it's wednesday, december 2nd, coming up on the show. fallout from a teen shot 16 times, chicago's top cop is fired. now the illinois attorney general wants the justice department to investigate. is mayor rahm emanuel next? and it won't stop isis, and the u.s. is planning to send many more special ops forces into syria and iraq. republicans debate with president on climate change. while china choked on record levels of smog. then, thieves are keeping their eyes on those just-delivered packages. a frightening collision between a deer and a police cruiser. and the countdown to the big tree lighting. "early today" starts right now. good morning, i'm dara brown. chicago's mayor has fired the

city's top cop following back lash from the release of the laquan mcdonald video. garry mccarthy has been criticized for the investigation into the shooting and his leadership and credibility has recently come into question. nbc's chris clackum has more >> reporter: ever since last week's release of the video showing officer van dyke's shooting death of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald, calls for superintendent garry mccarthy's resignation have been constant. the latest in the "times." >> the trust in the police department has been shaken. >> reporter: mayor rahm emanuel made it official tuesday. >> i formally asked for his resignation. he has become an issue, rather than dealing with the issue. >> reporter: early in the day, mccarthy defended his actions. >> i didn't have the authority to do what people thought i should have done. >> reporter: and a pres release that said he was shot 16 times. only after the teenager lunged

at officers was wrong. >> the original press release was mistaken. no two ways about it. i guess that's my fault, because i'm accountable for it. >> reporter: mccarthy said in the 14 months before the shooting he never corrected that information, because the feds had taken over the investigation. [ chanting ] but critics say that's more evidence of a police cover up, an accusation bolstered by missing surveillance video and awed grow a nearby burger king, as well as missing dashcam video of the shooting. mccarthy's dismissal comes the morning after van dyke was released. chris clackum, nbc news. the news of mccarthy's dismissal comes as lisa madigan is asking the department of justice to investigate whether the police practices violate law. and a statement reverend jesse jackson backed up. the police department is broken.

>> i really think that we need federal oversight, because we need investigation of all who saw the tape and what the actions were with subpoena power. >> some are starting to wonder who else will lose their jobs over the investigation and director, spike lee predicting more heads are going to roll. and an op ep saying the investigation is a cover-up and calling on prosecutor anita alvarez and mayor emanuel to resign. and more special forces on the ground. between 100 and 150 special ops forces will be based in iraq to strike there and in syria. secretary of defense, ash carter says, we are at war. >> these special operators will, over time, be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather

intelligence and capture isil leaders. >> evidence is mounting that air strikes alone won't stop isis just yesterday the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff flatly dispute add claim made by president obama in an interview two weeks ago. general joseph says the u.s. has not contained the terror group but officials call these next accusations beyond ridiculous. the iraqis think they're in cahoots with the united states and it is hurting the war. they added they are weak. if only the u.s. would stop supporting them, we could defeat them in days. maybe black friday should be renamed background check friday. background checks for gun purchases rose significantly. more than 185,000 requests were processed on november 27th, according to the fbi national instant background check system. nearly 5% more than the year

before and the highest since 2012 shopping holiday when over 177,000 requests were processed. with less than two months until the iowa caucus, the races for party nominations are kicking into high gear hillary clinton dumped her speech for an appearance in montgomery, alabama marking the 60th anniversary of rosa parks' arrest there. she focussed on gun control and criminal justice reform. and a new strategy for marco rubio, yesterday declaring he's the only one running for president who's actually scored victories against obamacare, touting his actions in congress against the law. he's now battling chiefly against ted cruz and donald trump and ben carson for gop supremacy. for more ton that, nbc's hallie jackson reports. >> reporter: in the race for the white house, it's full throttle two months out from iowa where

ben carson is stalled, slipping behind ted cruz who's pulling closer to frontrunner, donald trump. fumed by evangelical support and his signature strategy, taking on his own party, most recently for not fighting back that most republicans do not support contraception. >> this is a made up nonsensic baffle. last i checked, we don't have a rubber shortage in america. >> reporter: cruz's comments raising eyebrows with jeb bush in single digits in iowa and new hampshire, adding that chris christie is stuck in seventh, and hoping to make his move after several key indorsements in a state where establishment moderates usually do better against outsiders. >> how seriously, do you realistically expect to win? >> even the loyal republicans will be voting and they're just starting to tune in now.

