Of america. Early today starts right now. Good morning. Tomorrows republican president ial debate has the potential to be the most explosive yet. Theres a lot of talk about not least of which Donald Trumps most recent controversial proposals. His lead may not be as secure as he once thought. Kristen welker reports. Reporter with ted cruz threatening to knock donald trump out of the top spot, the billionaire businessman again turned up the heat. I dont think hes qualified to be president. Look at the way hes dealt with the senate, where he goes in there like a, frankly, like a little bit of a maniac. Reporter a new wall street journal poll puts cruz within striking distance of the front runner. Trump gets 27 of gop voters nationally, while cruz nets 22 , an increase of 12 points for the texas senator, while marco rubio is third with 13 . In iowa, cruz tops trump. Trump who resisted attacking cruz is now letting loose. Im more capable because i have a better temperament. I actually get along with people much better than he does. Reporter cruz stayed off the sunday circuit, nearly tweeting, thank you, in response to the iowa poll. Both surveys provided a snapshot of how likely Republican Voters are reacting to trumps remarks last week. Donald j. Trump is calling for a total and complete shut down of muslims entering the united states. Reporter controversial comments he defended again. We have a problem. Im not looking to be politically correct. Im doing this to do the right thing. Reporter the new poll is an indication of just how fluid the race is. Potentially giving rivals an opening. The most important thing a president will be is commander in chief, and that requires having an understanding of the complex issues on foreign policy. I personally believe he continues to struggle to articulate that. Reporter for dr. Ben carson who once topped the polls, dropping to fourth place. With 50 days until the iowa caucuses, its still anyones game. That was kristen welker. Overnight, more brandnew numbers from our nbc news wall street journal poll. Tracie potts joins us live from washington. Good morning. Can you take us through the latest figures . Absolutely. These are the democratrepublican matchups. Sbh interesting. Not necessarily beating clinton. Clinton versus trump, shed beat him by 10 Percentage Points if the election was today. Clinton versus cruz, shed beat him by three. Cruz has been surging on the republican side. Still not enough to beat hillary clinton. Some of the lesser ranked republicans fair better against the other side. Dr. Ben carson who you said had the slide is winning independents, which allows him to edge by clinton by one point. Marco rubio does better than any of the other republicans, beating clinton by 3 Percentage Points. He wins independents and she wins with hispanics. That skews things in his favor. Well see what happens at the debate tonight, and how often the clinton name might come up. Tracie potts in dc, thank you for that. Will ferrell bridnging backa legendary snl persona, president george w. Bush. The republican field is messed up. Makes you miss me, doesnt it . Jeb, oh, boy. Its a plot twist that i turned out to be the smart one. [ applause ] of course, i wish you would have asked me about the exclamation point on the end of his name. Look, i dont like the taste of broccoli, but it doesnt get any tastier if you call it broccoli winter starts one week from tomorrow, but for much of the country, it certainly has not felt like it. At least two tornadoes ripped through texas over the weekend. The state of emergency was declared in lindale, east of dallas, where up to 50 homes were damaged. Train cars were knocked off their track by winds. The unseasonable weather caught the area off guard. It was unusual to have december tornadoes. This is not the time of year that we ramp up and prepare for this type of thing. It was so warm in washington, d. C. , the Cherry Blossoms were in bloom. In new york city, tourists seemed to be as interested in ice cream as in ice skating. But in kansas, it was the other extreme. Snowstorms dumped half dollar size flakes and made for a slippery commute in dodge city. Raphael miranda will have your forecast in a few minutes. There has been another deadly officer involved shooting. It happened saturday near los angeles. Two sheriffs deputies confronted a man who was apparently carrying a gun. They fired 33 shots at him. A video taken by a bystander is raising questions about whether the response was excessive. We should warn you, the images are disturbing. Heres nbcs gadi schwartz. [ bleep ]. Reporter tense moments in los angeles. [ bleep ]. Reporter as deputies open fire on a man with a gun. This cell phone video is extremely graphic. Weve paused it here. As the shooting continues, the man identified as 28yearold Nicholas Robertson calls and tries to crawl away, as deputies continue to fire 33 shots in less than 25 seconds. Its unclear how many of the bullets struck robertson. Reporter friends and family of the father of three took to the streets in outrage. He was falling on his knees. He was crawling on his knees and they kept shooting. Why . Reporter the Los Angeles County sheriffs department, quick to tell their side of the story. Providing pictures and video they say shows robertson with a. 45 caliber handgun. You see the suspect entering the frame, weapon in hand. He was behaving erratically, oddly and in a bizarre fashion. Reporter investigators say they received calls about shots being fired before they arrived. When they pulled up, deputies say robertson ignored their commands and was walking toward a gas station. There were two women and three children in a car at a gas pump that is within five feet of him at the time. Reporter activists are calling for an independent investigation and for the Justice Department to get involved. No justice, no peace reporter while Law Enforcement is hopeful sharing more information will calm potential unrest. Gadi schwartz, nbc news, los angeles. A warning from Health Officials in Northern California over the weekend. Hundreds of newborns were possibly exposed to tuberculosis. Between mid august and mid november, more than 350 newborns may have come in contact with a nurse who tested positive for tb. It happened at Santa Clara Valley medical center. Officials there started informing parents on friday. Since babies cannot be tested for tb, parents are advised to treat their newborns with antibiotics the next six months as a precaution. The force is strong with the new star wars movie. Four blocks of hollywood boulevard have been shut down for tonights premiere. The studio has not announced which theater it will be playing in. Whats not a secret are the recordsmashing numbers expected. Box office. Com predicts itll be the top grossing movie of all time. Projecting up to a 220 million opening weekend. Thats huge. With anticipation at a fever pitch, saturday night live poked fun at fans who remember when the first films hit theaters. New Action Figures and play sets for ages 6 and up. Way up battle kylo ren. Im going to get you with my light saber. Or leave it in the box attack. Or leave them in the box and never touch them. Well now, lets get a check of the monday forecast with raphael miranda. Good morning. Good morning. The warmth continues in the northeast on this monday. As we head back to work, we have storms to track. One through the middle of the country. Also a new storm moving into the rockies. Lots of snow expected there. Temperature wise, again, incredibly mild from new york city to d. C. Temperatures 25 to 30 degrees above average in some spots. Records will fall again on this monday. We have showers thatll be in the great lakes, ohio valley, and the big cities of the northeast. Significant snow possible in the rockies. Watch out for traffic delays in salt lake city. Itll be quiet in the desert southwest. Few showers there. Otherwise, looking good. Cool in los angeles. Sunshine and 61 degrees. As we head into tuesday, more of the same out west. Pretty quiet along the median coastline. Denver, youre seeing snow. Into the great plains, significant snow possible. Watch out for delays. Still mild in the northeast. Thats a loo side. 61 in los angeles. 50s in the desert. So the warm weather goes on and on, probably at least until christmas. Its crazy. I heard you say 61 and sunny in new york and in los angeles. Right. Its december. Same climate lately. Thank you so much. A big day ahead for a baltimore jury in the freddie gray case. Plus, its the busiest day of the year for the post office. Details up next. Life. So when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my longterm control medicine, i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment. Oncedaily breo prevents asthma symptoms. Breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Breo wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. Breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Do not take breo more than prescribed. See your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. Ask your doctor if 24hour breo could be a missing piece for you. See if youre eligible for 12 months free at mybreo. Com. Introducing kisses deluxe chocolates. With a wholeroasted hazelnut, delicate crisps, and layers of rich, creamy chocolate, theyre twice the size of the kisses chocolates you love. Say more with new kisses deluxe. So dont trust your smile to any regular toothpaste. Improved crest 3d white brilliance removes 5 times more stains than the red box. Try the whole collection for a smile that gets you noticed. Coughing. Sniffling. And wishing you could stay in bed all day. When your cold is this bad. You need new theraflu expressmax. Theraflu expressmax combines. Maximum strength medicines available without a prescription. To fight your worst cold and flu symptoms. So you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. New theraflu expressmax. The power to feel better. Tm today, closing arguments will be made in the trial of officer william porter. He is the first of six policemen in baltimore charged in the death of freddie gray. Gray died in april in police custody. The prosecution claims porter contributed to grays death by not calling for medical health and not buckling him in. The case will be up to a jury. Theyll decide if porter is guilty of manslaughter, Second Degree assault and reckless endangerment. It was three years ago today a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in newtown, connecticut. 