this morning on "early today," new reality. with congress back in session, president obama returns from his whirlwind tour of asia to face an emboldened republican party. free at last. somali pirates release a retired couple after more than a year in captivity. and what's in a word? which newly coined words and and what's in a word? which newly coined words and phrases top the list for 2010? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, i'm lynn berry. today we begin with back to work.

lawmakers will tackle a long list of to-dos during a lame duck session of congress that gets under way on capitol hill today. however, expectations are low that we'll see much post election progress during the democrats' swan song, as the majority in the house. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. the old congress is coming back. the new congress is coming in. dozens of new members of the house of representatives and new senators hoping to make a difference. they're already filing in to washington. fresh-faced members of congress, armed with public support, ready to make big changes. >> i'm not going to be bullied. >> reporter: but before they're sworn in, this congress has to decide whether to let your taxes go up at the end of this year. >> there's no bend on the permanent extension of tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. >> reporter: but the white house has signaled it may support a temporary extension for the wealthy. >> well, if that's all we could get out of the president, then he is the president, so we'll

work with him on that. >> reporter: president obama, just back from asia, said sunday he'd like to know how republicans plan to pay for that $700 billion. congress also needs to pass spending bills to avoid a federal government shutdown. and deal with the budget's big ticket items, medicare, preventing another cut in what doctors are paid, and social security. >> we've got to come to grips with social security, medicare and medicaid and find bipartisan agreement to reform entitlements before it's too late. >> reporter: democrats are hoping they can squeeze in approving $250 social security checks to make up for no cost of living increase next year. so, is there really compromise in the air here on capitol hill? here in washington, we'll get a better idea of that later this week when president obama meets with the new leaders of the democrat and the republican parties here on capitol hill. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, tracie, thank you. afghan president hamid karzai is drawing heat from american lawmakers and military leaders over his criticism of the u.s. war strategy in

afghanistan. in a "washington post" interview this weekend, karzai said he wanted the u.s. to reduce military operations, and end special operation raids. however, those raids are a key part of the u.s. counterinsurgency strategy. according to "the post," general david petraeus expressed, quote, astonishment and disappointment with karzai's remarks. meanwhile, according to this morning's "new york times" the obama administration will be laying out a plan this week that aims to end the american combat mission in afghanistan by 2014. the u.s. would start handing over security duties to afghan forces over the next 18 to 24 months. president obama is praising israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu for trying to win approval from his cabinet of a new proposal to freeze construction in the disputed west bank. the plan would see israel enforce a construction ban for 90 days, in exchange, washington would give israel military aid and support at the united nations.

if approved by the israeli government, the deal could help revive peace talks with the palestinians, which collapsed at the end of september. and now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. in colorado, three u.s. soldiers were arrested after their attempted raid of a medical marijuana dispensary hit a snag. security video captured the panic when they realized they accidentally locked themselves inside. they've each been slapped with burglary charges. a three-mile stretch of one california beach is littered with thousands of jellyfish. officials are investigating but say a similar event happened about seven years ago with a smaller type of jellyfish. they believe these are moon jellyfish which are about a foot in diameter. heavy snow in minnesota didn't stop a group of 300 cyclists from competing in the state cycle-cross championship. racers did their best to keep warm, but unfortunately that didn't prevent the inevitable

wipeouts. the race promoter offered this observation, there's a reason it's called the hardest hour in cycling. and in new york, competitive speed eating champs. kobayashi failed to break the world record for downing a 12-inch pizza in the fastest time. the hot dog eating champ said it was the guinness rule of using a knife and fork as well as the soft dough that threw off his time. kobayashi was 17 seconds short of a record but still clocked in at an impressive 2 minutes 3 seconds. that is something to be proud of. now for a look at your national weather let's turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. >> struggling with the fork and the knife, huh? >> yeah, you know, when you fail just blame it on the fork and knife. >> i guess they said it was a soft dough, it wasn't -- >> it doesn't go down as easy. but frankly, i don't know how it does go down any faster. >> i don't know. >> those are always a mystery to

