[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- down to the wire. lawmakers agree on a trillion dollar deal to avoid a government shutdown. final words. republican presidential hopefuls faced off in the last high stakes debate before the iowa caucuses. and escape clause. what led one young man in california to get stuck in a tight spot. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to viewers across the nation, including pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a shutdown averted. last night congressional negotiators signed off on a trillion dollar spending package.

just one day ahead of a deadline that could have led to another government shutdown. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details on that and a massive defense bill headed to the president's desk. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. it looks like the late-night negotiations saved paychecks and federal jobs. no shutdown at midnight tonight if, in fact, votes happen in the house and senate as expected. democrats and republicans each gave up something for the trillion dollar spending bill. democrats wanted energy efficiency rules sooner, they booked off that. and republicans wanted restrictionses on people spending money and making visits from cuba a budget spending today's vote. the payroll tax will be extended. the cuts extended for two months we're told. and unemployment benefits for 99 weeks, and preventing a 27% cut in medicare payments.

the $626 billion bill , defense bill is a done deal. it's below president obama's request, but worked out with a deal with the white house that will allow the fbi to continue to arrest terror suspects. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. well, on the presidential campaign trail it was all about newt gingrich last night as his fellow gop candidates piled on the front-runner in the final republican debate before the iowa caucuses. nbc's steve handelsman has the story. >> reporter: front-runner newt gingrich, most republicans see him as more conservative than former front-runner mitt romney, but in iowa in the last debate before the january 3rd vote, the controversial former speaker claimed he's more electable next november, too. >> i believe i can debate barack obama, and i believe in seven three-hour debates barack obama will not have a leg to stand on in trying to defend a record that is terrible.

>> reporter: romney's main claim is electability because he was a businessman. >> i can debate president obama based upon that understanding. and i'll have credibility on the economy when he doesn't. >> reporter: libertarian ron paul is polling a close third in iowa. >> you know, fortunately for the republican party this year, probably anybody up here could probably beat obama, so -- >> reporter: they all aimed at gingrich, who advised mortgage lenders before the meltdown. >> when the speaker had his hand out and taking $1.6 million to influence senior republicans to keep the scam going -- >> reporter: he denied it but barged on to a remake of the court system. >> as a historian, i may understand this better than lawyers. >> reporter: a moment of reflection. >> i sometimes get accused of using language that's too strong. >> reporter: romney called gingrich zany. polls call him the leader of this pact.

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. elsewhere, there are some sobering new numbers this morning on just how much the ailing economy is affecting the nation and the growing gap between the rich and the poor. according to the census bureau, one in two americans is now either low income or poor. that is 146 million people. over the past 30 years, wages for low income workers have fallen or stayed flat while earnings in the top 5% of households have soared. meanwhile a separate study says a record number of children in the u.s. are now homeless. the study by the national center of family homelessness puts the number at 1.6 million. that's 1 in 45 kids. it's up a staggering 38% from 2007 when the economic crisis began. now here is a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. the family of a 14-year-old pennsylvania girl tasered by a police officer has filed a federal lawsuit claiming excessive force. police officers say the officer

struggled with the teen as she resisted arrest for disorderly conduct and several other charges before he was forced to fire at her. one person is dead and another was seriously injured when a small plane crashed outside an arizona home. the single-engine aircraft was only about a mile away from the airport when it went down in a front yard. luckily, no one on the ground was hurt as the pilot imagined to avoid hitting nearby homes. and finally, missing his curfew caused one man to get himself into a sticky situation. this is an understatement. a california fire crew was called in to remove a guy who attempted to avoid getting in trouble by sneaking down the chimney. yes, you are probably shaking your heads. family members became aware he was stuck after hearing his cries for help. the man was rescued, freed from injury but left with a lot of explaining to do. there's his not-so-happy mama right there. for a look at your national

and regional weather let's check in with meteorologist bill karins. >> i was just cleaning the chimney for santa, mommy. >> only you could come up with an answer. >> my mom was on to me when i was about two. can you believe in the pacific northwest, in like seattle, one of the driest starts you have had to any december. you typically in a la nina winter, which everybody was talking about, we expect big storms to move through the west. not lately. very quiet. 43 this morning. actually mild there. chilly in medford. chilly in l.a. 43. the real cold air back here in the intermountain west. upper level low spins through yesterday. and dipping south to baja california, the weather pattern, pretty much high pressure system will build over the west, just protect it from any storms. all the stormy weather will be out in the pacific. come up and over the ridge, up to areas of british columbia and down to the middle of the u.s. avoiding all areas of the west.

