this morning on "early today" -- here we go again. republican presidential candidate herman cain now facing a new allegation of a long-term affair. grumpy old men? a fight breaks out between two football rivals at odds for nearly 50 years. and winning streak. three money managers from one of country's wealiest towns claim three money managers from one of country's wealiest towns claim a staggering lottery jackpot. 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. today we begin with another cain controversy. republican presidential candidate herman cain is once again on defense, denying an atlanta woman's claims she had a 13-year affair with the former businessman. cain's lawyer calls it alleged consensual conduct. cain himself says it never happened. tracie potts has more. good morning. >> cane jumping out and denying these allegations, sometimes before the woman went public. ginger white said that herman cain flew her all over the country and put her up in hotel rooms. she says she has records to prove the affair. >> i was aware he was married.

>> cain admits to knowing white. >> there was no sex? >> no. >> reporter: what complicates things is the statement that says this appears to be private alleged consensual conduct. >> the closest you will get to an admission. >> asked about the allegation, newt gingrich steered clear. >> no comment at all? >> reporter: gingrich got a key endorsement sunday. >> it was a big boost over the weekend. he's going to ride it well, as long as he doesn't trip up and get caught into arguments about the past. >> reporter: and then there is m.d. romney riding high in new hampshire but not in iowa. in iowa gingrich has a 13 point lead over romney and cain has

slipped to third. >> tracie, thank you. >> barney frank has announced plans to retire next year. he said he does not have the energy to run in newly drawn congressional districts. he was the first member of congress to pubically acknowledge he was gay back in 1987. savanna guthrey is going to have an exclusive interview with mr. frank later on the "today show." united nations united states has concluded syrian forces have committed crimes against humanity, including the killing and torture of hundreds of children. the report found at least 256 children were killed by

government forces between mid-march and early november. some tortured to death, including a 2-year-old girl, reportedly shot so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator. also reports government forces were given shoot to kill orders to crush demonstrations. the results of the inquiry add to mounting pressure on syria's president bashar al assad to end his crackdown on protests and enact democratic reforms. meanwhile, for the first time in two years, several rockets were fired tuesday from lebanon into north israel. two buildings were damaged but no reported casualties. the israeli military says it returned fire across the border. a 34-day war was fought in 2006 between israel and iranian-backed hezbollah guerrillas based in lebanon while israeli/lebanese border

has been quiet in recent years, some have worried about a possible spillover of tensions from the months old revolt in syria against president assad. here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. no santa didn't get the date wrong. rescuers were called to a rooftop in texas after a man locked himself out of his house and then got stuck trying to get in through the chimney. well, firefighters used a rope to hoist him out after the man's wife, who was waiting outside, eventually called 911. one lucky kentucky man is very lucky to be alive after a powerful storm knocked a massive tree into his mobile home monday. the homeowner says the tree landed two feet away from where he was sitting in his living room at the time. farther south nasty weather is making it look like winter in parts of tennessee. snow piled up outside of memphis making treacherous travel there. a winter weather advisory is in effect throughout the area this morning.

and finally, there was no snow in washington, d.c. yesterday, but the arrival of the capitol tree is making it look a lot like christmas. the 65-foot tall, 118-year-old sierra white fir traveled from california. the annual tree lighting ceremony will take place one week from today. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is meteorologist todd santos with your weather channel forecast. good morning to you. todd, i know after thanksgiving you should get used to the holidays being here. i'm just not ready. >> northern alabama, really all they have seen over the last 120 years, only four times have they had snow accumulating in november. there is a look at the whole system. it has a core of cold air wrapped into it. rain in the north. meanwhile you look at the picture across the good western states, almost two-thirds of the

country, a much quieter picture. many areas, even down towards the bay. we will continue to see that during the daytime. temperatures above average for this time of year. that's good news for many folks. filter in late this afternoon. >> travel-wise across the country, there are a few other areas to mention. >> okay. thank you so much. also coming up, holiday sales

boost stocks. a big social network going public. a debt paid and a conscience cleared. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you how royal sister in law, pippa middleton is about to earn a king's ran some. coming up, a homecoming for urban meyer and the saints make it look easy in the big easy. 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. the associated press is reporting this deadly nato air strike that killed 24 pakistani soldiers could have been a case of mistaken identity. they suggest taliban force may have fired shots at afghan forces to provoke a cross-border fire fight.

tmz reports the mother of conrad murray, the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of michael jackson, has appealed to a judge to go easy on him at his sentencing later today. the 58-year-old murray faces up to four years in prison. a legendary comic book stolen in 2000 is expected to fetch a record-breaking $1.5 million or more. the pristine 1938 first ever edition of "superman" resurfaced in a storage unit earlier this year and was identified by three distinct printing defects. this same book formally held the record when it was last sold for $150,000. and three financial executives from greenwich, connecticut, have claimed this month's $254 million powerball jackpot. that's the largest in the state's history. at a news conference on monday they say they chose lump sum payment and a significant portion of it will go to charity. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 11,523 after spiking 291 points yesterday. the s&p surged 33 points. the nasdaq skyrocketed 85. in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 190 points while in hong kong the hang seng climbed 218. well, strong holiday shopping and efforts by european leaders to get tough on finances lifted wall street monday after seven straight down days. record sales over thanksgiving weekend boosted big retailers, including macy's and best buy. a report on november's expected increase in consumer confidence comes out today. trade was also fueled by a push from france and germany for

tougher budget control over eurozone members. bank stocks rose sharply led by citigroup and morgan stanley as investors worried less about european vulnerability. fitch raised its outlook to negative on the u.s. triple committee failure however analysts don't expect it to hit hard today on wall street, that's because the street was expecting it. elsewhere, "the wall street journal" reports facebook will look to raise as much as $10 billion in an ipo between april and june of next year. aol's ceo says the company won't be buying any of yahoo's assets and plans to stay independent. americans bought slightly more new homes in october, but the average sales price fell to a low for the year. using unusually harsh language, a judge struck down a $285

