today," indo dimplomacy. president obama and his indian counterpart signal a new era of cooperation between the two countries. island misery. floodwaters from hurricane tomas worsen the cholera epidemic in haiti. and, oh deer, a young buck goes on a rampage through an arkansas grocery store. hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific

time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with strengthening ties. right now, president obama is in india, on a trip that marks a coming together of the world's two largest democracies. speaking this morning, the president praised the relationship between the u.s. and india as a defining partnership of the 21st century. nbc news white house correspondent savannah guthrie is traveling with the president in new delhi. good morning. >> good morning, lynn. the president is on his third day here in india, something the white house likes to point out, the single longest foreign stop of the obama presidency. they're really trying to emphasize the u.s. ties with india. this is a country of more than $1 billion people. one of the big trading partners but the u.s. says this could be an even bigger trading partner, really having india open up its markets to more american goods, which the president said would directly translate to more jobs in america. as i said, they're really trying to emphasize the partnership

between these two countries. here's what the president said a little bit earlier today. >> as president, i had the opportunity to appear with many of my foreign counterparts at press conferences such as this. but i cannot remember an occasion where we agreed to so many new agreements as we have during my visit. >> reporter: later today, the president will address a joint session of the indian parliam t parliament. that will be the last big item on his agenda here in india. then tomorrow, on to indonesia. a short visit. you remember, indonesia is where he spent several years as a young boy. lynn, back to you. >> savannah guthrie there in new deli. >> >> indonesia is the next stop on the president's tour. and according to the white house, his plans to depart tomorrow are still on despite a deadly volcano there that has residents on high alert. flights are back in the air this morning after mount merapi's explosion on friday shut down air space and sent residents scrambling for safety from hot

clouds of gas, rocks, and debris. yesterday, a mass burial took place for the volcano's victims. now a total of 141 killed over the last two weeks. defense secretary robert gates is urging congress to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military, before republicans take control of the house in january. speaking with reporters before arriving in australia over the weekend, gates said he would like to see the repeal of don't ask don't tell, but added that he was unsure what the prospects for that were. the senate has not taken action, and the pentagon is still conducting a study on the controversial issue, which is due out on december 1. but in a pushback against the stand of his commanders and the cabinet, as well as the white house, the new commandant of the marine corps, has said with troops fighting in afghanistan, now is not the time to overturn the policy. as if the grief-stricken

nation of haiti needed more problems, the river that's been a source of the cholera epidemic there is expected to overflow today. this comes after hurricane tomas soaked haiti's earthquake survivor camps and swamped coastal towns, sparking flooding and mudslides that killed at least six people. the swollen river has forced officials to open the dam that could cause flooding as people along the river are being urnlgsds urged to evacuate. now the look at other stories making news early today in america. in missouri, two people suffered minor injuries when one freight train rearended another after it failed to pull on to a side track after stopping. several empty rail cars and an engine were knocked off of the tracks. a railway spokesperson reportedly claims that a switch that governs use of the side track was not used at the time and the accident is now under investigation. >> in arkansas, a young buck made a quick stop at the grocery store.

security video shows the white-tailed deer running through the parking lot, through the automatic doors, zipping down the aisles, scampering past customers and employees. fortunately the speed shopper found his way out and only caused minimal damage. in pennsylvania, they found a smashingly fun way to get rid of the leftover fall pumpkins. the first ever pumpkin madness festival. folks can throw, launch, drop, bowl, even catapult their leftover pumpkins and some used it for target practice. get a little aggression out there. for a look at your national and regional weather here nbc meteorologist bill karins. didn't know it was time to get rid of our pumpkins. i have two of them in my apartment saving them for thanksgiving dinner. >> we're full-blown christmas tree sales and everything else. >> no bill. >> i'm telling you the facts. ever see someone smash a pumpkin without a smile on their face? >> it's true. getting the aggression out.