looks like a dry forecast. we'll continue even through the weekend. look at seattle. temperatures, mid 40s and no rain in sight. how rare is that? the forecast for today out there, san francisco, 57 and sunny. looks good. l.a., nice warmup for you this afternoon. phoenix, partly cloudy, 64. i think even skiers in the west would like a little more snow for the upcoming holiday. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, unemployment dives, stocks rise. and just what the heck happened on quadruple witching day? we'll tell you. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. his first official foray into prime time television is already creating excitement and criticism.

coming up, the falcons soar and the new jersey nets owner wants to run the largest country in the world. 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. the russian customs service says it has seized radioactive material at miscow airport, found in the luggage of a passenger bound for iran. they found a radioactive isotope that could "only be obtained as the result of a nuclear reactor operation". joe arpaio and his deputies engaged in racial profiling of latinos and making unlawful arrests on their bid to crack down on illegal immigrants. authorities say chicago bears wide receiver sam hurd has

been arrested with a kilogram of cocaine in a drug sting operation. they say he wanted to buy five to ten kilos of coke and 1,000 pounds of marijuana to distribute in chicago. controversial reporter and author christopher hitchens has died of pneumonia as a result of cancer at the age of 62. an englishman who roamed the world's hot spots as a magazine correspondent, moved to the u.s. in the '80s and penned several best sellers, including "god is not great". an unpublished charlotte bronte manuscript has been snapped up by a french museum for a record $1.1 million at auction. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,868 after rising 45 points yesterday. the s&p gained 3. the nasdaq eased up 1. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei added 24 points.

in hong kong the hang seng climbed 258. stocks rose thursday for one day traders decided they were not going to worry about europe. but there was still plenty to worry about. christine lagarde, head of the imf called the world's economic outlook, quote, quite gloomy and called for action from all countries to head off global depression. the good news here is too good to ignore. unemployment applications fell to a 3 1/2 year low. new york state manufacturing rose to its highest level since may. new factory orders in the mid-atlantic region surged. bellwether fedex shot up. on strong every than expected profits. novelis jumped. michael kors soared 21% in its debut. yet another big company, honeywell, backed off its forecast. morgan stanley will fire 1,600 to cut costs. fitch cut long-term ratings on barclay's and credit suisse by

two notches, and bank of america, bnp paribas, goldman sacs and citigroup. a surprise resignation by cablevision top executive sparked speculation it may be a takeover target. one analyst calls it, quote, one of the biggest bombshells in recent industry history. the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has matched its record low. today is quadruple witching day. equity options expire, as do stock index futures, stock index options and individual stock futures. the stock to watch today is zynga. its ipo priced at $10 a share. finally, the $116 million taken in by christie's elizabeth taylor jewelry auction makes it the most valuable private jewel collection ever sold. coming up, another serious concussion injury in hockey and sports mixing with politics.

plus, a falcon can easily overpower a jaguar. at least on the football field. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in the weather this upcoming weekend looks fabulous, dry and warm. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the atlanta falcons made a serious statement last night against the jacksonville jaguars. if they want to be taken seriously as postseason contenders. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the falcons have waited all season to put together a complete game. well, that wait is over. simply dominated the jaguars in atlanta capped off their first drive with a touchdown. 29 yards to the house. the falcons up 7-0. to the second and the jaguars turn it over deep in their own end and michael turner made them pay. untouched to the end zone. falcons soaring high, up 27-0 at the break. many of you play fantasy football. you're starting your playoffs this week. if you have ryan and roddy white, your team is looking pretty good. white's second touchdown of the game made it 41-0. ryan finished with three scores. falcons routed the jags 41-14. nhl -- a concussion has taken out another future hall of

