good friday morning. coming up on "early today," it's one of the strongest storms ever recorded on earth. the superstorm hits land. and nbc exclusive interview with president obama. and what about replacinghe vp? twitter's grand debut on the stock market. also, toronto's mayor, and -- fireworks fly when number two takes on number six in college football. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, november 8th. good morning to you. i'm richard lui. it's being called one of the

most powerful storms ever recorded. right now, haiyan is lashing the fill spooens with miles 195 miles per hour and experts are predicting catastrophic damage. here's nbc's frances koe with more. >> reporter: it's what the philippines feared. the typhoon slammed into the coast. they are bearing the brunt. winds at least 150 miles per hour and drenching rains that made visibility virtually nonexistent. the breeze moved through the air and floated into rapid moves rivers. storm surges are expected to reach up to more than 20 feet in some cities. about a million people are taking cover in shelters in more than 20 provinces, but because the country is made up of islands, there's fear residents have few options for safe areas. weather experts are calling

haiyan a perfect storm with a clear eye, an indicator of an immense strength. the only positive, it's fast moving. that's little comfort for millions of residents who you nor bracing for the worst. frances koe, nbc news. >> and nbc's bill karins will have more in just a few minutes. no to an nbc exclusive with president obama, including an apology. nbc news chief white house correspondent chuck todd sat down and asked about a promise he made to the american people where he said, if you like your health insurance, you can keep it, period. >> well, first of all, i went what i said, and we worked hard to make sure that we implemented it properly. but obviously we didn't do a good enough job and i regret that. we're talking about 5% of the population who are in the individual market, out there buying health insurance on their own. even though it only effects a small amount of the population, it means a lot to em in, obviously, when they get this

letter, cancelled. and i am deeply concerned about it and i have assigned my team to see what can we do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law. >> do you feel like you owe these folks an apology for even if you didn't do it intentionally? for misleading them? at this point they feel misled and you have seen the anger out there. >> i regret very much that what we intended to do, which was to make sure that everybody is moving into better plans, as close to as they're forced into it, and that we weren't as clear as we needed to be in terms of the changes that wereic taing place, and i am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurance s got from me. we've got to work hard to be sure they know that we hear them and we're going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.

>> also, speculation in the new book "double down." the authors report the obama campaign considered swapping joe biden out for hillary clinton in the 2012 presidential ticket. >> here's the one thing i can say for certain -- that if they had asked me, i would have said, there is no way that i'm not running again with joe biden, because i genuinely believe that he has been one of our best vice president in history. he also happens to be a friend. he also happens to be one of my most important advisers on domestic and foreign policy. i like him. when my back's up against the wall, he has my back. >> meanwhile, house speaker john boehner responded to the president's remarks on obama care saying, "an apology is certainly in order, but what americans want to hear is that the president is going to keep his promise. that's why the house will vote next week to allow anyone with a health care plan they like to keep it." more now on the miami

bullying case. jonathan martin's lawyer saying a lack of toughness was in the in the conversations. it went far beyond locker room hazing. it was a hard choice for martin to leave the dolphins. he added it was a hard choice and martin looks forward to getting back in the game, but is cooperating with the investigation in the meantime. richie incognito has been pitted at the center of jonathan martin's harassment. he's been suspended indefinitely. and a video of smoking smack cocaine. the "toronto star" toasting the rant on its website thursday. the paper paid for the video saying the content is not clear here. take a look for yourself. >> ta was very [ bleep ] --

blow brother you never [ bleep ] and that [ bleep ] i need blb said. [ bleep ] said. >> ford apologized minutes after the video was posted. >> you need help. is it time to get help, mayor? >> abo >> obviously is was extremely, extremely, a big mistake. all i can do is reassure the people that -- that -- i think -- i know it was a mistake. now to video that's quite different. it's a zoo in tacoma, washington. a tiger here dressed in a happenal halloween costume. 2-year-old marshall is seen playing, quite readily with this sumatran tiger cub. a 6-month-old sumatran tiger following along, big paws and all there. good thing they've got some

protective glass, and i think here, bill karins that marshall actually tires out the cub. look at that. we could watch this for a good amount of time. >> of course. you've got a big deal to watch here. >> a story. we don't know how bad a catastrophe in the philippines yesterday. usually the united states, it takes 12 to 24 hours before we know how bad is was pap remote island in the philippines well away from the capital. it may not be until over the weekend, maybe sunday into monday, before we know how severe is was. as far as human history, the strongest storm ever to move over a land area. we've been worecording storms since the 1800s. 1950s, 1960s. >> you were about 5? >> exactly. and heading for the philippines over the weekend. still call a category 3 storm. what happened in the philippines makes it historic.

