a reminder, rachel will be back tomorrow with her exclusive interview with vice president joe biden. with vice president joe biden. up next, "first look." dead on arrival. the house is set to approve legislation renewing the payroll tax cut. but senate democrats say it doesn't have a chance. parents' worst nightmare. horrific video shows a little girl being run over by an suv. and or ka encounter. a california tour boat has an amazing run-in with a killer whale. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we begin this morning with dueling power plays. in washington this morning house republicans are scrambling to gather enough votes to pass a sweeping budget plan. the senate's top democrat says no one is leaving town for the holidays until both sides agree on payroll tax cuts. nbc's tracie potts joining us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a couple issues going on here. the budget and the payroll tax cuts. and it looks like congress may finally have a solution to that can they've been kicking down the road month after month. health, education among the departments that have been unfunded permanently. now it looks like they've worked out the details. aides say there are some minor details to continue to work out. it look like that will happen before the end of the month. the payroll tax cut, republicans take a vote in the house today. they expect to tie that to that controversial keystone excel oil pipeline. there have been protests. the white house had put off that

decision until over a year from now. the senate will reject this, we are told. president obama has all but said he will reject any attempt to tie this payroll tax cut extense to the pipeline. the tax cut extension would save the average american $1,000 a year. today's vote would also cut unemployment benefits from 99 weeks to 59 weeks. that is a republican bill expected to pass the house. not expected to pass the senate. lynn? marking a symbolic turning of the page for u.s. forces who fought and died in a war that spanned the better part of a decade, president obama met with iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki yesterday to discuss both the past and the future. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: arlington national cemetery. almost nine years after u.s. forces invaded iraq. sparked a civil war but set the stage for democracy. elected iraqi prime minister

nuri al maliki went to pay his respects to the americans who invested the most. the iraqi national anthem. since 2003, 4,483 americans have died in iraq. in a few days, almost all u.s. troops will be gone. >> we're here to mark the end of this war. to honor the sacrifices of all those who made this day possible and to turn the page. >> reporter: president obama opposed the war, but today sounded like george w. bush. >> we think a successful democratic iraq can be a model for the entire region. >> translator: but the goals that we established were achieved. >> reporter: were they? critics say no. >> is there any reason to trust maliki? >> no! >> reporter: former homeland security secretary tom ridge at a protest outside the white house. iraq's closest ally now is iran.

>> the single greatest terrorist organization in the world is iran. >> reporter: iraq is promising to stage joint training with u.s. forces. >> so that iran doesn't think that they have a free hand to -- to rule the region. >> reporter: but thanks to the sacrifice of americans, iraq will now choose its own friends and go its own way. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. elsewhere, the supreme court recently added some controversy to an already crowded docket. the justices will weigh in on both challenges to arizona's immigration law and president obama's health care reform. last night on the rachel maddow show guest host melissa harris perry asked george washington university professor jeffrey rosen why the supreme court has agreed to hear these politically charged cases. take a listen. >> in the arizona case, they certainly didn't have to take it. and because justice elena kagan is recused, that means you could

have a 4-4 tie. four conservatives against four liberals. if that happens the lower court decision stands which means the obama administration wins and the law doesn't go into effect. but, nevertheless, the fact that four justices wanted to hear the case, presumably four conservatives, suggests there might be four votes to actually rule in favor of arizona. the health care is different. you have such a division among the lower courts. the obama administration was begging the supreme court to resolve the uncertainty. so the court had little choice but to take the case. but the fact that two conservative federal judges, very respected conservatives, have upheld the health care law recently makes some people optimistic or at least cautiously optimistic that perhaps the supreme court will, in fact, uphold the individual mandate. >> "rachel maddow" show at 9:00 eastern here on msnbc, "the place for politics." about 100 miles from the penn state campus jerry sandusky will come face to face today

with several of the men accusing him of sexually abusing them when they were just boys. michelle franzen has more on this in bellefonte, pennsylvania. >> reporter: the sex abuse case now moves here to bellefonte, about 15 minutes from penn state. prosecutors will use the grand jury report along with witness and testimony from alleged victims to lay out their case, trying to show a judge that there is enough evidence against sandusky to move forward and go to trial. of course, sandusky's lawyer said that they will challenge aggressively the credibility of some of these accusers. we are expected to hear from some of them. there are ten alleged victims in the grand jury report. but we don't know how many will testify today. we are hearing maybe a handful. and many of them are believed to be adults at this time. but the courts and the media are keeping their names -- not revealing their names at this time. that gives the alleged victims the option to either speak out

publicly after their testimony today or keep their identities private. lynn? >> michelle franzen there for us in bellefonte, pennsylvania. thank you, michelle. now here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a virginia christmas display has provoked both vandalism and a lively debate on tolerance and freedom of speech. a skeleton of st. nick hanging from a crucifix is just one of ten holiday displays approved to stand outside the courthouse. well, it was ripped down several times before its creator finally gave up and stopped reinstalling it. just bizarre. killer whales in california put on a spectacular show for tourists. whale watchers got an up close and personal encounter with the massive animals. along with swimming right next to the boat carrying the group, the whales also went airborne lifting their entire body out of the ocean. finally, monday was a very productive day for michelle obama. first she learned her "let's move" initiative helped break