million settlement between citigroup and the securities and exchange commission over toxic mortgage securities. he sent a july trial date, calling the settlement neither fair nor reasonable nor adequate. finally, a seattle sears manager says an elderly man came in and repaid, with interest, cash he said he stole from a register back in the '40s. the store will use the money to help needy families during the holidays. coming up, the buckeyes find their man. a top ranked overtime thriller in college hoops. and two old foes go at it once again. plus, the new orleans saints make the new york giants look like munchkins on monday night football. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. since we talked about the rain and snow for today, what about tomorrow? we'll get you set for the middle of your week. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night on monday night football, while the new orleans saints strength. ed their status as a team on the road to the nfl playoffs, for the new york giants, desperation is setting in. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. sometimes drew brees and the saints make it look oh so he's easy. let's go to new orleans. drew brees put on a clinic against the giants. three touchdown passes in the first half alone. brees not only did it with his arm, he also did it with his legs. called his own number and ran in from eight yards out. new orleans literally running away with it, up 28-10 in the

third. when all was said and done brees finished with five touchdowns. giant sent backing 29-24. college football as expected ohio state officially hired urban meyer as its new head coach. a homecoming for meyer who was born and raised in ohio. wild and lightning, stamkos scored 45 goals last year. he's on pace to score 50 this season. he gave the lightning a 1-0 lead in the second. unfortunately, that was it for tampa's offense. minnesota scored two minutes later and added a couple more. wild went on to win it 3-1. how about overtime basketball. number 19 vanderbilt, number 11, xavier. vandy up two in the final second. lyons high off the glass and in. that tied it at 66 and they're off to ot. xavier kept it going in the extra frame. holloway led up with 24. xavier with an 80-70 overtime win.

finally proof old grudges never die. a 73-year-old football legend joe capp at a cfl event offering an olive branch to 74 angelo. he was injured with a vicious tackle in 1963. angelo wasn't having it, hit joe with his cane and took angelo down with one punch. he was okay. plenty of fight left in these two. after seeing that, there's no question joe capped him. that's your early look at sports on "early today." >> you feel bad laughing but you kind of have to. coming up, batman calls it quits. while the catwoman finds her man. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, an unbelievable story of survival from an animal shelter with a very happy ending. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." cooler temperatures starting off today. some decent numbers today in salt lake city. 49 in san francisco. keep that in mind, travel-wise heading up to seattle, showers today. some of that will transfer later on tonight and tomorrow. if you are watching in anchorage, alaska, find an teeg play things at wonderland of toys at the anchorage museum. >> todd, thanks so much. let's get a check of your headlines in entertainment. her sister may have been the one to marry into royalty but pippa middleton is about to earn a royal size income.

england telegraph reports that pippa became a celebrity has landed a book deal with a $600,000 advance. pippa's guide to party planning will come out for next year's holidays. actress anne hathaway who's played a princess is now getting married. she is engaged to adam schuller, an actor and jeweler who she's been datie ining since her mess split with her ex. christian bale in "the dark knight rises" told philippine paper this batman movie will be his last. finally, katy perry as marilyn monroe? young hollywood reports harvey weinstein hints in his new movie "my week with marilyn" wants perry to star as monroe on broadway. monroe on broadway?

she is getting so much good press for this movie. >> i could see her voted off. >> is it easy to go from pink to white? we'll see. this comes to us from wnbc 4 new york in nutley, new jersey, one very lucky dog survival story is worthy of a cat's nine lives. last month this 1-year-old beagle mix was living in an animal shelter in alabama where dogs that aren't adopted are euthanized in a gas chamber. incredibly, this death-defying pup found an air pocket and survived. a rescue group brought the dog to new jersey where he was adopted. he was named daniel after the brave biblical character who survived the lion's den. that's great there. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

mexico city is hoping to cut out some competition. 1,162 hair dressers came together to try and set the guinness world record for the most people cutting hair simultaneously. the goal was to get over 1,000 stylists out for what they hope is also a good training employer size. the snipping lasted just 17 minutes and still has to be certified by guinness officials. shoppers in china are bringing italian luxury a little closer to home. called little italy, this new shopping center is an homage to italian inspired architecture. the plaza holds almost 200 luxury brand stories and replicas of landmarks such as coliseum offering wine and venetian canal.

developers say it feeds locals' need for the good life. well, let's hope the staff at one parking lot in china has mastered the game of tetris before applying. more than 70 cars are parked bumper to bumper in the tiny lot designed for only 50 vehicles. clearly, they have learned to make the most out of the small space. parking attend ants say they've just had one accident, just a scrape over the past year, if you can believe it. i can, living in new york city you see these parking garages where literally there is a hair in between the two cars. i don't know how they do it. >> and the ones where you put one car above the other one, that's the only thing they need to do next. >> build it up, build it up. it's time for an early look at some stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. a marilyn -- maryland man held in aruba since august after his

travel companion disappeared is expected to be released from prison. a judge was unconvinced he should continue to be detained. in new york, nbc's own brian williams and matt lauer will attend the seventh annual unicef snowflake ball celebrating unicef's work in creating safer and healthier lives for children around the world. and 30 years ago today actress natalie wood drown in a boating accident at age 43, a case recently reopened by investigators. also 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, a look at what's coming up later today on the "today" show. latest details on latest allegations herman cain is facing after a woman came forward claiming she had a 13-year affair. and american music award winning band, hot chelle rae performs live in studio. 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. your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.