a northwest onshore flow continues. showers in the forecast, unfortunately through sunday. veterans' day monday, a dry day and the showers don't extend further south. and all of california, nevada looking for a dry day today, although on the coolish side. only 72 into l.a. 2459s a look the your spots in the country with 85 and sunny. as we all these big storms, the technology alone, the power is out. people can't communicate, that's the worst. >> the fact this is so much coastline. there's nowhere for them to go. >> so tough for them. thanks a lot, bill karins on the layest on haiyan. and a manufacturer reports

more success with metal printed by a 3d printer and check out this nifty work done by one road crew. painting lines on the road. huh?

and welcome back. the fda wants to eliminate artificial trans-fat in processed foods. the fda says getting rid of them completely could help prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths each year. the office of management and budget says the 16-day government shutdown reduced output and cost between $2 and $6 billion in economic output and 120,000 fewer jobs were created. back pay for federal employees will cost another $2 billion. a tragic car chase caught in iowa after man called to report his truck stolen. his own son had actually taken it. he led police on a dangerous high-speed ride to the iowa state campus. a police officer fired his gun and the 19-year-old was killed. the officer was cleared of

wrongdoing. the reverend billy graham celebrating his 95th birthday with hundreds of family, friends and supporters in north carolina. businessman donald trump was there to wish him well and so was former vice presidential candidate sarah palin. happy birthday. and it was a fairly quiet lunchtime at a "soprano's" restaurant until a car came flying through. amazingly, nobody got hurt in that. no dessert. just the check, please. now to business. twitter had a blockbuster day of trading on the new york stock exchange with the stock finishes 70% over the initial asking price. a major victory for gay rights advocates. the senate passed the employment non-discrimination act banning employers from firing, refusing to hire or discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. it now goes to the house. the cadillac cts sedan, voter trends 2014 car of the year. she's a beauty.

second such honor for the gm car in the past six year. and moving to a whole new level. first the company's solid concepts successfully printed over 30 3d components producing their first printed metal 3d gun and mcdonald's is considering placing a 3d printer in each store to make their 3d toy. the child picks their figure and then mcdonald's can 3d print it. turn it. and, yeah, a whole pile of leaves. painted right over them. drivers pulled over to take pictures. i would have done the same. maybe even swept them away. and two football players to tell you about when "early today" returns.

okay. first things first. >> ritchie incon neat oh? incog nekocoincognito. that's from one of those movies from "police academy." me? no. i am ritchie incognito. >> all right.

protesting the name redskins continuing to call to change the name which they consider racist and disrespectful. in the game itself, washington working on a win streak. minnesota's christian ponder loves the pass. washington takes it 30 yards. that one gets a field goal. down by 13. ponder finds john carlson for 6 and ponder later goes for another, knocked down. hurts his elbow. the backup coming in, hits adrian peterson for a touchdown. vikings, 34-27. a major upset in college football, first time in four years. oregon suffers a scoreless first half at stanford. oregon had eyes on a national championship. number five stanford changes that and the ducks eighth straight win. stanford takes it 26-20. on the field, halftime sweet for stanford. hall of famer and alum john elway had his number 7 jersey officially retired.

former dallas cowboys tony dorsett speaks out about a degenerative disease caused by head trauma. here's hit optimistic view. >> because i've been told that, you know, i -- we can slow it down. we can stop it, and sometimes it can even reverse it. so i'm all over this and i'm not going to stop trying to get it straight as far as my cte is concerned. >> former heavyweight champ tyson bares his struggles in his any autobiography, "undisputed truth." "sometimes i just fantasize about blowing somebody's brains out so i can go to jail. makes me think my whole life has ban joke." and poppy. finishing third in boston the mayoral race all thanks to, yep,

write-in votes. and seeing is believing. university of pittsburgh guard cameron wright put together quite the promo for their team. a trick shot while sitting down. viral video. a lot of people hitting that one. man, i'm jealous. just ahead, get ready for a live version of "the sound of music '"carrie underwood in the ro role julie andrews made legendary.

welcome back.

