[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- debt deadlock. super committee members face rising pressure as the clock ticks down to a critical deadline. up in smoke. surveillance video captures an explosion of a suspected mobile meth lab. and onset scuffle. two lebanese politicians come to blows during a debate on live two lebanese politicians come to blows during a debate on live television. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a ticking clock. time is running short on capitol hill this morning as a congressional super committee struggles to come to terms on

$1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan. the bipartisan panel has just one week left to reach an agreement before harsh mandatory cuts kick in that no one wants. so far, there are no signs of a deal. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn, good morning. we are looking at deja view. senate majority leader harry reid says he doesn't see any sign of compromise yet but aides also say there's not a stalemate. both sides, democrats, are working really hard to cut $1.2 trillion from the budget. republicans and democrats have different ideas how to do that. same arguments from last spring. democrats want to see taxes and more revenue coming into the government. republicans say no tax hikes. they want to lower tax rates and deal with medicare and medicaid.

the two biggest parts of the growing budget. john boehner met with reid yesterday and others as they outside of the committee are trying to figure out if a deal comes up, what will they be able to get through? two-step process here. committee has to come up with something and congress has to pass it. lots of back door meetings going on between committee members, between those outside the committee, and as they rush towards the deadline. congress actually only has about three full working weeks left this year. >> tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. elsewhere, occupy wall street protesters in new york have been allowed back into manhattan zuccotti park, a day after they were cleared out in a late-night raid by city police. this time, however, occupiers returning to the birthplace of the movement yesterday were allowed to bring only a small bag with them. tents and camping gear of any kind are prohibited after a judge ruled that demonstrators have the right to protest in but not occupy the park due to intolerable health and safety risks.

seattle cops pepper sprayed a group of protesters marching in solidarity with occupy wall street yesterday. at least four people were arrested. an e-mail from one of penn state's football coaches is raising new questions this morning in the penn state sexual abuse trial. in an e-mail obtained by the associated press, then-graduate student mike mcqueary says after witnessing former coach jerry sandusky allegedly sodomize a young boy in a locker room shower back in 2002, he stopped it and then reported the incident to police. the e-mail conflicts with mcqueary's grand jury testimony where he did not specifically say he stopped the act or went to police. meanwhile, "the new york times" is reporting former head coach jo paterno, recently fired over the scandal, transferred full ownership of his $600,000 home to his wife for $1 back in july. his attorney says the transaction was part of the couple's ongoing estate planning

and was not tied to the scandal. president obama is in australia this morning where just hours ago he and australian prime minister julia gallard announced a joint security pact. that would increase u.s. military presence there. beginning next year, about 250 u.s. marines will begin a rotation in northern australia which over the course of several years would reach a full force of 2,500 military. addressing concerns over china's monetary policy and growing economic presence in the region, the president maintains china needs to accept the responsibilities that come with being a world power and, quote, play by the rules of the road. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. surveillance camera footage shows the eruption of a massive fire ball inside an alleged mobile meth lab. last sunday's blast inside a tennessee hospital parking lot killed one man and sent bystanders running for cover.

investigators say the charred remains have all the makings of a drug factory on wheels. a brazen auto thief almost killed a chicago car salesman driving off the lot. this october incident is part of a string of auto thefts where the suspects steal the vehicles during test drivers. the salesman suffered broken ribs but police arrested the suspect after he abandoned the car. fears of an earthquake rapidly spread after two trains collide and rocked topeka, kansas, residents. the crash left railroad crews with a colossal cleanup job. all 32 cars derailed and over 600 feet of track need to be replaced. finally, the world's bravest have arrived in myrtle beach. hundreds of firefighters from america and abroad are in town for the firefighter combat challenge. dressed in full gear, they competed in a variety of events that showcase the talent and skills they use to save lives. now for a look at national

and regional weather here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. >> you are going to save me or your shoes if there is a fire? >> you know the answer to that question. the shoes, come on. >> throw us all out the window and see what survives. we are watching, for the most part, very warm conditions out there in the eastern half of the country. but the west is winter is in full force. winter storm warnings in the cascades through the northern rockies and temperatures are very, very chilly around boise this morning. 24. seattle, this is going to be a rain event for you in portland. spokane, this is going to be snow for you. storm system is just offshore and going to be moving onshore as we go throughout the morning hours. mostly the daylight hours. and the snow will break out in many areas of the cascades about mid morning. spokane probably as we go throughout the early afternoon. pink is winter storm warnings and high elevations and as far as winter weather advisories in

