two of the youngest victims are laid to rest as new details emerge this morning about connecticut shooter adam lanza. his relationship with his estranged father and his mother's pesky alimony check. more and more gun advocates changing their mind. all that, plus comfort guards in newtown. obama and boehner wheel and deal. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, december 18th, 2012. good morning, this morning, we're learning more about adam

lanza, the troubled 20-year-old who took the lives of 27 people last week including new details with his re parents. adam's parents separated in 2001 and later separated in 2009. they said peter lanza cut off visiting adam around 2010. that was around the time that peter lanza began dating his new wife. peter lanza paid his ex-wife nancy just under $200,000 in alimony in 2012. friends say nancy lanza had not been working in recent years. adam lanza had, quote, no connections to the school where the massacre occurred. students are returning to school this morning for the first time since the shooting massacre. meanwhile, more families will

hold funerals. nbc's danielle leigh joins us. >> reporter: good morning. over my shoulder, you may be able to make out a christmas tree that's marking the memorial that is marking the focal point of this little town. it's just incredible to walk by that memorial to see the letters, stuffed animals, all the mementos that mourners brought here to the victims. today, students will go past that memorial has they return to school after the shooting. it will be a reminder that things will not be the same. we saw yesterday the two funerals of jack pinto and noah pozner. one of the viewings will be for that teacher vicki soto who died trying to shield her students from the gunfire. sandy hook, their schools are definitely locked down as part of that investigation that investigators say acould be

months' worth of work. pour them, when they will return to work is indefinitely on hold. it may be surprising to some, but in the wake of friday's devastating shooting rampage, gun sales have surged. . nancy pelosi called for that. >> the voices of reasons cannot be silent. through administrative action we must limit the proliferation of automatic weapon that have no purpose other than to kill citizens. >> the newtown tragedy could be a tipping point for some pro-gun lawmakers. >> reporter: the numbers are striking, 8,500 people died each year in gun violence. since columbine, more than 30

mass murders. the latest is chilling. >> shame on nra. >> reporter: as protesters gathered outside of washington, the nra declined to comment on the debate. but there were signs that they have. joe manchin, a life long nra member said he's rethinking his position. >> i don't know anybody that goes hunting with an assault rifle. i don't know anybody that needs those types of multiple clips as far as ammunition. >> reporter: and joe scarborough, now an nbc host also reversed himself on gun control. >> politicians can no longer be allowed to defend the statistic customer quo, they must instead be forced to defend our children. >> reporter: at least one texas republican defends the rights of owners. amid the talk of gun control, gun sales have picked up.

in portland, just a week after a gunman killed two in an area mall. >> yesterday was the biggest day we've ever done in 20 years. today will probably eclipse that. >> reporter: gun control off of washington in a decade, suddenly front and center. tom costello, nbc "nightly news," washington. as the bereaved residents try to get through the tragedy, a group of ten golden retrievers as comfort dogs. very sweet. a look at the weather. bill karins joins us. >> good morning. a new anchor this morning. >> thank you. >> you're either lucky or unlucky. you have to deal with me every single morning. you may regret it in a week or two. good morning, everyone, we have one area of rain and snow exiting new england today. you saw that from the live shot

there in connecticut. just pouring rain this time of year, definitely a little bit on the strange side. we are watching only cold air in northern portions of maine are the only areas that will deal with the snow and sleet. it's a soaker this morning. even in areas like vermont and new hampshire. temperatures are good. don't have to worry about the roads. as far as the morning, through the rockies, through the higher elevations, this is going to head out to the plains today and tonight. tomorrow, a snowstorm is developing. through green bay, through the heart of iowa, blizzard watches here in areas, a little bit of colorado, but mostly western kansas. then winter storm warnings through all of utah. how much snow? it's a ribbon of 6 two 12 inches from wisconsin, iowa, right back through nebraska. th look at weather outside yours.

>> today, we're talking about rain and a little snow shower activity around areas of minneapolis. slait city, areas like utah, colorado, even nevada. big snowstorm, headed for the plains. >> that cold -- >> it's like the rainy, cold weather. that's going to be in new england. >> thank you so much. stocks jump on promising ob boehner fiscal negotiations. and walmart and bushmaster guns. gas prices have come below $4. some areas, as low as $3. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. now to stories making news this morning. house republican leaders say a new proposal from president obama to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff is a small step in the right direction. it includes higher tax rates on

incomes of $400,000. instead of $250,000, the first change in the whous proposal. senator daniel inouye of hawaii has died at the age of 88 after serving in congress since his election in 1959. senator patrick leahy takes ove over. the governor will make the call. nikki haley chose tim scott as the state's next start replacing jim demint. that makes scott the state's first black governor. two nasa sprays craft named ebb and flow were intentionally craft into the moon yesterday. they had circled the moon almost a year. the area where they crashed was not one where others have landed before. over to wall street. the dow opens at 13,235.

the s&p climbed 16. and the nasdaq jumped 39. overseas, nikkei gained 94 points but the hang seng lost 18. traders paused for a moment of silence. stocks of gun makers continued to slide. smith & wesson down 8%. pension giant california state teachers' retirement system is reviewing a $400 million firm. which owns bushmaster. meanwhile, walmart has pulled that same assault rifle from its stores. and gas prices are falling. the national average is just under $3.25 a gallon. for the first time this year, all 50 states have gas below $4.

banks rose monday and they could see a record fourth quarter. morningen stanley was fined $400 million. and apple shut down prompt pant that began. this one interesting according to business trade arogot.com, the mini is outselling the bigger 2 to 1. one new jersey girl is getting her wish. the toy maker hasbro will begin making gender neutral easy-bake ovens. it will also feature boys in the upcoming ads. and feeling the aftermath of sandy hook. and grieving moments in connecticut. get ready for a snowstorm.

in some cases, the first snowstorm of the forecast comi. you're watching "early today." music's, ready !

