this morning on "early today" -- all about iowa. republican presidential candidates make the most of the final seven days before iowa caucuses. rich representatives. new figures show the growing pay divide between member of the house and the average american. and unbearably cute. denmark's darling polar bear cub opens his eyes for the very denmark's darling polar bear cub opens his eyes for the very first time. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and very request good morning to you. today we begin with one week to go. from bus tour to fresh tv ads,

republican hopefuls are aulg out all the stops in iowa as they make their final campaign push. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it's been a rough primary season, but the republicans are about to face their first official test. one week before the iowa caucuses, ron paul is leading the gop presidential pack. but it's still anyone's race. >> usually the iowa caucuses aren't completely defined until very close to the end. >> reporter: while rick santorum is hunting for votes -- >> you're not electing someone to cast votes. you're electing a leader. >> reporter: michele bachmann is getting ready to hit all of iowa's 99 counties. rick perry released a new attack ad. but it's aimed at washington. >> get a job like everybody else back home. >> reporter: mitt romney is still trying to convince iowans he's conservative enough. >> i'm going to do something to government. i'm going to make it simpler and

smaller and smarter. >> reporter: newt gingrich failed to make virginia's primary ballot, and days before iowa, that's a setback he can't afford. >> we're disappointed but it was our fault. >> the primary is now a side show. i can't imagine anybody paying much attention to it. >> reporter: but right now all eyes are on iowa, where anything can happen. establishment republicans may be uneasy with ron paul but right now in iowa he's got an organization that is hard to beat. veronica? >> brian mooar in washington, thank you. the white house confirmed it's requesting a question from yemen's president to travel to new york city for medical reasons. he's seeking treatment for injuries he suffered in a near-fatal june bomb blast in his presidential complex. the issue is a hot potato for the administration because many in yemen who hoped to see ali prosecuted for the deaths of hundreds of antigoth protests fear he'll seek asylum here. if permission is granted, the

white house is expected to stress it will only be for medical treatment. as iraq struggles for stability without a president, there are new calls within maliki's own shiite government for a shakeup. al sadr wants the current parliament to be dissolved and new elections held but maliki may not want to start over. iraq is dealing with a new wave of violence, believed to be the work of sunni insurgents with ties to al qaeda. voters feeling a disconnect with washington may have more proof of a divide. a new analysis by "the washington post" shows that between 1984 and 2009 the median net worth of a member of the house of representatives adjusted for inflation more than doubled to an average of $725,000. during the same period, the wealth of the average american family has dipped slightly to just over $20,000.

california republican congressman darrell issa leads the pack with a net worth of nearly $450 million. here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. a north carolina employee used his last hook to bring in a abrupt end to a would-be thief's robbery. the thief laid on the floor bleeding until police arrived to arrest him. a five point buck gave one utah family a christmas story to tell for years to come. it was christmas eve when the animal fell into window well and broke through the bedroom window. unfortunately, animal control officers had to put the deer down to remove it. while most of the nation was recuperating from holiday shopping hangover and family gatherings, the crew worked on floats fort tournament of roses parade. with less than a week until the event, they snipped flowers,

gluing decorations and painting. the parade can be seen right here on nbc january 1st. now on for a look at your national and regional weather, bill karins with the weather channel forecast. something i never miss. >> do you watch the football game later that day? >> i don't. but i watch the parade. >> it's cool what they can do with all those flowers. we're getting ready for the next holiday, of course, coming up this upcoming weekend. a lot of people still traveling and today is the worst travel day out there. a big storm to talk about. first, let's talk about what happened yesterday. to talk about how crazy warm this december has been. it was 52 degrees yesterday in minneapolis. which was their record high for the day. we had no cold air. 40s in northwest, 40s in new england. that is why we're not dealing with a big huge snow or ice storm coming up the east coast. technically this is the time of year you can get big monster storms with the blizzards and ice storms. this is just a big rainmaker,

maybe tiny bit of snow on the backside near st. louis. as far as the rain goes, everywhere in green has a chance to get into heavier, steadier rain. not too much thunderstorms with it. squall line going through areas around i-10, the panhandle of florida. that's about it. this whole shield of rain will cover the eastern seaboard during the day today and the ohio valley. there is going to be a little bit of snow on the backside of this later on tonight. it's not going to start off as snow. it will start off as rain and change over to snow later. cleveland to erie, buffalo, rochester, syracuse, watertown, upstate new york and burlington, vermont, you can expect a couple inches on the backside. your ground is bare right now, so it will start the process of covering the ground with snow. usually you're pretty deep in it by now. today's forecast, airport delays possible up the east coast and boston later tonight as heavy rain moves your way. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window.

