[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- still no deal as the capitol clears out for the holidays. house republicans face mounting pressure to act on the payroll tax cut. and coordinated bombings across baghdad leave scores dead. and wild ride. a high-speed chase in central florida comes to a crushing end. hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry.

today we begin with under pressure. with millions of americans facing less in their paycheck and the white house not budging on a payroll tax cut extension, house speaker john boehner is quickly becoming isolated on his stalling over a compromise senate bill in order to get the cuts extended for a year rather than the two months currently being proposed by the senate. yesterday "the wall street journal" likened boehner's strategy to a, quote, circular firing squad. while one republican senator labeled it irresponsible and wrong. nbc's brian mooar has the latest. >> reporter: with taxes set to go up on 160 million americans in just ten days, president obama called house speaker john boehner to turn up the heat. >> the ball is in the house's court. there is a compromise available. >> reporter: house leaders are refusing to pass a senate compromise and they're digging in for a fight. even though the senate's gone away for the holiday.

>> all we're asking for is to get the senate members over here to work with us, to resolve our differences so we can do what everybody wants to do. >> reporter: the senate passed the 60-day extension with broad bipartisan support. >> the amendment is agreed to. >> reporter: and democrats and the president on down are all but daring the house to let it die. house leaders won't allow a vote but they're staying in session. >> speaker, when -- mr. speaker -- mr. speaker -- mr. -- i would like to ask for unanimous consent we bring up the bill. >> reporter: house democrats are demanding a vote on the senate bill but they're not in charge. >> so, we'll be here every day, waiting for them to come to the floor of the house to actually take up this legislation so that we can get it done. >> reporter: while the first family's in hawaii, president obama is staying here in the nation's capital, waiting to see whether republicans blink first. brian mooar, nbc news, washington.

in what is being called a massacre, activists say syrian troops killed more than 100 people in one northeastern village tuesday in what appears to be a desperate attempt to crush key pockets of resistance before today's arrival of arab league observers. in one of the deadliest episodes of the nine-month uprising against president bashar al assad's government, a witness claims the use of rockets, tanks and gunfire in the hour's long assault left no survivors. the white house said it was deeply disturbed and the opposition syria national council is calling for a u.n. security council meeting. eight u.s. soldiers are facing charges after an army private's body was found in a guard tower in afghanistan back in october. the army ruled the death of danny chen, an asian-american from new york city, a suicide. an investigation further found that chen had been the target of ethnic slurs and physical attacks at the hands of his fellow soldiers. eight of them have been charged with involuntary manslaughter

and negligent homicide for allegedly driving chen to take his own life. now here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. a high-speed chase through the streets of orlando ended in a hair-raising crash. police pursued burglary suspects for 40 minutes until they smashed into three vehicles at a busy intersection. miraculously, no one died. six people, including the two suspects, did suffer serious injuries. a raging inferno in detroit forced two people to jump for their lives. a man and a woman leapt from the burning home's second floor to escape. both were hospitalized with serious injuries. one long island group set out to create the brightest festival of lights ever. approximately 700 people gathered on the second night of hanukkah to break the record for the most menorahs lit at one time. there is no official word just yet, but organizers believe they

bested the record of 358 set in 2009. finally, decorations for the biggest of all new year's eve parties are beginning to arrive. a giant number two was delivered to times square. the new number will light up the new york city sky when the ball drops on 2012. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. i'm not really used to being in the 2000, and not 12 years later i still feel like it is 1995. >> a little bit nostalgic, huh? >> yeah. here's what we are looking at outside. we have changes underway in the pacific northwest. enjoy one more dry day. it has been a fantastic december. you have been very dry. this is usually the wet season and it is just incredible that the pattern is about to switch. we have a huge storm going through the rockies. denver picked up 6 to 12 inches

of snow last night. areas of wyoming also picked up snow heading for new mexico. high pressure, a huge area of high pressure is now taking shape over idaho. and the winds around this will make for a windy day in southern california, especially going through tonight and into tomorrow morning. the santa ana winds are going to pick up, so the favored mountains and valleys will be affected. the next storm on the edge of the map is going to be the game changer. we'll bring just a slight chance of showers up friday, but then once we get to the saturday/sunday christmas period, unfortunately the northwest is looking at rainy weather heading your way for the holiday into next week. as i mentioned, it is cold in spots but we are better in southern watch for sunshine in california. central california should be fine with winds gusting in the

south. this has been one of the driest decembers on record in many spots of the northwest. and that's going to come to an end. >> all right, bill, thank you so much. teching tumble and another aaa warning. and something new to go along with your belly-buster. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. suddenly the kardashians are involved in something of an international incident. a world champion headed to jail. a late rally in the poinsettia bowl and christmas miracle on the ice. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. a series of coordinated attacks in the iraqi capital have left at least 57 people dead and nearly 200 wounded. iraqi officials say at least a dozen bombs went off in neighborhoods around the city.