the white, computers are estimating the higher the rain could pick up one to two feet from this. that's great for ski country. and it looks like the lower elevation going to be cold enough for snow. somewhere around two to four inches. for some of the areas it is the first snow of the season. that's where the storm is going to be concentrated in the northwest. california is unaffected by the storm system. that's a look at the national forecaststorm system primarily y to the north. i know you would save me. >> good luck with that. good luck with that. they are expensive shoes. >> they are. coming up, super mario smashes through italian gridlock. more blues at the post office. hiring astronauts without a spaceship.

a lawsuit on abercrombie and fitch. >> nba cancels more games. coach k. moves to the head of the class. you are watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the secret service says a bullet hit an exterior window of the white house while an additional round of ammunition was also found on the exterior of the white house. this follows reports friday of gunfire near the white house. the u.s. park service believes the shots were fired from a passing car that was later found seven blocks away. authorities are searching for a 21-year-old man connected with the vehicle. a wave of violence has left as many as 90 people dead across syria in a single day.

activists say suspected army defectors gunned down nearly three dozen soldiers and security force members in an ambush meanwhile. the subject of syria sparked a melee between two political rivals on a lebanese talk show. they hurled insults and threw a glass of water and held up a chair before the host intervened. a russian soyuz capsule carrying an american and two russians successfully docked with the international space station this morning. the new crew will begin a four-month stay aboard the floating lab. the associated press reports long lost air force one recordings made in the aftermath of john f. kennedy's assassination have been found and are up for sale. the two plus hour recordings come from the estate of a former kennedy aide and are going for $500,000. now here's an early look at how wall street will open the day. the dow opens at 12,096 after adding 17 points yesterday. the s&p was up 6 points.

the nasdaq gained 28. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 78 points while in hang congress the hang seng dropped 38 7. good news from italy and here at home had wall street on the upside of its recent seesaw run tuesday. with italy racing to avoid financial crisis, prime minister designate mario monty is expected to finish forming a government in what by normal italian standards is almost lightning speed. still with italian benchmark bond yields once again closing above the critical 7% level and spanish and french yields also higher, euro worries could drive wall street through more up and downs this week. here at home, retail sales rose for a fifth straight month on more spending than expected. more proof the economy may be gaining steam, new york state manufacturing rose for the first time since may. tech stocks led with

hewlett-packard pacing the dow. intel rose after warren buffett revealed he bought a stake in the company. apple was up for only the second day in the last eight, after the bell, apple pointed disney chief bob igor to its board. in earnings, after nine consecutive quarters of declining, walmart reported a revenue gain. staples dropped on short sales and a lowered full-year forecast. department store saks rose on stronger sales. and after the bell, despite a jump in profit, dell sank after low revenue. elsewhere, the postal service lost $5 billion this year and says it could run out of cash by next september if congress doesn't help. finally, need a job? nasa is hiring astronauts. only problem, nasa doesn't own a spaceship anymore but the agency promises getting on one of the few flights they'll hitch onto these days will be well worth the wait. coming up, the latest on the nba lockout and college hoop

highlights for all you basketball-starved fans including a record-breaking win for duke's coach k. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather a soggy morning for the east coast. thankfully your thursday is looking much improved. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports with each day that passes it seems the likelihood of a settlement to the nba's owners lockout becomes more and more remote. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. while the nba was canceling games through december 15th, history was being made in college hoops. number six duke beat michigan state 74-69. with that coach mike krzyzewki became the winningest coach. men's division i history. picking up win 903 to beat bobby knight. knight was his coach and part of the broadcasting team. for the game. the two shared a special moment embracing on the sideline. memorable night at madison square garden as coach k. picked up 903 and counting. kentucky showed everyone why they're ranked second in the country giving number 11 kansas more than they could handle. game tied at the half and then wildcats jumped all over the jayhawks. 17-point lead and didn't look back. they cruise 75-65.