>> what's happening weather wise, good morning, we had a storm system move into the intermountain west overnight. in northern nevada and also northern portions of utah seeing the worst of this storm system, cold enough we're getting some significant snow out of this too. that's going to move up today up to wyoming and eastern idaho. some of the ski areas are loving this because the cold air has arrived with the storm and means fresh powder for some. usually thanksgiving is when the resorts try to open up. elco, mixture of rain and snow, turning to all snow. salt lake city, mostly the green, the rain. the higher elevations are picking up the snows, though. you can see the general trend heading up further to the north. in salt lake city, mostly a rain event for you. high temperatures today around 50 degrees. notice that's mostly going to be rain to montana. the high elevations that would get a little snow. behind this storm, this is a shot of cool air. highs today only in the 40s in the pacific northwest. much of the states of oregon and washington should be dry today,

but it will be cool. california cool behind this front. temperatures today only in the 60s. if you're in vegas, that's chilly with a high of only 65 degrees. that's a pacific northwest. washington, one of the few spots for a sunny day. i'll show you where the next storm is coming on tuesday when we come back. also coming up, more air bus trouble. boeing scores a sale and 7-eleven makes hay with the slurpee. your business headlines are straight ahead. a super villain takes control of the weekend box office. push comes to shove on the racetrack and another comeback by brett favre. 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. in mexico, drug gang violence just across the border from el paso, texas has left at least 20 people dead, including seven who were apparently at a family gathering on saturday night. police say there's much of the same kind of massacres at ciudad in juarez one of the deadliest in a three-year turf war. by competing drug cartels. a train carrying nuclear waste in germany is inching towards the destination today, after anti-nuclear demonstrators blocked its path several times by chaining themselves to the train tracks. protests have gained momentum following chancellor angela merkel's plan to keep nuclear energy which critics fear is unsafe. in spain, 200 people protested pope benedict's visit to barcelona by staging a gay

kiss-in as the pope arrive in the pope mobile during a visit benedict criticized spanish laws that allow gay marriage, fasttrack divorce and easier access to aborpgss. more ancient buildings in pom pay could collapse like the 2,000-year-old house that disintegrated over the weekend. an expert says it's virtually inevitable given the state of some of the buildings. the dow opens at 11,444 after adding nine points on friday. the s&p rose four points and the nasdaq edged up one. taking a look at overseas trading. this morning in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 106 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng gained 87. after the hype of last week's election, the fed decision on stimulus and friday's job reports, investors who thrive on a steady stream of dramatic data could go into

withdraw this week. consumer sentiment, weekly jobless claims and mort again apps are a few of the economic updates on deck. macy's and gm will weigh in and the president will face policy questions of korea at the end of the week at a meeting of the world's top economic powers. qantas said the airbus 380s will remain on the ground. a few more days. the australian airline found, quote, oil where it shouldn't be in the engines of three of its super jumbo jets. boeing has inked a deal to the sell a dozen new 777's to saudi airlines for $3.3 billion and eight 787 dreamliners for an undisclosed amount. "the wall street journal" reports citigroup is under investigation by the securities and exchange commission over whether the group made adequate calls about the debt levels. of some of its risk funds. financial advisers of aol are exploring a partnership with yahoo! so far the company has not reached out

to its on-line rival. amazon.com plans to announce it's buying the e-commerce company that runs diapers.com for reportedly $540 million. 7-eleven fast tracked the campaign to capitalize on the president's joke last week about a possible slurpee summit with republican leaders. now a convoy of trucks are trucking to d.c., passing out free purple to the people slurpees. purple because that's what you get when you mix and red and blue together. if it were only that easy. more late game heroics from brett favre, the cowboy struggles continue, and a stun for the patriots. plus, rubber wasn't the only thing burning on the racetrack yesterday as two drivers square off. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the worst weather in the nation by far today in new england. snow, rain, freezing rain and wind. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports the arizona cardinals had the minnesota vike where is they wanted them. there's no quit in brett favre. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good monday morning. when you thought brett favre was done, the old gun slinger came

back firing and rallied the vikes. to minnesota under a minute to play, vikings down seven to the cards. brett favre connected. to tie it and force overtime. favre threw for a career high 446 yards and a pair of touchdowns and allowed two picks. ryan longwell completed a comeback with in o.t. the vikes won it. the team that needed a win but can't buy one, the cowboys were thumped once again. stunk, i mean stunk. aaron rodgers picked them apart. threw three touchdowns. the game wasn't close. packers won 45-7. philly colts and eagles. in the second, austin collie sandwiched by two players and knocked out cold. another look. kurt coleman hit collie with the helmet. didn't appear to be intentional. it was helmet to helmet. that's what the league is trying to crack down on. to the fourth, michael vick punched it from a yard out. eegs us up 26-17. they held on 26-24. peyton hill his ran all over the patriots 184 yards and a

pair of scores. the browns, that's right, the browns, ended the patriots five-game win streak. to detroit, the lions kicker was hurt, so rookie defensive tackle filled in. off the upright. that miss came back to haunt the lions. jets sent the game into overtime. nick fulling nailed a 30-yarder for the win. jets win 23-20. nascar's chase for the cup is heating up. jeff gordon and jeff burton wrecked. gordon crashed hard into the wall but didn't end there. the two exchanged words and punches on the track. and to think these guys actually like each other. friends like that, who really needs enemies. denny hamlin took over the points lead with a win in texas. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. "early today" sports is brought by touch of gray, get rid of some, never all. a movie that showed in only four theaters is making news.

