i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we begin this morning with deadlocked. now, millions of workers may end up paying the price if lawmakers in washington can't work out their differences in time to extend payroll tax cuts before they expire december 31st. insiders say house republicans trying to scuttle a senate deal may try to prevent a much-anticipated vote on the house floor today. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on all of this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. one lawmaker who's been around here a long time says "it's the weirdest thing i've ever seen." all but two democrats in the senate and 83% of republicans supported the short-term extension before they left town, but the house now says it's not good enough. house leaders announce late last night the two-month extension the democrats and republicans agreed to in the senate won't even get a vote on their side. >> our members do not want t

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with under pressure. with millions of americans facing less in their paycheck and the white house not bundling on a payroll tax cut extension, house speaker john boehner is quickly becoming isolated over his stalling of a compromised senate bill in order to get the cuts extended for a year rather than the two months currently being proposed by the senate. yesterday the "wall street journal" likened boehner's strategy to a, quote, circular firing squad, while one republican senator labeled boehner's stance, quote, irresponsible and wrong. nbc's brian mooar is in washington for us with the latest. good morning. >> good morning, lynn. neither side seems willing to bend and the clock is ticking down. >> let's see if my credit card still works. >> reporter: while his family is in highway', president obama is staying here in the nation's capitol to battle republicans over the payroll tax cuts

good morning to you, lynne. part of the problem is we did have a tall cameraman who would get me in the frame, unfortunately once we arrived here, north pole requires us that we use local help. so, hence the reason with this. we've tried to argue out of this but that isn't going to happen. as far as santa is concerned -- you can go away now, thank you. as far as santa's concerned, you know, we were concerned about whether we could actually speak with him because he's so busy. he was able to squeeze us in and was giving us this great exclusive. the only media outlet to get this interview sit-down extended one-on-one. take a listen. are we rolling? santa, are you ready for christmas eve? >> yes, i am. >> all right, thanks. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: you, too. amazing how much time he gave us. well, obviously he's ready there, lynne. if you don't mind, i want to make sure that the guys will be pulling this sleigh right here are ready. let's go to another camera and check on our reindeer. dasher, dancer, i see

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with dueling power plays. in washington this morning house republicans are scrambling to gather enough votes to pass a sweeping budget plan. the senate's top democrat says no one is leaving town for the holidays until both sides agree on payroll tax cuts. nbc's tracie potts joining us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a couple issues going on here. the budget and the payroll tax cuts. and it looks like congress may finally have a solution to that can they've been kicking down the road month after month. health, education among the departments that have been unfunded permanently. now it looks like they've worked out the details. aides say there are some minor details to continue to work out. it look like that will happen before the end of the month. the payroll tax cut, republicans take a vote in the house today. they expect to tie that to that c

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we begin this morning with campaign shake-up. with iowa's caucuses now just five days away, new poll numbers show ron paul is closing in on front-runner mitt romney, and those same numbers show a sudden surge from backpacker rick santorum. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with the latest on all of this. brian, good morning. >> reporter: thanks, lynn. iowa's social conservatives appear to still be shopping around, and that is good news for mitt romney. five days before iowa, the gop presidential deck has been reshuffled again, and this time, mitt romney's on top. >> this is an exciting time. we're going to take back the white house, thanks to you guys. thank you! >> reporter: ron paul has slumped to second but picked up a key endorsement from michele bachmann's state co-chair. bachmann says her one-time supporter was offered a lot of money to switch sides. he denies it. >> i believe that we have

i'm lynn berry. . a series of coordinated attacks in the iraqi capital have left at least 57 people dead and nearly 200 wounded. iraqi officials say at least a dozen bombs went out in neighborhoods around the city. >>> a russian soyuz rocket took off from a snowy launch pad in kazakhstan with a three-man crew, including a 56-year-old american chemical engineer. they're scheduled to arrive at the international space station tomorrow. >>> two female sailors have become the first same-sex couple to share the traditional dockside first kiss after the "uss oak hills" returns to virginia. it happened just a day shy of the one-year anniversary of president obama's signing the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. >>> england's prince william and his wife took part in a seasonal minced meat pie event last night. the royal couple also watched the talent show and sat in on an employment workshop. >>> meanwhile, prince harry announced he's headed back to afghanistan for a second deployment next year and says he, quote

