"jimmy fallon" happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," family feud. angry house democrats vow to block president obama's tax cut deals with republicans. battle royal, prince charle car comes under attack ring aild student protest in london. and creature of the night. a hunting camera snped a bizarre image of the woods of a hunting camera snped a bizarre image of the woods of louisiana. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with pitol

hill countdown. there may be 15 days till christmas, but the holiday spirit appears to be in short supply in the nation's capitol. lawmakers have more than a week to wrap up a long and controversial list of unfinished business before they can head home for the holidays. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. a lot of that agenda is on hold right now. don't ask, don't tell has been blocked. the dream act which would allow illegal immigrants to become citizens in this country, a vote on that delayed now in the senate. government spending bill, the star treaty with russia, all of them on hold until this tax issue is dealt with. last night, there was a vote in the house democratic caucus, a nonbinding vote, and we're told that everyone but one member of congress voted no on this deal between republicans and becomes. that one member who voted yes said she was concerned about any

holdsup for the jobless in this country. now, leaders in the house say they will vote on something. they're just not sure whether or not it will end up being the president's plan. in the senate, though, they've sweetened the deal a bit for democrats, adding energy production things like increasing production for hybrids, hoping to get more democratic support there in a vote that is now scheduled for monday afternoon. president obama weighing inon this issue, focusing now on the impact of not voting for this deal, not getting these tax breaks through. the president says this is about boosting the economy and that millions of jobs could be sacrificed if congress doesn't do something by january 1st. the white house no saying that they are confident that this deal will get passed, but it's not looking that way right now at least on the senate and house floorere on capitol hill. >> and the clock is ticking. tracie potts there in washington, thank you. russian prime minister

vladimir putin is accusing the u.s. and western countries of what pocksy over their criticism of whistleblower wois wikilks. putin said the west had no right to preach about whhypocrisy whe julian assange is in jail. meanwhile, dutch police have arrested a 16-year-old boy for allegedly helping carry out hacker attacks. in a show on support on wikileaks in attas on mastercard and visa. thousands open stoofrts took to the streets of lobbe yesterday with some attacking prince charles car carrying him and his wife camilla. they were surrounded by demonstrators hurling fire crackers and paint balls. the couple was obviously shaken up. but both the prince and his wife were unharmed.

unrest took place throughout london after parliament passed a controversial vote to raise the colle tuition, the second flare-up regarding controversial hikes. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. california firefighters ignited the house where local police found a stockpile of ammunition and bomb making materials in nearly eve room. officials said there were so many types of explosiv in and around the house, the only way to make the house safe was to rn the house down. 120 homes in the area were evacuated and a two-story fire wall built before the planned inferno. the suspect is the man accuse of odd amassing the explosives. he's also suspected in a bank robbery. neither police or federal investigors have offered a motive. drivers in maryland faced a dangerous rush hour commute after a water main break spilled freezing water on to the roadway. drivers slipped and slid on the

resulting black ice into some very close calls there. after a number of complaints, a salt truck reportedly showed up urs later. in california, a reindeer dashed, danced and pranced as it tried to escape from a southern california christmas tree lot. an officer in a patrol vehicle tried to corner the vehicle, but it was a wiley coy boy's lasso that eventually brought it in. this is bizarre. is it real on or just a hoax? you decide. a louisiana manlaimed a hunting camera snapped thishot of some half man, half worldly creature. a wildlife expert says he's heard some sange ones, but nothing like this. we vice president, either. he says he hopes heoesn't run into it, but if he does, he hopes it's a vegetarian. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorolist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, i think this is the first time i was hoping we had some mythical mic that we could play in the ackground.

what do you think? >> i just want today sxreen shot. you and the creature had a nose alike. >> what? a side by side, bill? we're going to have to have a conversation about this after the show. >> we should. a long one, too. let's talk about the temperatures. everyone, we jus got that arctic blast. now it's warming up a little bit and it's going be moderate for the next two days and then another blast of cold air is on its way. enjoy the next two days if you like the warmer temperatures. this morning, 47 in dallas. that's better. 31 in chicago is better than what it's ben. this afternoon with a little sunshine, especially this morning, we'll warm it up in a hurry. we have light snow sneaking its way through the ohio valley. michigan got a little snow last night, indiana, ohio and nohern kentucky. in those areas, be careful on the roads. high pressure will keep quiet in the midwest even today. here is a peek at some on of that light snow this morning.

erie, pittsburgh, columbus, akron, be prepared for a brief period of snow. herwise, it's a quiet friday. it's not going to stay that way, trust me. that's a look at your friday forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. temperatures have warmed up. orlando up into the 70. new orleans, 62 degrees. kansas city, around 53. even colorado is on the warm side today. pueblo, a nice 62. lynn, the weekend forecast looks interesting, to say the least. stay tuned. >> all right. bill, thankou. stocks nudge uprds, but still end high. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you why this weekend's expected number oe film almost didn't hit the silver screen. coming up, a big night for auburn's cam newton, peyton

manning worked out of the slump. 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 traditional gold medal will not be handed out during this morning's peace prize ceremony in norway where one chair will symbolically left open. this year's recipient li yuchiabao is serving a priso sentence in china. several websites have been blocked and broadcasts. on capitol hill, senate republicans have blocked a bill that would have provided medical benefits and compensation to emgency workers who got sick after working at ground zero. republicans complained that the price tag was too high while democrats argued the government had a moral obligation to help