famer. chris pronger is shutting it down for the rest of the year because of postconcussion syndrome. the latest in a handful of players out what who missed because of being hit in the head. the games must go on and flyers have been getting a lift from an unlikely source. wayne simmonds got another score last night against the canadiens. capitals and jets scoreless for 58 minutes. ovechkin decide enough is enough, unleashed a rocket with 1:14 left. that's why he's one of the best in the game. capitals are starting to turn things around after a slow start shutting out the jets 1-0. chris paul a clipper and dwight howard staying put in orlando, nets owner mikhail prokhorov is trying to acquire something much bigger. russian presidency. yep. he's owned the nets for a year. now he wants to take over russia. the savvy billionaire sets out to beat vladimir putin in the next election. no word on jay-z will be his

running mate. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> interesting pair. coming up, a big boost for the box office. and a silent film makes lots of golden globe noise. early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, remember this story next time you find something on the street as we'll tell you about a holiday season act of honesty that makes all the difference for a needy family. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." time for your weekend forecast. lookses pretty nice. temperatures cool. the only weather concern we have, santa ana winds kick up later today. especially tonight into tomorrow morning. into southern california. normally favored airs that get nasty winds. that will be the case. roads could be treacherous. overall, as we go through the weekend, looks like today and tomorrow. no weather highlights out there. temperatures mild in some cases. if you are watching us on k-5 news in seattle, washington. explore the intersections of photography, painting and new media. this at videowatercolors. the pacific event of the day. >> that's so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. after two super low weeks of attendance at the box office,

hollywood is very happy to see sherlock holmes on the case, the follow-up to 2009's hugely successful debut of robert downey jr. and jude law as crime-fighting pair of holmes and watson is expected to take in over $60 million. the new family won't do bad either. second place with around $35 million should go to "alvin and the chipmunks: chipwrecked." third installment in that franchise. very cute. elsewhere the silent film "the artist" led the golden globe nominations with six, best musical or comedy, best screenplay, best actor and best supporting actress. everyone is l.a. is shaking their heads about that. and howard stern signed on as judge to "america's got talent." already the parents television council complained about the shock jock's appointment but simon cowell says he thinks stern is way too smart to cross

the line saying, quote, he's not stupid. >> i am going with the instant quick fix over the silent movie. >> you don't want a throwback to the old days, when it was simple. well, this comes to us from wcau philadelphia, pennsylvania, where in nearby new jersey two acts of kindness came at the right time for a homeless family. carol and her son anthony returned an envelope with over $900 after discovering it just laying in a parking lot. well, the money ended up belonging to a homeless mother of five. she intended to make a downpayment on a new apartment. a week later, the cash-strapped family received a second blessing when their church providing them with a mountain of christmas gifts. that's the season. that's the spirit. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

visitors will now get the chance to skim along the ice at france's most famous landmark. an ice rink measuring more than 2,000 square feet has been placed 187 feet atop the eiffel tower for the holiday season. a small white replica of the monument sits at the center of the rink. open 12 hours a day, hot cinnamon wine and hot chocolate is served rinkside. that sounds delicious. designers figure out what a woman wants. fashion and chocolate. brilliant. a chocolate fashion show was held in china yesterday serving as a preview of a new chocolate theme park. some models sported small accessories while some walked the runway in full-blown gown

made of the sweet treat. the world chocolate dream park is set to open today. today, finally in canada, the game must go on. just not here. a high school hockey game had to be stopped after a puck deflected and made a freak beeline for the ceiling, hitting the sprinkler system, breaking the pipeline, causing the water to flood the rink. it seems the only good thing to come from the situation was a well-deserved afternoon off for the team. looks like a little mess there. >> looks like that water wasn't the cleanest either. nasty rink. >> we've had a little experience like that in our studio where we had a fire alarm going off. nothing like the sprinkler but makes for an amusing thing. at least people can laugh about it. >> wet anchors doing the news. >> exactly. that would end up on youtube. time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout date here on nbc. barry bonds is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court. in april he was convicted of obstructing justice stemming from his 2003 testimony to a grand jury investigating a

steroid scandal. the faa has given american airlines pilots the go ahead to use ipads in the cockpit instead of paper charts and manuals. after extensive testing the airline found the device wouldn't interfere with cockpit instruments. and mission accomplished for jessica lynch. the army private rescued by u.s. forces after being captured in iraq in 2003, today she gets her education degree from west virginia university. all day long you can stay on top of the very 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. nbc's natalie morales goes inside the new cuba with a look at how the less isolated nation is changing. and daniel craig talks about going beyond bond in his new film "the girl with the dragon tattoo". 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. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com