this morning on "early today" -- debt deadlock. super committee members face rising pressure as the clock ticks down to a critical deadline. up in smoke. surveillance video captures an explosion of a suspected mobile meth lab. and onset scuffle. two lebanese politicians come to blows during a debate on live two lebanese politicians come to blows during a debate on live television. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a ticking clock. time is running short on capitol hill this morning as a congressional super committee struggles to come to terms on $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan.

the bipartisan panel has just one week left to reach an agreement before harsh mandatory cuts kick in that no one wants. so far, there are no signs of a deal. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn, good morning, everyone this is like deja vu from last spring except this time we are the automatic cuts looming. senate majority leader harry reid says he doesn't see any sign of compromise yet but aides also say there's not a stalemate. both sides, democrats, republicans on this committee, working very hard to try to find a solution. the committee is seeking $1.2 trillion to cut from the budget. and the arguments haven't really changed much from last spring. democrats want to see more revenue coming in. republicans fear that could mean tax hikes. they actually want to drop tax rates and cut medicare and medicaid, cut those rates down. corporate tax rates down to 25% as the top rate. now, the committee itself hasn't

met in about two weeks but lots of meetings going on behind closed doors, including with house speaker john boehner who sat down with democrats and republicans yesterday. he says if they come up with a deal, he'll push it through. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. elsewhere, occupy wall street protesters in new york have been allowed back into manhattan zuccotti park, a day after they were cleared out in a late-night raid by city police. this time, however, occupiers returning to the birthplace of the movement yesterday were allowed to bring only a small bag with them. tents and camping gear of any kind are prohibited after a judge ruled that demonstrators have the right to protest in but not occupy the park due to intolerable health and safety risks. seattle cops pepper sprayed a gruch protesters marching in solidarity with occupy wall street yesterday. at least four people were arrested. an e-mail from one of penn state's football coaches is raising new questions this morning in the penn state sexual abuse trial.

in an e-mail obtained by the associated press, then-graduate student mike mcqueary says after witnessing former coach jerry sandusky allegedly sodomize a young boy in a locker room shower back in 2002, he stopped it and then reported the incident to police. the e-mail conflicts with mcqueary's grand jury testimony where he did not specifically say he stopped the act or went to police. meanwhile, "the new york times" is reporting former head coach joe paterno, repeatedly fired over the scandal, transferred full ownership of his $600,000 home to his wife for $1 back in july. his attorney says the transaction was part of the couple's ongoing estate planning and was not tied to the scandal. president obama is in australia this morning where just hours ago he and australian prime minister julia gallard announced a joint security pact. that would increase u.s. military presence there.

beginning next year, about 250 u.s. marines will begin a rotation in northern australia which over the course of several years would reach a full force of 2,500 military. addressing concerns over china's monetary policy and growing economic presence in the region, the president maintains china needs to accept the responsibilities that come with being a world power and, quote, play by the rules of the road. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. surveillance camera footage shows the eruption of a massive fire ball inside an alleged mobile meth lab. last sunday's blast inside a tennessee hospital parking lot killed one man and sent bystanders running for cover. investigators say the charred remains have all the makings of a drug factory on wheels. a brazen auto thief almost killed a chicago car salesman driving off the lot. this october incident is part of a string of auto thefts where the suspects steal the vehicles

during test drivers. the salesman suffered broken ribs but police arrested the suspect after he abandoned the car. fears of an earthquake rapidly spread after two trains collide and rocked topeka, kansas, residents. the crash left railroad crews with a clean-up job. 32 cars derailed and over 600 feet of track needed to be replaced. finally, the world's bravest have arrived in myrtle beach. hundreds of firefighters from america and abroad are in town for the firefighter combat challenge. dressed in full gear, they competed in a variety of events that showcase the talent and skills they use to save lives. now for a look at national and regional weather here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. >> we're not quite saving lives here -- >> you're changing lives, how about that? >> we are. >> maybe people wouldn't have brought an umbrella to work today. how about that? i'm trying.