those who put their lives at risk. the associated press reports the federal aviation administration is missing key information on who own a third of the nation's private and commercial aircrafts. a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers. to fix the problem, it has ordered all aircraft owners to reregister their plane. and scientists say a new form of bacteria with a taste for iron oxide is slowly eating away at the historic wreckage of the titanic. formed from at least 27 strands as bacteria and known as rusticles. searchers fear the ship may be completely destroyed withi15 years. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick o the day. the dow opens at 11,370 after shedding t points yesterday. the s&p edged up 4 pots. the nasdaq rose 7. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, e nikkei lost 73 points while in hong kong, the hang seng

dipped 8. it's not just in washingt. on wall street yesterday, everyone was taling about the tax cut deal. news of democrats fighting the president's deal which wall street sees as good for growth kept investors cautious and trading flat. stocks had edged higher early after a report showed first time unemployment claims dropped last week to the second lowest level this year. despite low volume and tiny gains, the s&p 500 managed to close at atwo-year high. and the nasdaq up for a seventh straight day closed at its highest level since december 2007. the nasdaq's iva pharmaceutical jumped almost 7% after saying it expects its multiple sler row sis drugto win regulatory approval whin two years. back on wall street, bank stocks have risen over 12%. insurer aig skyrocketed 13%

after announcing it's in the final stages of paying off a fed loan, paying the way for the government to ll its 80% bailout stake. the rently volatile market calmed thursday, treasuies rose slightly. today, china may loom over trade. fears chinese interest rates may go up hit asian markets after a state-run newspaper said inflation there may have shot over 5% in november. keep an eye on united technologies which fell after the bell after announcing it expects the 2011 revenue to fall short ofexpectations. and finally, thousands of john f. kennedy pictures by white house photography cecil stauton, including a rare image of marilyn monroe and robert kennedy at a fund-raiser sold for $51,000 at auction yesterday and considering, actually quite

a deal. coming up, the celtics come up big in the clutch. dallas looks dominant and a freshman sav ohio state. plus, peyton manning found the perfect cure for what ails him. the tennessee titans. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. in weather, it's a stormy weekend forecast. i'll have that come right up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, in response to critics who says his skil are diminishing, peyton manning responded last night in the best possible way. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the colts peyton manning snapped out of a slump in a big way against the titans. here we go to 2345shville and the titans coaches will do anything to pump up their players. unfortunately, it didn't work. peyton manning was crisp from the start from one yard out. colt led it. manning, a perfect toss into the end zone, colts up 21-7 at the half. the titans made it interesting. collins threw three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough. auburn's cm newton cleaned up at the college football awards.

he won most outstanding player, player of the year, he's the favorite to win the heisman trop tomorrow. sounds like cam will need a bigger trophy case. great game between the celtics and the 6ers. crossover pause pearson got the run into pl. philly up. that was just enough time for the celts. celts won their ninth straight, 102-101. straight taking on the net. dallas up 15 at the break. marion made an appearance in the fourth. mavs won it, 102-89. college basketball, gown town upet by temple. scored a career high 30. georgetown lost their first of the season, 68-65. ohio state's jared sullinger had a game to remember. he scored 40 against iupui.

he also had 13 boards. second ranked ohio state, a perfect 7-0 after a 75-64 win. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. >>. a nw deal for howard stern. did he get the same money or is siriux/xm giving him less? your early morning enterinment headlines are straight ahead. pl, tis the season. the first family and the nation's capital takes time-out to share the holiday spirit. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. let's break down the weekend forecast. a snoworm is on the way for minnesota and wisconsin. just a little bit of light rain through the middle of the country. there will be a significant snow event, too. as much of a foot of snow will fall from wisconsin. in minneapolis to marquette, green bay will get here. chicago to detroit, rain and ow for you. on the east coast on sunday, a wintry mess for new england. the rest of it is going to be rain. watch out as the cold air moves in behind it quickly on monday. if you're watching us on wchs in portland, maine, is it an illusion or reality? find out. examine over 33 works that can

fool the eye at the portland museum of art. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn >> bill, thank you. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. at the box office this weekend, a new release will be the sure fire number one. th chronicles of narnia, "the voyage of the dawn treader" is the third film adapted from the fantasy level. disney gave up on the series after the second film cost more to make than it made in north america. fox gave the series aew life with a drastically reduced budget. experts think it should take in about $40 million. do you think johnny depp and angelina jolie would be box office cold? "the tourist" isn't generating high interest. still, it will finish a strong second. finally, howard stern ha signed another five-year deal with xm radio.

stern claims he's not taking a pay cut. analysts believe both are actually truth since it's rumored the shock jock won't get any stock. still gets the cash, just no shock. >> i think the first deal was like 100 million a yearing on something crazy. >> that's the rumor. i know. those 20 million, that's really going to hurt. and this coming to us from our nation's capital where the president and the first family warmedp the season with a holiday tradition. the president reminded the country of the story of christmas, a story of love and redemption for every human being. the tree lighting ceremony is a long standing tradition that goes back to 1923 starting with president calvin coolidge. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the datoday on your nbc station.

> 4:28 is our time right now. good morning. welcome to news 4 today. i'm joe krebs. i'm eun yang. it is friday, december 10, 2010. in the news for today, the debate over the bush-era tax cuts are debathe with the senate. they want to extend breaks for ethanol and other forms of alternative energy wi.

democrats say they won't even schedulentil the tax breaks for the rich are off the table. failure to pass this bill will mean not only higher taxes but fewer jobs for americans. if the framework fails, the reverse is true. americans would see it in smaller paychecks. that would have been the effect of fewer jobs. >> we willot submit to this deal. >> it is not acceptable to the house democratic caucus. >> there is no specific timetable for a vote to pass the bill. the repeal of the don't ask, dot tell, has hit a major roadblock. afterwards president obama expressehis disappointment and asked the senators to try again before the end of the year. next year the democratic majoty will be narrower. the house will be under republican control and repealing will likely be