areas like raleigh, north carolina, expect steady rain throughout the day today. maybe a rumble of thunder. cincinnati, ohio, you're one of those spots that may be on the backside you'll see a couple snowflakes but we're not expecting much in the way of accumulating snow there. mostly, i'd say, 90% a rain event. just a little snow on the backside. >> 10%? >> yeah, very little. >> and maybe mud afterwards. >> yeah. >> unfortunately. well, the goal for the week on wall street, shoppers go on out mega monday and the girl got a violin worth tens of thousands of dollars on a bus. plus, a new lawsuit against lady gaga makes her sound like a -- not the greatest person to work for. another tough outing for the defending champions, a wild play in the independence bowl and drew brees makes nfl history. you're watching early "today."

very good morning to you. welcome back to "early today." here are some of your top headlines this morning. one week after the death of north korea's leader, his son and suck success sore is sharpening his diplomat skills. kim jong-un paid his respects. christmas shopping take a. turn for the worst when an 18-year-old man was stabbed to death. the death toll from devastating flooding in the philippines has surged by more than 200 in one day to well over 1400. navy and coast guard officials predict the death toll could reach 2,000. police in california say 19-year-old ruben turned himself

in for a shooting that left 22-year-old christopher sullivan a purple heart recipient paralyzed. an argument over football teams apparently led to the incident at sullivan's homecoming party last week. finally, we just can't get enough of these cute little pictures from denmark's month-old polar bear cub who's become a worldwide sensation. he just opened his eyes for the very first time. later this morning, you can see him live on the "today" show. something you probably don't want to miss. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the markets were closed but the dow will open at 12,294 after closing up 124 points. s&p gained 11 points. the nasdaq was up 19. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, nikkei lost 38 points but in hong kong the hang seng jumped 250. this week should be relatively quiet for investors with one hurdle before year's

end. wall street enters the last few days facing light volume and one real question, can the nasdaq join the dow and s&p 500 to end 2011 in positive territory? the nasdaq is down 1.3% for the year. elsewhere there is optimism that yesterday dubbed mega monday by retailers with high hopes that americans off work would head to the stores will prove to be the third biggest shopping day of the holiday season. spurred on by bargain hunters and gift card redeemers, some even predicted yesterday retailers would outsell black friday, date after thanksgiving, when americans spent over $27 billion. watch for fallout from a justice department opinion made clear friday that clears the way for states to legalize internet poker and all other forms of gambling except those on sporting contests. the move will reap billions in tax revenue. berkshire hathaway completed buying warren buffett's home paper, the omaha world herald for $150 million. and the assumption of $50

million in debt. in asia, chinese officials announced the industrial output is expected to ease next year to 11% growth. the yuan hit an all-time high against the dollar on monday. christmas game early for one very relieved boston music student who found $175,000 violin she was loaned after she left it in an overhead compartment on a bus she rode to philadelphia last week. a bowl game play, kardashian ex comes up big. plus, breezing to an easy victory against atlanta, drew brees brakes a big record. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. today will be the worst travel day of this holiday week. we're watching heavy rain for the eastern seaboard. you're watching "early today."

[ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ]

[ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪ very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night the new orleans saints made it clear they're ready for the playoffs and their quarterback earned a slice of immortality. here's nbc's mario solis with lie ak at all your sports headline. >> good morning. saints' quarterback drew brees broke dan marino's single season passing record and did it in dramatic fashion. needing 306 yards to break the

record, he started way in the first half. hits colston from eight yards out. saints up 21-10 at break. fast forward to fourth quarter, under three minutes left, brees only needs eight more yards and he gets nine. a touchdown to darren sproles and there it is, drew brees breaks the single season passing record that stood for 27 years. saints march over the falcons with a 45-16 win. time to go bowling. north carolina and mizzou. independence bowl. tigers pulling out all the stops. the double pass, running back moe airs it out to kemp. tar heels don't know what hit them. missouri on all cylinders, wild interception in the second quarter, dwight jones makes the catch. he's hit, fumbles, rolls around, off his back and into the hands of gooden. everything going right for missouri. nba tough couple days for the champs after being blown out by heat on christmas day. the nuggets have their way with the mavericks yesterday. at one point denver scores 20 unanswered points in the second quarter. dallas never recovers.

nuggets win 115-93. after an eventful off-season that included a reality show, a short marriage toll kim kardashian and a divorce, kris humphries is back to doing what he does best. a double-double against washington. nets beat the wiz 90-84. no chris paul, no problem for the hornets. down one to the suns in final seconds and it's gordon hitting the big shot for the lead. gordon came over from the clippers in the paul trade. big day for new orleans. drew brees sets the record and the new-look hornets win their opener 85-84. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. who's getting married? who had a baby? who is fighting over a dog? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, this is where all dads would like to greet their newborns for the first time, if they're lucky. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." a lot of heavy rain moving up the eastern seaboard. wet snow mixing in over illinois and indiana. temps are warm enough that a lot of that will not accumulate. once we get to tonight, that's when the snow should accumulate. areas like cleveland, erie, maybe even pittsburgh, buffalo, syracuse, that's where you will see snow on the ground. today's forecast, today's a difficult travel day for the east coast. if you're watching us on wvit nbc 30 in hartford, connecticut, in nearby bridgeprij, ring in

the new year with a siberian tiger and two new lynx. happy zoo year at the beardsley zoo. that's your eastern event to the day. >> happy zoo day to you. love that. here's an early look at this morning's headlines in enter stainment. on christmas matthew mcconaughey asked girlfriend camilla alves to marry him. the fact they already have two children probably means she said yes. lady gaga is being sued by a former assistant. she says life with gaga wasn't pretty. robert de niro is a father again. he and his wife had a baby girl through a surrogate mother. current girl with "dragon tattoo" star daniel craig says he looks for variety in other film roles but says he is not

trying to escape august 007. he says, quote, i love playing bond. it's fantastic. "people" magazine is reporting hugh hefner and exgirlfriend are over a custody battle over spaniel charlie. he thinks if she keeps the ring and bentley, he should at least get to keep charlie. i have to agree with him. come on, you get so attached to animals. >> that's a tough one. i want to be lady gaga's assistant, that's what i learned, because she says she is underpaid but owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. how much does an assistant make to the stars in. >> if you're lady gaga -- >> hundreds of thousands? you can call me in the middle of the night all the time for that much money. this comes to us from portland, maine, where a couple made their brand new car to make a special delivery on christmas day. she were headed to the hospital when their fourth child decided

to make her surprise swraentran. she calmed her husband down, calmed herself down and they pulled off the delivery together. it was do it yourself, christmas and also sure their last delivery. i hope by that they mean the last delivery they'll make themselves. not they'll never have kids again, right? >> yeah. i don't think many people want to do that twice. >> i'm sure it's rather stressful. i'm veronica de la cruz. 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. you'll notice there are some clouds in the sky. a storm system is approaching from the south and west and that will increase our rain chances. right now they are pushing into west virginia and southern virginia. we will be tracking these later in the day for the mid atlantic. showers could be heavy. there is some snow al-faran. >> 4:57. we're following breaking news. a fire in charles village.

>> republican's presidential hopefuls make a final push before next week's iowa caucuses. >> if you're heading out at this early hour, elected the west side.

[marching band playing] is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ]

[ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ [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 out several call. >> i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> ava is talking rain this morning. >> may be some sprinkles early on. right now the clouds are in place as a storm system approaches. 40 degrees right now at the airport. we're start