a russian soyuz rocket took off from a snowy launch pad in kazakhstan with a three-man crew, including a 56-year-old american chemical engineer. they're scheduled to arrive at the international space station tomorrow. two female sailors have become the first same-sex couple to share the traditional dockside first kiss after the "uss oak hills" returns to virginia. it happened just a day shy of the one-year anniversary of president obama's signing the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. england's prince william and his wife katherine took part in a seasonal minced meat pie event last night in london. the royal couple also watched the talent show and sat in on an employment workshop. meanwhile, prince harry announced he's headed back to afghanistan for a second deployment next year and says he, quote, can't wait to get out there. his last deployment in 2007 was cut short when details of his location were made public. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 12,107 after adding four points yesterday. the s&p was up 2 but the nasdaq fell 25. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dipped 64 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 38. on an otherwise flat wall street trading day, one stock dragged down techs and then techs dragged down the nasdaq. after the bell tuesday, oracle missed expectations for the first time in a decade. joining a growing list of big techs whose results and outlook have raised alarm bells. the stock plunged 12% and was the nasdaq's biggest loser. other techs followed. ibm down 3% was the biggest drag on the dow. cisco fell over 2%. jabil circuit, which also posted disappointing numbers, fell almost 3%. one tech exception, research in motion. it jumped 10%. leading the nasdaq on a report amazon and other potential

bidders are sizing up the blackberry maker. elsewhere, fitch ratings warned again the united states' rising debt burden was inconsistent with maintaining the country's aaa credit rating. bank of america agreed to pay $335 million to resolve allegations its countrywide unit engaged in widespread discrimination against qualified african-american and hispanic borrowers on home loans, the largest settlement of its kind. yahoo! today, the company may be close to selling its prime internet holdings in china and japan. and finally, you have to think harold and kumar would approve. white castle is experimenting with serving beer and wine at one indiana restaurant. well, right now the eyes of the world are on the sleepy northern town of north pole, alaska. that is where they are prepping for the big sendoff of its most famous resident. nbc's bob redell is braving the

cold for us in the north pole this morning. bob, this is serious business. a lot at stake. is everything going according to schedule there? >> reporter: well, not exactly. good morning to you, lynne. part of the problem is we did have a tall cameraman who would get me in the frame, unfortunately once we arrived here, north pole requires us that we use local help. so, hence the reason with this. we've tried to argue out of this but that isn't going to happen. as far as santa is concerned -- you can go away now, thank you. as far as santa's concerned, you know, we were concerned about whether we could actually speak with him because he's so busy. he was able to squeeze us in and was giving us this great exclusive. the only media outlet to get this interview sit-down extended one-on-one. take a listen. are we rolling? santa, are you ready for christmas eve? >> yes, i am. >> all right, thanks. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: you, too. amazing how much time he gave us. well, obviously he's ready

there, lynne. if you don't mind, i want to make sure that the guys will be pulling this sleigh right here are ready. let's go to another camera and check on our reindeer. dasher, dancer, i see prancer, vixen in the background, donner, cupid, blitzen -- wait, go back. no, the other one. that's blitzen. that's donner. i always get them mixed up. donner has the brown fur. you can see the problem there. obviously, christmas is a go. we're ready from north pole, alaska, to see the sleigh take off in just over a couple nights there, lynne. >> you got an exclusive with santa so you know you're set for the year. this is only going to go up from here. bob, thanks so much for braving the cold. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> put a good word in for us. coming up, a champion heads to jail. a bowl game goes down to the wire. and a big concussion comeback. plus, a 59-year-old woman makes a miracle shot no one was

supposed to be able to make. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> you know, lynne, we found someone a little more ridiculous than me, which makes me feel kind of normal this morning. your forecast is coming up. busy travel season under way. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, boxing champ floyd mayweather jr. will have time on his hands to work on his tarnished public image in jail. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. boxer floyd mayweather jr. has finally lost a fight. the world champion is a perfect 42-0 inside the ring but now has one big loss outside of it. sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to a reduced domestic violence charge for hitting his ex-girlfriend and threatening two of their children last year. mayweather will begin his sentence january 6th. football no better way to get into the holiday spirit than poinsettia bowl in san diego. 18th ranked tcu had to rally in the fourth quarter against louisiana tech. the touchdown's the difference. tcu wins 31-24.