your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. with all due respect to the winners and top finishers this man was new york's favorite runner at the weekend marathon. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. a dry day in much of the west. the exception around salt lake city, nevada into southern idaho

where our storm system is moving with rain and high elevation snows. maybe a sprinkle or two in the pacific northwest. a more significant shot of rain will come into tomorrow. most of the west coast is getting some wet weather from this, but primarily northern california and the oregon coastline is who will see the most significant. not much warm air in place tomorrow, even vegas in the low 60s. if you're watching us on khnl hawaii, news now in honolulu, explore a tropical rain forest in your backyard. take a guided tour and view more than 5,000 tropical plants. at the lion ar ber retum and your pacific event of the day. here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. this past weekend, the strongest at the box office in over three mond with a family comedy. the supervillain comedy "megamind" open in the top spot with a slightly less than expected $47.7 million.

featuring the voices of will farrell, brad pitt, and tina fey, megamind had been expected to take in $50 million. opening strongly in second, the road trip comedy "due date" starring robert downey jr., which took in a slightly better than expected $33.5 million. tyler perry's drama "for colored girls" featuring janet jackson premiered in third in line with expectations at just over $20 million. and making news in "limited release," the real life survival story, 127 hours" as the mountain climber trapped after a falling boulder pins his arm down. for theaters, it averaged a whopping $66,000 a cinema. there's one particularly graphic scene that reportedly led to some viewers to become ill and faint. consider yourself warned. >> what would you do? >> if i was stuck under a boulder?

>> yes. >> this is why i don't hike. >> why you don't hike. >> why i run on a treadmill. >> animals do it when caught in traps too. it's survival, right? >> yeah. good morning, everyone. are you eating your cheerios? thank you, bill. this comes to us from new york city where the chilean miner who stayed in shape running underground found himself running with the world's best. three weeks after being rescued from more than 2,000 feet below the earth, edison pena did something else incredible. he ran the new york city marathon. pena ran and walked it 26.2 miles to the finish line fighting through the pain of a sore knee. coming in at just under six hours, he's taught the nation and the world a second lesson in perseverance. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

the winter in this part of the world, but in taiwan, they're getting a taste of spring. an international floral exhibition opened the doors to visitors this past weekend and estimated 30 million flowers for more than 30 different countries were designed in intricate arrangements. this expo was extra green, focusing on sustainability and environmentally friendly life styles. a determined priest in poland has finished his most controversial construction project. it's a massive statute of jesus. the white monument decorated with a golden crown stands 118 feet tall and weighs 440 tons, making

it the largest jesus statute, taller than brazil's "christ redeemer." the town's mayor hopes it brings tourists while the critics say the money could have been better spent. one home in kentucky wasn't built tore a ding, but it's fit for one. the 20,000 square foot modern day castle is up for sale. the house was built as a private residence but operates as a small hotel. it's complete with 16 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, a swimming pool and a basketball court and can be yours for a mere $30 million. i will be your roommate. >> imagine what the heating bill would be like. >> or just to clean the place. i would imagine if you're living in a place like that. >> that's the difference between you and me. how could we afford that, lynn. and you're thinking how i could clean it. >> if that's the worst of my problems i would be lying. time for an early look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. in minnesota, a hearing is schedule in the

case of a man who plans to join a lawsuit against toyota filed by the families of three people who died after his camera cam merry smashed into the back of the vehicle. he was convicted in the crash, spent two years in prison, but was freed following toyota's massive recalls. in washington, a hearing opens on preliminary findings in the cause of the explosion that led to the gulf oil disaster. and tonight at 8:00 eastern time on nbc, matt lauer speaks with former president george w. bush, his first one-on-one television interview since leaving office. all day long, stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams on "nbc nightly news." a look at what's coming up later this morning on "the today show." lindsay lohan's mother makes a exclusive stop at studio 1a to talk about her daughter's stay in rehab. academy award-winning actor russell crowe talks to matt lauer about his new movie role. keep it on this channel for

continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. have a good one.