to keep the government running, and that all needs doing before christmas and before the senate is scheduled to work six straight weeks in a row. who thinks they're going to make it? "first look" is up next. good morning, everybody. right now on "first look," ray rice and his wife. the couple at the center of the storm over domestic violence and the nfl speak out for the first time. >> and i'm hardly sorry for everything that, you know, i had to put my family through. plus, more fallout for bill cosby in the wake of a growing sexual assault scandal. and captured on video, the horrifying moment, a police helicopter explodes into flames. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. former baltimore ravens running back ray rice is breaking his sigh clens in an exclusive interview with matt lauer. this comes after that infamous video knocking out his now wife in a casino elevator. the act got rice suspended from the nfl, but he was reinstated

last friday. nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: ray rice can play again. but will an nfl team sign him? the former running back for the baltimore ravens spoke about his uncertainty future with matt lauer. >> what would you think it would take for another owner and another group of fans to put the images of that video behind and say we'll take a chance on ray rice? >> one thing i think that, you know, they will have to be, you know, willing to, you know, look deeper into who i am and realize that, you know, me and my wife had one bad night, and i took full responsibility for it. and one thing about my punishment and everything going along with anything that happened is that i've accepted it. i've went fully forward with it. i never complained. i never did anything like that. i took full responsibility for everything that i did. the only thing i can hope for and wish for is a second chance. >> reporter: but signing rice now is complicated.

>> a team's going to have to weigh the sort of pr if they're going to take in signing ray rice against what he might contribute on the field. >> reporter: in july nfl commissioner roger goodell originally suspended the running back for two games after learning rice assaulted his then-fiancee in an atlantic city casino. but in september after tmz sports posted this graphic video, goodell suspended rice indefinitely. his wife and her mother speaking with matt lauer. >> was there ever any incident of violence in your relationship with ray or has there been any incident of violence since that -- >> no. >> -- elevator incident? >> no. no. there's no way. >> reporter: but despite his wife's support and being reinstated in the league, there's still no clear sign the former baltimore raven will ever get back on the field. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >> and there will be more of matt lauer's exclusive interview with ray rice this morning on "today." in the meantime, though, more fallout for the nfl team

whose five players made the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture. and in ferguson, the first of many steps to ease tensions in the community got off to a heated start. residents say they were not given enough time to speak during the public portion of the ferguson commission's first meeting. those who were able to speak included some who were caught in the cross fire of riots on the night of the grand jury announcement. >> i did not receive a call to protect my assets, to protect my life savings! there's not a back door on my building! if i would have been there the night of a fire, i would have been burned! i would have been killed because my building was totally burned and destroyed! >> we are hurting. we don't expect you all to come up with a miracle. that's why we're here, to support you. but don't waste our time with the same innuendos and the same rhetoric. >> in washington, president obama met with civic leaders before announcing his plans to

fix police/community relations not just in ferguson but around the country. nbc's tracie potts joins me now. tracie, what was the biggest takeaway from the president's meeting? >> reporter: betty, it seems to be the president is calling for less talk and more action saying he's going to stay personally involved and new this morning, betty, a social media dispute over that display at the rams game sunday. there are new tweets just a few hours ago from st. louis county police disputing whether a rams executive apologized for players "don't shoot" demonstration. >> they're exercising their right to free speech. they will not be disciplined. >> justice for -- >> michael brown! >> reporter: protests continue coast to coast. >> we're trying to get people to look at this and see what's going on. we need a dialogue. >> reporter: we learned seven people were arrested in new york. in atlanta last night, attorney general eric holder was interrupted.

