this morning on "early today" -- welcome home. president obama marks the end of the iraq war with those two words. >> christmas grinches. surveillance video catches two teens trashing a front yard holiday display. and small wonder. a baby weighing barely half a pound at birth defies all odds. 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 the end of a long and painful era. the official end to the u.s. mission in iraq. after nine years and some 4500 american lives lost, president obama and the first lady were at ft. bragg yesterday marking the end of the war. kristen welker reports. >> hello, ft. brag! >> reporter: appearing before a sea of service members at ft. bragg, north carolina, the president and first lady marked a pivotal moment in the nation's history. after nine years in iraq all the terms are returning. >> welcome home. welcome home. >> reporter: the speech, a tribute to the 1.5 million americans who served and the nearly 4500 who gave their lives. >> hard work and sacrifice. those words only begin to

describe the costs of this war. >> reporter: the president facing a tough re-election battle did not declare victory in iraq but has called the withdrawal a campaign promise kept. >> we are ending a war, not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home. >> reporter: back home john mccain said the withdrawal is purely political. >> i believe history will judge this president's leadership with scorn and disdain that it deserves. >> reporter: but for soldiers like jesse lucas who served three tours in iraq, today is a moment of celebration. >> makes me proud of what we did over there. we did our job over there. the president's getting us home. we pretty much had it taken care of. iraqis can handle themselves over there now. >> reporter: kristin welker, nbc news. in the same tribute yesterday, the president told the crowd washington needs to take a lesson from u.s. troops and their ability to work together. and while it appears lawmakers

on capitol hill have made some progress on a defense spending bill, an impasse over expiring payroll tax cuts could result in a government shutdown. tracie potts is joining us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. >> we'll start with your paycheck and the event to get that done. the democrats hope republicans will abandon tying this to the controversial oil pipeline so, we are down to the negotiations at this point. president obama discussed it with top democrats yesterday at the white house. now, in terms of the possible government shutdown as of midnight tomorrow, house republicans have put a $1 trillion spending plan out there that would keep government going through next september that includes some spending cuts and even backs off some policies that conservative republicans wanted. top democrats say they are onboard. there may still be some changes but the white house is pushing another temporary plan instead. and finally, it looks like we

will get this massive defense bill passed. the house passed it, the senate votes today. 662 billion dollars. the most controversial portions including terror detain knees. it looks like they have been able to work that out. >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. before a speech about brain science research at the university of iowa, republican presidential candidate newt gingrich got a taste of the kind of criticism that comes with his front-runner status. moments after taking the podium, the former house speaker stood silenced as protesters shouted out from the crowded auditorium attacking what they call his, quote, callous attitude toward poor people. meanwhile, just two days after mitt romney blasted gingrich for what he called his erratic

outspokenness, romney ramped up his rhetoric yesterday calling him zany. here's a look at other stories making news. look at that. a driver of a pickup truck crashed through a store front attempting to run down his girlfriend. after plowing into the store the man got away by stealing a nearby suv. he was later arrested after crashing that vehicle. only the store owner suffered minor injuries. a couple of grinches attempting to trash a virginia family's speck tar lur christmas display. surveillance video and photographs showed the destruction resulting in $7,000 worth of damage. the victims were able to salvage their display but still feel violated. police have not made an arrest. and resident in a small kansas town were talking about this truck. this truck was carting what many thought was a ufo-like object through the area.

hmm. the trucking company explained to authorities it was carrying a model for a new aircraft. that's kind of disappointing. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karens. so unfortunate. >> you are believing the cover-up story? >> well, i believe everything i hear, bill. that's the way i work. hop esty is the best policy. >> and i'm skeptical of everything. >> that's why we work together on this show. >> good morning. we have rain out there moving through california. it is still a cool forecast, no warm weather in sight. the rain on this map is shown in the green. the white is the clouds. there's a lot of cloud cover for oregon, idaho, definitely down to the south. as far as the rain goes, there's not a lot of it. some is moving onshore in northern california passing down through the bay area, sacramento and just sprinkles up in washington state. high pressure and some cool temperatures over the central rockies. and for much of this winter, much of the cold air has been locked into the western half of the country. the middle of the country and the eastern half of the nation is all wondering where is winter

