this morning on "early today" -- second thoughts. herman cain says he's reassessing his run for the presidency following allegations of an extra-martial affair. under siege. england ee rack the ways dips from iran after the embassy comes under attack. and o christmas tree. preparations are under way for the lighting of the world's most preparations are under way for the lighting of the world's most famous. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a tough day on the campaign trail. republican herman cain says he's, quote, reassessing his run for president despite mixed signals from his camp and adamant denials of a long-term affair with a georgia wap.

another oops moment comes from texas governor rick perry in new hampshire. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the detail. good morning to you. a busy day yesterday. >> reporter: it certainly was. herman cain says he's reassessing because of these allegations, which he has denied, created a negative cloud around his campaign and emotional toll for his family, so he needs to take a second look at whether to continue his campaign. he didn't talk about it in his foreign policy speech yesterday but he did e-mail supporters saying that ginger white's allegations of an affair were fabricated and unsubstantiated. she's a friend who he helped financially but we're starting to see the impact. he backed out of an event yesterday with journalists. his iowa campaign ad is on hold because supporters have backed out there and lost an endorsement from new hampshire. rick perry, another gaffe on the campaign trail. this is what he said about the legal voting age.

>> those 21 by november 12th i ask for your support. those who won't, just work hard. >> reporter: perry corrected that saying people in this country can vote at the age of 18. he said from time to time, i'll make a mistake. lynn? >> all right, tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. well, elsewhere, occupy protesters have been cleared out of downtown philadelphia, two days after police ordered them to vacate their city hall encampment. protesters embarked on an early morning march after police began pulling down tents after 1 a.m. this morning. so far, no reports of any arrests. meanwhile, a similar scene is playing out in los angeles where police in riot gear have moved in to enforce an expired deadline for occupy protesters camped out in downtown l.a. well, overseas yesterday vice president joe biden arrived unannounced in iraq. later today biden is scheduled to meet with prime minister nuri

al maliki to help steer a smooth transition with the withdrawal of u.s. combat forces from iraq after nearly nine years of war. meanwhile, ahead of secretary of state hillary clinton's historic arrival in myanmar this morning, she expressed hope that recent flickers of progress will lead to improvements in human rights. let's get back to new york where we are counting down to one of the biggest moments of the year here at rockefeller center, the annual tree lighting ceremony. nbc's michelle franzen is live outside the building here at 30 rock. michelle, good morning to you. always a favorite time of year. >> reporter: it really is. cue the wind and cue the colder weather as it was ushered in today for this tree-lighting ceremony that takes place tonight. the 74-foot norway spruce behind me is dark at this time, but come later tonight it shine in all its glory, illuminated by ail the lights. of course, about five miles worth of wiring. topped with that swarovski

crystal. that won't be the only star out tonight. performances by carol king and justin bieber as well as tony bennett to name a few. this year's tree is from a family in mifflinville, pennsylvania. it arrived on veterans day and since then workers have been working around the clock to get that tree ready for its moment tonight. a new york tradition and one watched all around the country. lynn? >> all right, michelle, a much different scene come about eight hours from now, jam-packed with people. we appreciate the update. be sure to catch christmas in rockefeller center hosted by al roker and savannah guthrie. it will feature performances by justin bieber, tony bennett, michael buble and radio city rockettes. it begins tonight at 8:00/7:00 central time on your nbc station. here's a look at other stories making news early today in america.

a 1-year-old is fighting for his life after getting shot in the head on the set of a rap video. the infant was one of seven people injured in an oakland shooting caught on tape. the police investigation has been hampered by uncooperative witnesses who may have returned fire on the gunman. so far, there is no motive and no arrests have been made. one california thief trying to cover up a surveillance camera forgot about his big close-up. oops. a fast food restaurant security tape-recorded clear picture of an atm robbery suspect before he could cover the lens with a napkin. the stolen atm had about $2,000 inside. look at that face. police have not made an arrest. finally, a nasty cold front hammered the chicago area tuesday. the windy weather fueled 60-mile-an-hour wind gusts as well as 15 to 20-foot waves. crashing water battered lake michigan shoreline shutting down paths used by runners and