>> what we saw there was a genuine expression of concern and involvement. >> reporter: the first ferguson commission meeting proved the community is at a boiling point. >> don't waste our time with the same innuendos and the same rhetoric! >> reporter: president obama's promising action. >> what i heard today was real change, real change in the making. >> reporter: the president's asking congress for $263 million for community policing including 50,000 new police body cams, new rules for when officers can use military equipment on the streets and concrete ideas on how police can work with communities of color. >> we can build confidence, and we can build trust, but it's not going to happen overnight. >> reporter: around the country, residents and police are frustrated. now, those concrete ideas are coming from a task force the president's putting together. heading that task force, a former federal prosecutor and

charles ramsey who used to be the d.c. police chief here, now commissioner up in philadelphia. he wants those ideas on his desk in 90 days. betty? >> all right. thank you, tracie. we appreciate it. breaking fuse, moments ago sources confirmed to nbc one of the wives and a child of al baghdadi have been arrested in lebanon. that is according to a spokesman for the lebanese defense ministry. reuters reports the two were crossing from syria. this just a day after the fbi and the department of homeland security issued a bulletin to millions of americans. they are now urging military families and former service members to scrub their contacts and social media profiles while they say there is not any specific plot just yet, they fear identifying yourself as a u.s. military personnel could provoke propaganda-infired lone wolf attacks. well, it was another hard hit for bill cosby. while he deflects an

ever-expanding list of sexual allegations, he has announced he will step down from the board of trustees at temple university, his beloved alma mater. he graduated from the '60s, became a trustee in 1982. he's also a frequent commencement speaker there. in a statement cosby said he has always wanted to do what would be in the best interest of the university and its students. he has denied the allegations and has never been charged with a crime. all right. let's get you some sports action now. "monday night football," jets and the dolphins. the jets started strong. wide receiver greg salas gets the handoff from geno smith. and a late field goal just under the two-minute mark gives them the 16-13 win, keeping a wild card hopes alive. on the ice now, the lightning have taken over the nhl's eastern conference lead. they beat the rangers for the third time in two weeks with a 6-3 win. but before the game, the rangers hoberred right wing martin st. louis for scoring 1,000 career

points friday against the flyers. they also presented him with an engraved golden stick and a new ping-pong table with custom paddles. boxing legend muhammad ali posted his very first selfie over the weekend. looking good at 72. what's the occasion, though? well, to root for louisville against kentucky, of course. and remember this incredible catch by giants rookie receiver odell beckham jr. against the cowboys? how can you not? well, he's showing off some more of his talents. check out this. he kicks a spinning ball straight to the uprights at practice for 31 yards. all right. so it may have taken him just two tries, but still, that's impressive. bills fans have raised money online for former star linebacker darrell tally. he revealed that he is struggling with depression and finances. more than 3,000 contributors have donated nearly $140,000 since it launched on thanksgiving. and check out this

spectacular light show put together by one hardcore bills fan. ♪ ♪ the bills make me wanna ♪ shout ♪ kick your heels up and ♪ shout ♪ throw your hands up and ♪ shout ♪ throw your head back ♪ come on now ♪ the bills are making it happen now ♪ ♪ stand up now come on and shout ♪ >> serious fan there. good morning, landon. >> good morning. stocks look to rebound as they point to a higher open. snapping a six-day win streak with apple leading the declines. a lackluster report showing u.s. factory output slowed less than expected last month. auto makers report november sales today and they're expected to hit levels not seen in more than a decade. boosted by black friday deals and cheaper gas prices. chrysler could be the big winner. sales are forecast to reach and rise as much as 20%. not as many shoppers reporting clicking and buying on cyber monday.

digital analytics say sales rose 8% below estimates as consumers may have taken advantage of deals offered before and after thanksgiving. the average order, $129. and that's down 1% from last year. betty, back to you. >> landon, thank you very much. new details on the rescue of a 13-year-old living behind a fake wall. a former president steps up during a surprise concert in new york city. don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon.

