good morning. coming up on "early today," manhunt. pennsylvania officials are looking for this man in connection with a cold blooded killing of six people with family ties. a sea of flowers and outpouring of emotion following the hostage siege in sydney that ended in the deaths of two innocent people. the russian economy isn't floating. interest rates are soarg. the ruble tanking. but is putin panicking? much more on sydney this tuesday, december 16th, 2004. we'll get to those stories in a minute. breaking news out of pakistan, deadly attackers stormed a school shooting at random. right now, the associated press says as many as 126 people are dead. the overwhelming majority of

those are reportedly students. a soldier was killed as well. the onslaught of the country's worst in more than a year. it is an army public school with kids in grades 1 through 10. the pakistani taliban has already claimed responsibility for this assault. they say the attack is revenge for the killings of taliban members by pakistani authorities and that six suicide bombers carried it out. it is a situation that is still unfolding and we will be following this story all morning. he is considered armed and dangerous. this morning, the manhunt is on for a suspected murderer and former marine. right now near philadelphia, the death toll stands at six after a shooting spree yesterday. nbc's kirk gregory has more. >> reporter: a manhunt continues in pennsylvania north of philadelphia for this man, bradley william stone, a former marine reservist who spent time deployed in iraq. prosecutors say stone went on a

shooting spree early monday, killing six family members, including his ex-wife, and wounding a teen in three different pennsylvania towns. >> as we stand here right now we do not know where he is. we are -- we do not have vehicle information. we recovered his vehicle and his personal cell phone. so we do not have information about how he might be traveling. >> reporter: the violence began when stone allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife's sister, her husband, and their 14-year-old daughter. their 17-year-old son was found barely alive. he was airlifted to a nearby hospital. next, stone's former mother-in-law and her mother were found shot to death. police then found stone's ex-wife nicole stone dead inside her apartment, two bullet holes dotted the apartment's outer wall. stone's two children who had been in the apartment were later found unharmed at a neighbor's home. neighbors knew stone and his ex-wife were having problems. and say she was concerned for her own safety.

>> she would go around telling all the ladies in the neighborhood that this man is going to kill me. she felt threatened. >> reporter: the scene shifted to outside stone's row home in pennsburg, pennsylvania. >> this is the police department. come to the front door with your hands up. >> reporter: with no response, s.w.a.t. teams lobbed in gas canisters. once inside, no suspect. family, friends and neighbors who knew stone said he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. and was discharged from the military because of it. he's considered armed and dangerous. kirk gregory, nbc news. our hearts go out to the families of katrina dawson and tori johnson. these were decent, good people who were going about their ordinary lives. it is about as innocent a thing as anyone can do. >> and now to sydney, australia,

and a nation on edge after that hostage standoff. the 16 hours of terror was finally over in just a matter of seconds. well, that video is heart stopping, heavily armed police storm the lindt cafe. the windows lit up by flash grenades as terrified hostages ran to safety. but not everyone survived. two hostages were killed. 34-year-old t ori johnson who managed the cafe and 38-year-old katrina dawson. also dead is this man, the face of terror, the gunman man haron monis, a self-styled muslim cleric. and as for the investigation -- >> a lot of people are very emotional. this will take time for us to gather all the information so we can piece together bit by bit exactly what happened. >> sara james is in sydney for us with new information this morning. good morning, sara. >> reporter: milissa, the latest

here in sydney is that police just announced a new operation which they're calling operation hammerhead. and this is going to be increased police presence throughout this city of 4 million people. and in particular we're going to see more police in areas like the harbor, the opera house, places where people like to congregate. and that is designed to make people feel safer. transportation as well. because this city is edgy. this was something that no one in sydney ever thought could happen here. and now there are concerns as to whether or not there might be a copycat or another lone wolf. so the police pre designed to deter that. i also spoke to the head of a global counterterrorism research center. and he was talking about the particular character of man haron monis, the gunman at the center of this. it is his belief that monis,

while he was somebody who had some mental instability and problems that there is a sense that some of what was happening in the world with isis was certainly known by him, and that that may have enflamed him and enflamed his passion. here in the city, though, most people are remembering the victims. there has been a shrine, if you will, erected at the scene on martins place of that cafe where it all began. people are coming from all over the city, bringing flowers, leaving them there, remembering those who died. milissa? >> nbc's sara james, thank you. now to that massive ongoing electronic attack on sony pictures. a major figure in hollywood is shifting blame in the whole situation. aaron sorkin, creator of the west wing, is going after the news media for reporting on the stolen e-mails, and also anybody who is reading what's in them. nbc's joe fryer reports. >> reporter: award winning