me. >> let's talk about this morning's forecast. good morning, everyone. hope you had a wonderful weekend. if you're in minnesota, you had to shovel some snow. the kids were playing outdoors and sledding and doing all the winter activities. the first snowstorm of the season. we saw some of the pictures from the bike race. but it was really from duluth southward into northern iowa where we picked up 6 to 12 inches of snow. a little narrow area. but if you were in that band you got hit hard. today's story the heavy rain. this will be with us today, tomorrow, exiting new england on wednesday. so, slow-moving system. and today it's drenching louisiana and mississippi. and it will ever so slowly be moving up the coast. now temperatures this morning, they're not too bad. a little chilly back here in the rockies and we do have snow at the high elevations but denver is okay, billings, minneapolis, the cold spot at 32 right now. you notice the eastern seaboard's not too bad and the great lakes is not too bad, either. in the 30s and 40s where you'd expect for this time of year. here's a look at that area of rain. you can see it coming up through louisiana through mississippi and into alabama. atlanta is going to have on and

off rain right during the day. looks like you'll get a break this morning then later this afternoon it should be pretty heavy for the ride home. other areas of wet weather, of course, new orleans. looks like most areas of the midwest will be cloudy. maybe a break or two of sun. but temperatures shouldn't be too bad. it will be mild all the way up into boston. but do expect cloudy skies. in most cases from new york city northward. that's a look at your monday forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. partly cloudy skies in the ohio valley, columbus ohio, 55. kansas city, 58 degrees. this time of year a lot of these are areas seeing average highs. new york has an average high temperature this time of year of 54. 58 pretty close to average. tuesday forecast coming up, lynn. >> all right, bill, thanks. also coming up, another no-go for four loko. targeting the fed. and want to live like a rock star? may want to try being a college president. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus you're not going to believe how former president bill clinton spent this past weekend.

>> a hail mary for the ages, a fall on broadway and new coach, new results for the cowboys. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today," i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. how police say a 13-year-old girl who disappeared with her mother, brother and a family friend last week, was found bound and gagged in a man's basement. but otherwise in good condition. the homeowner, 30-year-old matthew hoffman, was arrested yesterday on one count of kidnapping, but authorities have not been able to locate the girl's family. the death toll in haiti's cholera epidemic continues to climb, reaching more than 900 over the weekend. in addition, the disease has been found in six of ten provinces in the earthquake-battered country. a british couple kidnapped from their yacht by somali pirates are free this morning, after spending more than a year in captivity.

the couple were handed to local officials in a somali town yesterday after they reportedly paid a $300,000 ransom. and a new survey finds that silk ham and vuvuzela were the top words of 2010, reflecting the global impasse of the gulf oil disaster and that noisy south african horn at the world cup soccer tournament. also in the top ten was a mistaken mix of dispute and repudiate coined by sarah palin. here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,192 after falling 90 points on friday. the s&p lost 14 points. and the nasdaq dropped 37. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei rose 102 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng fell 195. after a bumpy stretch that put an end to wall street's recent rallies, this week investors will be on the watch

for any sign of the economic strength from a number of factors. economic data on deck this week includes fresh industrial production numbers, and an updated outlook from home builders on the still struggling housing market. inflation will be in focus on the wholesale end consumer level. both are expected to show prices on the rise. retailers reporting october sales are expected to be slightly stronger. we'll also find out how those numbers impact earnings with quarterly reports from walmart, home depot, and target. a total of 10 companies are poised to go public this week with general motors leading that impressive lineup. gm is hoping to raise at least $10 billion with shares expected to go for upwards of $29 apiece. the federal reserve plan to energize the economy will remain on the radar. according to "the wall street journal," a group of gop strategists, economists, and politicians are launching a newspaper ad campaign calling for the fed to drop its $600 billion stimulus. as of friday, shipments of

the caffeinated alcoholic beverage four loko will no longer arrive in new york state. the controversial drink is under investigation by the fda, and has already been banned in washington, michigan, utah, and oklahoma. meanwhile, new york senator charles schumer is asking for a federal investigation into lead levels in some reusable grocery bags. and finally, where does all that pricey college tuition go? well, according to the latest annual survey by the chronicle of higher education, a record 30 presidents at private colleges took home home compensation packages worth $1 million or more in 2008. and that's seven more than the previous year. well, a thrill in jacksonville. the patriots rebound, and the jets work overtime. again. plus, just when everyone has written them off, the dallas cowboys play lights out against one of the nfl's top teams. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

going to be a rainy start to our week in the southeast, the mid-atlantic and the northwest. your monday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, a new coaching era is under way for the dallas cowboys.