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welcome back. one of the big weather news stories of the day will be the rain in california. of course, over this last year, year and a half, the drought in california has been exceptional. we're now up to 55% of the state is in this dark red color, which is the highest it's really ever been since they've done the drought monitor. 94 is in a severe drought. in other words, we need ten huge rainstorms in a row to end the drought in california. here's number one at least as we enter into our rainy season. the system itself is spinning off the coast. it is sending a lot of moisture into california. and it is now finally beginning

to rain in downtown san francisco and oakland and eve eventually l.a. will get drenched today. this is all the areas that have been hit hardest by this drought. and where the reservoirs are, that's what we really need. we need to fill them up. those are up in the mountains. that's where we'll get three to six inches in the next two days. san francisco just started raining in the bay area, oakland all the way down to san jose, it's starting to rain. sacramento, give another hour or two. as i mentioned, we're expecting about two to three inches in the city, six inches at the higher elevations. betty, also for our friends driving in maryland this morning and new jersey, also central pennsylvania, watch out, we could get some snow and ice and sleet. it's not going to be horrible, but it just could get a little coating making it a little slippery. >> all right. it is december. i guess we should get used to this. some stories that we are following for you today, 14 minutes past the hour. police in west virginia say the man suspected of killing four people in three separate shootings died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. they found the body of 39-year-old skrojody lee hunt ie woods monday ending an all-day

manhunt for him. police say one of the victims had filed domestic violence charges against him last month. a florida boy found behind a fake wall at his father's home in georgia. a police officer described the boy's reaction when he realized he was being rescued. >> there was no light when i saw him. there was beams in the insulation inside, and then we saw him. we got him out of the room and rescued him. when we were able to get him out of the closet, minutes later, we were able to get him calmed down. and that's exactly what he said was "thank you. thank you." >> during the news conference, police declined to say whose cell phone the boy used to text his mother or how he knew how to contact her. caught on tape. you have to look at this graphic video coming out of chile shows a police helicopter right there spinning out of control and then exploding. somehow a fire truck crashed into it and split it in two, sending it crashing down. amazingly, though, despite all of that, everyone on board and

the fire truck, both the fire truck and the chopper, all of them survived that horrific accident. the fire truck and chopper were responding to a drunk driver who crashed into a police car. the boss. you know who we're talking about. springsteen! subbed for u2's bono in new york city's times square. this just moments after former president bill clinton opened on behalf of the band's front man who could not be there. >> this year for the first time ever, more people were put on life-saving medicine than were diagnosed with aids. we can end aids, but we've all got to do our part. >> bono is still recovering from serious injuries following a cycling accident last month in new york. coming up in "scrambled politics," will he or won't he? jeb bush weighs in on a possible presidential run in 2016. but first, today msnbc is celebrating giving tuesday. a global day dedicated to giving back. the idea is very simple. just find a way for your family, your community, your company or

your organization to come together to help others. it's 16 past the hour. we'll be right back. with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards, even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can. we are about to make more gooddeliveriesverybody. to more places than anybody on earth. we have the speed. we have the technology. and we have the team. we made over 15 billion

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resigns over comments about obama daughters. elizabeth lauton, you've heard a lot about her this week, she drew heat over her "they lack class" remark. the gop backs her resignation, but -- >> while her comments were inappropriate and insensitive, there's no question that the media reaction is out of proportion. a new gallup poll is out. good news for president obama. his approval rating among hispanics is up ten points. it's at 68%. the reason, his move on immigration. in the bayou battle, bad news for mary landrieu. early totals are down by almost 18%. landrieu is trying to fend off republican bill cassidy. meet the front-runner ashton carter who could replace chuck hagel. he is a former pentagon official with years of d.o.d. experience. john mccain has a new book out, "13 soldiers." but how factual is it?

well, stephen colbert found out. >> do you cover any of our present wars in this, for instance, bill o'reilly and the war on christmas? move over, maclemore and ryan lewis. here's michele bachman's "thrift shop" performance. ♪ i wear your granddad's clothes ♪ ♪ i look incredible ♪ from the thrift shop down the road ♪ >> let's cut that short. that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." unfortunately we can't unsee that. good morning to you. are you a better rapper than michele bachmann? >> you know, i always thought i was the whitest person in america. michele, you got me beat. >> all right. we're going to move on real quickly. let's talk about the interview yesterday that jeb bush gave. it was very interesting.

