the release of the so-called senate torture report. the white house is aware it could spark a violent response from around the globe. i can't breathe from staten island to pro sports, the call is getting louder. russia's president vladimir putins being squeezed as president obama's economic sanctions appear to be working. an intentional chlorine leak forces an evacuation at a conference. santa's off and running on this monday, december 8th, "early today" starts right now. breaking news out of los angeles. huge plumes of smoke are rising from downtown l.a. about two hours ago, a massive

fire started at a planned seven story apartment complex. that is according to the l.a. fire department. at the time you can see the scene looked like the inside of a volcano. it took more than 250 firefighters to battle those flames. they had to close portions of two freeways. no word at this stage of the cause, but no immediate reports of injuries. good morning. i'm milissa rehberger. an explosive report by the cia is to be released. it will likely go public tomorrow. some consider this a major risk. seen why anior intelligence off warn there is a heightened chance of a response. >> this will be used by our enemies to motivate people, to attack americans and american facilities overseas. and i am genuinely concerned about that as was the secretary

of state and the director of national intelligence. >> former president george w. bush also came to the defense of the cia. >> these are patriots. and whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country, it is way off base. >> senator dianne feinstein, head of the senate intelligence committee, told the l.a. times the interrogations undermine, quote, societal and constitutional values that we are all very proud of. senator feinstein ordered anybody that reads this is never going to let this happen again. the federal government is coming up with new rules on racial profiling by law enforcement. those changes could come as early as today. a source tells nbc, tsa and border patrol agents will continue to be allowed to stop people based on race and nationality if there is information of a potential threat. the justice department, however, is expected to extend the ban on racial profiling to include religion, national origin, gender and gender identity. just a week ago, attorney general eric holder spoke at a

church in atlanta and promised the new standards will, quote, help end racial profiling once and for all. the doj's annoues during protests from two racially charged cases involving police. some peaceful protests turned violent overnight. police in berkeley, california, used tear gas after they say explosives were thrown at them. there are also reports of protesters looting and vandalizing businesses. and in new york city, a more peaceful protest happened inside of grand central terminal. supporters chanted eric garner's final words, which were i can't breathe. and now athletes are also using the rallying cry at games. look at this. reggie bush wore a t-shirt with the phrase during his first game back with the detroit lions yesterday. chicago bulls derrick rose wore one during saturday's warmup session. and davin joseph tweeted a picture showing the phrase on his cleats. and premiere for the movie "annie," jamie foxx gave his reaction saying, quote, we'll probably have to have a few

uncomfortable conversations to sort of get things right so everybody can walk and enjoy america like it's supposed to be enjoyed. nbc's brian mooar is live in washington. good morning, brian. what is the late on all the protests? >> reporter: president obama ordered a task force to look at ways to build confidence in the system long-term, but demonstrators in cities across the country are demanding justice now. the protests continued through the weekend, and so did a national conversation about race and justice. >> i don't think anybody that watches that video is not disturbed by what they saw. >> reporter: new york's police commissioner said an internal investigation into the choke hold death of eric garner should be completed within four months. but the department is moving now to retrain its entire force. >> this is not about one case this is about something bigger that has to be addressed. >> reporter: president obama is focusing on the bigger picture, telling bet in an exclusive interview airing this evening -- >> this isn't going to be solved overnight. this is something that is deeply

rooted in our society. it is deeply rooted in our history. >> reporter: the widow of eric garner says her husband's death back in july wasn't about black and white, but insists it was a crime nonetheless. >> i feel he was murdered unjustly. >> reporter: from a death on a staten island sidewalk to protests in streets around the country, a trial for the american justice system. the latest poll shows 47% of americans believe law enforcement uses different standards based on race. milissa. >> brian, thank you. backpedaling continues for rolling stone magazine after a controversial article about sexual assault at the university of virginia. on friday, the magazine apologized for discrepancies discovered in its report about a young woman who said she was gang raped at a fraternity party. in the original note, rolling stone wrote, there now appear to be discrepancies in jackie's account and we have come to the conclusion our trust in her was

misplaced. rolling stone was quickly criticized for victim blaming. it has updated the apology saying, instead, these mistakes are on rolling stone, not on jackie. the magazine is acknowledged that the reporter never interviewed jackie's alleged attackers. national fraternity and sorority leaders are calling on the university to reinstate the greek system, which was suspended after that article was originally published. if you filled up lately, you probably left with a smile on your face for a change. gas prices are still falling. the average price of regular is just $2.72 a gallon now. 12 cent drop in the past two weeks alone. the lundberg survey says the drop stems from lower crude oil prices and a big supply and a stronger dollar. bad news for vladimir putin, russia's economy is shrinking. economic sanctions over russian actions in the ukraine are taking a toll, also a weakening ruble and opec's refusal to cut crude production are to blame. russia's economy is down to eighth in the world, that is

