this morning on "early today," end of an era. north korea says its long time supreme leader, kim jong il, is dead. southwest whiteout. five western states prepare for the onslaught of a major winter storm. and harry's heroics. the english prince launches his own london dragnet for a friend in need. 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 death of a dictator. north korea's long time leader, kim kim jong il has died at the

age of 69 after a heart attack ending 17 years of rule over the isolated country. kim's likely heir is his youngest son, kim jong-un. state media is now calling the great successor. ian williams takes a look back on the life of kim jong-il. >> they called him the dear leader, the iron willed commander. hits birth heralded by rainbows and a new star lighting the sky. but kim jong il has turned out to be mortal after all. kim jong il's north korea seemed isolated and unpredictable and at times was more like a cult than a country. at times bizarre, but sometimes dangerous, impoverishing his own people and threatening to annie late his neighbors. it was eager to poke fun at the portly d lly dictators.

he liked fast cars and fine foods. myths easily flourish when so little is really known. diplomats describe kim as shrewd and calculating, well practiced at the use of that's and force to win concessions and aid. successfully fending off u.s. efforts to reign in his nuclear weapons program. he inherited the job in 1994 from his father, the founder of north korea, who though dead remained eternal president. as kim jong il's health deteriorated, his features ravished by at least one stroke, he groomed his youngest son to take over. the young kim's rise was accompanied by a spate of provocations against the south, torpedoing a boat and shelling an island near the border. they also revealed a previously

unknown uranium facility. gifts to his son, perhaps, who would appear to have few obvious leadership qualities from a father often dismissed as mad but likely to be remembered as a master manipulator. ian williams, nbc news, bangkok. and elsewhere this weekend, the leader of a very different kind of revolution. the czech rep leader died after a lock respiratory illness. havel led the velvet revolution that ended soviet-backed rule. just over a month later, havel became president. and later leader of the newly formed czech republic. the sweden foreign minister called havel simply one of the greatest europeans of our age. now to washington where the fate of the payroll tax cut is once again up in the air. after the senate and the white house agreed on a two-month extension, house republicans are now saying they're not on board. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that.

tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. whether payroll taxes go up 2 pest in 12 days is in limbo yet again. we thought we had a deal. only the senate. 89 democrats and republicans supported this. voted on it and went home. a two-month extension of the payroll tax break along with unemployment benefits and, yes, that controversial keystone xl pipeline, speeding up an approval process for that, but when they went home, the house said no, we don't like that deal. and republicans plan on defeating that in a vote later today. what happens next? the senate may have to come back from the break and deal with that. if not, they may be able to work this out in conference this week. and that's what house speaken john boehner seems to indicate that they will be able to work this out in conference. less than two weeks now until that deadline that will one way or another affect your paycheck.

lynn. >> tracie potts there for us in washington. thank you. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. new york police have arrested a man for the brutal murder of a 73-year-old woman. a security camera captured the man dousing the woman with a flammable liquid inside an elevator and then igniting a deadly blaze with a molitov cocktail. after turning himself, the suspect told police he was angry with the elderly victim because she owed him money for work he had done. a texas high school championship game celebration came to a painful ending at cowboys stadium. the winning coach was among seven people mowed down by a run away electric cart after the game. all the injuries were minor and it's still unclear how the unmanned vehicle became moving under its own power. and finally, santa had an unforgettable gift for one young boy in kansas. that's an understatement. moments after he told st. nick he wanted his dad home for

christmas, the 3-year-old's father popped out of a nearby box. dad is home on leave after serving two tours in iraq and redeploys in january. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. >> unfortunately, when you are three, you don't remember a lot. your earliest memories, three, four, hopefully he remembers. if not, we'll send him the videota videotape. pretty calm in the west, quiet, nonstormy weather pattern in the pacific northwes we were expected blockbuster la nina type storms. hasn't happened a lot of big storms in british columbia. many areas of arkansas, washington sta oregon and washington state. one of the bigger winter storms we've had. blizzard warnings from kansas to

