an energized dornld trump ramps up his push towards iowa with a new barragen leashed. and calls for calm, the first police officer in the freddie gray case. will he be tried again. and. anything but calm as spain's prime minister is sucker punched. and what is your budget spending $1.1 trillion on. and the funniest mean tweets of the year on a busy thursday. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm gigi stone woods.

the race has entered a new chapter. the larger battle now turning into smaller one-on-one feuds. never passing up a chance to make a grand entrance donald trump slammed one of his opponents at a arizona rally but took special aim at jeb bush and followed i that up last night with jimmy kimmel. >> do you think jeb bush is scared of you or just scared in general. >> i think here's scared. he's having a hard time running. he was supposed to be because of the name everyone thought he was the odds on favorite. and i defined him. i gave him this term low energy. said he's a now large individual. we do not need in this country low energy. >> but there is a bigger growing continuo contest and for that we're watching -- >> cruz versus rubio hammering each other. >> the ted cruz -- >> senator cruz? i. >> -- >> do you rule it out.

>> cruz's counterpunch, now a liability. >> do you regret having been patriot of that process. >> no i went to washington to solve problems. >> so why do it now. >> you can't do it comprehensively. you can't do it on one big piece of legislation. it is not good for america to have millions of people permanently living here who can never become americans. >> the real good tett atett between you and mr. cruz. >> in new hampshire and iowa. >> do you have always have the des moines register on the plane? >> no only when we're in des moines. i'm motivated to reaching out. i don't think anything is the last five weeks before the iowa caucus. i feel very confident and optimistic about it. >> and while rubio still trails

his republican rivals. and big news on the democratic side of the race starting with hillary clinton. yesterday she earned an endorsement from one of the richest men in the world, billionaire investor warn buffett. he's an outspoken critic and clinton through her support behind the so called buffet rule. that eeds bernie sanders role but he'll lock up his own endorsement in a couple of hours. the communications workers of america representing about half a million members. the judge declared a mistrial yesterday after a hung jury failed to reach a verdict.

the case stems from the death of freddie gray who died a week after his neck was broken during a ride in the back of a police van. later today judge will meet with prosecutors and the defense to quote, discuss a new trial date. >> we ask the public to remain calm. patient. because we are confident there will be another trial with a different jury. we are calm. you should be calm too. >> state prosecutor has refused to comment. jurors began deliberating monday and were not sequestered. porter pled not guilty to all charges including manslaughter. he's the first of six officers to be tried relating to freddie gray's at the time. prosecutors consider the case a sign of how the other trials are expected a few hundred mostly peaceful protesters took to the

streets. nbc has confirmed the bodies of the swernd terrorists were buried on tuesday in california. nbc's pete williams reports. >> it's been an urgent question. why did the u.s. government give tashfeen a visa if she had been posting pro jihadist messages before she got here? simple, she never did post any such messages back then. she sent only e-mails and direct private communications to her contact in the u.s., syed farook. >> so far we've found no evidence by either of them at that period of time and thereafter reflecting their commitment to jihad or martyrdom.

>> malik did post a pledge of support for isis on a facebook timeline. he also said the fbi has found indication that the couple was in direct contact with any terror organization before the shooting or that they were part of a cell. also the secretary of homeland security said he'll begin entering periodic bulletins to discuss the changing nature without raising the overall threat level as the old system did or waiting for specific threats. people may expect longer security lines when security is ramped up. >> president obama will be in san bernardino tomorrow for private meetings for families and victims of the terror attacks before continuing on to hawaii where he'll spend the holidays with his family. >> obama administration has another e-mail controversy.

defense secretary ash carter used his personal e-mail to conduct official government business. it happened during his first few months at the pentagon in violation of the defense department rules. the times sites officials and copies of the e-mails. the report says carter continued using his personal account for at least two months after the scandal erupted over hillary clinton's use of her e-mail as secretary of state. the pentagon responded in a statement in part secretary carter quote takes his responsibilities with regard to classified material very seriously and that he has stopped such use hoff his personal e-mail and further limited his use of e-mail altogether. >> politics can get a little rough but things went a little different for spain prime minister yesterday. a teenager punched him in the side of his head. the teen was arrested by local authorities. the 60-year-old prime minister

was seen sporting a dark red mark but he was not seriously injured. he later tweeted, i am fine and i'm on the way to a rally. a first look at the $1.1 trillion spending bill expected to pass congress this week. nearly half is devoted to defense spending. vice president joe biden will have a pay freeze and the secret service has had a chair controversy and it will increase 268 million from last year. u.s. embassy security will also receive a bump in funding. the tax side receives tax breaks and deduction for teachers paying for school supplies and the child tax credit. and a guidelines for levying taxes on hard cider which is of course growing in popularity.