while areas in the west have been seeing plenty of it. we are not getting nailed by huge storms but we are seeing cold temperatures. we have a lot of storms like this when we are adding a little bit to the snow pack up to central portions of the sierra. the green on the map, san francisco to sacramento, the wet area this is morning. i-5 is your wet drive for the morning commute. just showers by portland. really not a lot out there on the radar currently. it is cool in the 30s. today's forecast, showers in the northwest, also central california, you're dweather. won't cause you too many concerns. snow at the highest elevations like areas of lake tahoe. the weather pattern continues. not a lot of changes coming up. thank you so much. also coming up, everything falls on wall street, except for fear. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, who would have thought she showed up on time dressed decent and got along with the judge. lindsay lohan finally has a good day in court. coming up, kris paul is traded, the magic make a decision about dwight howard's future and tim tebow for president. 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. activists say violence across syria left as least 25 people dead wednesday. meanwhile, an activist group says army defectors killed 25 soldiers in security clashes this morning. one of the deadliest attacks by rebel troops in the nine-month uprying. uprising.

jacques shirard was found guilty of the party he led. taking into account his age, health and status as a former head of state, the court sentenced him to a suspended two-year prison sentence. a commercial satellite company says it captured a photo of china's first aircraft carrier taking an apparent test ride in the yellow sea. china bought the ship from you cain in 1998 and has spent years refurbishing it and arming it. some startling new numbers from the center for disease control and prevention. based on a new survey of domestic violence, one in four women reported being violently attacked by a husband or boyfriend. a number researchers called astounding. while one in five women said they had been sexually assaulted. and researchers have spotted a giant gas cloud spiraling into a massive, super massive black hole at the center of our galaxy. the first chance scientists have to observe a black hole consuming such a cloud.

well, now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,823 after tumbling 131 points yesterday. the s&p lost 13 points. the nasdaq lost 39. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei sank 141 points. while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 327. the stocks fell for a third day wednesday, hitting their lowest level in two weeks. the only thing rising on wall street was fear of a global slowdown. with europe sliding into recession, concern is spreading, the world's entire economy may be in jeopardy. italy's borrowing costs rose to a euro-era record. the euro fell to an 11-month low against the dollar. oil tumbled over 5%. snagging energy stocks. gold dropped to its lowest level since early october. in fact, copper fell to a near three-week low. tin, a three-month low. and the price of aluminum hit the lowest level in 17 months.

all that drove mining, commodity and material stocks lower. high demand for safe u.s. bonds drove a $13 billion, 30-year bond sale at a record low rate. shares of caterpillar, a global operator, led the dow lower. chevron also dragged the dow after brazilian authorities sued chevron over a recent spill for over $10 billion. techs sold off sharply. first solar tumbled after joining other companies that recently cut their outlooks. watch lam research today. it's buying novellis in a $3.3 billion all-stock deal. elsewhere, one survey says ceo pay shot up 27% last year. john hammergrin of the country's highest paid took home $145 million. meanwhile, if congress fails to extend unemployment benefits

that expire in two weeks, nearly 1.8 million americans will lose assistance. finally, it's known as retail therapy and store owners love it. a new survey finds one in four adults have gone shooping to improve their mood. guilty as charged. coming up, dwight howard is staying put. the boston bruins keep rolling. and one other way tim tebow can take advantage of his repeat string of luck. plus, chris paul's drama trauma ends with paul headed to l.a. just a slightly different address in l.a. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, the warm weather continues across the country and it looks to stay that way. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, apparently the nba feels it's okay for chris paul to be traded to los angeles as long as it's not to the los angeles lakers. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after a week of speculation, chris paul has finally been traded to los angeles. not to the lakers, the l.a. clippers. that's right. after the deal was dead numerous times with both clippers and lakers, the clips put together a package the hornets and nba could not resist. they said eric gordon, chris

kaman, and first round pick to new orleans for paul and a pair of second rounders. paul agreed to exercise a $17.7 million option, making him a clipper until 2013. paul's a clipper and dwight howard remains a member of the orlando magic. according to the team, he'll be there for a while. they pulled howard off the trade market. we'll see how long that lasts. hockey, the best in the west, blackhawks and wild. looked like chicago would run away with it in the second. marian hossa and michael frolik, scored 89 seconds apart but minnesota rallied, tying in the third. koivu with the equalizer. after a scoreless overtime, patrick kane won it in a shoot-out and scored it in the empty net. blackhawks won their fifth in a row 4-3. chicago was playing well but no team is playing better than the bruins who kept it going against the senators. daniel paille scored a pair. boston atop the eastern conference after a 5-2 win over the senators.

