it is tuesday december 15th. coming up on "early today." tonight a wild showdown between tuesday cruz and donald trump as they face off for the first time following reesen't isis terror attacks. k3w4r50er ry a. plus bill cosby fights back suing seven women who are suing him. and the stars were all there. that and a whole new way to

serve coffee. early "early today" starts right now. good morning. tonight is the night, high stakes in las vegas. the latest gop slug match. the candidates are all looking up at donald trump. a new poll finding him at 41% national nearly tripling second place ted cruz. and dr. herald bernstein, trump would be quote the healthiest individual ever elected to presidency. calling his life astonishly excellent. and protesters for the group black lives matter interrupted trump's speech several tiles. prompting furious --. also heard a nazi era salute and someone calling to be lit on

fire. >> aside from the commotion. the front runner talked about tonight's showdown. >> i'll be honest. i think tomorrow night, i think it is going to be big. and they are all coming after me. i heard today. i'm watching. i'm saying man this is like crazy. who is going to attack trump first? will it be this one? you know he's taken down seven so far. so far everyone who's attacked me has gone right down the tubes. >> senator ted cruz though is picking up steam in iowa. for that we go to kasey hunt. >> trump is still leading in polls. but in iowa a new des moines register poll shows cruz beating trump. maggie right and his husband

dover from texas. >> long drive. >> 13 and a half hours. >> joining dozens of volunteers paying their own way to bunk in a dorm known as camp cruz. this is where camp cruz becomes the strike force. equipped with tablets showing them just which doors to knock on and what to say that is they try to pick iowans for cruz. but not everyone is sold. >> there is just a little bit something just about his persona i just haven't bought yet. >> the gop establishment have it coming. the republican nomination fight now between two outsiders who have made few friends inside the party. >> trump and cruz could be a disaster for the republican party. >> that was casey hunt

reporting. countries across the middle east are uniting against terrorism. saudi arabia leading a military alliance with a joint operation center in their capital city. iran is not a participating country. and more america, there seems to be an up tick in people willing to put boots on the ground to fight isis according to a new poll. 42% of americans favor deploying u.s. troops. that's risen from 31% over the past year. naft recent attacks have vaulted terrorism and national security has america's top concern. yesterday president obama met his national security team at the pentagon, then delivered an address to reassure that american people that successful actions are being taken. and later today in minnesota, hillary clinton will give a key foreign policy speech on terrorism. it will focus on how to defend

the u.s. and deal with radicalization here at home. >> a california police officer will not face criminal charges after shooting an unarmed suspected drunk driver. it happened after a crash thanksgiving night. the following video may be disturbing to some viewers. this is dash cam footage released by the county da shows police officer patrick feaster in a high speed chase. the car careens out of control and flips over. throwing his wife from the car. she was pronounced dead at the scene as thomas tries to get out of vehicle. officer approaches. he appears to shoot thomas in his neck before putting back his weapon. although the shooting with us not justified it was not criminal. they also say the officer was in such disbelief he only notified

his partner after the gunshot wound was found? and a texas man found himself behind bars. john edward parsely talking with a police officer outside this hotel in oklahoma. he then driver his truck through the entrance, slamming into the front desk, where two employees dive out of the way. parsely then calmly walks away his hands raised. and according to the incident report obtained by the local newspaper. parsely was apparently annoyed his credit card was declined twice and was forced to pay in cash and he drove into the hotel because the police officer thought he was bluffing and he wanted to proof that he wasn't. parsely has been charged with two felony counts and assault and battery and is being held on $1 million bond. probably not the best way to

handle a dispute. sergeant bo bergdahl will face a court martial. he has been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering troops. he was released in may in a prisoner swap. and his attorney said in a statement he hoped the case would not go in this direction and will continue the defense of the sergeant. just last week bergdahl told the popular serial pod cast he wanted to track taliban insurgents and viewed himself as the super soldier. he faces a possible life sentence if convicted. >> the el nino churning in the pacific continues to make it a tail of two forecasts. wintry storms in the west and springtime temps in the east. the beginning of winter just a week away. how this system is causing havoc and what everyone from missouri to delaware can expect the

chill. >> a heat wave has set more than 1 thousand record high temperatures across the northeast and midwest. out west it is another story. winter is in full effect. treacherous roads and packed slopes. but ski resorts back east are seeing green, and not the good kind. >> we really need temperatures to change or at least become a little more seasonal so we can get a product out and get the facility open. >> by this time last year up state new york was already buried by snow storms. >> up to six feet of snow fell in parts of western new york. >> whether a difference a year makes. with no snow so far this december, buffalo broke a 116-year-old record. last year bone chilling temperatures had given way to this. record temperatures reaching new highs. 70 in philadelphia. 71 in buffalo. and 27 in baltimore. it is like weather whiplash thanks in part to el nino. what we're seeing this year is a near record setting el nino part

over the pacific ocean which is transmitting very warm air over the united states. >> the country can expect several more weeks of warm temps. but as we approach february a more typical winter should return. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins has more on this unseasonably warm weather. good morning bill. please lettuce last, smps you can. >> some people need it. they are happy with this in boston and new england. they are enjoying the 71 in buffalo. second warmest they have ever had in december. really the reason for this is the jet stream. pacific air coming across the country. the dip has been in the west and that's where the storm pattern has been. this dip like this has taken the storms in the northwest through

the reactiockies and north into canada. right now we are watching the coldest air from salt lake city to billings. boise at 30. denver at 21. and denver has a storm right over the top of them. salt lake city had six inches yesterday and now in denver it is snowing pretty good. one of the worst morning drives right now. and then we're going to watch the snow spreading out into the plains throughout the next 24 hours. and we will pick up as much as three to six inches here from

suici bill cosby coming up. and a drive through getting ugly. we have the deteels coming up next. you're watching "early today." next. you're watching "early today." ♪ ♪ the final countdown! if you're the band europe, you love a final countdown. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do.