below spain. in new york city, much anticipated royal visit. prince william and kate middleton are in the big apple for their first official visit to the u.s. they will be here until tomorrow. william is set to meet with the president today in d.c. they will also go to the september 11th memorial museum, but perhaps the highlight of the trip, the future king of england will take in a game between the brooklyn nets and cleveland cavaliers. in the philippines, typhoon hagupit has spared many of the central islands that were hit hard by last year's typhoon haiyan. a million people are in shelter. forecasters say while the storm is weakening, it is still potentially deadly with sustained winds up to 75 miles per hour. the typhoon is expected to reach manila on early tuesday. bill karins is here with a look at a possible nor'easter this morning. is that right? >> noew england will get a nor'easter. i was reading the forecast

discussion from the national weather service in san francisco, they're saying this could be compared to some of the storms they had, the big ones, like 2009 and 2008, that's how long it has been since we had a storm potentially this rainy and this windy in the bay area. so that's the thing, big headline to watch in the west this week. this storm that we just had last week did produce significant rainfall as we mentioned. san francisco almost 4 inches now for the month of december. that's great. a big mess out here in the pacific right now. very active jet stream. and that's going to be the recipe for our storm system that is coming. the last big one is now heading up there into the gulf of alaska, just some showers into northern california. that is not until wednesday and then looks like thursday will be the peak of the next storm. so we're okay today there are some light showers, dying front through the region here. you see the light green here around ft. bragg and reading, i-5, mt. shasta. that's it. the next storm that is coming, this one is showing potential to dump two to three inches of rain from midcalifornia northward. that's the middle of this week. that will be interesting and

much needed in som california, today. your best chance of rain coming thursday. milissa, last week i said we needed ten storms like the last one. i didn't ask for another one a week later, but looks like we're going to get one. >> apparently you were heard. thank you. coming up, the deadly story involving a car crash and a bear in the everglades. plus, the incredible details behind the failed attempt to rescue an american journalist. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. a chilling headline from the new york times. within a matter of two hours, the wife of a south african man got a message that he was about to be released and then she was told he was killed by his

captors. it happened during a failed rescue attempt by the navy s.e.a.l.s to rescue luke somers, the american journalist he was being held with. now a dog might have alerted their captors as the s.e.a.l.s approached the compound two miles away. a woman and 10-year-old boy were among 11 others killed. three good samaritanses in the everglades are dead after they stopped to help a motorist whose car hit and killed a black bear. the car they were driving in was hit by another car. six others were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. police say the driver of the car that hit the bear walked away from the accident. one of bill cosby's close friends is weighing in on his rape allegations. hugh hefner says, quote, bill cosby has been a good friend for many years and the mere thought of these allegations is truly saddening. i would never tolerate this kind of behavior, regardless of who was involved. one of cosby's latest accusers says he molested her at hefner's

playboy mansion when she was 15. cosby has never been charged with a crime and he denied all allegations. officials in illinois are investigating a chlorine gas leak at a chicago area hotel. 19 people were taken to the hospital for dizziness and nausea. the incident happened during the annual midwest fur fest. as you can plainly see, dozens of people in animal costumes were forced to evacuate that building. and the internet is buzzing over the discovery channel's special that was supposed to feature a man being eaten alive by an anaconda. we're not making that up. apparently the show didn't live up to its promise. after getting his body wrapped inside of a snake, the man's crew came to his rescue after he said his arm felt like it was starting to break. down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning. >> good morning to you, milissa. if you're done with your holiday shopping, retailers want you to shop some more. today is green monday. it is a term coined by ebay in 2009 to mark its busiest sales

day in december. it is the third biggest online shopping day of the season, with $1.4 billion in sales last year. five former employees of bernie madoff will find out how long they'll be behind bars. they were convicted in march of helping steal $17 billion from investors and hiding the fraud. sentences could range from 8 to 20 years. burger king says have it your way and mnow mcdonald's wants you to create your taste. illinois, wisconsin, georgia, missouri, and pennsylvania, customers can use a kiosk to make everything they want on their burger, including the bun, the cheese, and the toppings. milissa, back to you. sports is ahead. we have all your sunday football highlights. plus, the end of an era for soccer star landon donovan. that's next.

here in the philippines, a monster typhoon is work its way across the country. i'm miguel almaguer in manila where millions are bracing for the storm. we have been on the ground since the weekend. to the south we have all of the destruction. and today we're also ahead of the storm. i'll have a live report coming up on the "today" show. and now to the latest in sports from my friend betty nguyen. good morning. >> thanks, milissa. we begin with sunday night football here on nbc.