bikers. definitely wouldn't want to be using those yesterday. now for a look at your national and regional weather, let's check in with meteorologist todd santos with your weather channel forecast. >> it also caused flight delays. 525 flights canceled just out of o'hare. today an improvement as far as winds are concerned. northwest gust around 21 miles per hour, 14 at the moment. so, again, for today we'll see winds coming in more out of the west, dropping back to 10 mile per hour. starting to wind down, good news for many folks flying, especially in and around chicago. look at the system. this is the same system that dropped snow down in the south. at this point we've seen a few bigger numbers especially back towards northeastern indiana. yesterday we had 10 inches in peru, indiana. you can see the conveyor belt of moisture, some leaving boston but early this morning travelers be ready to deal with a few

spots of ponding on the roadway. winter storm warnings expire at 7 a.m. enough to keep some of the snow on the ground, maybe a few slick spots and maybe a few with melting that took place yesterday and this morning across tennessee and northern mississippi. for the most part, quiet across the country. another system moving into the pacific northwest. let's check out your local forecast. philly, pa, biggest thing you'll notice is cooler temperatures, 54 degrees. clevela cleveland, ohio, may see a few flakes set into the system as the system rotates off to the north and east. of course, with all the snow and other activity channelling out of the area we'll talk about what we can expect the next couple of days. cooler temperatures. >> the reality setting in. coming up, kurm confidence soars, american airlines spirals

and surprising top searches of the year. plus, he's got a license to kill and he's using it on the kardashians. coming up, big moves for the jaguars, the nfl drops the hammer on suh, and its valentine's day in boston. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headline. england says it's withdrawing families and staff from tehran after the embassy was stormed by hard-line iranian protesters. prime minister david cameron says iran's failure to defend the embassy and staff was a disgrace and would have serious consequences. michael jackson's former doctor, conrad murray, has been handed the maximum sentence of four years behind bars for his conviction on manslaughter charges in the singer's overdose

death. he'll likely serve less than two years. following a nationwide manhunt, a 27-year-old new jersey man suspected of killing his 2-year-old daughter by tossing her into a creek has been captured in san diego. and only the royal newlyweds could steal the spotlight from queen's elizabeth at her own party. prince william and his wife kate were on hand for a gala at buckingham palace honoring the queen's upcoming diamond jubilee. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,555 after gaining 32 points yesterday. the s&p was up 2 points but the nasdaq lost 11. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell 43 points, while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 266. stronger than expected consumer confidence and progress with europe's financial mess sent most stocks higher tuesday.

consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since july. topping already optimistic forecasts. home depot and best buy shares jumped. euro news, italian bond yields fell as the government sold 7.5 billion euros' worth. eurozone ministers office greece a christmas rescue package and made moves to beef up the zone's general rescue fund. financials here fell on continued euro concern. bank of america dropped to its lowest closing level since 2009. watch banks today, after the bell, standard & poor's cut credit rating on several, including jpmorgan chase, wells fargo, goldman sachs and morgan stanley. amr plunged 84% to 26 cents a share after filing for bankruptcy protection. trade was halted 28 times throughout the day. amr made the move due to high

fuel costs and a heavy debt load. elsewhere, the government claims cargill meat discriminated against over 4,000 qualified people at an arkansas plant, specifically against women, in favor of asians and pacific islanders. federal officials want to cancel hundreds of millions in cargill contracts. facebook is settling charges brought by the federal trade commission of misleading customers about its privacy settings. and finally, justin bieber topped kim kardashian as bing's most searched celebrity in 20 11. not a big surprise there. this may be a surprise. the casey anthony trial topped osama bin laden's death as top news story search. at least i found it surprising. coming up, a valentine for boston. a shakeup in jacksonville. new york's rangers take another on the ice. plus, two giants square off on the college hardwood. and it wasn't even close. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

and as one snow system fades out of the country we'll talk about the new one heading into the rockies coming up. you're watching "early today." over 200,000 people are hospitalized every year

