this morning, the nation will wake up to the first official memorial events honoring the late george h.w. bush as the tributes continue to pour in from all corners of the globe, and today begins the journey from texas to washington. overnight, oil prices are rising on the trump trade deal with china as opec also moved to cut production and opec vows by january. and pope francis speaking out about gay people in the clergy, giving them two choices moving forward. the romantic marriage proposal that went south as the man dropped the diamond ring down a sewer grate in new york city's times square. and mother nature delivering some rare and deadly december tornadoes over the weekend, but

is it over? "early today" starts right now. good monday morning. i'm phillip mena. >> good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. this morning the nation prepares to say final good-byes to the 41st president of the united states. president george herbert walker bush died friday at his houston home at the age of 94. flags are flying at half-staff across the country as tributes pour in, including this one from singer gloria estefan at last night's kennedy center honors ceremony. >> i think it's appropriate to recognize the passing of a wonderful man who dedicated his life to service and who graciously attended this event many times during his administration, laughing, applauding, singing along, and even shedding a tear from right up there in the presidential box, president george h.w. bush. [ applause ] >> makeshift memorials to president bush have appeared in houston as well as

kennebunkport, maine, where mr. bush spent his summers and his birthplace in milton, massachusetts. spokesman jim mcgrath tweeting this photo of his service dog sully next to the casket, reading "mission complete." this morning the casket will travel to washington, d.c., where president bush will lie in state at the u.s. capitol. gabe gutierrez has more on his legacy. good morning. >> reporter: president bush will be laid to rest here on the grounds of his presidential library and museum next to beloved barbara and the young daughter they lost to leukemia. from the heart of texas to the beaches of maine, the tributes are mounting. >> i think he's one of the best we've ever had, really. >> reporter: final preparations now under way for the fond farewell to president george herbert walker bush. his dear friend and former chief of staff, james baker, visited him the day he died. >> and he looked up, he opened both eyes, he looked at me, he said, "where are we going?"

and i said, "we're going to heaven, heffy," and he said "that's where i want to go." >> reporter: mr. bush's last words spoken to his son "i love you, too." honored not just as a statesman, but a father and neighbor. the houston symphony paying tribute to his love of colorful socks. >> he would treat everybody in houston the same, with the same amount of respect. he loved houston. >> reporter: former vice president dick cheney served as his defense secretary and says president bush led the charge as the cold war ended. >> not by brute force, not by threats, not by taking advantage, you know, dancing on the berlin wall as it came down. it was master planned. >> reporter: on monday, air force one will move his casket from houston to washington where it will lie in state at the u.s. capitol. on wednesday, his funeral at the national cathedral. he'll then be flown back to texas and buried on the ground of his presidential library and museum.

ann boykin had been here before. >> it was tough. and i thought of my dad. he lived a long life and he accomplished a lot of great things. it's kind of an end of an era. >> reporter: the era of the greatest generation, gone but not forgotten. this will be the first presidential funeral in 12 years since the death of president ford. phillip? >> gabe, thank you. >> in his later years, president bush forged an unlikely friendship with a former rival, the man who defeated him, bill clinton. the two former presidents became so close that mr. bush even suggested he was the father mr. clinton never had. nbc's matt bradley takes a look at their enduring friendship. >> reporter: some called them the odd couple, former presidents, former rivals, who overcame profound personal and political differences to become friends. >> i've always liked him. i think he's an extraordinary american. >> reporter: a message clinton repeated in the "washington post" yesterday, saying "i

cherished every opportunity i had to learn and laugh with him. i just loved him." >> people think, well, you run against each other, you're enemies, political enemies. well, we were friends before he beat me, before we ran against each other, and we've been friends afterward. >> reporter: but the two weren't always so close. >> we didn't invite that term slick willie. we didn't invite it. >> i am not going to tell you read my lips. >> reporter: the 1992 campaign was bitter, the press probed clinton's private life. bush felt maligned by the media. >> it was a bruising election for clinton, and it was a loss for president bush, so they both had to overcome those memories, which weren't happy memories for either one of them. >> reporter: but when clinton arrived in the oval office, a letter from bush awaited him -- "i wish you great happiness here," the letter said, "your success now is our country's success. i am rooting hard for you." >> i hope the fact that we've come together in this way shows that there are some things that are far more important than politics. >> reporter: after their presidencies, they traveled