and the new guy has already paid giant dividends. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good monday morning to you. earlier this week jerry jones sent his team a message, firing their head coach and the cowboys responded in a big way against the giants. let's go to new york. a series of power outages stopped play in the third quarter. no problem for the cowboys, they had plenty of energy. eli manning picked off in the end zone by bryan mccann and he was off to the races untouched. 101 yards down the sideline for the score. jason garrett earned his first win as head coach. cowboys won it 33-20. great finish, jags and texans, last play of the game tied at 24. david garrard threw up a prayer and his prayer was answered. the ball went right to mike thomas. game over. jags won it 31-24. now to cleveland, justin brown's final minutes, colt mccoy found the end zone and tied it at 21 forcing overtime. no field goal needed to win this one. mark sanchez connecting with santonio holmes. holmes did the rest, 37 yards to

the house. jets won in o.t. patriots had their way with the steelers. tom brady hooked up with rob gronkowski not once, not twice but three times. the pats made a statement in pittsburgh 39-26. finally, ugly moment in the rangers/oilers game. sean avery dropped his gloves and he just leveled. the referee quickly broke things up, words were exchanged. avery headed to the locker room. that's when the fun began. grab a partner, it's a brawl. even the ranger bench got involved. colin frazier wanted to take on the whole team. when it was all said and done, 124 minutes in penalties handed out, including four ejections. the fight was a draw. but the rangers won the game 8-2. that's your early look at sports on "early today," i'm fred roggin. well, "megamind" has another mega weekend at the box office. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus it is every bride's nightmare. a last-minute scratch at the altar. but we'll tell you about one

young woman who made the best of it. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. if you're in the deep south do expect some heavy rain this morning moving right through the heart of louisiana and mississippi, and now the rain is starting to pick up in areas of alabama. they had a little bit of rain go through atlanta. looks like you're going to get a break now, but there will be more to come during the day. so all, everyone in the deep

south today, the chance of getting some wet weather. eventually that will move up the eastern sea board. but areas like say charlotte to d.c., richmond and raleigh, your best chance for rain for you is tonight into tomorrow. looks like there's going to be a good soaking going right up through the appalachians. this is primarily almost all going to be a rain event. maybe a little bit of snow by the time we get to wednesday in northern new england. but a cold, november rain over the next couple of days. if you're watching us on wcbd nbc 2 news in charleston, south carolina, from clothing to decor, get a glimpse of everyday lifestyles during the civil war. that's threads of war, at the charleston museum. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. beautiful little town. >> oh, it is. bill, thanks so much. now here's an earley look act this morning's headlines in entertainment. family power spoke at the weekend box office. earning the an mitted 3-d comedy "megamind" top spot for the second straight weekend. for weeks there have been virtually no films for younger audiences.

until "megamind" and families filled the theaters again to the tune of $30 million. $90 million in just two weeks. stifled by "megamind" and others, denzel washington's usual box office mojo couldn't push the debut of "unstoppable" past second place with $23.5 million. another opener, the invading aliens of "skyline" managed fourth with just under $12 million. and the debut of "morning glory" starring harrison ford struggled into fifth with less than $10 million. touchdown for jessica simpson. she's engaged to former nfl player eric johnson. and tmz reports that former president bill clinton shot a cameo appearance in thailand this weekend for the upcoming film "hangover ii." bill, you may remember, the cameo appearance with mel gibson was canceled when the cast and crew -- >> it's going to be hard to top those, mike tyson's cameo in the first one was just off the charts. >> i don't know if he wants to compete with that.

i think he probably played it a little bit more straight. >> come on, necessary ka simpson. one week after nick lachey was engaged, really? >> a girl's got to get a ring back on her finger. you know. that's the way it works. and this comes to us from koaa news first 5 in colorado springs, colorado. where, for the father of one bride, even though the night didn't go as planned, he couldn't have been prouder. his daughter was supposed to be married by now, enjoying a reception surrounded by family. but when the wedding fell through, the bride had an idea. instead of all the reception food going to waste, she donated the hot meal to homeless families in the area through the salvation army. a selfless act of giving that dad says makes him the luckiest man. great idea. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning, everyone. things will change after a beautiful weekend. we have some rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast. temperatures are in the upper 40's and low 50's right now. a mixture of clouds and some sun with a 20% chance for some rain showers. we will check the seven-day forecast coming up in just a few minutes. for now, to the news desk. >> thank you. 50 degrees on tv hill.

here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> it was another violent weekend in baltimore city. i have details, coming up. >> lawmakers return to capitol hill today, but with a newly mandated balance of power. can anything get past? >> we have one accident already in howard county. [ man ] are you aware that verizon fios brings fiber optics to your home

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[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. >> and i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> tony pann has a quick look at today's forecast. good morning. >> it was a beautiful weekend. what a stretch of whether we're fat. sunshine and temperatures in the 60's. -- what a stretch of weather we have had