hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with legislative logjam. a final vote on the president's tax cut plan should happen today in the senate. however, a trillion dollar spending bill proposal and a plan to repeal don't ask, don't tell could keep congress on the hill well into their holiday break. nbc's tracie potts joins us with the details. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. as you can see, there is a lot going on. let's start with taxes. the final senate vote is scheduled to happen today. it appears they do have the votes to get that passed and then it will move on to the house where, despite the open session of many democrats, house democratic leaders also say they think that this can pass. republicans have warned them, don't change the bill or we won't approve it. even more urgent now, though, is the government spending bill, trying to keep government running and preventing a government shutdown. their deadline, saturday. that's when temporary funding runs out. democrats have put forth a $1.1 trilli bill that republicans want to take another look at. they want to pass another temporary spending bill until january or february until they have more control in the senate control of the house and then deal with the issue. harry reid, senate majority leader, now says they could possibly return to deal with this after christmas. and don't ask, don't tell, democrats want to get that in wheels they have more influence here in congress. the house appears ready to vote on it this week. which means the senate may have to come back after the holiday. lynn. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. a terrifying scene unfolded in florida yesterday when a distraught gunman took members of the panama city school board hostage before turning the gun on himself. the dramatic video contains information that some viewers may find disturbing. nbc's kurt gregory has our report. >> reporter: witnesses say a man identified as clay duke talked briefly with school board members about his wife's firing. >> we have no idea what you are talking about. >> she was fired. >> reporter: after spray painting a figure on a nearby wall, duke then waived his gun and ordered women and children to leave and took those remaining hostage. >> leave. >> reporter: a female school board member tried to knock the gun out of duke's hand with a purse. he knocked her to the ground. what you're about to see is disturbing. >> please don't, please don't, please. duke fired his weapon. and although nobody was injured by the initial gunshot, duke was confronted by a security guard. after reviewing video, police say duke exchanged gunfire with the guard, then killed himself. >> obviously, a number of rounds were extended and the gun that he had was real. he was not firing blanks. >> reporter: the school board superintendent says security measures for future meetings will be discussed. >> i mean, i've got employees in that will probably never be the same again. i'm not sure i'll ever be the same again. >> reporter: a city on edge. an investigation is under way. kurt gregory, nbc news. wikileaks founder julian assange should know tomorrow whether he will be free on bail. today, assange remains in a london prison after swedish authorities seeking to prosecute him for alleged sex crimes appealed a magistrate's decision yesterday to free assange on about $317,000 bail. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. police in ohio released dash cam video of a horrifying near fatal accident involving one of their own. an officer was working the scene of an earlier accident when an out of control vehicle plowed into him and the driver of the parked vehicle. the officer went over the guardrail. the other man was pinned. both are recovering and expected to be okay. also in ohio, a good samaritan came to the rescue after traffic stop turned into a struggle between an officer and the suspect. a passerby came on the scene and came to his defense. police commend the woman's bravery, but stress civilians should never try to get involved. in missouri, two people survived a spectacular emergency belly landing that sent sparks flying. the pilot couldn't get the landing gear down and was forced to perform the risky maneuver. he did burn off most of his fuel before attempting to land. that's unbelievable video there. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> i can't imagine. >> bill, good morning. i know. we can say that because they're completely fine, but buckle your safety belts because this could be a bumpy landing, understatement. >> slightly. lynn, this is the last morning i think i'm going to be talking about this bitterly cold outbreak. i think we're going to warm it up from here. we're still cold from the northern great lakes and snow showers. east coast is cold. 20s this time of year for new york and d.c. isn't that unheard of. atlanta is at 25. the only problem area is still down here in florida. where the freeze line is right through orlando at the current time. melbourne, florida, is at 29. not quite as cold as yesterday morning. hopefully we're not going to do too many additional damage. the windchills will still get your attention this morning. 11 in charleston, minus 8 in indianapolis. 