this morning on "early today" -- primary politics. republican presidential candidates square off on foreign policy. planes, trains and automobiles. millions of americans set out for one of the busiest travel days of the year. and miracle in new zealand. a helicopter pilot cheats death in a horrific crash. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with foreign policy face-off. republican presidential hopefuls

went head-to-head at last night's debate where newt gingrich, latest front-runner in the race, took a controversial stand on immigration. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> republican candidate for president of the united states. >> reporter: they tangled on cnn near the white house. their 11th debate with a new front-runner, who's a washington veteran. >> i spent years with -- >> reporter: newt gingrich, outspoken before 9/11. >> all of us will be in danger for the rest of our lives. >> reporter: he's at 24% in the cnn poll. mitt romney's at 20%. herman cain down to 17%. and tonight's topic, national security, is not cain's strength. >> if we pull out of afghanistan too soon, iran will help fulfill that power vacuum >> reporter: most agreed. >> we have been in for ten years.

we're winding down, afghan troops are picking up the. >> reporter: they also agreed iran must not get nuclear weapons. >> if we were serious, we would open up enough oil fields in the next year that the price of oil worldwide would collapse. now, that's what we do if we were a serious country. >> reporter: tough talk and big ideas, and gingrich broke with the rest on immigration saying long-time illegals could stay. >> it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century. >> critics call gingrich grandiose and arrogant. nbc news, washington. republicans and democrats have been pointing the finger at each other for the super failure of the super committee. but a new poll shows americans aren't happy with either party. according to a new reuters/ipsis poll 19% blamed both sides for

failing to agree on cut more than $1 trillion from the nation's deficit. when it came to most responsible, republicans came in with most votes, 18%. 13% blame the president and just 7% blamed democrats. before all the thanksgiving trimmings can be prepared, millions of americans need to get to their holiday destination. for many it's not just the crowds they'll be battling. jay gray joins us from chicago's o'hare airport. >> reporter: more than 200,000 expected to pour through this airport today alone. you're right. there will also be some problems with the weather this holiday season. so whether you're getting on the road or if you're flying, understand that you could see bad weather particularly along the east coast. you'll want to start as early as you can and you'll want to call

ahead if you're flying. look, it's going to be a busy holiday weekend. more than 42 million people in all expected to travel. that's up 4% from last year. and, lynn, this is the first increase in holiday travel we've seen this year. it's a good sign economically. but it means it's going to be busy like your mom always told you, make sure you pack some patience when you get out there today. >> probably some good advice. jay, thanks so much. you have a great thanksgiving. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a group of students escaped from a burning bus just before it exploded on new york city street. witnesses say smoke and flames erupted from the vehicle soon after it was empty. firefighters quickly arrived on the scene to douse the blaze. no injuries were reported. a texas man was nearly killed when his coworker accidentally shot him in the head with a staple gun. the staple struck both halves of shawn hunter's brain, narrowly missing major blood vessels. surgeons were able to remove the

staple without causing any bleeding or damage to the brain. hunter says he's anxious to get back to work to show off his survival scars. and finally, los angeles culinary students battled for bragging rights at a stuffing cookoff. using an array of ingredients, participants put their own spin on a traditional thanksgiving dish. facing tough competition, the chef with the stuffing cupcakes took home the top prize. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. you have any thanksgiving recipes to share with us. >> i'm required to make devilled eggs and green bean casserole. >> look at you. i wouldn't have pegged you as the guy that does some of the cooking. >> it's kind of like the side thigpe

things. just to make me feel good. you do the same thing. >> i do. >> good morning everyone. we have a big storm coming into the northwest. we have the heavy rain. an endless stream of moisture. now a lot of our small rivers are starting to show signs of flooding and maybe some of the big ones too. more off the california coastline but the stream is coming straight up the coast from salem to portland, no end in sight. heavy rainfall continues all the way through coastal washington state. thankfully snow levels are high right now. but after this system goes by, we have another one coming in thanksgiving day. and that will have colder air to work with. so the mountain passes are going to be snow-covered thursday into friday. so keep that in mind for any of your travel plans. and in seattle just not a great forecast. all the way through the holiday weekend. on and off periods of rain. looks like the heaviest hit this morning. another round thursday into friday. and then over the upcoming weekend. that's just the stormy spot in