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with the death of a dictator. north korea's long time leader, kim kim jong il has died at the age of 69 after a heart attack ending 17 years of rule over the isolated country. kim's likely heir is his youngest son, kim jong-un. state media is now calling the great successor. ian williams takes a look back on the life of kim jong-il. >> they called him the dear leader, the iron willed commander. hits birth heralded by rainbows and a new star lighting the sky. but kim jong il has turned out to be mortal after all. kim jong il's north korea seemed isolated and unpredictable and at times was more like a cult than a country. at times bizarre, but sometimes dangerous, impoverishing his own people and threatening to annie late his neighbors. it was eager to poke fun at the portly d lly dictators. he liked fast cars and fine foods. myths easily flourish when so little is really known. diplomats describe kim as shrewd and calculating, well practiced at the use of that's and forc

i'm lynn berry. . a series of coordinated attacks in the iraqi capital have left at least 57 people dead and nearly 200 wounded. iraqi officials say at least a dozen bombs went out in neighborhoods around the city. >>> a russian soyuz rocket took off from a snowy launch pad in kazakhstan with a three-man crew, including a 56-year-old american chemical engineer. they're scheduled to arrive at the international space station tomorrow. >>> two female sailors have become the first same-sex couple to share the traditional dockside first kiss after the "uss oak hills" returns to virginia. it happened just a day shy of the one-year anniversary of president obama's signing the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. >>> england's prince william and his wife took part in a seasonal minced meat pie event last night. the royal couple also watched the talent show and sat in on an employment workshop. >>> meanwhile, prince harry announced he's headed back to afghanistan for a second deployment next year and says he, quote

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we begin this morning with the death of a dictator. north korea's longtime leader, kim jong-il, has died at the age of 69 after suffering a heart attack, ending 17 years of rule over the isolated country. kim's likely heir is his youngest son, kim jong-un, who state media is now calling the great successor. nbc's ian williams takes a look back on the life of kim jong-il. >> reporter: they called him the dear leader, the iron-willed commander, his birth heralded by rain bows and a new star lighting the sky, but kim jong-il has turned out to be marital after all. kim's north korea was isolated and unpredictable and often seemed more like a cult than a country, at times bizarre but also dangerous, impoverishing and enslaving his own people while arming himself with nuclear weapons and threatening to aannihilate his neighbors. it was easy to poke fun at the paltry dictator with his buffon hairstyle, dark glasses and high heels. he was rumored to be a

lynne? >> thank you. >>> last night on "hardball" with chris matthews he talked with new york democratic congressman about the difficulties speaker john boehner faces trying to reign in the more extreme tea party members. >> every three months the tea party republicans are willing to take it to the mat, hurt our economy and hurt the middle class. boehner has a real problem on his hands. every time -- every day, he's got this tea party caucus, a group of extremists who are offending moderate sensibilities, and the buck county independents you talk about. as a result, there's paralysis and chaos. it's what voters are going to remember. in arkansas's district, rick crawford, on december 20th puts out a press release demanding boehner join him in the irrespondable payroll tax deal then december 22nd, he demand john boehner join him in a compromise. how do you deal with that when you have two chris crawfords? be sure to watch "hardball" with chris matthews only on msnbc, the place for politics. >

lynn? >> all right, tracie, thanks so much. >>> in an exclusive interview last night, house minority leader nancy pelosi talked with ed schultz about the extent house republicans were willing to go in negotiations for a payroll tax cut and to prevent a government shutdown to protect a small amount of wealthy americans at the expense of millions of those less well off. >> well, it was interesting that they would say in order to give a tax cut, payroll tax cut, to 160 million americans, which is very important to those families. $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million working americans, that injects demand into the economy to create jobs. it's not only important to the families. it has macroeconomic impact, as do the extension of the unemployment insurance. but again, don't touch one hair on the head of the wealthiest people in our country making 300,000 wealthiest families. so, again, it's an issue that we will have with us because we're on two different paths about fairness and opportunity in

lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. >>> elsewhere as herman cain weighs his white house aspiration, the he said/she said continues between gop presidential candidate and an atlanta businesswoman who claims she was his mistress in more than a decade. in a newspaper interview cain admitted to providing ginger white with financial aid for monthly bills and expenses after she asked for help. cain never told his wife, that he befriended the georgia woman, recounting what he called a platonic relationship. in an exclusive interview on msnbc's "last word" white told a different story to lawrence o'donnell. >> did herman cain tell you he loved you? >> never. nor did i tell him that i loved him. it wasn't a love affair. it was a sexual affair. as hard as that is for me to say and as hard as it is for people to hear it, you know, it pretty much is what it is. that's what it was. >> herman cain says he will make a decision on the future of his campaign before monday, after a face-to-face d

lynne". i will see you back here next time on pbs. until then, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs board. >> join me next time for the bestellers of a biography on vincent van gogh. that is next time. we will see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is the cornerstone we all know. it is not just a street but a place where walmart stands with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance support tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis smiley tove iromp financial literacy and improve empire -- improve empowerment. >> and from contributions bya>>o viewers like you. thank you.

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with campaign shakeup. with iowa's caucuses just five days away, new poll numbers show ron paul is closing in on front-runner mitt romney and those same numbers show a sudden surge from backpacker rick santorum. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with the latest. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. all this volatility shows social conservatives are still shopping around, and that's good news for mitt romney. five days before iowa, the gop presidential deck has been reshuffled again. and this time mitt romney's on top. >> this is an exciting time. we're going to take back the white house thanks to you guys. thank you. >> reporter: ron paul has slumped to second but picked up a key endorsement from michele bachmann's co-chair. bachmann says her one-time supporter was offered a lot of money to switch sides. he denies it. >> i believe we have the opportunity to elect conservatives. somebody that holds our values dear. >> reporter: rick santorum has suddenly vaulted into third place. >>

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with veto power. president obama warned congress yesterday that if they tie the approval of a controversial oil pipeline to a bill to extend payroll tax cuts he will reject it. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the pipeline decision was put a off until after the election, but republicans say this could consider bringing up tens of thousands of jobs. with the prime minister of canada yesterday president obama said absolutely not, not that, not any other issue should be linked to this. the pipeline is controversial because it would go almost 2,000 miles through middle america to canada. but there are also some environmental concerns. what about oil spills? what about greenhouse gas emissions? there have been protests over this already, that's one of the reasons why the decision has been put off. they are looking for a different route. but the focus here is extending this payroll tax cut. the president says it needs t

lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> elsewhere, a new accuser in the penn state sexual child abuse scandal has filed the first civil lawsuit against former football coach jerry sandusky, his charity and the university. in the suit the 29-year-old claims sandusky sexually abused him more than 100 times over the course of four years. and threatened to harm his family if he told anyone. he says he chose to come forward now because of the bravery of other victims and the pain he feels about those who may have been abused after him. sandusky has admitted to showering with boys but denying he is a pedophile. >>> now, here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. california federal agents have derailed what's being called the most sophisticated underground drug trafficking tunnel ever discovered. equipped with electricity and ventilation it stretched six football fields from san diego to tijuana, mexico. the major bust netted 32 tons of marijuana. one of the largest seizures in u.s. hist

lynne". i will see you back here next time on pbs. until then, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs board. >> join me next time for the best sellers of a biography on vincent van gogh. that is next time. we will see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is the cornerstone we all know. it is not just a street but a place where walmart stands with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance support tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis smiley to improve financial literacy and improve empire -- improve empowerment. nationwide is on your side. >> and from contributions by viewers like you. thank you. what do more harm -- pbs. what do more harm -- pbs. >> pahor -- be more --d seen this kind of case before, i have a pretty good idea of what i'm going to find inside of it. because these leather cases with gilding were actually what you got a nice cup fr