>> reporter: still, even though insiders christie, rubio, bush and their supporters have spent a combined 47.5 million on tv ads, the candidates spending less are doing better. just $3 million spent by carson, cruz and trump, kicking off december in the lead. >> the establishment knows it and they're having many heart attacks day in and day out trying to figure out, how the hell do we stop this? >> reporter: trump warning rivals he's the biggest obstacle on the road to victory. the road to iowa getting closer. >> there's only one way to get to the top and it's all through trump. let's face it. >> that was hallie jackson reporting. you may want to keep an eye out for those gifts you ordered, millions are stolen every year right from your doorstep. a new report shows the season of giving could be renamed this season of stealing. nbc's tracie potts joins us now with more and tracie, good morning to you.

this report is just stunning. >> reporter: yeah. it's interesting, ever heard of something called porch pirating? what they call when thieves drive behind the delivery truck and as soon as it's delivered on your porch, they grab it. so now, some of the big delivery companies out there, fedex and u.p.s., are putting out tips particularly during the holiday season to give you an idea of what to do so that this doesn't happen to you. first of all they say, require a signature. that way someone's got to be at home, and make sure you ship the package somewhere that's occupied. send it to work. or to a friend's house when they're going to be home. having it sit on the porch all day, not such a hot idea. use some of those free services that are online to not only track but alert you when the package has arrive, when the package is on the way. fedex even has a system where you can go online and re-route

the delivery, say, if your plans change, you're not going to be at home or something changes, you can change the delivery time and location. doing that could prevent a really bad holiday when you have something delivered and unfer unfortunately never shows up or you never see it. >> sounds like good advice. thank you. tracie potts. and the lighting of the world's most famous christmas tree. thousands will pack rockefeller center. the tradition in its 83rd year dates back to 1931 when they erect add 20-foot tree on christmas eve. don't miss "christmas in rockefeller center." the "today" show gang will be joined by sting, mary jay blige and others. it all begins at 8:00, 7:00 central time right here on nbc. let's check in with nbc

meteorologist bill karins and tell us what is the weather going to be like tonight? >> ah -- it's been better. much of the east coast, rain. this evening, periods of rain likely earlier, by the time the ceremony gets going, lighting it, rain tapers a little, scattered showers. at least warm. in the 50s. not the best. not the worst. in the west, one storm system moved in last night. northern california to the northwest. a couple storms lining up, a more active period of the winter weather pattern we were expected with el nina. freeding rain in the valleys we had a cold air mass over the last couple of days and still some snow. elevations are pretty high. the second storm, snow levels dumb down a little and could get snow up in the sierra with this storm, and for the upcoming weekend, a huge storm heading towards the allusions affecting areas of the northwest this upcoming weekend. as far as rainfall, the next seven day, heavier rain, this

area of red is five, pink seven. up to 15 inches in this area and for the south, california, not a lot of these storms over the next seven days. waiting for the pattern of santa rose kaw. eureka and crescent city, showers today. so an active pattern in the west. not really where we need the rain yet. >> thank you for that, bill. wait until you hear who the in the u.s. is saying we should take in refugees. plus giving away $45 billion, and that is just the beginning. you're watching "early today." urgent diarrhea. now there's prescription xifaxan.

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as president obama pushes for a global climate agreement, house republicans are pushing back, voting to block the president's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from both existing and future u.s. power plants. the administration's clean power plan would require states to cut carbon emissions by 32% by 2030. president obama's expected to veto both measures that block his plan. in china, smog levels have reached such epidemic proportions that children are allowed to skip school. plus, businesses have been ordered to shut down. air pollution in bejing has reached 25 times the amount the world health organization safely recommends. and syrian refugees have found a powerful ally in washington. they're urging congress not to block them from entering the u.s. the bipartisan group includes former secretaries of state madeleine albright, henry kissinger and general petraeus,

and in a letter to congress they stated in part -- "refugees are victims not perpetrators of terrorism categorically refusing them own feeds that they are at war with the u.s. and the deer slams into the cruiser and twirls in the air, just missing the wind shield. miraculously, it gets up and runs away. getting down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning, landon. >> hey, dara, good morning to you, an early holiday could continue today on wall street. stocks posting solid gains tuesday as investors shrug off a weak report on manufacturing. look for data on hiring in the private sector and productivity and a speech by fed chair on the economy. mark zuckerberg is giving it all away in a post announcing the birth of his daughter max. the facebook ceo says he and his wife priscilla will donate

almost all of their stock to charity. donating up to $1 billion a year over the next three years. reports say yahoo!'s board is meeting today to discuss whether to sell the company the core but struggle business including yahoo! mail and pages such as news and finance. shares of yahoo! rallying on the news. dara, back to you. >> thanks so much. just ahead, the sixers taste victory and tiger woods is now ranked number what in the world? plus, tyson meets -- tyson. sports is up next. you never know when it'll be your moment to shine.