>> i'll think that and make myself feel important. we are here to help, educate and occasionally entertain. good morning. here's a look at your weather forecast on this wednesday. a lot of rain moving through areas of tennessee and kentucky. chance of thunderstorms continues this morning. yesterday we had some tornado watches in east texas, louisiana, and now we're continuing that threat this morning. storm systems moving out over the another gulf and tapping into rich gulf moisture and just enough rotation in the atmosphere we may see a few weak tornadoes, southern louisiana, mississippi and alabama. those areas have you to pay close attention. northern plains, cold air is coming down from the north, arriving through the rockies and denver. first to the tornado watches. they go down from the tuscaloosa area down interstate 20 all the way to southern mississippi. we have a bunch of tornado warnings we've been dealing with in southern mississippi. no reports of extreme damage or anything yet. new orleans now under a tornado watch. we'll continue to monitor that area early this morning, make sure you stay tuned to your local nbc station in case there

are any tornado warnings in your area. kentucky, just a solid shield of rain for the second morning in a row and eventually all of that is making its way to the east. as i mentioned, cold in denver. windshield is 10. cold in the plains, stormy in the east. definitely have that umbrellaed ready. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. chance of thunderstorms, birmingham, alabama. you'll have a chance of some of those storms. as we go throughout the day today, we'll be seeing those storms spread into the carolinas and even areas of georgia will have to watch out for a strong thunderstorm later today. an update on all those tornado watches coming up later. also coming up, super mario smashes through italian grid lock and hiring astronauts without a spaceship. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus the situation slaps a lawsuit on abercrombie & fitch while snooki slaps choice words on him. coming up, the nba cancels more games.

the a.l. cy young winner is crowned and coach k. moves to the head of the class. 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 secret service says a bullet hit an exterior window of the white house while an additional round of ammunition was also found on the exterior of the white house. this follows reports friday of gunfire near the white house. the u.s. park service believes the shots were fired from a passing car that was later found seven blocks away. authorities are searching for a 21-year-old man connected with the vehicle. a wave of violence has left as many as 90 people dead across syria in a single day. activists say suspected army defectors gunned down nearly three dozen soldiers and security force members in an ambush meanwhile. the subject of syria sparked a

melee between two political rivals on a lebanese talk show. they hurled insults and threw a glass of water and held up a chair before the host intervened. a russian soyuz capsule carrying an american and two russians successfully docked with the international space station this morning. the new crew will begin a four-month stay aboard the floating lab. the associated press reports long lost air force one recordings made in the aftermath of john f. kennedy's assassination have been found and are up for sale. the two plus hour recordings come from the estate of a former kennedy aide and are going for $500,000. now here's an early look at how wall street will open the day. the dow opens at 12,096 after adding 17 points yesterday. the s&p was up 6 points. the nasdaq gained 28. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 78 points while in hang congress the hang seng dropped 38 7.

good news from italy and here at home had wall street on the upside of its recent seesaw run tuesday. with italy racing to avoid financial crisis, prime minister designate mario monty is expected to finish forming a government in what by normal italian standards is almost lightning speed. still with italian benchmark bond yields once again closing above the critical 7% level and spanish and french yields also higher, euro worries could drive wall street through more up and downs this week. here at home, retail sales rose for a fifth straight month on more spending than expected. more proof the economy may be gaining steam, new york state manufacturing rose for the first time since may. tech stocks led with hewlett-packard pacing the dow. intel rose after warren buffett revealed he bought a stake in the company. apple was up for only the second day in the last eight, after the

bell, apple pointed disney chief bob iger to its board. in earnings, after nine consecutive quarters of declining, walmart reported a revenue gain. staples dropped on short sales and a lowered full-year forecast. department store saks rose on stronger sales. and after the bell, despite a jump in profit, dell sank after low revenue. elsewhere, the postal service lost $5 billion this year and says it could run out of cash by next september if congress doesn't help. finally, need a job? nasa is hiring astronauts. only problem, nasa doesn't own a spaceship anymore but the agency promises getting on one of the few flights they'll hitch onto these days will be well worth the wait. coming up, the latest on the nba lockout and college hoop highlights for all you basketball-starved fans including a record-breaking win for duke's coach k. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather a soggy morning for the east coast.

thankfully your thursday is looking much improved. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