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es un pla-cer co-no-cer-te. encantada. share everything. this holiday get verizon's share everything plan. unlimited talk, text and shareable data... ... across your family's devices, all in one plan. get a droid razr m by motorola for $49.99. other stories making news across america today. gun control advocates answered president obama's call for action in the wake of the massacre at sandy hook elementary school. about 200 people rallied outside the washington, d.c.

headquarters of the national rifle association. the demonstrators called for the powerful lobby group to stop calling for gun control reform. out west, a group caused an astounding number to turn in guns. they receive the 596 guns. $200 cash was given out for each gun until the cash ran out forcing them to hand out vouchers. and authorities charged 200 with hazing crimes. 19-year-old david boganburger died december 2nd. after taking place in a drinking ritual. and his alcohol level was five times the legal limit. finally, crews rushed to find a man who fell 30 feet inside a water tower. the man suffered two broken legs and a broken nose but was hoisted out of the tank. in and victor cruz on

connecticut shooting victim jack pinto. as we showed you yesterday, cruz wrote jack pinto's name on his shoes calling him my hero. after the game, he told how he felt. >> it was emotional a, man. it felt good to honor a family that was going through so much. no words to describe the type of feeling get when a kid idolized you so much that they want to unfortunately put him in the casket with your jersey on him. i can't explain it. and jack pinto was buried with his jersey on. and they observed a moment of silence for all of the victims. on "monday night football" titans and jay locker with the game filled with mistakes.final, titans, 14-10 over the jets. in the nba, houston a jeremy

lin led the return to madison square garden for a 109-60 win over the knicks. a football autographed by johnny manziel was given to bush 41. former president george h.w. bush. and the heisman winner was on with jay leno last night. just ahead, the voice tribute you're going to want to hear. plus, business at newtown florists is busier than ever. but it's not about the business. it's really about the community. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this tuesday morning. heavy rain moving through new england is one of the big weather stories this morning. again, the only areas that will deal with snow, higher elevations in northern portions of maine. everybody else gets soaked. psychiatry resorts are getting rain, not what they needed before the big holiday break. the other story that will happen later today into tonight, snowstorms through the mountains of utah, colorado, then is looks like wednesday night into thursday, a priben of heavy snow through the center of omaha, lincoln, des moines, ames, madison, green bay. chicago, you look to be too warm, rainy for you. minneapolis, you're on the edge of the snow. heaviest to your south and east. the forecast for today, the rainy weather in the east will be exiting throughout the day. south, no problems in texas

whatsoever. maybe a knew snow fleur eye ares in minneapolis. mara, the bottom line, we do have snow for the middle of country for a white christmas. channing tatum is topping off the year with a big announcement. the "magic mike" star an his wife announced they're expecting a child. kelly clarkson with big news herself. she's engaged. after tweeting fans she sent out a picture of her huge yellow canary engagement ring. monday night, the actors vs. paid tribute to the victims of the shooting. ♪ hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah ♪ and finally, celebrities from all over are wishing the world a happy holiday. >> hello everyone, i'm scarlett

johansson. >> happy holidays. >> merry christmas, everyone. >> i'm wishing everyone out there a happy holiday. >> i'm san samuel l. jackson. >> happy holidays. >> merry christmas from matt damon. >> at least he hayes sens a sen humor. >> it's almost like a "saturday night live" skit. >> you know with their a-list, they still have sometime to wish happy holidays. >> that was for this gentleman, because we got magic mike in there. if we get a clip of channing tatum stripping. >> we didn't get scarlett johansson stripping. >> has she? >> thanks, bill. this next one comes to us from wnbc in new york city where in

newtown, connecticut, employees at the local flower shops are working through tears to help families. irene's flower shop has been inundated with hundreds of orders from around the world after the shooting at sandy hook elementary school. the flowers orders have hampered workers a little bit. but that doesn't stop the workers from putting their heart into the arrangements. >> it's little stories like that. >> then we go from the shock, the sorrow, the funerals, the good-byes. >> and putting a face to all the victims. the pictures and names and ages. >> i still can't look at the pictures of all the little kids. it's too hard. >> this is "early today." just for yifirst stop of the da on your nbc stations.

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. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm eun yang. welcome to nbc4 today on tuesday, december 18, 2012. police are in a standoff in adelle fie, maryland. this is in greenwich wood drive. melissa mollet is on the scene. what's going on right there? >> good morning, eun. this has been 6 and a half hours now. you can see behind me, the entire area, this entire complex is still blocked off. several apartment buildings have

been evacuated. here's what we know. u.s. marshals came to make an arrest here in one of these apartments on monday night. they had an altercation with the suspect inside of the apartment. he's barricaded himself inside that apartment. he's armed as you mentioned. there are no hostages and again, police, swat have gone door to door getting people out of the buildings. they are negotiating with him. but this entire area will be blocked off and people are out of their apartments at this hour. if we can come back live. i want to speak with julio. he's been sitting in his car for a couple of hours. you live in this apartment complex. what were you told when you came home from work a couple hours ago? >> i was told -- i asked them, can i go down and i asked them what happened. they told me i wasn't allowed to get that information. they told me to park down there and wait. i said can i walk to my apen