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the powerful formula in rid-x has enzymes to immediately break down waste and bacteria that work continuously to reduce tank build-up. use rid-x once a month and help save yourself from disaster. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, a boston red sox team left in shambles by a summer swoon and subsequent resignations and defections,

took the first step toward pitting the pieces back together yesterday. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. it's wednesday everywhere else, it's valentine's day in boston. red sox hired bobby valentine to be the new manager. he took the mets to the world series in 2000 where he lost the yankees. he'll have to beat the yankees if he wants to stick around in boston. lebron james and dwyane wade to watch ohio state and duke. great game on paper. unfortunately, not a great game on the court. buckeyes jumped out to a 19-point lead in the first half. it it wasn't sullinger it was buford, combining for 41. 85-63. football after a 3-8 start jaguars fired jack del rio. wayne weaver agreed to sell it to an ohio businessman, who will keep the jags in jacksonville. del rio is out is so is ndamukong suh, suspended two

games. suh appealed the suspension but expected to miss sunday's game on nbc. hockey. sidney crosby comeback made a stop. mitchell and rogers scored 90 seconds apart. rangers won 4-3. to washington, d.c., new coach, same results for the caps. hunters' debut was a forgettable one. blues held on for a 2-1 win. carolina has a new coach. florida mathias scored game-winner late in the third and added an empty netter. panthers won it 3-1. a great save from the sabres. puck deflected off the teammate and he made the sprawling save with his stick. the islanders doubled up the sabres 2-1. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. guy ritchie talks about his ex, while demi moore is forget

being hers. plus, the latest chapter in the thrilling saga of the wanna-be super hero. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on "early today." while some winter storm warnings expire through portions of montana, this evening in denver, late tonight, early tomorrow morning, may see snow developing ngs especially around denver and

go through the day time. back into the northeast, looking at pretty cool numbers compared to what we have been dealing with. 50s this time of the year. into thursday you see the snow down towards denver, could see upwards of 3 to 5 inches in the city, so be ready for some of that in the city. and if you're watching us on wbbh nbc 2 in ft. myers, florida, enjoy a free showcase of lavishly decorated holiday trees and wreaths at sidney berne davis art center. that's your event of the day. now, here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. guy ritchie has spoken for the first time in years about his marriage to madonna did call their marriage a soap opera but said it's something he doesn't regret. ultimately, it was a very positive experience. he loves the kids that came out of it. a source tells the chicago "sun-times" demi moore has moved

on from ashton kutcher. that was fast. the source says she isn't as tense and clearly as unhappy as she was this past summer. it is official. the twilight saga "breaking down" broke the $500 million mark worldwide only 12 days after its release. and finally, daniel craig is definitely not a fan of the kardashians. the big screen's current james bond blasts the reality clan in the january 2012 edition of british "gq" labeling them, quote, and we are cleaning this up, blanking idiots, insert word in the blank line. you can guess. >> thank you, thank you mr. craig. i appreciate it. >> this is g-rated. >> saying what you have wanted. it's line a train wreck. i appreciate his take on it. >> a lot of people feel this way. 72 days of marriage was the straw that broke the camel's

back. this comes to us from king 5 news in seattle, washington, where a mass crusader has toned down his super hero ways. weeks ago phoenix jones was forced to reveal his true identity after being accused of going too far fighting crime. but sunday when jones and his cohorts chased down a stabbing suspect instead of handing out vigilante justice, they called police. last month responding officers arrested jones on assault charges. this time police were thankful for both his help and letting them do their job. sounds straight out of a comic book. 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 morning. the star mick give us all the rain is now pulling away appeared -- the storm that as the rain is pulling away. 40 in taneytown. it feels like it is in the 30's because of the breeze. a mixture of sun and clouds. breezy and cooler than yesterday with high temperatures in the low 50's. we will come back and check if forecast going into the weekend. >> 43 degrees on tv hill. police moved in on occupy protesters. >> a video featuring an argument

between a teacher and a student blows up on the internet. i'm kim dacey. >> are sexual contact allegations seeking a toll on her maintain -- on herman cain? >> we will

[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 am mindy basara. >> i am lisa robinson in four stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> we have a breeze going so feels much cooler. it will feel more like winter as a step outside this morning. 42 at the airport. we have a