2 in detroit and single digits up in new england. still a cold, cold morning. what is changing is that warmer air is arriving all through texas today. as the cold air is here, the warm air moves in. that's why we're going to get some icy stuff today and into tonight. kentucky and tennessee, especially those areas, watch out for freezing patches of drizzle and rain as we go throughout the day today and this evening 37 and then the rockies are messy with snowy weather. we'll watch these temperatures. dallas, up to 75. at least finally there's a warm-up under way. that's a look at your forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. area liar nashville, tennessee, could get a wintry mix over the next several days. as we go back towards the east coast, it will be sunny and chilly from d.c. to boston. lynn, i'll have more on the wintry mess heading for the tennessee valley, coming up the. >> thanks so much. also coming up, the fed hits a sour note. retail sales are up again and a computer hits the game show circuit. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, another one bites the dust. we'll tell you which hollywood couple is calling it quits. coming up, the lakers get better. dwight howard calls it quits and one of the best dunks of this season. you're watching "early today." one of the defendant dunks of this season. 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 white house is planning to release a report tomorrow that is expected to conclude the u.s. military has made enough gains in afghanistan to begin withdrawaling troops next july. however, according to the "new york times," the leaker assessment from the intelligence community argue that large swabs of the country remain at risk of falling to the taliban and that neighboring pakistan is still supporting insurgents. italian prime ministersy via beryl sconeny will hang on to power for at least a few more months after surviving a razor thin confidence vote that could have forced his resignation. the outcome provoked some of the most violent protests in rome in years. new york police say they may be hunting for a serial killer after the remains of four bodies were discovered on a remote long island beach. investigators are now working to identify the remains, which appear to have been on the beach for some time. and mexican police are searching for a preschooler and his parent mother who were captured on camera stealing in a jewelry store. it shows the woman distracting employees as the young boy swieps about $400 in merchandise. a sales clerk says she never suspected the pair until seeing the video with her own eyes. you have to see it to believe it. now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,476 after gaining 47 points yesterday. the s&p was up a point, the nasdaq inched up 2. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 6 points while in hong kong, the hang seng plunged 455. stocks got off to a flying start tuesday then the fed crashed the party. after the year's last meeting, the federal reserve was unexpectedly pessimistic, calling the recovery slow, looking for unemployment to remain high and reaffirming its controversial commitment to buy $600 billion in bonds to stimulate growth. the action was swift, first in bonds. the yield on the 10-year treasury note jumped to 3.46%, its highest level since may, a huge increase from the end of trade monday. to put it into perspective, the leap was equivalent to the dow moving 600 points in one day. ironically, part of why the fed is buying bonds is to help lower long-term interest rates, but the higher yield has the opposite effect. wall street reacted with a late afternoon sell-off that hit financials hard. still, the dow managed to close at its high for the year. spirits had been high earlier thanks to retail sales rising for a fifth straight month in november. pointing to a firm rebound in consumer spending. the one exception, best buy, plummeted almost 15% after posting third quarter profit that missed expectations. also fueling early trade, general electric, the current owner of this network says it expects to show solid earnings growth in 2011 with up to 5% higher revenue. more upbeat news, a survey showed 45% of executives expect toed a workers over the next six months, the highest percentage since the survey began in late 2002. finally, what is bizarre? in february, a friendly game of jeopardy pits man versus machine. specifically, an ibm computer against two of the show's most successful contestants. winner of the three-day face-off takes home a million dollar prize. let's hope the computer doesn't spend it all in one place. coming up, the battle of pennsylvania. a player snatches a fan's popcorn and a high school basketballer goes ballistic. plus, it's being called the dunk of the year. now you know why. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and warm air is finally returning to the middle of the country, but that means an icy mess. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." mess. your forecast is coming up. you'arly today." good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night, as if they needed more firepower, the two-time champion defending lakers welcomed a new edition. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it's hard to think that the world champion lakers could get any better, but they did last night. seven footer andrew bonham made a season debut. kobe bryant went off in the third scored 16 of his 24 in the fourth and the lakers beat the wiz. carmelo anthony knows a thing or two about dunking. the baseline flush in the fourth and the nuggets won it. speaking of dunks, demar rosen threw down the best of the year. he exploded to the rim, but it wasn't enough. bobcats won it, 97-91. funny moment in the rockets king game. would you like some popcorn? don't mind if i do. rockets won it, 118-105. college basketball after pushing michigan state, oakland beat unranked tennessee. oakland won it. two streets on the line in philly, but only one continues this morning. sydney crosby had two assists bringing his streak to 19. the flyers snapped the penguins 12-game win streak. an unfortunate moment in a high school game in florida. desoto high's player got into it with another player. collin responded after being ejected from the game by pushing the referee. before you knew it, he put him in a bear hug and threw him to the floor. collin was restrained and taken out of the building. he's been suspended & from the team and from school. a married pair of hollywood heavyweights decide to go their separate ways. that's your early look at sports on "early today." your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you're watching "early today." welcome back. we have a winter storm warning in place for later this afternoon and overnight tonight for areas of kentucky, the tri cities area around bristol, tennessee. winter weather advisories are in white including nashville, paducah and up here in indianapolis. there will be light icing in this area, maybe a tiny bit of snow mixed with sleet. be careful driving in those areas. we're watching a decent winter storm, the high elevations of utah go into colorado. notice the big cities are doing just fine. a look at your forecast into tomorrow, not many problems. light snow for denver. in the east, finally warming it up on the eastern seaboard. if you're watching us on wbgh news channel 34 big hamton, new york, learn about our invisible past as roberson museum and science center. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. more proof it's hard for hollywood couples stay together as one of the biggest separates. after more than two years, scarlet joe hansen and ryan reynolds have decided to end their marriage. johanssen was unhappy with how much time they've been forced to spend apart due to work. on the brighter hollywood side, jennifer conley and paul button confirmed they're expecting their second child together. one actor received 2 1/2 years suspended sentence and three years probase. hugh jackman kicked off the oprah winfrey show in australia and he agreed to zip line on to the outdoor set from the top of the sydney opera house. but he failed to brake on time and he injured his eye. but we all know the show must go on. there was quick first aid and jackman was soon back on stage. look at oprah there. >> lynn, i have to question your judgment. i think you should have led the news off with the fact that scarlet johanssen is now available. >> breaking news, top of the show, bill karins has a chance. >> i wouldn't go that far. i'd have to bring that back to the editing room and cut that last part off. all right. this comes to us from providence, rhode island, where shoppers in one mall were treated to a surprise concert. an acapella group invaded the food court in a flash mob performance they called a random act of music. it was a pleasant surprise for the unsuspecting diners. the group of 17 school kids say the mini concert was their way of giving back to the community, especially during the holiday season. they've got some moves there. i'm lynn berry, and 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 in hd. >> good morning, everyone. we're off to another cold start. the wind chills are the single digits. it is 22 degrees downtown. it is 18 in westminster. the wind chills are running between five and 10 degrees. 8 at bwi. breezy and call today. a mixture of sunshine and clouds. high temperatures only in the upper 20's and both 30's. we come back and we'll talk about a little bit of snow. >> 19 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> we have an update on the fire and killed six people including three children in east baltimore. >> it is a vote that impacts your paycheck. the senate poised to pass the tax compromise today. >> some of us might like the cold. others dread it every year. low temperatures can be very dangerous. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. one accident of note in glen bernie. ♪ i'm gonna get it, i know i'm gonna get it. ♪ ♪ i can't wait ♪ every little step, brings me closer to the gift. can't be late. ♪ ♪ rip it open in a second and it's time to play. ♪ ♪ i was up all night in anticipation feeling electric jewels of jubilation. ♪ ♪ yule tide carols from the local congregation. ♪ ♪ make it tough to hold my patience in check. ♪ ♪ is it time yet, is it time, i can't wait. ♪ ♪ is it time yet, is it time, i can't wait. ♪ [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 in hd. in hd. >>