together, leading recovery efforts around the world, forging a friendship that's become part of both men's legacies with lessons for today's polarizing politics. matt bradley, nbc news. this morning, paris is surveying the damage left behind by the city's most destructive riots in decades. authorities there arrested more than 400 people and doused more than 200 fires. french president emmanuel macron rushed home from the g-20 summit to try to calm the growing unrest. nbc's sarah harman is live from london with the latest on this. sarah, good morning. what started all this? >> reporter: phillip, good morning. these protests started three weeks ago over a new fuel tax, a tax the french president says is necessary to combat climate change, but it's not just about the gas tax anymore. many of these protesters are angry about rising prices and the high cost of living. this weekend, it essentially became an urban riot. protesters smashing windows, throwing rocks at police,

vandalizing the arch de triomphe. police used tear gas and water cannons on the protesters. president emmanuel macron rushed home from the g-20 to deal with it and is considering imposing a state of emergency that hasn't happened since the terror attacks. he was elected last year with ambitious plans to reform the economy, but many demonstrators are saying he doesn't care about ordinary people. >> sarah harman from london, thank you. people in the midwest are picking up what's left of their homes after a rare string of december tornadoes tore through. one man was killed after he got trapped in his motel in missouri. this was at the aurora inn. his name has not been released. in illinois, video shows one tornado touching down on litchfield. the total of 22 tornadoes hit central illinois according to the national weather service. 34 buildings were completely destroyed in tailorville.

30 people there were injured. as many as three tornadoes hit eastern oklahoma and arkansas. no injuries or deaths were reported in either. all right, let's see what this week has in store for us. good morning, bill. >> good morning. watching another big storm going coast to coast. right now it's well out in the pacific, but all of that moisture is going to head into california. here's how it's going to play out in the west, part one of our coast-to-coast storm. tomorrow the moisture and rain come on shore. snow levels will be high again, but some around lake tahoe and the heaviest in the coastal areas. then the storm dips down further to the south on wednesday. rain will move into southern california. doesn't look like it will be that heavy. i'm not too concerned with huge flooding concerns, but this will eventually by thursday and friday begin to head through arizona and new mexico, so more beneficial rains and happyfully not too much travel troubl here's a look at your day ahead. you can see where the cold air is in place and then it's blocked by the cascades. that's why we're in the 40s there in the coastal areas, but interior areas of the west are

pretty chilly this morning. look at elko, only 25 for a high today. 50s in the valley. we'll take a look at the whole week-ahead forecast coming up. >> all right, sounds good. thanks, bill. got a head-scratcher for you. a man from new mexico and his ceanfi ran into a slight snag when they applied for a marriage license in d.c. gavin clarkson told local reporters that the clerk thought that new mexico was a foreign country. yeah. he said that the woman insisted on seeing his new mexican passport after he showed him her license. she did also compliment him on his english, he said. after checking with a supervisor, they verified that new mexico, yes, is indeed part of the united states. a spokeswoman for the d.c. court says they very much regret the error and the slight delay that it caused. stay in school, kids. >> a simple map for the holidays or a trip to new mexico. up next, pope francis laydz down the law for clergy who may be gay. plus, the oops of a lifetime as a prospective groom drops the

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stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. new comments from pope francis are raising eyebrows this morning. in a book-length interview published in spanish, the pontiff said that having gay people in the clergy is something that worries him. pope francis added that gay priests should stay celibate or leave the men psychiatry rather than leading a gay life. and police save the day after a proposal went down the drain, literally. while on vacation in the big apple, a man accidentally dropped the ring in that grate. and there's the bling right there. when police recovered the ring the next day, the couple was nowhere to be found, so they turned to twitter. the armchair detectives were able to track down the couple and police returned the ring. >> man, i'm scared about my air pods when i walk over those things, much less my ring? >> and your phone, too. >> this guy. >> right there. >> everybody so lucky to get those back.