the country. how o pres sent is the satellite picture. moisture coming off the pacific now from due south to due north. that means it's a slow-moving storm. as far as storms go, we will clear it eventually out here. heavy rains will end during the day today. we get a break tonight and another batch coming in on thursday. find out here in the four corner region through southern california but san francisco even a threat of showers out there. heaviest rain to the north of you. good luc california. not a big shot of rain but areas like san diego maybe 20%. soggy turkey to say the least. that's a bummer.

banks take more tests. and forget six degrees of separation. how facebook is bringing us all even closer together. plus the holiday mistake that could cost kim kardashian a pretty penny. coming up, the national league mvp is crowned. broncos make a move at quarterback and memphis gets a scare from their state rival. 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. despite assurances from egypt's military government that elections will be sped up, protesters continue to clash violently with police in tahrir square. the so-called second revolution has left nearly 30 people dead and more than 2,000 injured. meanwhile three american college students have been arrested for allegedly throwing fire bombs during the protests. back here in the u.s., an affluent new york suburb has

been rocked by a cheating scandal that's left 20 current and former high school students under arrest. the students have been charged with hiring college kids to take the s.a.t. or a.c.t. on their behalf. a troubling new survey shows more than half of americans are struggle to make ends meet. according to analysis of government data, 45% live above poverty live but can't afford to cover basic needs. a nasa astronaut released stunning new pictures from the international space station that show incredible scenes of nature at work. and look at this. one new zealand pilot is very lucky to be alive after his helicopter crashed while helping install a christmas tree. the chopper's blades apparently got caught up in scaffolding. amazingly, he escaped without any major injuries. unbelievable. well, now here's an early look at how wall street will

kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,493 after dipping 53 points yesterday. the s&p lost 4 points. the nasdaq was down a point. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 33 points while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 387. in a relatively light day of preholiday trading, worries about global economic growth weighed on stocks tuesday. a scaled down estimate on third quarter economic growth here at home cast a cloud of gloom on the street while spike in spanish debt prices feared that spain could be the next in line for a eurozone bailout. drop in chinese manufacturing levels. back on the street, netflix shares sank 5% after raising $400 million to help offset this year's massive customer exodus. campbell's soup fell 5% after reporting higher prices failed to offset dwindling sales.

upside medtronic rose higher and merck pleaded guilty and agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in civil fraud charges in relation to vioxx. federal reserve announced another round of stress tests for 19 financial firms including six of america's biggest banks as the national retail federation said it was suing the fed accusing to buckle to those banks over a cap on debit card swipe fees. another roadblock for at&t's $39 billion merger with t-mobile. the chairman of the s.e.c. has requested a judge's review after his staff concluded the deal is not in the public's best interest. finally, so much for six degrees of separation. thanks to facebook's growing population, a mere five people -- actually 4.74 to be

exact -- now separate you from any other person on the planet. so, it really is a small world after all. coming up, all your hockey highlights and a double overtime thriller in college basketball. plus, it was a close race for national league mvp, so who came out on top? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. as we head toward thanksgiving day, one storm leaving and one sticking around. your you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, milwaukee's ryan braun has won the national league's most valuable player award after helping lead the brewers to their first division title in nearly 30 years. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. we're going to start with baseball. brewers' ryan braun won the national league mvp, 20 first place votes. finished behind kemp in rbi. lightning looked like the best team in the league and the next night like this, gave up three goals in the first period. tyler had six. joe colburn with the first of his career.

