[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," where to begin. from controversial tax cuts to don't ask, don't tell, politically charged issues grip wasngton. taking action, what some airports are now doing in response to traveler outrage to invasive patdowns. 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 lynn berry. today, we begin with a bitter battle. as the clock ticks down on the outgoing leadership in the

house, fight over compromise on key votes is heating up. nbc's tracie potts jones us from washington with the latest on capitohill and the details on the transatlantic trip. >> reporter: the president is heading off to europe just before midnight for just a couple of days trying to reassure our allies there and deal with hot issues like afghanistan and trade. but he's left some uesolved 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 llion 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 struck here on capitol hill. and, of course, the big issue that we've been talking about, the bush tax cuts expiring at e end of the year. what to do? the white house had signaled that it would embrace a

temporary inntive for the wealthy, but now democrats seem to be setting up ashowdown saying that they will schedule votes that only deal with the middle class, something republicans say they will not support, those tax cuts expiri as of january. finall one iue that may be resolvg itself, as least we're seeing progress, senator joe libermanays it looks like they do now have the votes to repeal don't ask, don't tell, that policy on gays in the litary. democratsannounced yesterday that they do have republicans who will support it if they are allowed to debate and add amendments to that policy. lynn. >> tcie potts in washington, tracie, thank you. growing frustration with the transportation security administration and what many americans feelre overly obtrusive patdowns and scanning procedures have led several airports across the country to take an alternative route. some 17 airport administrators

faced with the challenge of keeping passengers face and tisfied 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 trend. >> now here's a look at other ories making news early today in america. a group of seattle detectives are accused of failing to notify their superiors of surveillce video that shows an officer kicking a teenage suspect. police say the 17-year-old suspect fled the sne of an undercover drug bust. the video shows an undercover cop cornering and kicking the suspect several times. internal fairs is investigating and the aclu is cling for a civil rights investigation. in washington, surveillance video shows a man taunting a

disabled man. the 55-year-old victim of the unprovoked attack is seen getting off a bus when he's punched by the man who then just walks away. the man has been charged with second degree assault. the chilean miners and their families t the hollywood treatment yesterday. tinter national heroes took a whirlwind tour of tinseltown 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 thourld swarovski crystal star that will sit atop the 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, if you can believe it. now for a looat your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill

karins with, i'm sure, some winter-like weather, as well. it felt like that, at least, on the east coast last night. >> and the view out of your pentuse window, is it a good view of the tree? it's all right? let's talk about what's happening weatherwise. montana is not the place to be if you don't like cold weather is morning. i add one temperature on the map. this is cutback at minus 9 degrees this morning, just brutal. 15 in billings. we're very chilly out there. and that cold air this weekend is only going to really skirt the northern half of the country. 's not really going to move into the deep south. oday is a very quiet day from texas to florida and up the eastern seaboard. the worst of it as far as cold weather goes and travel trouble, it's going to be on the west coast ad up here through the northern plains, even through minneapolis. not bad, cloudy. snow flurries near areas of northern wisconsin, but that's about it. notice the 48 hours rainfall,

maybe a couple showers there on the east coast of florid friday's forecast for today, lots of nshine. grab the sunglasses this morning. it's a cold start, but it will be a nice afternoon from nver to new york and miami and everywhere in between. thas a look at your forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. sunshine in nashville, atlanta, indianapolis and d.c. today. many of the areas will see temperatures near average. that's 50 through the mid-atlantic. in the south, many ars this time of year average 60, that's about right, 65 in atlanta. lynn, weekend forecast, that's coming up. >> all right, bill, i ve it. 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 felixs crowned, the bears rea 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 sen your embattled new york congressman chles 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 senate candidate joe miller is asking a judge to stop a certifying of the vote for lisa murkowski. ohio police say unemployed tree trimmer facing

charges for kidnapping a teenage girl told them whe to find the girl's mother, brothernd family friend. the family's remains were found in a bag stuffed in a hole le tree. the father of natalie hollowway such dutch authorities ask asked for her dental records to see if it matches a jaw bone found last week. and astronomers have discovered a alleyen planet that came from another galaxy. it was captured by our own lkyway between 6 billion and 9 billion years ago. >> d now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines at msnbc.com. government researchers report more than 25 million of all u.s. adults had some form of mental illness last year. young adults had the highest level of illnesses while those