26 died, 20 were children. Not far from newtown, another school is marking the anniversary and honoring those who died with 26 days of kindness. Nbcs harry smith has the story. Everyone all set . Reporter Mary Callahan has an assignment for her students at Notre Dame Catholic high school in fairfield, connecticut. Ill give you 15 minutes or so. Reporter moments later, they begin writing. You could hear a pin drop. The task . Send a letter. Dear newtown schoolteacher. Reporter to a teacher or First Responder in newtown or elsewhere in the country. To First Responders. Dear Newtown Police officer. I wanted them to know they were appreciated and their job was selfless. Reporter this idea, 26 days of kindness, honors the 20 children and 6 adults who lost their lives in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in newtown. Manifested in acts big and small, like donating food and blankets to the homeless, an annual tradition at notre dame these past three years. It reminds us that human goodness and humankindness is an every day affair f. Reporter for shutudents, it not just actions. Were countering the bad with goodness. Reporter theres a world outside these walls crowded with cruelty. Remember that old saying, its better to give than receive . They still believe that here. Harry smith, nbc news, fairfield, connecticut. Lets get down to business with landon dowdy. Good morning to you. Hey, good monday morning to you. Apple music gets a video deal with taylor swift. The streaming service will air a concert video from the pop stars recent world tour on december 20th. Apple will also get to use her name and likeness in their stores and have taylor swift branded holiday gift cards. Your local post office will be extra busy today, the biggest day of the year for mailing cards, letters and packages. The Postal Service estimates more than 15 billion pieces of holiday mail will be sent this year. Diamonds are still a girls best friend, and men are paying up. A study by the knot finds men are spending 6,000 on average for engagement riengs, up from 5,000 four years ago. Theyre not keeping the price a secret. 2 3 of brides know how much their fiance spent. Thank you so much. Rob gronkowski makes his return in a big way. The play of the day was on the hard court. The heads up, back turn. Thats up next. just head around the corner to walgreens when youre searching for that Perfect Little something. Walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets, and photo gifts, and its all just a hop, skip, and a bark away. Right now, save 50 on the gift of the week. Right now, save 50 arturito souokay, okay. Arturito soup hi arturito soup . Follow me. Campbells new star wars inspired soups. Arturito soup yaaa made for real, real life. Morealready know the feeling of feet so silky smooth that you cant help but touch them. Discover the latest innovation in the amope foot care line. The new amope pedi perfect with diamond crystals and extracoarse roller head. It softens calluses effortlessly and efficiently for beautiful, soft feet in an instant. Feel it yourself with amope pedi perfect with diamond crystals. Save now at coupons. Com amope love every step. This morning on today, two major retailers are pulling hoverboards from their website after numerous reports of fires. What you need to know before you buy one this holiday. Lets get caught up on this mornings sports headlines. For that, we turn to gigi stone woods. Good morning. Good morning. Just three games from perfection. The Carolina Panthers are 130 after rolling the falcons in a 380 drubbing. Carolina clinched a bye in the playoffs. In sunday night football, the pay yac patriots rebound. Brady connecting with Rob Gronkowski for the score. This is gronks first game back since the knee injury. The patriots beat the texans. The bengals took a hit when quarterback andy dalton broke his thumb on this interception. Pittsburgh wins this one. Green bay had no trouble with the cowboys as the packers took over the nfc north with a win over dallas. The streaking cheese won their seventh straight game with a 103 victory over the chargers. Reporter the redskins blew a lead again its bears. Hopkins 37 yard field goal proved the winner. The redskins, 24. Bears, 21. In the nba, check out this amazie inine ining fete. Russell westbrook bounces the ball off of the defenders backside and shot the 15 footer to beat the buzzer. Oklahoma city went on to win in overtime, 10498. The nhls patrick kane ran his streak to this assist to duncan keith in the first. Hes leading with assists and points. Back to you. Thanks. Just ahead, prince dropped a huge surprise for his fan s ove the weekend. Find out how actor ed norton became a hero for syrian refugees. The details are next. under his breath hey man hey peter. unenthusiastic oh. Ha ha ha joanne . Is that you . Its me. You dont look a day over 70. Am i right . Jingle jingle. If youre peter pan, you stay young forever. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. You make me feel so young. Its what you do. You make me feel so spring has sprung. My Psoriatic Arthritis im caused joint pain. O golfer. Just like my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And i was worried about joint damage. My doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. He prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. Enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. Serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and Blood Disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. Tell your doctor if youve been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if youre prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. Dont start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. Joint pain and damage. Can go side by side. Ask how enbrel can help relieve joint pain and help stop joint damage. Enbrel, the number one rheumatologistprescribed biologic. When your cold makes you wish. You could stay. In bed all day. You need the power of. New theraflu expressmax. New theraflu expressmax. The power to feel better. But grandmcause we uses we dont charmin ultra soft. Clean. Charmin ultra soft gets you clean without the wasteful wadding. It has comfort cushions you can see that are softer and more absorbent, and you can use up to 4 times less. Enjoy the go with charmin. Now to entertainment news. After ed norton is changing the lives of a u. S. Bound refugee family. Inspired by a syrian scientist who lost his wife and daughter in a missile blast, norton raised more than 380,000. The funds will aid the single father as he settles with his surviving children in the states. Congratulations to eva longoria, the former desperate housewife star and businessman Jose Antonio Baston got engaged over the weekend with a ruby ring. Prince released a new album, its called hit and run phase two. It features old songs and new tracks. Fans can scream s can stream i title. Ronda rousey attended the marine corps ball after being invited by a stranger on facebook. She thanked lance corporate for putting a smile on her face. Adele will have her first concert since 2011. This is early today. When your cold makes you wish. You could stay. In bed all day. You need the power of. New theraflu expressmax. New theraflu expressmax. The power to feel better. Leading the news. In usa today, secretary of state John Kerry States climate deal will transform economy. Aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, the historic accord was widely celebrated yesterday. The agreement by 195 nations hopes to limit rising temperatures to less than 2 degrees celsius or 3. 6 degrees fahrenheit through the year 2100. President obama declared the deal a, quote, turning point for the world. In the daily mail, people who are experts at swearing have bigger vocabularies their clean tongued folk. Published in the Language Science sourjournal, participan were asked to say as many swear words in 60 words, then asked to do the same with animals. Those who had the most swear words had the most animals, as well. Interesting. A deadly crash between a fuel tanker and a train in oregon. The fuel leaked under the train and sparked, causing a massive fire. The fbi is investigating after mosques were kavandalizedn california. A possible excloplosive was fou at one mosque. Jesus way was painted on the other. These come two days after a mosque was set on fire. A raccoon was rescued from a telephone pole in massachusetts. Residents noticed and called the police. The raccoon tried to make a break for it but was caught by the rescuers and taken to a wildlife rehab center. Santa claus took advantage of this warm weather. He traded in his sleigh for water skis in buffalo. In cleveland, he could be seen on paddle boards. Im sure he and his eight reindeer will be back on the sleigh by next week. A new guinness book of World Records was set when over 200 couples locked lips under mis l mistletoe in georgia. Good day for them. President obama will make a rare visit to the pentagon today. The president will be meeting with the defense secretary ash carter and top generals to discuss strategies against isis. Hell make a statement after the meeting. Its a start to ease concerns over the president s strategy. Happy birthday to tori kelly who is 23. Vanessa hutchens has a birthday, as well. Thank you for watching early today. We hope you have a great monday. Laura vo three years later and the wounds still very deep. Today we honor those who died in the sandy hook massacre as this years the wounds still very deep. Today we honor those who died in the sandy hook massacre as this year the anniversary falls on a school day. All the action a federal lawmaker using sacramento as the bank drop for a debate on gun laws. The debris left behind still scattered across a Popular San Francisco beach. Today in the bay starts right now. Very good monday morning to you, thank you very much for joining us. Im laura garciacannon. Im sam brock. Were drying out after a whole lot of rain this monday. Meteorologist kari hall joining us now. What