a couple football teams are looking for rings of their own come february. to pittsburgh, where ben roethlisberger and the steelers dominated the visiting chargers to start the game. they took a commanding 23-7 lead into halftime. and shame on you if you thought it was over, because in the fourth, l.a.'s desmond king turns everything around with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown. the steelers would then lose their running back james conner to a leg injury and needed a touchdown late. big ben comes through, ties the game. it would come down to a field goal for the chargers and they won it. 33-30. to the motor city where the rams were in town. todd gurley racked up 132 yards and two touchdowns to help the rams move a little bit closer to home field advantage in the nfc playoffs. they move to 11-1 with a 30-16 victory over detroit. now to green bay, where the packers had to beat the lowly cardinals to have any shot at making the playoffs, but they could not get the job done, and now that man's job is done.

head coach mike mccarthy fired after the game. the packers lose to arizona, 20-17. now to an explosive nfl story unraveling off the field after the league's rushing champion, kareem hunt, was caught on camera brutally assaulting a woman. he was released by the kansas city chiefs friday night and today will learn his fate with the nfl. nbc's kathleen park has more. >> reporter: after being caught on camera, kareem hunt admitted he was wrong in an interview with espn. >> i just really want to, you know, apologize to everybody. >> reporter: in this surveillance video obtained by tmz sports, hunt is seen arguing with a woman in a cleveland hotel in february. he shoves her. she swats at him and is then knocked to the floor. he later comes back and kicks her. >> i'm not the type of person to ever even think about putting my hands on anyone, a woman, a girl, it doesn't matter. >> reporter: in this cleveland police body cam video, the woman in the confrontation describes what happened. >> he shoved me, he pushed me.

>> reporter: but hunt was not charged. the chiefs questioned him shortly after the incident. he was asked if he had told the truth. >> i didn't tell them everything. >> reporter: the nfl released a statement, saying its investigation will include further attempts to speak to the complainant and a review of the new information that was made public on friday, a reference to the surveillance video. the league has been criticized for how they handled cases of violence against women. in 2014, former baltimore ravens running back ray rice was seen in this video obtained by tmz sports knocking out his future wife. he is no longer with the nfl. >> if the video hadn't come out, i'm pretty sure hunt would be playing right now in the chiefs' game against the oakland raiders. it's incredible to see him just be so reactionary to this all the time. >> reporter: today, hunt will learn his fate with the nfl. kathy park, nbc news. straight ahead, the u.s./china trade deal is sending stock futures through the roof, and opec made some major decisions, sending oil spiking.

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♪ ♪ she dreams in colors, she dreams in red ♪ ♪ can't find a better man overnight, the global citizen mandela 100 festival kicked off in johannesburg with performances from pearl jam's lead singer, eddie vedder. it marks what would have been president nelson mandela's 100th

birthday. to see more highlights, head to nbcnews.com/globalcitizen. >> worth going back and hearing that version of "better man," too. really cool. investors breathing a sigh of relief this morning as the u.s. and china strike a temporary cease-fire in the trade war. president trump and chinese leader xi jinping agreed to a truce after meeting at the g-20 summit in argentina. overnight, the president tweeted that china agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into the country. global markets rallying on the news, the dow up over 500 points in premarket trading. nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: trade truce. president trump back from argentina, reached the temporary breakthrough at saturday's 2 1/2-hour dinner in buenos aires with chinese president xi jinping. >> the relationship is very special, the relationship that i have with president xi, and i think that is going to be a very primary reason why we'll probably end up getting something. >> reporter: the move means the u.s. won't raise tariffs to 25% on $200 billion worth of chinese

