i do read every one of your tweets. have a great weekend. here in the "cnn neroom" where the news unfolds live this saturday, january 7th, i'm fredericka whitfield. the countdown is on to the new hampshire primary and the gop presidential candidates are racing around the state today trying to gain supporters. rick santorum is expected at a town hall meeting right now. we're keeping an eye on that for you. and it will be one year tomorrow since that stucson, arizona, shooting that injured gaby gifford. that tragedy is being remembered in many different ways. giffords made her first appearance at her tucson office honoring her aide gabe zimmerman

who was killed. and part of a hiking trail was renamed for him, as well. today in memory of the victims, trees will be planted for peace. tomorrow an interfaith church service. also a candle light vigil at the university of arizona which giffords is scheduled to attend. and a disturbing story out of connecticut. police there say a paramedic raped a woman as she lay on a stretcher in an ambulance. police say the unconscious victim was being taken to a hospital last month when she woke up to find she was strapped down to the stretcher and being raped. they say it was "outrageous and horrifying conduct." >> paramedics and police officers, firefighters are in positions of tremendous public trust. these allegations represent a tremendous breach of that trust. >> the 49-year-old suspect was arrested and later released on a $25,000 bond.

penn state university is welcoming its new football coach bill o'brien is replacing joe paterno fired after a scandal involving a former coach. the team is excited for a fresh start. o'brien is the outgoing patriots' offensive coordinator. the grandmother of a missing maine toddler says no one in her family is responsible for her disappearance. ayla reynolds vanished from her home last month. police think foul play may be involved. her father recently appeared on television saying "i would never do anything to harm her." a teenage run away who claims she was a 21-year-old colombian in the u.s. illegally is now back home in texas today. her family is trying to figure out why and how u.s. authorities let a 15-year-old be deported. cnn's ed lavandera is in dallas. >> we're so happy and ready to

get her home, to have her back. >> reporter: the stunning and embarrassing saga involving the 15-year-old culminated friday night here at the dallas airport with turner walking out of the airport, walking hand in hand with her mother and grandmother. it was her grandmother who spent months and months scouring the internet trying to find any kind of signs of her granddaughter who had run away from home back in november of 2010. and that was when the story all began to unravel. when turner was arrested in houston in april of last year, gave authorities the fake name of tika cortez. essentially the teenage run away got herself deported and now she is back in dallas. there are still a great number of questions that remain unanswered as to how she could've fooled so many people in so many different ways. and her attorney says that someone will have to pay for that. >> make the people who are responsible pay for the civil rights violations that ms. turner has had to go through.

>> reporter: she walked out of the airport here visibly emotional and overwhelmed by the amount of attention that her story has received here. her mother and grandmother left without saying anything. they were very quiet, but one person close to the family says that all she wants to do is sit around and watch television with her family and try to reconnect after so much time. ed lavandera, cnn, dallas, texas. and just three days until the new hampshire primaries and the candidates are spread out across the state campaigning. take a look right now live at a rick santorum event in hollis, new hampshire. we don't have that picture as of yet. when we do, we'll take you there. polls showing mitt romney is leading the field in gop hopefuls, but as we saw in iowa, things can change rather quickly. joe johns is live in manchester with an update for us right now. so apparently the weather has been good even though you've got your down parka on.

but the weather's good for people to turn out. no excuses, right? >> reporter: no excuses, i think. i've got to tell you, i had my jacket on -- my dress jacket on a little while ago because the sun was out, but now the sun has gone away, it's gotten a little cooler. exactly. look, it's also changing on the political landscape, but not too much quite frankly. mitt romney in a big lead right now according to the polls that he's clearly not taking new hampshire for granted. the campaign putting out a statement just a little while ago that romney has gotten the endorsement of five ambassadors, former ambassadors. this is all about the catholic community in the united states. romney is a mormon apparently making a play for catholic voters in new hampshire and it's important because rick santorum is a devout and practicing

catholic. he, of course, did so well in the iowa caucuses. meanwhile, santorum himself is reaching out to those republicans who are more on the blue collar side of attacking president obama, calling him an elitist and accusing him of snobbery because of the president's stated view of trying to see every kid in the united states go to college. take a listen to this. >> i was so outraged at the president of the united states saying every child in america should go to college. well, who are you to say that every child in america -- that he knows what's best for you. you know, there are -- i have seven kids. maybe they'll all go to college, but one of my kids wants to go and be an auto mechanic, good for him. that's a good-paying job, using your hands, using your mind.

the kind of snobbery that we see from those who think they know how to run our lives. why don't americans defend your own freedoms and overthrow these folks who think they know every aspect of your life. >> if there's a race for second place, it's probably a lot of people think between santorum and ron paul who is also running hard at this time. ron paul is not only reaching out to college-age voters here in new hampshire, he's also looking forward to south carolina. we're told he's putting out a new ad starting on monday that attacks rick santorum who is expected to really make a play for that state and has some pretty tough language. fredericka, back to you. >> thanks so much. and a now chillier manchester, new hampshire. we'll see you when the sun comes out. that'll change things. thanks so much, joe. >> reporter: hopefully. we've seen the polls and heard the pundits on who will win and who might win the new

hampshire primary. but here's one unofficial group that we haven't heard from yet. beer drinkers. so cnn went to 20 new hampshire bars to see what people are drinking and who they're supporting. >> i'm drinking -- and i'm voting for romney. >> i'm drinking a sam adams and i'm voting for jon huntsman. >> optical illusion and i'm going for ron paul. >> pumpkin ale and voting for newt gingrich. yeah, go newt. >> nothing's been traditional about this race for the white house, right? so in the end, mitt romney got the most votes in our unscientific poll. and you can see all the responses on our website at cnn.com. all right, the candidates are not taking the weekends off, of course. and neither are we. so you can join us every sunday afternoon in addition at 4:00 eastern time. and when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential

contenders in this 2012 election. all right. it has happened again, dozens of beached whales, this time in new zealand. did rescuers' efforts help? [ ma] get back on track with low prices on everything you need. backed by our ad match guarantee. walmart. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside.