another great match-up, number three, ohio state, eighth ranked florida. gators have never beaten a top three team on the road. it wasn't going to happen last night. william buford scored game high 21. big ten freshman of the year sullinger chipped in with 16. buckeyes won it 81-74. baseball as expected justin verlander unanimous winner of the a.l. cy young award leading the majors in strikeouts and wins with 24-5. hockey bragging rights in new york. rangers and islanders. sean avery a pest around the net, got a rebound and scored a second goal. in as many games. the islanders turned it over. brad richards made them pay for their mistake. unleashed a rocket. rangers on fire winning their seventh in a row 4-2. speaking of streaks, after a dismal start to the season, bruins have now won six straight. pouliot scored eighth, and the champs have got their swagger back winning 4-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today."

i'm fred roggin. the star of "glee" speaks out and brad pitt says not so fast. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, becoming a new dad brings a lot of responsibility, especially if you're called on to deliver the child yourself. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this wednesday. rain in lowervations. heavy snow in the cascades. biggest winter storms they have seen so far this season. one to two feet by it is all said and done. rain showers through the west. areas of spokane, snow event for you. temperatures are plenty cold enough. as we go into tomorrow not a lot of changes here. a majority of that storm system, the moisture, will be heading inland to the interior. if you are watching us in portland, a symbol of u.s. naval strength for decade. that's the battleship oregon. >> thanks so much. here is an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. brad pitt is backtracking from saying he will retire from role films by 50. he said it is not an exact deadline. he is expressing interest in producing. white comes to aging, he said he

would take the wisdom that comes with age over youth. lea michele tells "allure" she's not a diva and denies she has an eating disorder saying, quote, i'm half italian. i can eat some under the table. he says he's deeply proud of his james bond films, pierce brosnan refuses to watch them, ever, even when his sons ask him to. brosnan says, quote, i find no nourishment in them. and finally, here's a "jersey shore" update. you have been waiting all day for it. the situation sued abercrombie & fitch tuesday over what he calls was a public list tip stunt in which the company offered to pay cast members not to wear abercrombie & fitch. meanwhile, on the recent claim he hooked up with cast mate snooki, she told wendy williams she thinks he's disgusting and would rather cut off her legs than date him. >> she feels that way now. i don't know what happened that

night a long time ago. >> you are suspicious. >> very. if you watch snooki enough, a lot of stuff happens. >> i think you watched way too much of it. this comes to us from wvit connecticut, where in nearby hamden an early arrival forced a first-time dad to play the role of delivery room doctor. things got moving quicker than expected after cheri started experiencing contractions. her boyfriend randy took over. after two minutes of coaching, randy delivered his first child, a little girl. who has given her new dad an amazing and memorable start to fatherhood. congrats. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

the legend may be gone but her treasures remain. elizabeth taylor's most treasured jewels were on view in paris yesterday. among the 269 pieces are historical gems such as a pear-shaped pearl with ties to 16th century spanish royalty and a tiara worn by taylor to the 1957 oscars. the lot will be up for auction in new york in mid-december. well, a brazilian artist has given prince william and kate middleton the pop art treatment. he showed off his works to prospective buyers in london. there's a colorful take on their official engagement portrait with hearts on their cheeks. and kate's famous sapphire engagement ring. part of the series focuses on kate alone while other portraits features the queen.

we got a sneak peek at some floats slated to appear in the thanksgiving day parade in new york. there are some familiar characters and others that are just plain whacky. is that a sumo wrestler? i like that next week's thanksgiving parade will be the 85th march through manhattan. one of this year's new floats was designed to celebrate the statue of liberty's 125th anniversary. bill, you taking the kiddos to see it? >> i thought about it but i think the attention span wouldn't be long enough. >> yeah, of course, the little ones too little but the 2-year-old would be like, get me out of here. >> i think the balloons would be a big hit. >> the tv will work very well for him. plop him right through. he can watch the whole thing. time for an early look at stories we'll follow right here on nbc. olivia wild will unveil the swarovski star that will crown the rockefeller christmas tree, featuring 25,000 crystals and 30,000 l.e.d. lights.

the 74-foot tall 10-ton norway spruce was hoisted into position last week. it will be lit on november 30th, decorated with five miles of colored lights. more than 42 years after they took apollo 11 to the moon, neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and michael collins will be honored with the congressional gold medal. john glenn, the first american to orbit the earth in 1962, will also be honored. and actress maggie gyllenhaal turns 34. all day long you can stay on top of those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the very latest in the penn state sexual abuse scandal as new details about other alleged victims emerge. and stars from the twilight series talking about "breaking dawn" the newest film in the saga. 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 on your nbc station. have a good one.