the guinness book of world record for the most people performing jumping jacks over a 24-hour period. she also continued an annual tradition joined by family dog bo at the children's national medical cent perp the first lady read was the night before christmas to dozens of children. for a look at national and regional weather, bill karins has your weather channel forecast. it doesn't seem like it's going to be a white christmas. i still can't believe it's only a few weeks away. >> 10, 12 days left. doesn't look like it's going to be a white christmas in many areas. we're just too warm. the storm coming across the country for most people is going to be rain. if you live in the high elevations of arizona, mountains of utah or mount nouz areas around santa fe, new mexico, you will get snow out of this. wipter storm warnings because of the current storm. typically this time of year, middle of december, storm systems in the desert southwest, as they spread through the country, usually it's a pretty big snow and ice machine. but we don't have enough cold air for that. it's mostly going to be a rain i

vent. a little area of a winter weather advisory in areas of southern portions of nebraska. that's it. eventually even minnesota will get a little bit of snow. here's the snowfall forecast the next 48 hours. nothing in the great lakes. just a little bit here in far northern minnesota. then as you notice, the snow in areas of the mountainous locations outside of tucson, the rim of arizona and northern new mexico. that's about it. this storm system is actually bringing some rain to phoenix. now over .3 of rain. also light rain now extends through areas of missouri and southern illinois. if you're anywhere from southern illinois, st. louis, kansas city back through kansas, have the umbrella with you today. it's not going to rain hard. there'll be a steady light rain through southern missouri. areas of arizona, definitely umbrella from phoenix northwards. around flagstaff, snow. notice the thunderstorms. if you're joining us here really early out in the west coast, thunderstorms just off the coast of san diego.

i probably say that once a year that we have thunderstorms near san diego. that's the case. i-5 up to oceanside. could get downpours early, early this morning. as far as the rainfall forecast, light rain will move eventually through the middle of the country. this is the next 48 hours. as that storm moves we'll watch some of that rain, the steadiest of it up iowa, wisconsin, michigan. normally this time of year you'd be talking snow. it's just too warm. temperatures today in the upper 30s to low 40s. in chicago if you get any rain it'll be mostly late in the day. kansas city and st. louis could even see a rumble of thunder. for the most part looking at just light rain. east coast, chilly morning. not bad afternoon. d.c. up near 50. new york city to boston mid-40s. a little breezy. windchills get a little much. definitely hats and gloves for the kids. not a lot changes for tomorrow. the storm still in the middle of the country while the east coast holds on to decent weather, lynn. for the kids wanting to use their sleds, not happening any time soon. >> all right, bill, thanks so

much. well, stocks stagger. deceptive data and a dollar coin sells for millions. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the seahawks keep their playoff hopes alive. more bad news for sidney crosby. you're watching "first look" om. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. iranian tv says experts there are in the final stages of recovering data from a u.s. spy drone that went down in the country earlier this month. billionaire new jersey nets owner says he's going to run against russian prime minister vladimir putin in march's presidential election. this comes after unprecedented protests against putin and his party following allegations of fraud in last week's parliamentary elections. occupy wall street

protesters' attempts to block the gates at some of the west coast's busiest ports led to the partial shutdown of docks in california, oregon and washington state monday. several dozen arrests were reported. and in china, very disturbing security video shows a little girl being run over by an suv during an apparent temper can trum on her way to kindergarten. a group of bystanders managed to lift the vehicle and pull her out. amazingly, she was unharmed. but her mom still made her go to school that day. come on, can't you catch a break? now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 12,021 after tumbling 162 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 18 points. the nasdaq lost 34. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 101 points while in hong kong the hangseng was down 128. from ratings agencies to small investors, the reviews for

europe's debt agreement were lukewarm at best. and it sent stocking tumbling monday. both moodies and fitch warned markets the deal didn't go far enough and date ratings in europe may still be downgraded. spanish and italian debt once again soared. italy's 10-wreer note yield again approached the danger zone of 7%. the euro hit a ten-week low against the dollar. gold prices fell to their lowest levels in almost seven weeks. u.s. bond yields fell as investors looked for safety. wall street's losses were wide. most s&p 500 industry groups fell more than 1%. all ten closed negative. banks were among the worst off. morgan stanley, citigroup, bank of america and jm morgu -- jp m chase all fell. resource stocks also tumbled. oil fell and copper prices plummeted to a near two-week low.

alcoa and kpon mobile were hit hard. elsewhere diamond foods plunged on an investigation into its payments to walnut farmers. vulcan materials rocketed after martin marietta bid to buy the company for $4.7 billion in stock. turns out home sales data has been inflated for years. figures will be lowered all the way back to 2007. it's estimated the national association of realtors overstated 2010 home sales by at least 15%. finally, a rare 1787 gold brasher doubloon. minted by a gold smith who was george washington's neighbor. has been sold for a whopping $7.4 million. that is nice appreciation. coming up, pink slip day in the nfl. and a fan lights the red light in hock ku. plus, the seahawks butt heads with the rams in monday night

football. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. to see you ♪ ♪ in my bed ♪ ♪ there are diamonds in her eyes ♪ ♪ ♪ and they sparkle in the night ♪ ♪ when the moment comes alive [ male announcer ] this is your moment. this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through sunday.