another lopsided affair in nashville like the leafs, oilers jumped over the predators in the first period with three goals. jordin eberle had two of them. oilers with a 6-2 win. enough of a blowouts, kings and blues played a close one in st. louis. a one-timer through the third, and kings responded two minutes later. mitchell got a goal, shot from the point tipped and found the back of the net. kings won it 3-2. football appears the broncos are sticking with tim tebow for a while. they waived kyle orton. tebow is 4-1 as a starter. college hoops. eighth ranked memphis, vols down two in the final second, the layup and headed to o.t. under a minute to play. crawford on the break. tied it and forced double overtime. that's when the tigers took the

lead for good. barton with two of 21. memphis with a 97-99 win in double overtime. that's an early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. she calls herself jenny from a block but a new report says j. lo is far from her roots. plus, do these pictures look familiar? coming up, one man's mission to return treasured memories to their rightful owner. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this wednesday. if you're traveling, here's the breakdown. >> pacific northwest, all of coastal washington, coastal oregon, all the way down i-5 and medford we have steady rain and eventually some shower activity will work its way into northern california all the way into the bay. we're finally interior west today and also the southwest and even on thanksgiving day more wet weather as the second storm comes in during the day. if you're watching us on knbc 4, the mexican-american generation at the autry national convention. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

jennifer lopez is taking more flack from that fiat ad campaign. the smoking gun reports j. lo filmed the commercial without stepping foot in her hometown the bronx. reportedly a body double was used to film the new york street scenes while close-ups of lopez were done in l.a. first we heard pippa middleton's dress were hitting shelves. replica that kristin stewart wears are being sold for $799. sorry, bill distracts me. kardashian had high-end cards designed in september featuring the wedding portrait of her and her soon-to-be-ex. i'm sure there was a longer window before the divorce.

maybe she thought she'd squeeze in christmas. >> that's a rule. any time we mention pippa, we have to show her in the dress from the wedding. >> what? no picture? i apologize for that. we'll get that going right away. and nbc 2 in if the meyers, florida, one man is going above and beyond to return a treasure-trove of memories to its mystery owners. he had no clu he was holding a collection of precious moments when he found a memory card in the parking lot. the digital photo chip contained nearly 300 photos of this unknown couple and their lavish european vacation. now michael still has the memory card and hoping somebody is going to recognize these folks. give him a call and he can get it back to them just in time for the holidays. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today."

following a 385 ton oil spill in new zealand, some of nature's furry friend are finally able to return home. 49 little blue penguins were released back into the wild on tuesday after being rescued and cleaned up. the birds had benefitted with microchips so their progress can be monitored over the next year. about 300 more still need to recover. in mexico, hundreds of musicians gathered to celebrate national mariachi day. they played trumpets, guitars and violins in a concert to honor patron saint. the tradition going back 3 years

ended with a colorful march participants believe will bring good fortune for the year ahead. one couple in canada found a unique way to express their commitment. they spent years traveling to exotic places from the coliseum to parthenon photographing themselves with letters that spelled out "we always knew." the last letter was a "w," will you marry me? well done, well done, sir. >> what are you supposed to do? >> i know. we always have great proposals on here and hopefully we don't have those guys at home that just got down and said -- >> if you got a bad one yourself, you can say, oh, you're happy for her. >> congratulations to them. it's time for an early look at some stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. occupy wall street protesters are in washington after completing a two-week march from new york city to the capital where they plan to protest the super committee's failure to reach a debt deal they say would have eased the tax burden on the

so-called 99%. president obama will pardon the national thanksgiving turkey during a ceremony at the white house. the turkey will later travel to george washington's mt. vernon estate where it will be on display for visitors. and the giant helium balloons featured in tomorrow's macy's thanksgiving parade will be inflated in new york city. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. with wild weather expected across much of the country, al roker will have the very latest holiday travel forecast. justin bieber performs live on the plaza for a full half hour in a special thanksgiving week concert. 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. today on your nbc station. have a good one.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com that's why i'm here, at st. jude children's research hospital. our research has changed the way the world treats brain tumors, leukemia and sickle cell. we help kids all across america. now, these kids have hope... and a sense of humor. where did you get this color?