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this morning on "today" a look how a major security breach is affecting children's tech toys and what you need to know to protect your kids. let's get caught up on this morning's sports headlines with sheba russell. good morning. >> good morning, dara. the wait is finally over the philadelphia 76ers have ended their 18-game losing streak this season and sixers win 103-91. to hockey, the blackhawks forward scores on a power play goal. kane has 12 goals and 20 assists this year. the wild beat chicago 2-1.

in college hoops, number two maryland on the road to take on ninth ranked north carolina. the tar heels hand the terps their first loss of the season 89-81. both seems are 6-1. in boston, the price is right, according to multiple reports, david price a whopping $217 million over seven years. this to the pitcher. and tiger woods now the 400th ranked golfer in the world says he has no idea when he'll return after his back was operated on for a third time. >> i think everything pretty much beyond this honestly will be gravy. i've won -- i've passed jack in the all-time win list just shy of sam. i passed sam basically a decade ago in major championships, but i'm still shy of jack's.

so i've had a pretty good career for my 20s and 30s. for my 20 years out here, i think i've achieved a lot. >> yes, he has. and check out former heavy weight champ mike tyson at madam tussaud's in las vegas. looking strong. iron mike goes face to face with his very own face. dara, back to you. >> sheba, thank you. just ahead, is it true sylvester stallone is making a "rambo" tv show? we'll find out. plus, get excited, "seinfeld" fans, comedian jerry seinfeld has a new show in the works and we've got the scoop. that's up next. ♪ just head around the corner to walgreens when you're searching for that perfect little something. walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets and photo gifts, and it's all just a hop, skip and a bark away.

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leading the news in the new york daily news, unemployed florida man tries electrocuting father for inheritance money after being told to get a job. 44-year-old john newson allegedly attacked his father on thanksgiving. the father passed out from the attack, thankfully woke up and later went to the police to report the assault. the son is charged with attempted first-degree murder. on nbc.com, gators brawl on golf course. in florida, golfers forced to the patient while the wildlife wrestling match went down. the 12-foot gator nicknamed goliath, it went online. the gator crawled away at the winner. xarp scary moment there.

in spain, the 32-year-old was planning to travel to syria to join isis and recruit others. they started investigating him after he showed clear signs of radicalization. spreading downloaded isis recordings and videos. a california gas tanker erupted into flames. both directions of a major freeway shut down and thick, black smoke filled the sky carrying approximately 8,700 gallons of fuel. a rear tire blow out is to blame for the fire. luckily, no one was injured. sometimes you just need to hitch a ride. in oklahoma, an officer spotted a donkey on the loose. and the officer transported him to a nearby home for safe keeping until its owner could be located. can you imagine, like, driving by and seeing a donkey just hanging out the police officer's window? crazy there. >> a lot of bad jokes for the day. right. five white tigers were born. happy and health any an animal park they call home. a member of the endangered bengal family have a population

of over 200 worldwide. this particular group makes up 37 of them. china imported the tiger in 2010. so this family has grown considerably in just five years. they are so adorable. >> hard to comprehend. only 200 in the whole world. we show them a lot on tv, so cute. whenever they have a little cub. >> we see most of them in zoos. at least we get to see them, though. and now a look ahead. it is beginning to look a lot like christmas at the nation's capital. first lady michelle obama unveiled the white house christmas tree and the capital tree lighting ceremony takes place tonight. five p.m. eastern. paul ryan will participate in the ceremony. and we want to wish happy birthday to aaron rodgers, 32, and brittany spears is 34. and lucy liu turns 47 today. i'm dara brown along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today." we hope you have a great witness. nationwide calls for greater

police accountability--- steamroll into san francisco for a high-profile vote on body cameras. the reason even some voting on the new rules--- worry they can nationwide call for greater police accountability. the reason even some voting on the new rules worry they might be side stepped. police chase a car thief all over the south bay before cornering him in a toy store. surrendering space on the sidewalk. berkeley council members green light a plan that has homeless advocates declaring discrimination. "today in the bay" starts right now. good wednesday morning. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's get straight to the forecast right now. kari is back this morning. good morning. >> good morning, sam and laura. we're starting