this morning on "early today," where to begin. from controversial tax cuts to don't ask, don't tell, politically charged issues grip washington. taking action, what some airports are now doing in response to traveler outrage to invasive pat-downs. and a star is born. new york's rockefeller christmas tree is unveiled with 35 days new york's rockefeller christmas tree is unveiled with 35 days until christmas. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a bitter battle. as the clock ticks down on the outgoing leadership in the

house, the fight over compromise on key votes is heating up. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the latest on capitol hill and the details on the transatlantic trip. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the president is leaving it all behind, at least for two days. he's heading off to europe, left just before midnight for just a couple of days of trying to reassure our allies there and deal with hot issues like afghanistan and trade. but he's left some unresolved issues back here at home, like america's jobless and what to do about extending unemployment benefits. that effort has not passed the house as of yesterday and 2 million americans are scheduled to run out of benefits on december 1st. it will cost $12.5 billion to try to extend that through the end of february, but as of now, that effort is stuck here on capitol hill. and, of course, the big issue that we've been talking about, the bush tax cuts expiring at the end of the year. what to do?

the white house had signaled that it would embrace a temporary incentive for the wealthy, but now democrats seem to be setting up a showdown saying that they will schedule votes that only deal with the middle class, something republicans have made very clear they will not support. those tax cuts expiring as of january. finally, one issue that may be resolving itself, at least we're seeing some progress, senator joe lieberman says it now looks like they do have the votes to repeal don't ask, don't tell, that policy on gays in the military. democrats announced yesterday that they do have republicans who will support it if they are allowed to debate and add amendments to that policy. lynn. >> tracie potts in washington, tracie, thank you. growing frustration with the transportation security administration and what many americans feel are overly intrusive passenger pat-downs and full body scanning procedures have led several

airports across the country to take an alternate route. some 17 airport administrators faced with the challenge of keeping passengers safe and satisfied have exercised their right by law to use private security screeners instead of the tsa as long as they follow the same rules and guidelines. one veteran congressman is leading the push to convince airports to drop the tsa. the nationwide uprising has taken on a life of its own recently through numerous internet campaigns. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a group of seattle detectives are accused of failing to notify their superiors of surveillance video that shows an officer kicking a teenage suspect. police say the 17-year-old suspect fled the scene of an undercover drug bust. the video shows an undercover cop cornering and kicking the suspect several times. internal affairs is investigating and the aclu is calling for a civil rights investigation. in washington, surveillance video shows a man taunting a

then assault ago developmentally disabled man. the 55-year-old victim of the unprovoked attack is seen getting off a bus when he's punched from behind by the man who then just walks away. the victim suffered a broken jaw and deep cuts. the man has been charged with second degree assault. the chilean miners and their families got the hollywood treatment yesterday. the international heroes took a whirlwind tour of tinsel town riding high on a double decker bus, waving and chanting to the crowd. the miners and a few rescuers were in town for a thanksgiving tv special. in new york, we are inching closer to the holiday season. actress blake lively unveiled the 25,000 swarovski crystal star that will sit atop the rockefeller center christmas tree. the 12-pointed star has 720 l.e.d. bulbs on 3,000 feet of wire and the tree will be lit on november 30th.

it is that time of year. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> lynn, i'm a lucky guy. >> yeah, why? >> well, the tree topper is there and you're here with me so i'm here with two stars. >> bill, i'm not even going to give you credit for that one. >> that was my nice moment of the day. let's chat about montana. we don't give a lot of weather attention to our friends there because, you know, the summertime, not a lot happens. but in the winter, a lot happens. they get the cold air first and they also get some of the snowstorms first. this morning, it is minus 9. that's the temperature. not the windchill. it's not going to plunge down through the middle of the country. it's going to linger up here through the dakotas and montana through the upcoming weekend. this is the first real sign that winter is not here yet, but it's