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to mississippi, louisiana, florida, alabama. the gulf is the world's goodtime headquarters. and we are 100% open for business. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports with each day that passes it seems the likelihood of a settlement to the nba's owners lockout becomes more and

more remote. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. while the nba was canceling games through december 15th, history was being made in college hoops. number six duke beat michigan state 74-69. with that coach mike krzyzewsck became the winningest coach. picking up win 903 to beat bobby knight. knight was his coach and part of the broadcasting team. the two shared a special moment embracing on the sideline. memorable night at madison square garden as coach k. picked up 903 and counting. kentucky showed everyone why they're ranked second in the country giving number 11 kansas more than they could handle. game tied at the half and then wildcats jumped all over the jayhawks. 17-point lead and didn't look back. they cruise 75-65. another great match-up, number three, ohio state, eighth ranked florida. gators have never beaten a top three team on the road. it wasn't going to happen last night. william buford scored game high 21.

big ten freshman of the year l sullinger chipped in with 16. buckeyes won it 81-74. baseball as expected justin verlander unanimous winner of the a.l. cy young award leading the majors in strikeouts and wins with 24-5. hockey bragging rights in new york. rangers and islanders. sean avery a pest around the net, got a rebound and scored a second goal. to the third, islanders turned it over and brad richards made them pay for their mistake. unleashed a rocket. rangers on fire winning their seventh in a row 4-2. speaking of streaks, after a dismal start to the season, bruins have now won six straight. pouliot scored eighth, and the champs have got their swagger back winning 4-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. the star of "glee" speaks out and brad pitt says not so fast. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, becoming a new dad

brings a lot of responsibility, especially if you're called on to deliver the child yourself. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this wednesday. as i mentioned, isolated tornadoes, southern mississippi and down through eastern louisiana, norms area included. some storms have been showing rotation. no confirmed reports of tornadoes yet at this time but

if you're up in alabama, this threat of tornadoes and storms will head your way as we go throughout the early morning hours. forecastwise, everyone on the eastern seaboard needs an umbrella. later today that heavy rain threat will move into areas like washington, d.c., baltimore, philly, and that clears out by tomorrow, though, as the cooler fall air arrives. if you're watching us on wngt in macon, georgia, see a collection of living animals from different deserts, forests and ponds at mini zoo tours at museum of arts and sciences. that's your early event of the day. >> thanks so much. here's an early look at this morning headlines in entertainment. brad pitt is backtracking from saying he'll retire from film roles at 50. he says it's not an exact deadline and was stressing his interest in producing. when it comes to aging, pitt added, given the choice he would take the wisdom that comes with age over youth. lea michele tells "allure" she's not a diva and denies she

has an eating disorder saying, quote, i'm half italian. i can eat some under the table. he says he's deeply proud of his james bond films, pierce brosnan refuses to watch them, ever, even when his sons ask him to. brosnan says, quote, i find no nourishment in them. and finally, here's a "jersey shore" update. the situation sued abercrombie & fitch tuesday over what he claims was a publicity stunt in which the company offered to pay cast members not to wear abercrombie & fitch. meanwhile, on the recent claim he hooked up with cast mate snooki, she told wendy williams she thinks he's disgusting and would rather cut off her legs than date him. >> she says that now. but they did hang out the night -- the alleged night of the -- >> apparently she admitted to it but then denying it on the show and then admitted to it. get your story straight, snooki. i guess she sounds like she wanted to deny it anyway. >> after watching her late night, some of her stories are probably a little blurry. >> that's probably true.

this comes to us from wvit connecticut, where in nearbyham den where nearby hamden an early arrival forced a first-time dad to play the role of delivery room doctor. things got moving quicker than expected after sharee began experiencing contractions. with no time to head to the hospital, her boyfriend, randy, took over. after two minutes of coaching, randy delivered his first child, a little girl. who has given her new dad an amazing and memorable start to fatherhood. congrats. 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. >> good more a. we're starting out with some fog and some light rain -- good morning. the heaviest rain is south of us, down around la plata. there could be some sprinkles in baltimore city. it will pick up during the day. showers around and mostly cloudy. there could be areas of fog and a high temperature around 62. we will check the forecast going into the weekend. >> 56 degrees on tv hill. the man who admitted to setting a tire store on fire is set for a.

>> the super committee deadline, one week left to reach a deal. i am kate amara in washington. >> several occupy baltimore members are asked to leave a speech at johns hopki university. roadst roads -- wet roadst roads -- wet

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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. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> it is a rainy morning. >> i think it will be off and on. it will not be a steady rain. there is some rain on hd doppler right now. st