age 50 and lower have 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&pdded 18 points. the nasdaq jumped 38. taking a look at orseas 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 gneral motors. expectations of an irish bailout by the european union drove shares to skyrocket more than 33%. thos expectations strengthened the euro against the dollar,

boosting commodity and energy prices and stocks and related sectors. alcoa was the top percentage gainer of the dow industrials, up almost 3.5%. fueling optimism, data th 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 ev ipo. gm accounted for almost 10% of all shares traded on the new york stock exchange. gm closed up 3. 6/% as $34.19 a share. keep an eye today on dell. after the bell, the computermaker stock zoomed in trade add to go the upbeat mood.

dell finished above wall street expectations. finally, horse racing betters at one track in north england couldn't believe their eyes on tuesday. a horse was running named tocatchaprince. hurve players went home happy after the courhorse came in a wr 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 bere 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."

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 ok at all your sports headlines. good morning. here is the situation. miami dolphins started their third string quarterback against the chicago bears and it shod. tyler thigpen getting the start he probably wishes he hadn't.

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 punche it in. chicago defense got to thigpen six times. jealous pepper with three 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, won the cy young award despite their record. david price finished second. basketball, magic and suns, steve nash sat out with a sore groin. alley-oop from nelson. then the dunk. howard had 20 points and 12 boards. carter up and under at the buzzer, magic up 28 at the break, they wonit, 105-89. there was almost no score between the flyers and the

lightning. o 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 oth, soccer in germany. herrune thought he had a goal. mother nature said, no, stopp by the mud. he had t 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 late 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." is

welcome back on this friday morning. let me take you through the weekend forecast. getting out the door today, it's a chilly morning out there, especially in the morning plains, especially in montana. butveryone is going to s pretty much a nice afternoon today. there's a couple snow showers this morning. this afternoon looks good. let's get into your weekend forecast. by the time we get into saturday, we're going to see a continuation of cold, snowy air here in montana.

still very clly from the dakotas to minneapolis. the east coast looks good. even into sunday, not a lot changes this weekend. the cold air is bottled u here. it doesn't spread intohe middle of the country until we head towards thanksgiving. if you're watching us on wsaz news channel 3 ntington, west virginia, bring the family for a drive through a winter wonderland at the christmas fantasy lights show opening tonight in nearby poin pleasant. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> bill, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. at the box office this weekend, it's simple. harrypotter. the only question is, what are the numbers going to be? harry potter and the deathly hallows part one 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 mie 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 expts 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. but bill, bottom line, everyone is going to see harry potter >> do you think it will break 100? i think it will be in the 90s. >>i think it will. this is the last before the second last >> the last before the last. >> there are two parts and this is the first of the two parts. >> if youe taken the joney this far, you're probably going to see it. >> i heard it's just for expert

harry potter fans. you mi may want to bring someone else. a translator. this comes to us from wilkesberry, pennsylvania. one couple thought memories of their wedding faded years ago. th couldn't afford their wedding photos. the photographer's son ended up helping them sift through thousands of negatives and they luckily found them. they said it was easy thanks to he mary tyler moore flip and his slicked back elvis hair style. looking good still. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

well, this is the picture of the city this morning on a friday, the -- what is it? >> the 19th of november. >> good morning to you. i' joe ebs. welcome to news 4 today. and i'm eun yang. it is november 19th, as we mentioned, 2010. in the news this morning, we are foowing break news. right now the southbound lanes of the parkway are shut down in laurel after a deadly accident. a person was struck and killed on the parkway north of route 197. we were told that person had pulled of to the side of the

road and were odds their car when they re hit. several other vehicles were also involved. everyone stayed in the scene. investigators are now tryingto reconstruct the accident to try toigure out exactly handicapped. the southbound lanes of the baltimore-washington parkway are expected to remain closed until thetart of the morning rush. we have a crew on the scene and we will bring you a live report as soon as we can. three ople are in the hospital after they were pulled from a burning building in northwest washington. the fire broke out 10:30 last night kennedy street northwest. two women and a man were rush to the hospital suffering from smoem inhalation. no word on their conditions. firefighter also twisted his ankle. we now know it was, in fact, a tornado that caused a that damage in baltimore. the national weather service says the twister touched