former florida governor jeb bush. he talked about how he may consider running, but something he said i found very fascinating. he said that whoever wins the presidency, if it's a gop person, a republican, they have a shot at it if he or she is willing to lose the primary to win the general. now, what does that mean? >> to lose the primary to win the general. he's absolutely right. because it has to do with the kind of folks who turn out and vote in republican primaries. in order to win states like iowa and south carolina, these republican candidates have to play to the -- sort of the extreme edge of the base, betty. and the kind of positions you take to win those races often come back to haunt you in november when all americans vote. so it really is a squeeze that the republicans are in. jeb thinks he's got the answer, but it's a tight decision. >> well, he also thinks that immigration can be an easy problem to tackle. and he vaguely kind of warns republicans not to overreact to the president's executive action on immigration. is that going to win him any

points within the gop? >> well, you've got to say easy is a policy or easy is politics. i think we know the solution to the policy, right? nobody's going to send all those people home. somehow or another, they're going to get a path to citizenship. but it's really tough to win in republican primaries with that kind of position. so listen. i hope he goes for it. i mean, i think it's a much more reasonable posture to take. but, you know, good luck in some of those early primary states, jeb. >> and then there's this. a politico article is reporting that some gop hard-liners are actually floating this idea of c censuring the president. >> will that really happen? no. democrats are hoping it will because it's that overplaying the hand that sometimes comes back and haunts -- >> saying oh, these folks can't lead. >> yeah, it's the same thing as

shutting down the government and trying to block all this immigration stuff. it plays to the republican base, but they've got to be pretty careful doing that sort of stuff. >> yeah. be willing to lose the primary to win the election. >> to win the election, lose the election, lose the primary. >> all kinds of funny math. >> we'll keep rapping, okay? >> no, not here. just ahead, a replacement for joan rivers on "fashion poli police." and stephen hawking has a bond villain? entertainment is next.

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27 minutes past the hour. file for entertainment news following the tragic death of joan rivers.

"e!" has announced kathy griffin will be taking over. melissa rivers says, quote, kathy just feels right. >> makes sense. >> they were friends, too, i believe. the final season of "parks & recreation" will premier january 13th, but don't miss it. two episodes will air every week. scarlett johansson and french journalist jermaine doriak no longer because she is a married woman, bill. yes. it happened during a secret ceremony in october. >> did i approve of this? >> too late. the nuptials took place in montana. including newcomers "annie" and "fury," sony is suffering from another hacking incident exposing the salaries of 17 top executives. i bet they're not happy. physicist stephen hawking has declared that he wants to be the next bond villain. he says his distinctive motorized voice and wheelchair would make him the perfect. >> why not? >> yeah, i think so. and the forces strong with the new "star wars" trailer.

a record-breaking 58 million people have viewed it, hosting a ton of new memes. the swiss army knife one. there's a menorah one and then a chainsaw light sabre. that's going to do it for us. thanks for watching "early today." "way too early with thomas roberts" starts now. when any part of the american family does not feel like it is being treated fairly, that's a problem for all of us. it means that we are not as strong as a country as we can be. and when applied to the criminal justice system, it means we're not as effective in fighting crime as we could be. >> plan of action, with a price tag worth hundreds of millions. the president's proposal for law enforcement nationwide in the wake of ferguson, missouri. more fallout for cosby. the actor stepping down from a longtime academic post in the wake of more sexual allegations. and a real-life hollywood

whodunit. a hacking investigation with one unlikely suspect. this is "way too early." un-likely. hi, everybody, good morning, i'm thomas roberts. it's tuesday, december the 2nd. welcome to "way too early." the countdown is on for our christmas party tomorrow. you're all invited. we even have an ugly christmas sweater over there. on gabriel. he's a day ahead. but we're very excited. i want to get straight to our top story. we begin with what's taking place in washington where the white house is proposing a series of law enforcement reforms in response of the unrest in ferguson, missouri. president obama is asking for $263 million over three years for additional training of police officers and other resources. that includes $75 million to purchase up to 50,000 body cameras f