hockey, claude giroux returns to the lineup after missing four games with a concussion. made an immediate impact against the stars. ties the game in the first period with his 17th goal of the season. he also added three assists. jaromir jagr, who scores in the second period. flyers were soaring and take it 4-1. two teams heading in completely different directions, the blackhawks and canadiens, chicago has been on a tear and montreal has been terrible. burnett and patrick sharp score 20 seconds apart. blackhawks win 5-1. montreal has lost 6 of 8. maybe they should sign brenda hewlitt, the 59-year-old who pulls off the impossible at a minor league hockey game. takes a whack at a puck from the blue line. 140 feet away from the net and wouldn't you know it, down the middle and into a hole, barely larger than the puck. that wins her a brand new truck and, get this, brenda wears glasses and couldn't wear them because they didn't fit under the helmet. talk about your christmas miracles. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. coming up, rumors of a big

engagement. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one texas man is fessing up to a parking ticket almost six decades later. you're watching "early today."

welcome back this thursday morning. quite the snowstorm taking place in denver with some areas up to a foot on the ground already. that storm is heading for new mexico later today. areas of the west are relatively

quiet. a cold morning in the inner mountain west. a decent afternoon today. tomorrow is when the weather pattern changes with a chance for rain in the northwest. if you are watching us on california's knsd, nbc san diego, at jungle bells, see the san diego zoo transform into a wild wintry wonderland. that's your pacific event of the day. >> thank you so much, bill. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the kardashian clan is ducking a different kind of bad publicity. "star" magazine says most of their products are made in chinese sweatshops under brutal conditions. kris jenner said she's sure nothing bad is going on but admitted she'd never been to the workshop. rumors are flying justin timberlake and jessica biel got engaged at a ski resort. i'm not sure i'm believing that.

finally the national enquirer claims bill murray shredded a proposed script for "ghostbusters 3" sending it back to dan aykroyd with the note saying, no one wants to pay money to see fat old men chasing ghosts. we beg to differ. this comes to us from ktrc in houston, texas, where one man proved it is never too late to pay a debt. rummaging through old mementos he found a 58-year-old parking ticket. he got it before boarding a bus to join the army, although the city long ago erased record of it he went to officials offering to pay the $1 fine. the mayor was so impressed with his honesty that she waived all penalties and interest which dale said his wife would be glad to hear. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a cuddly cub in denmark with the ability to thaw the iciest of hearts. this baby polar bear was born at the wildlife park tuesday. >> couldn't get any better. >> i know. separated from its mother because she does not produce enough milk, the bear is now in the care of the park and officials saved its life. the cub weighed a little more than three pounds at birth and has now gained two more. well, bartenders are no longer just therapists with a bottle. they're entertainers now as well. in canada, flare bartenders are all the rage. rather than just pouring a drink, they send the bottles flying through the air, wowing the crowd before filling up the glass.

one bartending school teaches the craft to up and comers saying it takes just a bit of practice. tom cruise is smiling somewhere. finally in canada, return to sender has become somewhat of a tradition. for decades two friends took turns sending each other the very same christmas card each year with post-it note messages inside. after the pair passed away, their kids decided to carry on the ritual, using the same card sharing their own sentiments inside. 20 years since they first met, the two will reunite to reminisce. i love that. i see a pattern there. >> we are going to copy it. you love it so much that we are going to start it. you send it first to me -- >> i plan on knowing you for a few more years. i don't know how long this can go for. >> a few years? i was going to cut it off in a couple months. time now for an early look at some stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the pew research center will release a report on women in the u.s. military breaking down the data by rank, race, marital

status and how many have seen combat. the report will also reveal how many female veterans have experienced marital problems and post-traumatic stress on the home front. the los angeles area is bracing for powerful santa ana winds that could reach up to 60 miles per hour. forecasters are warning residents to be aware of potential driving hazards and brush fires. and a milestone outside our front door. the rockefeller center ice rink turns 75 today. 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." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. details on how gop presidential candidates mitt romney and newt gingrich are both upping the ante with negative attack ads. an the grammy-nominated band the fray puts a modern spin on a christmas 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com