lynn? >> brian mooar for us in washington, thank you. >>> the united states had a strong response wednesday to a second threat from iran to disrupt the world's oil supply, that is, if the west pursues actions against tehran over nuclear program. iranian said shutting them down would be very easy for the naval bases. president u.s. fifth fleet said in a warning wednesday that it would not allow any threat to traffic in the strait of hormuz saying, quote, any disruption will not be tolerated. >>> even with outside monitors on the ground in syria, reports of deadly new violence continues to emerge. amateur video shows what appears to be arab league monitors wearing vest touring the central city of homs. at times those monitors were forced to take shelter as gunfire could be heard in the distance. activists claim government troops open fire on unarmed protesters killing six, bringing the death toll to 39, in just two days since the monitors arrived. yesterday more than 700 detainees were freed

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with deadlocked. millions of workers may end up paying the price in lawmakers in washington can't work out their differences in time to extend payroll tax cuts, before they expire on december 31st. now, insiders say house republicans are trying to scuttle a senate deal and they may try to prevent a much anticipated vote on the house floor today. nbc's tracie potts has the details. >> reporter: house leaders announced late last night the two-month extension that democrats and republicans agreed to in the senate won't even get a vote on their side. >> our members don't want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. >> my guess is they are afraid their members won't stick with them. >> reporter: republicans are pushing for a conference. a few members on each side, to come back to washington, and work out a new man. democrats claim it's a ploy to kill the tax break. they say republicans never wanted in the first place. >> we're not going to play. >> repor

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with picking up the pace. republican presidential candidates are working their way across iowa at a fast and furious pace, packing in as much last-minute campaigning as they can before caucus tuesday. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with the latest on this. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the candidates are way on the ground and stepping up the air war. >> good to see you. >> reporter: the gop presidential candidates are making their closing arguments in iowa. >> don't do anything to any other country we don't want them to do to us and that would solve a lot of our problems. >> reporter: ron paul is the wild card, polling second, but with a well-organized army of supporters. that makes him a target. >> ron paul would dangerous as a president of the united states. >> one of the people running for president thinks it's okay for iran to have a nuclear weapon. i don't. >> reporter: mitt romney has a shot at winning, if he can convince enough v

lynn had slipped several sleeping pills into joe's drink. after being on the run for two weeks and then not sleeping for three days while holding three people hostage, palczynski was finally out cold. television would be there to record the end of joe palczynski's life. >> he was rising up with his arms extended, and within reach were three firearms and the officers shot and killed mr. palczynski. >> police rescued lynn whitehead's 12-year-old son, bradley, from another room in the house. >> he did say he was going to die by the bullet. he told me a lot of times, i will die by the bullet. i will die by the bullet. >> when i heard he was shot, i not only was relieved, but i kind of said to myself, you met your match. it's over. you are not going to hurt anybody else again. >> still ahead -- >> i have a lot of anger because my family is not the same. it was very damaging what he did. left a lot of scars. >> was it because i carried him angry? was it because my dad and my husband had the abuse in them and it was in joseph's genes? great prices.

i'm lynn berry. quick check of sports. quite simply the los angeles angels spent more money in a day than any team has in the history of baseball. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. albert pujols has made a decision and he's heading west. agreed to a 10-year, $254 million deal with the angels. angels definitely the dark horse in the pujols race but when the marlins dropped out and the cards offered him $220 million, the angels upped the ante to $254 and pujols couldn't turn that down. the angels weren't done. they also signed the best free agent pitcher on the market, lefty c.j. wilson, 5 years, $77.5 million to cap off a monster day in anaheim. >>> nba lakers had a trade in place for the hornets' chris paul then the commissioner david stern stepped in and said, not so fast. the deal involved three teams, sending paul to the lakers, pau gasol to the rockets and in return the rockets would get lamar odom, luis scola, kevin martin and draft picks. after an uproar from nba owners, stern vetoed the deal. you see, the h

