial chaos. u.s. banks were hit hard. morgan stanley, bank of america, jpmorgan chase, citigroup all fell. yields on safehaven 10 and 30-year treasury notes fell stunningly. the dollar fell after japan vowed to curb yen's strength. pfizer was the dow's only riser after beating estimates. october car sales were impressive, especially chrysler, up 27%, emphasizing the company's rebound since bankruptcy and bailout. the exception, general motors tumbled on flat sales. in a consumer victory, bank of america scrapped plans for a $5

a month debit card fee. a lawyer for the bankrupt brokerage mg global told a judge tuesday contrary to reports of hundreds of millions in missing customer money, to the best knowledge of management, there is no shortfall in funds. almost $20 billion lawsuit by the trustee representing bernard madoff's victims against his long-time bank, jpmorgan chase, has been thrown out. later today, despite new euro debt fears no action is expected from the fed after its two-day policy meeting. and finally, the woman who won the $25,000 trump taj mahal casino nip and tuck sweepstakes chose cash over the free plastic surgery option. sign of the times there. if you like big scores, one college football game last night provided a week's worth of highlights. on the ice, washington's capitals fire up a red hot rally. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. during the day today, winter conditions will spread into

areas like kansas and nebraska for the first time this season. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today."

in sports, late news last night that los angeles dodgers owner franc mccourt has suddenly reversed himself and agreed to petition a bankruptcy court to allow him to auction off the team. elsewhere in sports, we start off a night of wild nhl action with boston bruins taking on the ottawa senators. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headline. good morning. yesterday was supposed to be the opening night in the nba but with players still locked out, arenas around the nation are filled with ice instead of the hardwood. to boston where the stanley cup champions have struggled all season but ended a three-game skid last night. tiler seguin finds bergeron, tying it 2-2. bs take the lead late in the second. bruins back in the win column 5-3 over the senators. speaking of struggles, nothing has been going right for the red wings. koivu with a perfect tip pass. howard. minnesota forces o.t. setoguchi completes the comeback, scores on the rebound. detroit lose their fifth in a row 2-1.

ducks up by three when caps rally. backstrom scores the equalizer and in overtime backstrom scores the game winner. lightning and hurricanes. brewer tries to get back and help but without a stick, he can do anything. jokinen to skinner and caroline wins it 4-2. toledo and northern illinois certainly put on a show. combining for 123 points. that's a conference record. game comes down to the final 30 seconds, harnish to ashford. huskies win a barn burner, 63-60. to hockey where celebration got a little punchy in sweden after henrik ericsson scores,

he's so happy he has to hug someone, anyone. so he grabs the closest guy, one problem, he was on the other team and punched him right in the head. not even that could wipe the smile off his face. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> only in hockey. an apologize from the woman at the center of the divorce the entire country is talking about. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. for unexpected northeast winter storm was a danger. for others an inconvenience. we'll introduce to you one couple who wouldn't let the storm ruin their fairytale. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. everyone is dry for the morning commute. no need for the umbrella. coming home, slight chance of showers as a cold front moves on shore. portland, it looks like your rain showers will wait for the overnight hours. the front is hung up here, so showers on the coast. if you are watching us on king five news, share the experiences of astronauts. see the last mars viking lander and much more at space space: exploring the new frontier. now here's an early look at this morning headlines in entertainment. another day, another potential celebrity scandal. a 20-year-old has filed a paternity suit against justin bieber.

claiming a backstage liaison last year at a los angeles concert produced a baby boy. the suit demands the teen heartthrob take an dna test. a spokesman called the claim malicious, defamatory, false and promises to pursue all available legal remedies to protect bieber. experts point out the suit makes the woman vulnerable to statutory rape charge since bieber was 16 at the time of the alleged incident and california's age of consent is 18. elsewhere, when regis philbin leaves the air waves this month, none other than jerry seinfeld will be the first guest host to take his chair. finally arriving to a media frenzy in australia, kim kardashian posted an apology on her website tuesday admitting she probably should have ended

her relationship with kris humphries. we were talking about the wedding gift. she said she was going to give money to charity. >> i don't get my wedding gift back? this comes to us from wvit in connecticut, where one couple refused to let this past weekend's rare snowstorm darken their wedding day. power outages put an end to marry in their home. the couple headed to the town's storm shelter to say i do. with friends and family, as well as 200 heat-seeking strangers watching, the couple got married giving everyone there a heart-warming storm memory. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

of all rituals celebrating the day of the dead across latin america, this may be the most unique. locals in one small town remove, clean and rebury the bones of the dead. it's part of a myan tradition where the bones must be meticulously cleaned before their souls return, fitting for the day death is celebrated throughout the country. well, how do you go about carving a pumpkin over 600 pounds? for some the answer is simple. power tools. a chef in canada takes a chain saw to the massive gourds turning them into impressive jack-o'-lanterns. while the pumpkins themselves are works of art, he uses the inside to make pumpkin pies and sells them for charity.

what was once victoria's secret is no e. secret is no e.m secret is no more. a pain of queen sicker to yeah's bloomers went on the auction block yesterday. the item was sold by the forbes family. knee-length and embroidered with the queen's initials, the silk garment was bought by a private collector for $14,950. those are some pretty big knickers. how about that? >> that's like marilyn monroe type prices. >> looks like a dress a little bit. no dig on queen victoria. >> i saw halloween costumes more skimpy than that. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, three units of japanese-american veterans will receive the congressional gold medal more than six decades after serving in world war ii. the collective award will be archived at smithsonian institution. the sixth annual shirley povich symposium marking the

50th anniversary of the racial integration of the washington redskins and university of maryland football teams. bobby mitchell, first african-american to play for the redskins will be among those that take part. and in 1947, howard hughes piloted his flying boat, the spruce goose, on its one and only flight. 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 chris matthews weighs in on sexual harassment controversy surrounding herman cain and whether his accuser will be able to speak out. and kim kardashian's mother, kris jenner, talks about whether her daughter rushed into marriage. and 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.