this morning on "early today" -- executive drive-by. authorities track down a man suspected of firing shots at the white house. blown away. a bash dashboard camera captures the sheer power of hurricane-force winds. and making a splash. meet an amazing dog that goes to great depths for his favorite toy. 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 a would-be assassin. a 21-year-old man suspected of

opening fire on the white house is expected to appear in a pennsylvania courtroom today. the suspect reportedly obsessed with president obama is currently facing weapons charges, but a far more serious count of attempted assassination has not been ruled out. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: family members are shedding light on what might have motivated a 21-year-old idaho man, suspected of opening fire on the white house. a nationwide manhunt led to this hotel in western pennsylvania, where authorities arrested oscar ortega-hernandez. authorities say he had a history of criminal and mental health issued. his father tells nbc's spanish news network that he was obsessed with the date 11-11-11. he believed the world might end on that day, and that is when the shooting took place. the shooting happened friday evening, while president obama was traveling in california.

minutes later, and a few blocks away from the white house, police found ortega's wrecked vehicle and inside investigators say they found an ak-47 style assault rifle and several spent rounds. it wasn't until tuesday that the secret service discovered the white house had been hit. one slug reportedly was stopped by bullet proof glass. federal evidence technicians focused their efforts on the truman balcony, just outside the president's residence. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. well, after a recent surge in the polls, gop presidential hopeful newt gingrich is in the hot seat over his ties to bail out mortgage lender freddie mac. seen by many as playing a key role in the housing crisis. tracie potts joins us.

newt gingrich was a spokesperson for freddie mac. he made on average $1.5 million we are told. gingrich doesn't remember exactly how much he made. whether or not this will turn off voters unknown. critics and opponents say yes, but gingrich says it shows he has washington experience. and his campaign insists he was not a lobbyist, that he never contacted anyone on capitol hill on behalf of freddie mac. so what was he doing there? gingrich said he was a historian and talking to them about how the bad mortgage decisions could end up in what we now know was the housing crisis. but insiders who were there or who were familiar with his consulting work say, in fact, they have told the associated press that he was helping them find friendly faces here on capitol hill. lynn? >> tracie potts there in washington. thank you. well, communities across a number of states in the southeast are surveying the

damage this morning after a deadly storm system swept through the region. strong winds spawned several possible tornadoes, blamed for at least five deaths, including one in northern georgia where a fallen tree struck and killed the driver of an suv. thousands are still without power from louisiana to the carolinas. in eastern alabama, the fierce weather tore into a pair of mobile home parks, leaving a trail of debris scattered across the nearby auburn university campus. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news across america. a heated exchange erupted between student protesters and campus police on the campus of cal state long beach university. the rally against a $500 tuition increase turned violent after demonstrators shattered a glass door. police used pepper spray to push back the crowd. four people were arrested. heavy winds in alaska could have turned a bathroom break into a bad break. a dash cam captured

50-mile-per-hour winds whipping around a port-a-potty. fortunately, no one was inside. surf's up for hundreds of dogs at one bizarre california casting call. rose bowl organizers went looking for a cool canine who also knew how to catch a wave. the top dogs at the audition will ride aboard a wave-simulating float filled with 7,000 gallons of water during the july 2nd parade. finally, a massachusetts woman and her husband were forced to sift through piles of garbage after she accidentally through her great aunt's diamond ring in the trash. the couple headed to the city dump to retrieve the family heirloom and with the help of some employees, they were actually able to find it. lucky for them. now for a look at our national and regional weather, we'll go to bill karins. good morning to you. >> would you do it if you lost your ring? >> absolutely. >> definite. you would go to the dump and go through the trash.

>> i would send my husband. then i would wait at home, of course. are you surprised by that? >> no, but it's a good plan. get someone else to do it for you. >> good morning, everyone. we have a storm system moving through the northwest with cold air on the way. we have had snow at the high elevations. now we are watching the storm system continuing to push its way through the northern rockies. that cold front itself is slicing through, too. this storm system has a decent amount of moisture with it. again, we are getting most of it at the high elevations, the mountains are ringing out the moisture. really you can see the white showing where the snow is. it echoes right below there where we are seeing the highest peaks of the cascades. we have a shadow effect off the olympics near seattle and even western washington state not seeing any moisture at all. so as we continue to watch the storm trekking up through and into idaho and montana today, we are also watching that cold front pushing to the south. a nice slug of moisture coming onshore here right in northern california. the wind will be picking up, too, with this storm system. as the cold air moves in behind this storm, the snow levels are going to drop even further.