very close to it. pretty soon, we'll probably be talking about more snowstorms. not weekend, though. it's a good weekend to get some of that shopping down, maybe a few showers on the coast of florida. not a lot of rainfall expected. it's a very nice looking friday afternoon. highs in the 60s in texas, 50s in the eastern seaboard. that's a look at your friday forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. denver, colorado, you've had beautiful afternoons as of late today, nothing to complain about. more clouds than you'd like, but a high of 59. weekend forecast coming up, lynn. >> thanks, bill. also coming up, gm rules washington street. economic data looks up and a prince of a bet in england. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, it's here. the latest harry potter flick gets ready to gobble up box office records. king felix is crowned, the bears reach a milestone and one

of the dirtiest soccer saves you'll ever see. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the house ethics committee has voted to censure embattled new york congressman charles rangel after finding him guilty of financial misconduct. if the full house affirms the recommendation when the chamber returns after thanksgiving, rangel will get a former scolding from the speaker in front of his colleagues. alaska republican senate candidate joe miller is asking a federal judge to stop state officials from certifying the election in which rival lisa murkowski has already declared victory. an attorney for miller sought the injunction yesterday, despite the fact that the state's republican party has recognized murkowski as the write-in winner. ohio police say an unemployed tree trimmer facing

charges for kidnapping a teenage girl told them where to find the bodies of the girl's mother, brother and a family friend. the family's remains were found in plastic bags stuffed in a hollow tree. the father of missing american teenager natalee hollowway has such authorities have asked her dental records to see if they match a jaw bone with a tooth in it found in aruba last week. and astronomers have discovered an alien planet that came from another galaxy. it was captured by our own milkyway between 6 billion and 9 billion years ago. >> and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines at msnbc.com. government researchers report more than 45 million americans, or 20% of all u.s. adults, had some form of mental illness last year.

young adults age 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental ill pss while those age 50 and lower had the lowest. the survey hints at record unemployment rate which last year hit a 25-year high. for more information on this and other health stories, check tout health page at msnbc.com. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,181 after shooting up 173 points yesterday. the s&p added 18 points. the nasdaq jumped 38. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei edged up 8 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng fell 31. wall street reversed course thursday, surging higher in hopes of a solution to ireland's banking crisis and buyers buying into the return of public trading and general motors. expectations of an irish bailout by the european union drove shares to skyrocket more than 33%.

those expectations strengthened the euro against the dollar, boosting commodity and energy prices and stocks and related sectors. aloom new producer alcoa was the top percentage gainer on the dow industrials, up almost 3.5%. fueling optimism, data that showed weekly applications for unemployment insurance hit a two-year low last week. and factory activity in the country's mid-atlantic region accelerated in november, suggesting the economy's recovery is gaining speak. gm shares roller coasted throughout the day, shooting up as much as 9%, reflecting investor confidence that the automaker can sustain its recovery after returning to the market in the nation's largest ever ipo. gm accounted for almost 10% of all shares traded on the new york stock exchange. gm closed up 3.6% at $34.19 a share. keep an eye today on dell. after the bell, the computermaker stock zoomed in after hours trade adding to

thursday's upbeat mood. dell credited strong demand from large corporations for its quarterly numbers, finishing above wall street expectations. finally, horse racing betters at one track in east england couldn't believe their eyes on tuesday. on the same day the nation was celebrating prince william's engagement, a horse was running named tocatchaprince. hunch players went home happy after the horse came in a winner at 8 to 1 odds. coming up, the magic make a mockery of phoenix, an explosion on the ice and soccer ball gets stuck in the mud. plus, the chicago bears were in miami last night and they accomplished something no team has ever done before in the nfl. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. coming up in weather, it's all about your weekend forecast. also, i'll give you your friday forecast. you're watching "early today." resolve stain busters.

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to help keep your family healthy, especially during cold and flu season. and lysol disinfectant spray is approved to kill more germs than any other brand, even h1n1. learn more at lysol.com good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, already banged up, the miami dolphins got no sympathy last night from the tough chicago bears defense. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. here is the situation. miami dolphins started their third string quarterback against the chicago bears and it showed.