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theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm just this past hour a manned rocket launched from kazakhstan. three crew members including an american are part of a six month mission aboard the space station. bill cosby striking back against some who have accused him of sexual misconduct. he filed a lawsuit yesterday. cosby has repeat lid denied wrong doing. he's suing for defamation,

emotional distress and derailing an upcoming television opportunity. in response, scores of women come ford with accusationes of sexual assault and abuse. it sounds a bit like retaliation to me. >> and pete rose remains band for life from major league baseball. he was banned back in 1989 for betting on games he played in and managed if for cincinnati reds. the mlb commissioner concluded yesterday that the al thyme hits leader had not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life. check out this shocking video at the drive through in detroit. shows a customer and an employee throwing coffee at each other. it began when an employee threw a hot cup of coffee at the customer after they had refused to toss out the old customer's

coffee. tim horton released this statement. we were aware of the incident in october. and the franchisee has taken the appropriate steps to address the matter. let's get down with landened dowdy. >> seattle becomes the first city to allow uber and list drivers organize for pay and working conditions. while the mayor supports the idea he won't sign the bill on concerns over the kous of implementing the issue. >> and investoring taking a bite out of apple stock. the company losing a hundred million in market value before recovering on monday. annual sales predicted to fall for the first time next year. and u.s. airlines are giving us to our destinations on time. the government says 87% of

flights arrived on time in october. third best month ever. delta, hawaiian and alaska had the best ratings. spirit was the only below 80%. customer complaints are still rising up 32%. >> more leg room. and bring back the free peanuts. just ahead, punishment for the high school assistant coach involved in the on field takedown of a referee. and ho hum, another spectacular catch from odell beckham, jr. on monday night football. 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. right now, save 50% on the gift of the week.

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this morning a today show legend is retiring. join the today gain as they look back at willard scott. and let's get you caught one the head lines. monday night football. the dolphins lamar liler breaks through for the game's first touchdown. then eli manning drills rueben randle in the end zone. dolphins come right back though with miller up the middle for a 38 yard touchdown. manning then hits odell beckham, j

jr. right in the end zone. upon further review though the call is reversed and the giants tie it up. fourth quarter, game tide. the game changer. >> manning, he's got beckham wide open. odell, so long. giants lead. >> and giants manage not to blow this one in the final minutes. 31-24. bill kennedy has revealed that his gue is guay. he made the announcement a few days after they suspended sacramento king one game for directing a gay slur at kennedy during a game. >> and high school assistant football coach pleads guilty to an assault for an attack on a game referee. he was sentenced to 18 months

probation, fined 1500 dollars and ordered to serve community service and pay restitution to the victims. that's sports. gee yeah back to you. >> just ahead the force is strong in l.a. last night's star wars premiere was a star studded event. all the highlights next. you won't want to miss it. like how you thought you were covered for all this... when you're really only covered for this. hot dog? or how you may think you're covered for this... but not for this... whoa! no, no, oh , oh! ...or this... ...or this. ...or that... talk to farmers and see what gaps could be hiding in your coverage. my heaven! ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum. bum - bum - bum - bum ♪ the next thing i know it'sedic morning. with tempur-flex you've got the spring and bounce of a traditional mattress and it also adjusts to my body. my cloud feels... it's like somebody's hugging you. how can a bed do that?

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stars lighting up the red carpet in l.a. for the premiere of star wars the forest awakeness. from harrison ford and r2-d2 to george lucas. other big name fans like this creatively dressed yoda. joseph gordon levitt. and earlier in the day, another pair, fisher and ellen degeneres in full princess leia dress raised money for chartd. i'd buy ticket from them.ity. i'd buy ticket from them. when your cold is this bad...

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leading the news in the daily beast. flint mayor declares state of emergency. the michigan city's worsening water crisis is due to rising levels of lead in bottled water. >> and new york girl badly burned in 2013 arson fire gets trip to disney world. she suffered burns over 75% of her body two years ago. the all-expenses paid trip is sponsored by baking memories for kids. a non profit group for children with life threatening and terminal illnesses.

she received about 18 thousand christmas cards and 400 packages. a nuclear reactor at the d indian point power plant shut down last night. there was no release of radioactivity and no threat to the safety of the plant's workers. walmart is donating money to the salvation after thieves broke into a warehouse and stole,0stole thousand of dollars of gifts for needty children. d.c. police say they have arrested two suspects and are searching for others. and in arkansas, a family woke up to a deer running through their home. the deer has smashed through their front window and ran into several other windows. it got a little bit of an assist fortunately from the home

enowner who opened the back door. and father christmas seems to have gone awe aquatic. in south korea at least. drivers dressed up. and special christmas food for the fish and sting rays. they also had a banner with the holiday and new year's greetings. >> and what we didn't have time to show also is the reindeer also swim buy. >> perfect. lovely. now a look ahead. new york city getting ready for the biggest night of the year. the numerals for 2016 arrive in the big apple. the giant numbers will be on display for picture-taking. and we do want to say happy birthday to the star of the oc. he turns 36. and tim conway is 82. i'm gigi

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in flames. a product already 'flagged' for safety concerns ahead of the holiday...nearly burns up inside a bay area house. laura/vo and a young woman chases down a car thief. the brave nearly burns up inside of a bay area house. a young woman faces down thieves. plus, officer os respond to a domestic call in gilroy only to find a man and woman in the heated dispute in a parking lot. what happened next forced officers to respond violently. "today in the bay" starts right now. one kay in the books, it's tuesday morning. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. good morning, kari hall. >> it is cold again this morning. some freezing temperatures in the valley