screenwriter aaron sorkin is penning a different kind of script, an op-ed in the new york times, calling media outlets that publish information from the sony pictures hack morally treasonous and spectacularly dishonorable. his name and soon to be filmed movie about steve jobs have popped up in e-mails exchanged between studio executives and not always in a positive light, but to that, sorkin says, i don't care, because the minor insults that were revealed are such small potatoes compared to the fact that they were revealed, not by the hackers, but by american journalists helping them. sony's attorneys sent letters to some news organizations demanding they not publish information from the hack, but ucla law professor eugene laulic says it will be hard to stop the coverage. >> generally speaking the media has a first amendment right to publish such information, even if it was illegally gathered and leaked, so long as it is a matter of public concern. >> reporter: so far hackers released eight batches of

internal documents and embarrassing e-mails and they're promising what they call a christmas gift with even larger quantities of data to come. the hackers have said they want to block the release of an upcoming movie, the interview, the film's stars seth rogan and james franco broke their silence about the hack on the howard stern show. >> i can't believe people are just so happy to be, like, stolen information, hey, let's [ bleep ] read it. >> reporter: joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. a woman at the center of a bill cosby firestorm is breaking her silence. his wife of 50 years. camille cosby is addressing the allegations against her husband, more than two dozen women are accusing the actor and comedian of sexual assault and drugging. but now mrs. cosby is assuring the public he is, quote, the man you thought you knew. nbc's anne thompson has more. >> reporter: for months, camille cosby sat silently as her husband was asked if the allegations he drugged and sexually assaulted women were true. >> there is no comment about

that. >> reporter: she defended bill cosby, in a statement saying, the man i met and fell in love with whom i continue to love is the man you all knew through his work. that man appeared to be the ideal husband on tv. but more than two dozen women have come forward to tell a much different story, most recently supermodel beverly johnson. >> i most certainly didn't think of my legacy as being first african-american model to grace the cover of vogue and drugged by bill cosby. >> reporter: camille cosby says that portrait is of a man she does not know, painted, she says, by individuals and organizations who many in the media have given a pass. she compares the scandal to the discredited rolling stone article about an alleged gang rape at the university of virginia. none of us, she says, ever want to be in the position of attacking a victim, but the question should be asked, who is the victim? bill cosby's lawyer has consistently denied the allegations and the comedian has never been charged with a crime. but two women are now suing

cosby. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. so, how is your weather forecast looking today? let's ask nbc meteorologist bill karins who has the answers. good morning. >> damp once again. good morning, milissa. san francisco's totals, amazing so far through the first 16 days of december. now over nine inches of rain. so we should easily get over ten inches by the time we get done with the next batch of rain tonight and into tonight. now as far as right now goes, not too bad. we have showers and even snow showers at the high elevations. but we will get another batch of rain moving in this afternoon into this evening. shown in the green is the light rain. red is the moderate to steady rain. that's going to move in tuesday afternoon into san francisco, san jose. as we go through tuesday evening, trying to sneak down through fresno, bakersfield and even down south of san louis obispo. we are going to watch this rain shifting through rather quickly, maybe a half inch to an inch of rain. snow levels drop with this one,

down to 5,000 feet by tuesday night f you're driving into high elevations, may deal with winter travel. over the next five days, we don't see a lot of heavier rains after this next event from san francisco to l.a. looks like the rain will be concentrated further up the coast as we head towards next weekend. that's your national weather. now here ises. there is that rain this afternoon in san francisco. ten inches of rain, we signed up for that. that's a lot of rain. a lot of rain anywhere. >> that will do, right? a new poll on a cia's torture methods may surprise you. president obama's get tough economic sanctions against russia are having a huge impact, all but sending russia into a major panic. ♪ i found a happy place ♪ it's written on my face

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welcome back. a critical new voice in the cia torture report, a new pew poll reveals americans are somewhat supportive of torture. 51% said the cia's methods were justified, only 29% disagreed. as for the releasing of the report, the 42% say it was the right decision. 43% disagreed with that. in peru, a fight festival. it is an annual tradition if you can believe this. folks settle old scores before the start of the new year. but the contestants which include men and women, even children, participate in this. there is a tiny bit of civility involved and they shake hands before lunging at each other. still, man. let's get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning. >> good morning, milissa. russia takes steps to keep its economy from falling into a tail spin. raising interest rates from 10% to 17%. that's aimed at stemming the slide in the ruble which dropped

50% versus the dollar this year. cheaper oil prices have led to less demand for russian oil, meaning russian companies have fewer dollars to turn into rubles, which has hurt the currency. nbc is launching a live stream of its network shows. content will be available on demand and consumers have to prove they have a paid tv subscription. they will launch a mobile live stream next year. keep your eyes on the road. the automaker is testing a virtual windshield giving drivers a 360 degree view. the technology picks out potential hazards such as pedestrians, other cars and signs and projects them on the windshield. milissa, back to you. just ahead, why the director of "frozen" is apologizing to parents. why this nba doll is confusing everyone. you're watching "early today." ♪