tom brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to julian edelman in the fourth quarter to beat the chargers 23-14. the pats won for the and will time in the past nine games. in an afc north matchup, bengals receiver a.j. green had a career high day. he caught 11 passes for 224 yards. and an 81-yard touchdown, but not so fast. steelers quarterback ben roethlisberger threw three touchdowns including this 94-yarder to rookie bryant in first quarter. they beat the bengals 42-21. here is something that you may not have heard about in a while. peyton manning threw for no touchdowns. zilch, zero, nada. it is rare and ended a 51-game streak that began in 2010. the broncos still run against the bills, 24-17. college football's first playoff is set, my friends, on new year's day. alabama will take on ohio state in the sugar bowl. and oregon plays florida state

at the rose bowl. the winners need to decide a national championship in dallas at at&t stadium on january 12th. olympic skier lindsey vonn won her first world cup race in nearly two years on saturday. she finished second in sunday's super g race. meanwhile, though, her boyfriend tiger woods tied for last place in his comeback at the hero world challenge. justin spaeth blew away the competition with a ten-shot victory. and final round 6 under 66. to major league soccer, the l.a. galaxy defeated the new england revolution 2-1 to capture the fifth mls cup. it was also american soccer star landon donovan's final game of his incredible career. he goes out as the mls leading scorer, and the most accomplished soccer player in u.s. history. congratulations to him. milissa, back to you. >> thanks, betty. coming up, "star wars" has a senior moment. the high altitude ride that gave more chills than thrills. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. so we're talking about the big storm that is coming. little lette seattle, again, chance of rain over there the bulk of the heavier rains come in on wednesday. further down the coast, we're going to wait a bit longer. san francisco, sprinkle or two today, not a lot. if you get your damaging winds and have a high wind watch, and higher elevations there, it will be wednesday into thursday. and that's why there is even a thunderstorm icon there. should be a pretty powerful little system. and further to the south, in los

angeles, you're clear through the beginning of the week. low 70s. your best chance of the wet weather, late thursday and into friday. so active weather, something to track. and, you know, we dent waon't w big damaging wind storm. >> all that rain they have been waiting for. thank you very much. now for entertainment news. on saturday night live we see our favorite "star wars" characters didn't exactly age well. ♪ >> i don't want the menu. i want to -- hey, how do you work this freaking thing? >> princess leia, come on. >> author jk rouling will reveal new harry potter stories. the author will release one short story per day. >> are you going to read? >> of course. >> the kennedy center honors are truly a unique event.

not only because they reward those who made a life long commitment to the arts, but also because they're the only awards show in america that does not feature taylor swift. >> al green, patricia mcbride, sting, lilly tom lynn and tom hanks among the stars featured at the kennedy center honors last night. stephen colbert hosted that event with president obama and the first lady in attendance. shailene woodley, star of "the fault in our stars" took the number one spot on the top stars list on imdb. she upset jennifer lawrence as most searched celebrity of the year on the site. >> i don't -- >> i'm milissa rehberger. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day on nbc.

leading the news from wales online, watch the terrifying midair collision between carriages on cardiff's winter wonderland sky ride. 13 passengers were nearly 200 feet in the air when high winds caused empty seats to swing so wildly that they hit the occupied seats. fortunately the ride shut down automatically, thank goodness. the shaken passengers were back on the ground 15 minutes later which frprobably felt like a really long time. democratic senator mary landrieu was defeated by republican bill cassidy this weekend in louisiana's senate runoff race. cassidy's victory will gift gop a 54-seat senate majority in january. it is the house's largest republican majority since harry

truman was president. this also marks the first time in 132 years that landrieu's seat will be held by a republican. six prisoners who were being held at guantanamo bay have been transferred to uruguay. a resettlement deal was announced on sunday. there are a total of 136 prisoners in guantanamo, which is the lowest number since the prison opened in 2002. sunday marked the 73rd anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. about 100 pearl harbor and world war 2 survivors attended a ceremony. the attack on december 7th, 1941, killed about 2400 sailors, marines and soldiers. in australia, christmas festivities are in full swing. even if it is summer down under. more than 2500 people dressed up as santa and they ran through the streets of sydney on sunday and they did this all to raise money for a children's charity. over in london, meanwhile, hundreds participated in the

annual great christmas pudding race. costume contestants balanced trays of traditional christmas pudding as they navigated an obstacle course. >> what is christmas pudding? i know the kind in the box that i make on the stove, that's about it. >> you have that all year round. they also decorated christmas trees as you can see. it looked like a lot of fun. now a look ahead and a look back. new jersey lawmakers investigating politically motivated traffic jams by the george washington bridge last year are expected to release their interim report today. according to the 136 page report, which leaked on friday, the special committee found no conclusive evidence that ties governor chris christie to the lane closures, but they say two aides acted with perceived impunity and little regard for public safety when they ordered the lanes to be closed. happy birthday to nba star dwight howard who turns 29. nicki minaj is 32 today. and teri hatcher is 50. i'm milissa rehberger. thank you for watching "early

today." have a great monday.

break out the boards and the brooms. another day of clean-up after protests. it is monday, december 8th. this is "today in the bay." >> announcer: from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> and a good monday morning to you. it's 4:30. i'm sam brock. >> we have live reports coming up for you from berkeley.