goods at the start of the new year. they're currently at 10%. the president touting the cease-fire on air force one while heading home. >> if it happens, it goes down as one of the largest deals ever made. >> reporter: the white house saying china has agreed to buy more u.s. goods, welcome news to farmers who say they've been hit hard by the trade dispute, but annie salikas, who represents the maine lobster association says china is their biggest overseas market and the cease-fire doesn't go far enough. >> we would really like to see the retaliatory tariffs removed and be able to continue to provide high-quality lobster to our customers at chinese new year, throughout christmas and new year's. >> reporter: the white house says china has also agreed to consider designating the deadly opioid fentanyl as a controlled substance, meaning suppliers who sell it to the u.s. could face steep penalties in china, but the countdown is on. both sides will have 90 days to reach a broader agreement. former fbi director james comey

has agreed to testify on capitol hill friday, but only after lawmakers gave in to his request to make a transcript of his testimony public. frances? >> all right, kristen, thank you. just ahead, this is a full-blown four-alarm holiday emergency. a homeowner's christmas vacation-inspired decorations give neighbors the scare of the season. and dual "i-dos," tying the knot twice. ok, i'm ready... ...is it...? clearblue digital pregnancy test...

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just moments ago, three astronauts blasted off from the soyuz ms-11 headed for the international space station. this was the first manned soyuz rocket launch since october. astronauts from the united states, russia, and canada left from kazakhstan on a six-hour journey. during the mission, the crew will embark on a space walk to further probe a mysterious hole that caused a lot of air pressure -- or caused a loss of air pressure on board the iss in august. >> best of luck to them. let's see what's up with the air pressure here on earth, bill. it's cool. literally just lifted off the ground, now they're in space. all right, the week-ahead forecast. still seeing rain and storms in florida. we're okay in the midwest today. by tuesday afternoon, the rain moves in. it's with us on wednesday evening in southern california. then the storm moves through the four corner region. then friday it emerges into the plains. could have snow and ice to deal with, too. >> all right, bill, thanks. up next, macaulay culkin lets the internet pick his new middle name. eico. this is how it made me feel.

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all right, sunday marked the first night of hanukkah. and in washington, d.c., interior secretary ryan zinke held light the ma norah, which is the tallest in the world. and there was a ceremony in front of berlin's brandenburg gate. now to "quick hits." days after the insight lander touched down on mars, nasa hopes to land the -- how do you say that? >> osiris rex. >> it sounds like a dinosaur, doesn't it? the skyscraper sized asteroid called benu. they will attempt to livestream the hit today. >> you think of osiris, you think of obd from the wu tang.

marvel studios revealing a new poster for "captain marvel" and says the new trailer will be happening tonight during monday night football on espn. and "ralph breaks the internet" remains in the top spot at the box office earning nearly $26 million. "the grinch" got nearly $18 million from its fourth week and "creed 2" brought in close to $17 million. a christmas display caused panic in austin after a tribute to "national lampoon's christmas vacation" went wrong. >> ah! >> remember that scene there? >> yep. >> all right, some homeowners placed a dummy at the edge of the roof just like in that movie, right there. look at that picture. but one veteran, a good guy here, thought this dummy was a real person. his name is alfred norwood jr., not the dummy, the person. he tried to save the dummy, and

when homeowners heard what happened, they felt bad and gave him a gift card for being such a good person. turns out they were trying to win a neighborhood contest. >> at least could have called 911 instead of trying to save him himself, saying hey, some dude is stuck. >> i don't know. we hear wedding bells not once but twice. nick jonas and priyanka chopra exchanged vows for the second time this week in an elaborate hindu ceremony in sunday, one day after the two officially became man and woman in a christian service on saturday. the famous guests who cheered the couple on all weekend included the jonas brothers, kevin and joe, her gal pal meghan markle and prince harry were not in attendance, busy doing the royal thing. macaulay culkin wants to change his name. the star has started a poll on

bunnyears.com, asking people to vote for a new middle name. here are the choices. you see what's ahead. if that wins, his name would be

good monday morning. the rare december blitz in multiple states after the past 24 hours, reports of injuries, damage, and at least one death. is the worst over? we will have the latest. >> remembering george herbert walker bush. today we will see theirst steps leading to a funeral of a war hero and dedicated public servant and a family man to his very core. >> on the financial core, president trump's trade deal with china are emerging, sending oil prices higher as opec decides to cut production. >> paris is burning. over