finally with the iowa caucus just weeks away a new candidate is making a late push for the republican nomination. according to public policy polling, tim tebow has a better net favorability in iowa than any of the republican candidates. we know he can run on the football field but he's not old enough to run for office. tebow for president in 2024? maybe it has a nice ring. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. what is the proper etiquette concerning divorcing and tweeting? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, some births are easier than others, but we'll tell you one of the most amazing survival stories of all time. you're watching "early today."

well, welcomeback to "early today." here's an update on your forecast for thursday morning. if you are leaving now driving near interstate 5 near sacramento south, you are getting rain this morning. also in san francisco and san jose light rain. then maybe just a sprinkle in seattle and portland. not a lot of rain there, but it will be a cloudy, cool day. tomorrow we get rid of the wet weather, but temperatures are kind of stuck. if you're watching us on knbc 4 in los angeles, california, in nearby huntington beach complex scenes in patterns within paintings. sculptures and video installations at calidoscope at

the huntington beach art center. it took me five times to get that. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thank you so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. lindsay lohan was all smiles in court wednesday as once she heard praise from the bench. this is breaking news, people. the judge overseeing her probation gave her credit for completing all community service and therapy sessions and even discussed ending her probation as early as february. but this judge is no fool. when lohan's lawyer asked if she could skip january's next appearance, the judge replied, quote, if i say yes then she will not complete everything. i'm just saying. kim kardashian spent $65,000 on three bracelets at elizabeth taylor's jewelry auction and in true kkk style she made sure everyone knew about it. and how quickly should someone change her twitter handle? demi moore tackled twitter

critics who say, sorry it bothers so many of you. does it really matter? it really doesn't. let's focus on this coming to us from los angeles, california, where the world's third smallest baby since records have been kept is alive and well after beating semiglioinsurmountment odds. melissa came into the world weighing less than a soda can. born four months early she tipped the scales at a little over half a pound. the little peanut. she weighs more than 4 pounds and is thriving. her amazing survival story is about to begin a new chapter when doctors allow her to leave for her family's home on new year's day. >> i want the first interview. >> no kidding. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a company in southern china has given a whole new meaning to doing the robot. they created a robot that can simulate the movements of a traditional chinese dancing lion. the robot costs more than $62,000 and took three years to contrive. creators say they can program the robot for various tasks and plan to implement the technology in other industries. well, overseas in georgia one man's talent is rather magnetizing. realizing he could attract metals to his body, the ex-kickboxing coach set out to break the record for the most spoons balanced on his face but ended up balancing 50 around his chest instead. taking it further he later

balanced a man weighing over 200 pounds on his chest for almost 30 seconds. finally, one woman in new zealand got an unexpected house guest. she came home to find a baby seal just chilling out on her sofa. managing to cross a busy street, wander across the garden, get through a cat door and trudge up the stairs to find a comfy resting spot, it was appropriately nicknamed lucky. the pup was caught and later released back into the harbor. you don't believe the story? >> zero. >> really? >> how is the seal pup getting up in the chair? is the cat boosting it? >> come on, have a little faith, bill. have a little faith. time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the house judiciary committee will take up legislation aimed at putting an end to pirated movies, tv shows, books and music on the internet. supporters say it's the right way to protect artistic content while critics like google and facebook say the measure will kill the internet as we know it.

the institute of politics at harvard will release new poll results on the political views of americans 18 to 29 years old or the millenial general ration. generation. and the nominees will be announced for the 69th annual golden globe awards. you can see those live this morning on the "today" show. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments of those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch "nbc nightly news". and here's what's coming up later on the "today" show. senator john mccain speaks out about the u.s. withdrawal from iraq and why he thinks now is not the right time to leave the country. oscar-winning actress sandra bullock talks about portraying a 9/11 widow in the new film "extremely loud and incredibly close". keep it on this channel for continuing local weather, news, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thank you for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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