the pioneers. the aviators. building superhighways in an unknown sky. their safety systems built of brain and heart, transforming strange names from tall tales into pictures on postcards home. and the ones who followed them, who skimmed the edge of space, the edge of heaven, the edge of dreams.

and we follow them up there to live by an unbreakable promise, stitched into every uniform of every captain who takes their command: to fly. to serve. confidence. available in color. depend for women is now peach. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, all but officially dead early in the season, last night the seattle seahawks won for the fourth time in five game. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. the saw seahawks may have a losing record. special teams came up big in the first quarter. doug baldwin untouched came off

the edge and blocked that punt. michael robinson scooped an scored and seattle on the board. they were up 10-3 at the half. big play by baldwin in the first, another in the third. jackson found him wide open and baldwin took it in. the undrafted rookie doing it all. seattle led 20-6. lynch is isn't only playing for a new contract, he's playing for skittles. ninth separate game he scored a touchdown and mom with a bag of the good stuff. no sugar coating this loss fort rams. they were blown out 30-13. tough day for a pair of coaches after starting the season 4-9, dolphins fired head coach tony sparano. even though they won their division title last year, the chiefs let go todd haley. lightning and devils have been a disappointment this season. got started 28 seconds into the game. new jersey up, 1-0. and then in the second period, scoring three straight goals, zach parise and adam henrik both had a pair. tampa couldn't recover and the devils held on to win it 5-4. what was supposed to be a two-game break has turned into a

lengthy stay with no end in sight. sidney crosby out indefinitely with concussionlike symptoms. he's passed every test but still suffering. penguins captain missed 70 games since january. penguins without their star. maybe they should sign this guy. burying a shot between center ice. the hole was just a half inch bigger than the size of a puck and matt nailed it. pretty remarkable. he won a car. no, it wasn't a zamboni. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. bill karins has your forecast. >> did you say ice or nice. >> i said nice. >> very good. >> i would have taken a zamboni. >> it's a cold start to your day in areas of new england once again. definitely hats, glove and winter coat for all the kids. temperatures in the 20s in some cases. for some areas probably the coldest morning yet. a little ice out there on some of those ponds and maybe even

some of those lakes up in northern new england who are way behind schedule on that season, too. as far as the sky cover today, partly clou cloudy, maybe mostly cloudy at worst at times. should see a decent amount of sunshine pretty much everywhere. probably clouds increasing late in the day in pittsburgh and buffalo. temperatures a little warmer than yesterday. yesterday was a little breezy. it made it a little bit cooler. 51 in d.c. today. 40s north of there. in boston, here's your extended forecast as we head towards the weekend. a little chance of rain on thursday. look how warm. into the low 50s. we get colder by the time next weekend arrives. really the last big shopping weekend. we will be watching, you know, sunshine. at least there's no big storms heading that way. t the storminess today, thunderstorms possible phoenix. even san diego could get rain. eventually heads out. coming up, the latest in star wars versus star trek

battle. the oldest woman ever to grace the cover of "vogue." it seems like she's won every award possible this year. we're going to tell you who beat her out for billboard artist of the year. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. rved. four minutes, around four bucks. campbell's chunky -- it's amazing what soup can do. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. time now for some entertainment news. a spiteful move by flight attendants striking back at alec baldwin over his tantrum. we can't get past this. it's getting him more attention, not less. the american airlines wants 30 rock removed from in-flight entertainment following

baldwin's "saturday night live" spoof. the customers are the losers. >> is it wrong or right? steven spielberg says he's doing a fourth jurassic park movie. amy winehouse's dad wants lady gaga to play his daughter on the big screen. adele elbowed in on the year of taylor swift, winning billboard's 2011 artist of the year. on the downside, adele says her next album won't be out for two to three years. 62-year-old cover girl on "vogue" is meryl streep. the oldest woman to be so honored. and star trek's sulu offered a video brokering peace between all that trash talking between "star wars" and "star trek." now he just suggests everyone focus on the "twilight" series. bill, someone is finally listening to you. >> maybe unfocus. >> he calls it, quote, really, really bad.

why does everyone hate on "twilight"? i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. the war of words heats up between the republican front-runners as newt gingrich and mitt romney take shots at each other on the campaign trail. meanwhile, new polls show both candidates leading president obama in key swing states. the question is, after weeks of negative attacks, will the eventual nominee be able to stand up to a well rested president obama? as the troops prepare for their final withdrawal from iraq, the president meets with iraqi prime minister al maliki in the white house declaring an end to the nine-year war and announcing a new phase in the relationship with iraq. the question is, can the iraqi government stand on its own without the help of 150,000 american troops? and the supreme court jumps into the imm