colorado. oklahoma and texas. so as that storm pivots and heads out. high pressure builds in its wake. no weather concerns out there. anyone traveling from arizona to mexico. rough, especially around santa fe and higher elevations outside skweshg. g albuquerque. we won't see a lot of wet weather. a little fog in a few spots. watch for little freezing fog near the medford area. above freezing in most areas. cool side from vegas to san francisco to l.a. a while since you warmed up. i don't see the weather pattern changing any time soon. for today's forecast. partly cloudy up here in the pacific northwest. not bad. highs in the mid 40s. that's a look at departing stor. high elevations did pick up

significant snow. for much of this week as we get ready for the holidays, pretty quiet in the west. >> bill, thanks so much. the death of north korea's ruler shakes world markets. the price of gas keeps falling, and zynga sputters. the only film to shine at an otherwise disastrous weekend at the box office. tim tebow looks for another miracle, the packers' run at history comes to an end, and will the colts ever get a victory? you're watching "early today." hw

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. reuters is reporting the u.s. is considering the transfer of an unspecified number of taliban prisoners into afghan government custody as part of a confidence building measure in secret talks

with the taliban. u.s. officials tell reuters that talks have reached a critical juncture. in pakistan, more than 30,000 protesters rallied against the u.s. in the eastern city of lehor demanding islamabad cut off ties with washington. the protest was in response to last month's nato air strike that killed 24 pakistani soldiers. this at two army posts along the afghan border. egyptian security forces and protesters demanding an end to military rue clashed on the streets of cairo today. this for a fourth straight day today. at least ten protesters have been killed and 441 others wounded. and england's prince harry reportedly leapt into action after hearing a friend being mugged over the phone. the prince searched the streets of south london before catching up with the victim at a police station. he really is perfect. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,866 after losing two points friday.

the s&p eased up three. the nasdaq gained 14. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 105 points while in hong kong the hang seng fell 215. today's death of north korea's leader kim jong il threw an unexpected curveball at already jittery market. raising fear of asian instability, asian markets were lower and u.s. futures are pointing downward for today. otherwise, invest ores are watch europe this week, and today, europe's central bank president disappointed markets, saying the bank won't consider large bond purchases. hammering out italy's crucial austerity budget battling union opposition entered its final phase. here at home, according to comscore, consumers spent 15%

more in online holiday buying than last year. the average regular gas is $3.24 a gallon, down 24 cents over the past six weeks. in deal news, canada's el dorado gold agreed to buy european gold fields for $2.4 billion. housing data dominates the week. december home builder sentiment is out today. november housing starts come tuesday followed by wednesday's previously owned home sales. new home sales are out friday. watch zinga this week. its highly anticipated ipo stumbled friday, losing 5% in its debut. finally, you may want to avoid this term in your next job interview. nearly four in ten adults named whatever the most annoying phrase used in conversation for the third year in a row. coming up, brady is too much for tebow. the colts play big while the giants play small. plus, with halftime entertainment like this, who needs madonna? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

if you're doing any travel in the central u.s., you're either going to deal with a major winter storm or possible thunderstorms. 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 denver broncos set out to prove sunday they were contenders. but instead, the new england patriots confirmed claims by bronco critics that they're just a curiosity. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. tim tebow has created incredible last minute magic this season, but he would need a miracle to beat the patriots. first quarter, tim tebow taking off, breaks the tackle, weaves his way into the end zone. remarkable start for the broncos. but tom brady answers right back. chad ofteno cinco's first touchdown of the season. england has a 7-6 lead and they never look back. up big in the final minutes for the patriots. tebow, trying to create more magic. on fourth and 14, he's running backwards, keeps going and going, trying to find a miracle. not this time. pats win, 41-23 to clinch the afc east. also history, the packers perfect season. aaron rodgers and company fall