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♪ this morning on "today," nicki minaj takes the mik with a new song off her latest album. now, to monday night football. saints/bears. quarterback drew brees threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns in their 31-15 win. the saints move into first place in the nfc south. to the hard court we go. jamari parker went down with an injury after colliding with sun forward p.j. tucker. the team later announcing that he suffered a sprained left knee

and would not return, but the bucks ended on a high note in a buzzer beater finish. >> here's dudley. and it's middleton. oh, he got it! he got it! teari henry announce his retirement from soccer. the 2000 european champion and the gunner's all time leading scorer, henry will join sky sports as an expert from the start of 2015. cowboys running back demarco murray underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand. the injury occurred in the fourth quarter in the win over the eagles. head coach jason garrett left the door open for his return. >> the biggest question we have to ask ourselves is is he functional to do his job? he's as strong willed and determined an individual as i've

ever been around and if anybody has a chance to come back, he does. texan star j.j. watt probably gives out his fair share of autographs, but check this one out. 7-year-old anthony tarantelli sent him his signed jersey with a note attached saying in part, i am sending you my autographed game jersey so you will know me when i am a famous nfl player. watt posted this to his instagram account saying this kid has some guts. i like it. and walmart is selling a fun replica of jeremy lin plush doll. only one problem, the description reads carmelo anthony plush doll. not only has lin not played for the knicks since 2012, but let's point out the real obvious, they absolutely do not look anything alike. oops. just ahead, why you might want to leave for your holiday destination right now. plus, big "american idol" news. why fans could be crying this morning. you're watching "early today." at panera bread,

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now for some entertainment news. the drama of "interstellar" has reached a new milestone. the space adventure has topped $100 million in imax theaters, a fete only three films have accomplished so far. morgan freeman named the most liked celebrity of 2014. freeman took the top spot with tom hanks and sandra bullock,

one of my favorites, of course, taking spots two and number three. james bond is making news this week while the newest addition in a series just started filming, the latest sony hack released an early draft of the screenplay while executives are, of course, worried about that. belvedere vodka unveiled a new partnership with the bond franchise and showcased a limited edition 007 bottle. american idol is cutting the party a little short. starting in may, the show will have one episode per week instead of the traditional two. the series -- >> i didn't realize they were on twice a week. >> a lot of people will be bummed about it, though. and frozen director jennifer lee says she's sorry, the genius behind the movie is apologizing for kids still being obsessed. [ shutter clicks ] hi there! [ laughs ] -i'm flo! -i know!

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leading the news. from discovery news, denmark makes land grab for north pole. the country is challenging canadian and russian claims saying the area surrounding the north poll is connected to the continental shelf of greenland which is a danish autonomous territory. on nbcnews.com macadamia sales surge in korea after a nut rage. the korean airlines executive who delayed a flight over improperly served macadamia nuts may have done the nut industry a favor. a south korean auction site says sales of macadamias surged nearly 12 fold over the past five days. other sites report being sold out. well, some other stories that we are following right now. an improved economy and low gas prices will combine to make this holiday travel season the busiest on record.

over 99 million americans are expected to travel more than 50 miles for the holidays, up 4% from last year, which previously broke the record. and in ten days the hawaiian iowa could see a big explosion. encroaching lava is only 1 mile away from reaching a shopping center with an attached gas station. it is not certain where the lava will hit. the island already has evacuation plans in place. president obama was greeted by new jersey governor christie when he flew in for a thank the troops event. the president said one of the reasons he was there to simply say, quote, thank you for your extraordinary service. so if you are afraid of heights, you might want to close your eyes. the extreme sport of wind suit flying is gaining traction in brazil. flyers diving from over 2600 feet up and down mountain sides at over 120 miles per hour. >> how can you do that?

>> that's insane. with nothing but their suit that doubles as a parachute. it is a true experience of what it is like to fly, for real. >> don't do a tandem jump. the first time you go, you just have to go for it. no learning. >> well, hopefully you are making a decision for yourself, not somebody like -- >> pushing you? >> now a look ahead. new york's times square will start preparing for its big new year's eve celebration. the seven foot tall numbers that will make up the 15 on the 2015 sign will arrive on a truck for the ceremonial unveiling. in a few days they'll be mounted in place atop times square. happy birthday to "law and order" actor benjamin bratt who is 51, "nypd blue" and "la law" writer/producer steven bochco turned 71, and veteran "60 minutes" correspondent lesley stahl is 73. keep it here for news, weather and sports. i'm milissa rehberger. thank you for watching "early today." have a great one.