we have a winter weather advisory now for the mountainous areas near lake tahoe. the winter storm watch, salt lake city is getting it pretty good tomorrow into saturday. then we have the winter storm warnings for it snowing hard in the northern rockies. as far as snow totals, nothing too dramatic. the higher elevations up to a foot. today's forecast is cool and unsettled in the northwest. san francisco, rain is location. temperatures near 50 for oregon. san diego today, only 67. if you think it is cold in the west, wait until later in the show when i tell you how cold it is in alaska, it's ridiculous. that's coming up. >> we know the port-a-potty story as well. thank you, bill. data shows recovery continuing, and you don't think

you can retire until when? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, he's been named the sexiest man alive. but we'll tell you about the fans of another hollywood hunk that are up in arms. coming up, the houston astros are on the move and the first big upset of the college basketball season. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. neither penn state campus police nor college state city police say they ever received a report from former graduate assistant mike mcqueary alleging sexual assault by jerry sandusky on a boy in 2002. in an e-mail to former teammates, mcqueary claims he had a suggestion with police about what he saw. he's currently on administrative leave.

president obama arrived in his boyhood home of indonesia. earlier in australia the president told u.s. and australian service members that america was, quote, here to stay at the pacific power. on a visit to philippines, secretary of state hillary clinton's motorcade came under attack by protesters throwing eggs, rocks and balloons full of red paint. the protesters are against a military treaty between the two countries. federal authorities say they've discovered a major drug tunnel on the u.s. border with mexico that linked warehouses in san diego and tijuana. about 17 tons of marijuana were seized. and four americans space pioneers were honored by congress in the capitol rotunda. john glenn, neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and michael collins were all given the congressional gold medal. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,905 after

falling 190 points yesterday. the s&p tumbled 20 points. the nasdaq dropped 46. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was up 16 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng lost 143. a late date warning on american banks transformed a relatively quiet day on wall street wednesday into a plunge. fitch, one of the three main credit rating agencies, warned it may reduce its stable rating on u.s. banks because they could be greatly affected if europe's debt crisis spreads further. large banks and other financials tumbled. morgan stanley lost almost 8%. the new focus is on france. the benchmark rate on france's ten-year bond is now creeping toward 4%. worries are deepening europe's second largest economy could lose its aaa credit rating. fitch pointed out that the top five u.s. banks have a total of $114 billion tied to french

banks. those same french banks have large holdings of bonds from greece and italy. also worrying investors, the price of oil crossed above $100 a barrel for the first time since july. on the plus side, output in october at factories, utilities and mines rose at the fastest pace in three months. consumer prices held steady last month, actually dropping 0.1%. an index of builder sentiment rose to the highest level since may 2010. in stocks, abercrombie & fitch plunged over 13% on short earnings. dell dropped on late tuesday's report of revenue that fell short. reuters quotes a source saying citigroup may cut 3,000 jobs. in a statement the bank said it would be making, quote, targeted head count reductions. finally, a new national survey shows 25% of people questioned expect to keep working into

their 80s because they won't have enough money to retire comfortably. not a picture you want to paint. coming up, a possible rare league switch in baseball. the sport also names its managers of the year and a wrap-up of all the action on the ice. plus big upset win for the long beach state 49ers they won't soon forget. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. well, severe weather is over with but the west coast and northwest is dealing with a pretty big storm. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, a stunning upset last night in college basketball. with the top ten team defeated on their home court. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. our lead today should have been, celtics and heat or maybe carmelo anthony's return to denver, but thanks to a snafu called the nba lockout, we'll start with college hoops. pittsburgh, unranked long beach state slayed a giant. casper led the way with a career high 29. long beach up at the half and won it 86-76. purse's first home loss since