of all the images i've seen over the last 24 hour, the super storm typhoon, impressed me the most. the first visual satellite image yesterday about 12 hours ago right where the storm was making landfall. at its peak, symmetry is -- beautiful to look at but what it did is catastrophic. you continue to see something that looks like that on satellite from outer space. as far as today's forecast in the northwest, onshore flow continues. showery-type weather and clouds continue into saturday. unfortunately looks like that's going to continue into sunday. not a lot of changes over the next three days. in the west, experiencing this right through sunday. >> compared to superstorm sandy here, this is -- >> this dwarfs that, dwarfs katrina. a storm like this, if it happened here in the u.s. -- >> who knows. we hope it doesn't.

and arriving at the movies this weekend -- "thor" opens today along with "the book thief." george h.w. bush saw it yesterday an called it a truly wonderful movie. prince william observed two surgeries yesterday up close at a hospital where he's president of the hospital foundation. his mother made a similar visit in 1982. david beckham has been named "gq's" most stylish man. the 15th annual man of the year awards in berlin. >> predictable. >> yes. princess grace kelly's childhood home is no longer a castle. it's the subject of a cat hoarding investigation with 15 cats living inside the house. >> what's the number that gets to hoarding? >> above 4? 10? >> i don't know. >> justin bieber has been charged by brazilian police for his graffiti outing. he faces up to a year in prison or a fine. and nbc has released its first promo for the live performance of "the sound of music" starring carrie underwood. take a listen. >> it feels so good.

we're doing it live for the entire universe. it's going to be a lot of fun. kaley cuoco said she would marry her fiance ryan sweetie any time, anywhere. ellen tried to call her bluff. she went through with it. >> good for her. >> and what about the cats? hoarding, different for cats versus dogs? >> worse having 50 dogs than 50 cats? >> definitely true. all of these compelling questions we need answered here on "early today." yeah. we'll get back to them. perhaps after the break. i'm richard lui. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

leading the news in the bbc, johns kerry changes plans to join iran nuclear talks. the secretary of state will fly to geneva today to join negotiations on iran's nuclear program raising the prospects of a possible breakthrough. the "kansas city star" -- tanning salon thanksgiving special. sexy color like native americans. an alabama-based tanning salon xhan apologizing for the offensive holiday ad taken off their facebook page. >> why? >> why. exactly. some stories you might have missed. reports of military sexual assaults spiked merely 46% during the last fiscal year. more than 3,500 complaints up more 2,500 than the previous

year. timothy dolan is pressuring the house to act on immigration legislation before the end of this year. the head of the u.s. catholic bishop calls it "a matter of great moral urgency." and it's that time of the year. uh-huh. a christmas tree on its way to rockefeller center. it comes from shelton, connecticut, for the second time in six years. workers cut it down thursday. it's expected to go up outside this morning. the lighting ceremony, december 4th. you and i both saw it sitting right in front on the big rig. >> yep. they scout these trees out. have people go up in helicopters. fly over the greater new york, connecticut, new jersey area and they look for these trees. >> and people always say here, bill, despite all that effort, that it's already here. christmas is already here. already talking about cutting down the tree. >> i'm a last-minute shopper. it's not here for me yet. >> all you're thinking about is the obligations you have ahead. time for a look ahead, and a look back. a european satellite could come crashing back to earth this

weekend. the orbiter is running out of fuel. it will burn up in the it's a fee over the next few day. saturday is the 48th anniversary of the northeast power blackout of 1965. nbc news in new york city had to report that story by candlelight. >> for hours millions of people in one of the most densely populated and civilized regions of the world were totally without electricity. for those hours life was a confusion for some pap complete stillness in life for others. >> i'm reading in the dark, too. happy birthday to actress tara reed, 38. and 47, and bobby bowden is 84. this morning on "today," tizz the season. radio city rockettes welcome the rockefeller christmas tree and sunday on "meet the press," chris christie on his big win and what it could mean. and keep it right here for weather, news and sports. i'm richard lui along with bill

karins. thanks for watching to

a massive deadly typhoon rolling over the philippines. the latest from overseas next. >> plus, a bay area school getting ready to pay tribute to a classmate set on fire in what police call a hate crime. >> dozens standing out in the cold this morning just for a chance at a holiday meal. the scene that's all too quickly becoming a holiday tradition. >> we take you live outside for a look spanning over the city by the bay. aka san francisco. good news ladies and gentlemen. friday is upon us. the weekend is near. this is november 8th, and this is "today in the bay."