that's tyler thigpen getting the start he probably wishes he hadn't. in the first quarter, thigpen dropped back and was picked off by charles tillman. bears up, 6-0 at the half. late in the third, somebody finally scored a touchdown. mat forte punched it in. the bears were up, 16-0. chicago defense got to thigpen six times. julius pepper with tree sacks. bears shut out the dolphins, 16-0, they're the first nfl team to win 700 regular season games. proving that winning isn't everything, felix hernandez won the a.l. sicy young award despi their record. david price finished second. basketball, magic and suns, steve nash sat out with a sore groin. no nash, no problem for orlando. dwight howard had a field day. alley-oop from nelson. then the spin along the baseline and the dunk. howard had 20 points and 12 boards. final seconds of the half, vince carter up and earn at the

buzzer. magic up 28 at the break, they won it, 105-89. hard to think, but there was almost more scoring between the flyers and the lightning. two teams combined for 15 goals. steven stamcoast had a hat trick. lightning won in a barn burner, 8-7. from one end of the spectrum to the other, soccer in germany. herrune thought he had a goal. mother nature said, no, stopped by the mud. one more time. herrune had the goalie beat, but the ball stopped on a dime. that should be a new strategy for goalies, simply tear off the grass, pour water on the field and watch them try to score. that's just dirty. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. before the latest harry potter film opened, it already set a bunch of records. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, wedding photos can hold our dearest memories. we'll tell you about one couple that procrastinated for 45 years before worrying about theirs. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. let me give you your friday forecast. busy weekend for those getting christmas shopping today. today, the only trouble is back here in the northern rockies. the coldest day of the season by far for you. what a great day, though, for

maine to texas and florida and everywhere in between. heading through the upcoming weekend, we're fought going to see a lot o storms this weekend. partly cloudy in the middle of the country. northern rockies, that's the travel trouble spot. chilly in sunday in new england, but at least it will be dry. if you're watching us on wsaz news channel 3 huntington, west virginia, bring the family for a drive through a winter wonderland at the christmas fantasy lights show opening tonight in nearby point pleasant. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. i guess it's that time. >> it is. bill, thank you. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. at the box office this weekend, it's simple. harry potter. the only question is, what are the numbers going to be? "harry potter and the deathly hallows: part 1" actually opened a few hours ago at midnight. last night alone, it's expected to have earned roughly $30 million. as of wednesday, warner brothers claimed it had taken in a record $27 million in advanced sales

just for this weekend. more than 3,000 show times across the country have already sold out. the movie will play on 239 imax screens in the u.s. that's the most in imax history. the film cost an estimated $150 million to make. and industry experts say dream come true figures for the studio would be over $100 million for the opening weekend and $400 million over the long haul. and the only other movie opening this weekend is russell crowe's "the next three days." it will draw mostly older movie goers and might be able to crack the top five at the $10 million mark. but the headline is harry potter all the time. >> so it's against my policy to sit for 2 1/2 hours next to a 55-year-old man in a wizard suit, so i'll probably wait until next weekend. >> probably. i heard this is for hard core

har harry potter fans. so i need to go to wikipedia and maybe catch up on everything. >> maybe take a wizard class and you'll be just fine. this comes to us from wilkesberry, pennsylvania. one couple thought memories of their wedding 45 years ago had slipped away. the newlyweds couldn't afford their wedding pictures and spent years putting off getting them developed. when the foe to go fear died, they thought the photos would be last for good. but his son helped them sift through thousands of negatives and they luckily found them. they said it was easy thanks to her mary tyler moore flip and his slicked back elvis hair style. they're still looking good. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> good morning. time is 4:57. it is a nice morning out there, really. there is an almost full moon, a couple of scattered clouds. at the airport 38 degrees. 76% humidity, 30.34 pressure and light west wind. winds have died down a little bit overnight. temperature downtown is 45 degrees and it is not sunny yet. we have not had a sunrise yet. our computer is confused.

we have a nice day, into the weekend is nice. looming in the distance a big storm that we will talk about with the forecast in a few minutes. >> wishful thinking about the computer. as john said, 4:57. 41 degrees on tv hill. >> the national weather service determines what swept through our area tuesday night. was it a tornado or just very high winds? the answer straight ahead. >> with storm damage still abound there is a warning about scam artists. details are next. >> senate lawmakers are still arguing over how to make sure the food you eat doesn't make you sick. we will have the story coming up. >> we have a bad situation on southbound 295 shut down in the area of 198 toward washington. we will have the latest coming