to the chiefs and company. romeo cornell gets the gatorade bath. the chiefs shock the packers, 19-14. green bay still top in the league at 13-1. colts finally get their first victory hosting the titans. after being shut out on one side, donald brown reversing course, finding daylight and going 80 yards for 6. colts win 27-13. in san diego, chargers surprising the ravens. philip rivers finding malcolm floyd for the score. chargers win to hold on to playoff hopes. >>. >> i do giants hosting the redskins. bad day for eli manning. giants lose, 23-10. they fall to 7-7. finally, back to denver for the best play of the day. a monkey riding the field around for halftime. if tebow had one of those guys, the broncos would have beating new england.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> how is that for a good way to start off your week? coming, sherlock holmes wins and loses at the box office. "early morning" entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, as opposed to the sweet 16 lavishness, these are the kind of things that were found at one tar heel girl's celebration. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. forecastwise, very quiet. not many need the umbrella in the west. traveling through new mexico, that's where the worst of the weather is, with snow and rain in albuquerque. snow in santa fe. arizona, clearing out. still chilly. salt lake city to boise, cool, typical winter area. northwest, not bad. temperatures in the mid 40s today. san francisco not bad either. tomorrow, maybe a chance of showers in the northwest. not a really strong storm. we will watch temperatures, still cool. l.a. only 58 tomorrow. watching us on kimr 6, palm springs, california. in palm desert, enjoy thousands of twinkling lights, live music, at wildlights. 'tis the season. an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. another devastating weekend at the theaters this weekend.

and it's not even "sherlock homes" could battle it. it debuted on top with $40 million, $20 million than estimates. >> i called it. >> this is the low neest in 16 r years alvin and the chipmunks in second. >> theodore has been fired by the way. the weekend's only bright spot was "mission impossible: ghost protocol" in a handful of imax theaters. finished third with a whopping $13 million. i wish i knew it was out. didn't know it was playing. >> did you see the second or third one? >> yes, i absolutely did. >> i will quiz you after the

show. this comes to us from raleigh, north carolina. where nearby in johnson county helping others was the only request on one teen's burt day wish. mckenzie's sweet 16 bash didn't resemble the sweet 16 party we've seen thrown so many times. for these me first kids. instead, this birthday girl wanted to give. she told party gusts to come with donations for the toys for a little holiday comfort showing the teen generation, showing that it can be better to give than receive. >> you are saying my big sweet 16 party was out as a me first kid. >> where you got your new jeep with the big bow on it? >> a hummer, jeep wasn't good enough many. >> i'm not surprised. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

home to the largest sa sculpture festival. some measuring over 16 feet tall. it's comprised of over 2,,400 tons of sand. in beijing, visitors of a shopping mall are greeted with a wonderland of lights. the light festival follows a fairytale theme this year and displays over 1,000 works of art over more than 30 acres. the show, complete with fitting

musical numbers, is environmentally friendly, using materials that will help minimize energy consumption. finally, it looks like renting the old santa suit alone just won't cut it this year. in london, reindeer are the new must have for anyone wanting to create an attraction. the owners of real reindeer say interest is growing with business jumping an impressive 25%, appealing to small business owners to the prime minister himself. the prime minister hosted a children's party, so he got a bunch of reindeer. the children loved it. i would imagine these poor guys after the 25th are benched every year. >> no. they play the reindeer games, lynn. they practice. >> how could i forget? thank you, bill, for keeping me in line. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. a military hearing is set to resume for bradley manning, accused of releasing documents to wikileaks. manning's lawyer is expected to

cross-examine an army investigator who says he found more than 10,000 state department cages and other classified material on manning's computer. the united states postal service says today is the deadline to ship letters and packages overseas for arrival by christmas. and on this day in 1843, the charles dickens classic "a christmas carol" was first published in england. 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." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. actress rooney mara talks about her role in one of the most anticipated films of the year, "the girl with the dragon tattoo." and shaggy performs live with a jamaican twist on a holiday classic. 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. have a good one.

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