2005. baseball, diamondbacks kurt gibson won manager of the year and joe maddon took home honors in the a.l. the houston astros could be on the move. they are not switching texas but switching leads. the team is up for sale. businessman jim crain buys the club and they'll move the astros to the american league. martin brodeur is working back after a shoulder injury. he looked pretty good here. jason pominville is robbed of the glove. the 29-year-old still has it. ilya kovalchuk scored his first goal in a month. devils put it together against the sabres winning 5-3. blackhawks and canucks, meeting of the last two western conference champs, tied 1-1, in the second, patrick kane trickled one past the goalie. they added three more in the third. jonathan gets his third of the year. blackhawks with the best record in the west winning 5-1. to montreal where the price was right. canadiens price not only shut out the hurricanes, assisted on the game-winning goal, slapped the puck around the boards,

bounced it out to the center and price did it all. an assist and a 25-save shutout. not a bad day at the office. canadiens won it 4-0. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. not so fast. the fight is not over when it comes to fatherhood and justin bieber. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. . plus, noun as man's best friend, we know dogs are very talented animals but not many show off their talents under water. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this thursday. i don't know how anyone does it in interior alaska. minus 38 is the current temperature in fairbanks. record low temperatures throughout interior alaska. if everyone is wondering where the cold air is around the globe, that's where it is located and winter is in full force. temperatures are cool in the northwest, but nothing compared to alaska. a chance of showers in the lower elevations. the higher elevations are getting the snow. by the way, some of the cold air will make a run at the west coast over the next week or two. if you are watching us on anchorage, alaska, see the skull that is over 19,000 years old. that's thera the ice age cat at the alaska museum of natural history. that's your pacific event of the day. >> we get it, it is cold in alaska. i'm sure they enjoy it, that's why they live there. >> minus 38, i'm sure they are

out partying. >> thank you. well, now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. what seemed impossible months ago has once again come to be. ricky gervais will be back as golden globe host. he posted jabs at several stars as well as foreign hollywood press association had the world convinced there would be no way he would be back. not only is he back, but gervais tweeted a clip from wednesday about last year's opening monologue. remember that? he's promising this times ten. contrary to reports, the justin bieber paternity suit is not over, just on hold. a new attorney for a woman who claims justin beeber is the father of her baby boy says her lawsuit has been withdrawn as both camps wait for the singer to take a paternity test. the attorney says the case can be refiled at any time, but they are trying to settle with

bieber's camp out of court. finally, reaction has been very strong over "people" magazine naming bradley cooper the section sexiest man alive. if you can believe it, ryan gosling fans plan a protest later today in new york outside the corporate headquarters of "people." and this comes to us from kget tv 17 in bakersfield, california, where one dog goes to new depths to pull off a poolside stunt you just have to see to believe. this is the truth. look at this. bob the diving dog plunged into his family pool and has skyrocketed to stardom. the canine became an instant celebrity after his owner posted a video of retrieving a toy on youtube. he uses a unique spiral motion to make an eight-foot descent to the pool floor. that's remarkable. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

life behind bars for inmates mexico just got a little more zen. yoga classes is another way for prisoners to control their anger. and it has been helpful. they say it offers comfort in an uncomfortable place. they describe it as an escape and ward ups are noting the moves saying incidence of violence have already dropped. the rockefeller center christmas tree was downed. jeweler swarovski unveiled the crystal star that will grace the top the tree. it dons 720 l.e.d. lights and 25,000 crystals, set to wow visitors with a twinkling effect. it will be lit on november 30th. finally, one teenager in

canada is living a life many kids could only dream of. this 15-year-old high school student gets paid to play video games. traveling all across north america for tournaments, there's a lot on the line. this weekend he'll be competing for a whopping $100,000 prize. mom says, of course, only after his homework is done. so he can, you know, get his brain all riled up only to be melted. >> $100,000, that's over a year's salary for most. >> pays for college. hopefully he's studying enough -- >> maybe he'll become an inventor of the games. time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at jfk grave site at arlington national cemetery honoring the 50th anniversary of president kennedy bestowing the green beret on army special forces. today is the last day the postal service accepts mail addressed to military post offices in iraq. with u.s. forces in the process of returning home, postal

responsibilities for service members remaining in iraq transitions to state department embassy or consulate post offices. and it is guinness world records day. thousands around the world will attempt records, including a gathering of leprechauns in ireland and the longest chocolate bar in italy. 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." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. jerry sandusky's attorney defends his decision to allow the alleged sex offender to be interviewed by nbc's bob costas on "rock center." follow the announcement that ricky gervais will host the next golden globes, a look back at his past performance. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com