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with a shutdown averted. last night congressional negotiators signed off on a trillion dollar spending package. just one day ahead of a deadline that could have led to another government shutdown. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details on that and a massive defense bill headed to the president's desk. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. it looks like the late-night negotiations saved paychecks and federal jobs. no shutdown at midnight tonight if, in fact, votes happen in the house and senate as expected. democrats and republicans each gave up something for the trillion dollar spending bill. democrats wanted energy efficiency rules sooner, they booked off that. and republicans wanted restrictionses on people spending money and making visits from cuba a budget spending today's vote. the payroll tax will be extended. the cuts extended for two months we're told. and unemployment benefits for 99 weeks, and preventing a 27% cut in medicare

lynn? >> brian mooar for us in washington, thank you. >>> well, republican presidential hopeful mitt romney has received what could be an important boost of support from the nation's 41st president, george h.w. bush. the former president told the newspaper he believes romney is the best candidate for the white house calling him, quote, mature and reasonable, not a bomb-thrower. bush, a texas resident, told the paper while he likes rival candidate and texas governor rick perry, he says he's, quote, not surging forward. while bush's comments were not a formal endorsement, they still give an important boost to the romney campaign less than two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >>> overseas where a deadly crackdown by syria's government has continued without let up, despite the arrival of arab league delegates. human rights activists say at least six people were killed in fresh attacks by government forces yesterday. amateur video shows black smoke and flames in one syrian city after alleged shel

i'm lynn berry.ood morning. and today we begin with a make or break moment. during a speech in kansas yesterday, president obama urged lawmakers in washington to take action on baffle of the nation's middle class calling the country's rising inequality, quote, the defining issue of our time. brian mooar has details. >> reporter: in tiny kansas, president obama delivered a message aimed at both middle class americans and politicians back in washington. >> i believe this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. whether everyone does their fair share. when everyone plays by the same rules. >> reporter: the president argues he's defending the working class while republicans are standing with the rich. it's a rallying cry for the current tax fight in washington and his own re-election campaign. >> and in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here, to osawatomie and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. >> reporter: roosevelt argued that welfare was more important than wealth. an argume

lynn? >> brian mooar for us in washington, thank you. >>> well, republican presidential hopeful mitt romney has received what could be an important boost of support from the nation's 41st president, george h.w. bush. the former president told the newspaper he believes romney is the best candidate for the white house calling him, quote, mature and reasonable, not a bomb-thrower. bush, a texas resident, told the paper while he likes rival candidate and texas governor rick perry, he says he's, quote, not surging forward. while bush's comments were not a formal endorsement, they still give an important boost to the romney campaign less than two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >>> overseas where a deadly crackdown by syria's government has continued without let up, despite the arrival of arab league delegates. human rights activists say at least six people were killed in fresh attacks by government forces yesterday. amateur video shows black smoke and flames in one syrian city after alleged shel

i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories making news. >> laying a wreath at the uss arizona memorial in hawaii. the president and first lady michelle obama also dropped flower petals into the water beneath the memorial. >>> fire burned a russian nuclear submarine docked at a shipyard for repairs. the missiles normally onboard had been removed. while the fire is out, the russian military says some crew members are still onboard. >>> chinese officials say they've launched 19 rockets this year. that's putting them second behind russia with the u.s. coming in third. they vowed to put 100 satellites in orbit over the next five years, which could give the chinese military the access and accuracy it needs for missiles without american technology. >>> work on the planned september 11th museum at ground zero is now on hold. the museum was supposed to open next year alongside the 9/11 memorial, but new york mayor michael bloomberg says it won't open on time because of a dispute over financing. >>> and th

i'm lynn berry. add we begin with an empire state of mind as gop presidential hopefuls make the most of their final few weeks before their iowa caucuses. >>> former house speaker newt gingrich took his campaign to new york. in addition to drumming up funds for his surging campaign, the most recent republican front-runner reached out for some bright light, big city support. nbc's brian mooar has more. >> reporter: newt gingrich is on a roll in iowa and new hampshire, but he spent the day in new york. courting the support of donald trump. >> i think one of the differences between my party and the other party is we actually go to people who know how to create jobs. >> it was a great honor to have newt up here. it's amazing how well he's doing. >> reporter: the former speaker is cultivating a tea party power base that only grew stronger over the weekend when herman cain dropped out, which spells trouble for mitt romney. >> this translates politically into being out of step with the electorate on fundamen