a vote on the tax package is expected today and tomorrow for the spending bill. the senate will bundle the two together before sending to president obama. let's get a check of the weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> we're stale nation divided. eastern half warm and the west still cold. the west was very cold in areas. now the attention from the storm yesterday. pouring rain along the coastline and a good deal of snow at the highest elevations. this will continue throughout the day. eventually the cold front will move on shore but it is going to take its sweet time. a steady period of rain flu the day into tonight. mountain snow. we'll see high winds with this. 60 miles per hour gusts possible at the coast and higher elevations. as far as the rainfall amounts the next two days it is really

pinpointing the coastline of oregon. that is where we could see as much as three or four inches of rain. and the snow will make it into the some of the mountains here but the real bull's eye, the mountains to the northeast there of boise looks like the best. and as far as the warmth. even next that rain will eventually make its way into northern california also today. any change, everyone christmas week stays cold in the west. >> very exciting. lots of differences in the weather, bill. >> yes. >> all right. no one would ever do this about you. >> all right. >> last night jimmy kimmel had another installment of celebrities reading mean tweets

hoosmterer some highlights. >> sceean penn. you're rude. young full and full of farts. >> elizabeth frank is a who are. >> julia that marg leez is one of the finest ugly women i have seen. thank you. >> colin farrell in true detective looks like he smells like depressed -- [ laughter ] depressed coach farts. >> it is easy for people to be bold and mean when hiding behind a computer screen. and as we approach the end of the year, a look at google's top trending items. in the movie categories jurassic world was top followed by american sniper. top trending diets.

20/20. carb cycle and paleo. and in the dog category and top trending searches for 2010. jurassic world, american sniper. caitlyn jenner. and ronda rouse. like they copy and pasted my google history. you're watching "early today." but a few might shape the future. like turning algae into biofuel... ...new technology for capturing co2 emissions... ...and cars twice as efficient as the average car today. ideas exxonmobil scientists are working on to make energy go further... ...no matter how many tries it takes. energy lives here. wheall i can think abouthit, is getting relief. only nicorette mini has a patented fast-dissolving formula.

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in the wake of recent paris attacks. calling on the senate to review the wiretapping of the nsa, the agency's ability to collect phone records became limited after the package of the freedom act earlier this year. and you have seen this unbelievable video showing a cyclist struck by a moving train in poland. luckily the 26-year-old didn't suffer any life threatening injuries. efs reportedly fined $180 though for ignoring the light. let's get down to business now with landened dowdy. >> the prime rate is the most widely used benchmark in credit card and home equity loan rates so borrowers will have to pay more.

but savers won't see any as savings account rates aren't going up. and uber and messenger. just like the app they can track their drivers and get a receipt. and the new "star wars" movie, as of wednesday, more than $100 million in tickets have been sold. and fan dang go says the force awakens accounts for 91% of all its sales. just ahead. sports is next. who wants to try? before earning enough cash back from bank of america to stir up the holidays, before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time and 2% back at the grocery store, even before they got 3% back on gas,

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the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. the morning the "save my life series" continues. what you need ohno if you're stranded in your vehicle during a winter storm. >> good morning. a legend calls it quits. abby w abby wambach had her last

appearance. she owns two olympic gold medals and a six time u.s. soccer female athlete of the year. to the nba. klay thompson scored 24 of his points in the third quarter as they come back to defeat phoenix. the spurs are still perfect at home. easily taking down the wizards 114-95. that is sports. just ahead, michael jackson may be gone but he just broke a very big record. plus big news from the rock. the details next. stay with us. just head around the corner to walgreens when you're searching for that perfect little something. walgreens has great gifts

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they are only available for purchase in digital version. dwayne the rock johnson has a new pebble. they welcomed their first child wednesday morning. can the jackson thriller has the first album to go platinum 30 times. and check out this. a new kind of santa on jimmy fallon last night. >> time new santa claus. >> what are you talking about? >> look bru, the chris cringeal we all grew up with is old and lame. dude looks like someone's weird grandpa. kids today are demanding a newer hipper more bad [ bleep ] santa claus. so you're welcome. when your cold is this bad...

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leading the news in the "new york times," chattanooga attack victims to be awarded purple hearts. following the shooting, five service members will receive the award posthumously. one surviving marine will be awarded the medal as well. and from nbcnews.com that scary movie really is blood curdling. this is true. fear releases a blood clotting protein called factor 8. a group of vonlunteered watcheda horror movie watched a movie and others watched the reverse.

and according to the u.s. forest service, more than $1.7 billion to fight this year. the cost lest on record. beyond dollars and sense the cost in lives and property was also steep. seven firefighters have died. nearly 10 acres have burned so far in 2015? and a piece of wedding cake from prince charles and princess dianna's 1981 wedding is up for auction today. yuck. it is actually made of a classic british fruitcake with cream cheese frosting. pay whatever you want for it. >> a piece of history. >> a slice-history. just don't eat it. i beg you. if you love "star wars" and happen to find yourself in paris you are in luck. attend a light saber academy and

become a jedi master. students learn a combination of fencing and martial arts. tonight president obama joining bear grylls. this is all happening. they trek across the alaskan wilderness and observe firsthand the effects of climate change. here is a sneak peek. >> as president i am in what's called the bubble. and secret service makes sure i'm always out of danger which i very much appreciate but can be a little --. to be with bear in the woods it doesn't get any better than that. >> you probably need more survival skills to run the country. running wild with bear grylls and obama airs tonight at 10:00/9:00 central on nbc. >> and happy birthday today. here is a big dug up while gardening. now

proved to be human. remains uncovered in a san franci dug up while gardening. now proved to be human. remains uncovered in a san francisco planter box pushing investigators to find out who it is and where the bones came from. and on the run. and possibly armed and dangerous. the woman now the target of a national search after police find her mother's body in their shared home. people and emotion. the huge crowd expected in the bay view later today for the public funeral of omario woods. "today in the bay" starts right now. and a good thursday morning. thank you for joining us, i'm sam brock. >> i'mgarcia-cannon. bundle up before you head out the door. good morning. >> good morning. i needed the gloves this morning to keep