lynn? >>> thanks so much. it was a stunning move by the world's financial powers and it sent stocks skyrocketing. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. >>> two of the best go head to head in college hoops and a catch you've got to see to believe. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. ♪ i think i'm falling ♪ i think i'm falling [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ for you [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through tuesday. congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... a

tracy, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. house republicans led by speaker john boehner say they don't want a two-month extension, they want a full year extension and they'll vote down that temporary extension later today. this after 89 senate democrats and republicans compromised, voted on the two-month extension and then left town. even senate republicans are urging their fellow republicans in the house to do so today, but it looks like that measure may be the rejected. bottom line, your payroll tax cut, as of january 1st, still very much up in the air. what happens from now? a couple of things. first of all, if they vote on something different, the senate may have to come back and approve or disapprove that. or they might be able to work this out in conference. what the senate passed includes that controversial keystone xl oil pipeline. democrats gave in at the last minute to get this extension done, but the white house says it doesn't force them to approve the pipeline. >> tracie potts there for us in washington. thank yo

i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. those stories ahead. >>> we begin with a make or break moment. during a speech in kansas yesterday, president obama urged lawmakers in washington to take action on behalf of the nation's middle class calling the country's rising economic inequality "the defining issue of our time." nbc's brian mooar has the details. >> reporter: in tiny osawatomie, kansas, president obama delivered a message aimed at both middle class americans and politicians back in washington. >> i believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. when everyone does their fair share. when everybody plays by the same rules. >> reporter: the president argues he's defending the working class while republicans are standing with the rich. it's a rallying cry for the current tax fight in washington and his own re-election campaign. >> and in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here, to osawatomie, and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. >> reporter: roosevelt argued that welfare was more

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with payroll politics. pushing back against a senate bill passed over the weekend, house republicans refuse to hold a vote that could have extended payroll tax cuts before they expire at the end of the month. instead they challenged senate democrats to come back to town to negotiate a new deal, a political gambit that could end up being paid for by tens of millions of americans. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> the nays are -- >> reporter: the senate payroll tax cut extension slammed into a republican roadblock in the house. house republicans are trying to shame vacationing senate democrats back to the bargaining table. >> i need the president to help out, all right? >> reporter: house speaker john boehner refused a direct vote on the senate bill. instead, sending the legislation to a conference committee. but democrats say they will not negotiate. president obama accused republicans of brinksmanship. >> the clock is ticking. time is running out. and if the house republica

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with dueling power plays. in washington house republicans are scrambling to gather enough votes to pass a sweeping budget plan but the senate's top democrat says no one's leaving town for the holidays until both sides agree on payroll tax cuts. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a couple of issues going on here. the budget and the payroll tax cuts. it looks like congress may have a solution to that can they've been kicking down the road month after month. health education among departments unfunded permanently. now it looks like they've worked out the details. aides say there are minor details to continue to work out but it looks like that will happen before the end of the month. now, the payroll tax cut. republicans take a vote in the house today and they expect to tie that to that controversial keystone pipeline. there have been protests over environmental issues with the pipeline. the white house had put off that decision until over a year from now.

tracy, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. house republicans led by speaker john boehner say they don't want a two-month extension, they want a full year extension and they'll vote down that temporary extension later today. this after 89 senate democrats and republicans compromised, voted on the two-month extension and then left town. even senate republicans are urging their fellow republicans in the house to do so today, but it looks like that measure may be the rejected. bottom line, your payroll tax cut, as of january 1st, still very much up in the air. what happens from now? a couple of things. first of all, if they vote on something different, the senate may have to come back and approve or disapprove that. or they might be able to work this out in conference. what the senate passed includes that controversial keystone xl oil pipeline. democrats gave in at the last minute to get this extension done, but the white house says it doesn't force them to approve the pipeline. >> tracie potts there for us in washington. thank yo