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[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. test test test all right, some headlines from overseas now, the british government sends a strong warning about traveling in kenya. the uk foreign officer says terror groups in kenya may be in the final stages of planning attacks there. the warning went out to british nationals in kenya, they're being told to be extra careful in public places. and iran is pu-- a navy helicopter spotted a suspected pirate ship alongside an iranian boat thursday after receiving a distress call confirming their

suspicions. the crew from the "uss kid" boarded the trip, and the crew took 16 suspected pirates into custody, as well, and freed the iranian hostaghostages. managed to drag 18 whales back into the ocean that had mysteriously beached themselves. seven whales died, too much time out of the water, apparently. out of the depth of that water. and at last check, the rescued whales were well offshore. all right, other international news now. secretary of state hillary clinton and officials from qatar meet in a few days. live with more on this. jill, this week, qatar said it is willing to let the taliban actually open a liaison office there. is this something hillary clinton is likely to discuss? >> oh, you'd have to say definitely, fredericka. because after all, that's the news, and it's pretty major news. because up until now, you know, almost two years on and off,

there have been talks mind the scenes, sometimes secret talks with the taliban, trying to figure out, you know, who are they? what do they want? could they possibly come over? at least some of them come over and begin some type of political discussion that might lead to peace? because after all, the administration believes you can't just fight your way to some type of agreement that you really have to have a political element. so this would be a big deal. there are enormous questions, of course. and you know, maybe we could get into those, but it's very unclear and has been who exactly represents the taliban. is it one group? obviously it's not one group, but who represents. >> and let's talk about kenya now with britain sending out a warning to particularly britain nationals, british nationals in kenya to be careful because of potential planned attacks. what more do we know about these

planned attacks? >> right. well, what they're worried about is the terrorist group al shabab, and they -- the reason this is going on is because kenya sent its troops into neighboring somalia to go after al shabab. now al shabab wants to get back at them, and is targeting people from other countries, ex-pats, as they're called who live and travel in kenya. remember that the united states also issued a warning back in october and november. so there is now a heightened sense of alert and they're warning people specifically to stay away from places that foreigners would gather, such as, you know, beaches, shopping centers, et cetera. >> all right, jill dougherty, thanks so much for that update. back to the campaign trail as former pennsylvania senator rick santorum rises in the republican presidential polls. he's talking up his foreign policy experience, though. what are his credentials? we'll tell you about 30 minutes or so from now.

and 2012 is just getting started and dealnews.com issued the list of items that will cost more money this year. airfare, american express predicting the price will rise about 5% in 2012. next, food prices are going up. they rose 6% last year on higher wholesale prices. and gassing up your car won't be cheaper this year. expect gas prices to inch back to $4 a gallon. and next, shipping, the u.s. postal service will raise rates more than 4% this year and fedex and u.p.s. are expected to follow suit. and finally, municipal fees, that's what you pay for everything from dog licenses to vehicle registration, even local police may be writing more tickets. but it's not all bad news. after the break, got a list of five items that will cost you less this year. stay here.

so before the break, we showed you a list of items with prices on the rise in 2012 from dealnews.com. the good news, prices will be falling on some other items this year. first up, wine. that's good, i guess. retailers are slashing prices on bottles priced over $30. and next car rentals with plenty vehicles sitting idle on agency lots look for deep discounts this year. and next, the ipad 2, ipad 3 is rumored to be hitting the store shelves this year. so watch for some price cuts on the popular ipad 2, especially refurbished models. and 3dtvs, slow sales coupled with new designs and more makers

means prices on these fancy televisions will plummet in 2012. and finally, homes, by the way, with home prices falling nearly 3% last year, don't expect that to change in 2012. expect prices to stay low again this year. so it's the number one issue in american homes. getting a financial house in order. and that's our focus for this week's financial fix, building your finances as you would build a house. so let's bring in the author of "it's just money, so why does it cause so many problems?" karen lee. good to see you. >> good to see you too. >> we're talking about needing blueprints or a plan moving forward. you're always big on plans. >> i don't know if you know, i have an undergraduate degree in architecture -- >> woman of all trades. >> in the 20 years i've been doing financial planning, i've always used the house analogy, i'm happy to share it with your audience. if i were an architect and building a house for you, we'd lay out a plan, and the plan

would look at what resources we're working with. your finances, what you own and what you owe, what you earn, what you spend. but ultimately with the house, i'd ask you, tell me what it's going to look like. one story or two, is it brick? same thing, tell me what your dreams are, your goals, five years, ten years. >> long-term. >> you got it. so absolutely start with a plan. and then when we break ground, what's the very first thing i would do? >> got to have that foundation. >> strong foundation. i will tell you, it's the number one thing people miss. >> what's the foundation? >> just like a foundation, got to hold up a house in an earthquake, your foundation's going to hold up your financial plan in a crises. reviewing all of your insurance, risk management, making sure your legal documents are in order. do you have a will? durable power of attorney? and of course, debt reduction and emergency planning. these are the things that will get you through the next

economic crisis. so make sure they're strong before you move on. >> uh-huh. >> and then, of course -- >> and you want -- people want to say, you've got your short-term savings, long-term savings. long-term is really important to tackle first? >> that's right. so with long-term, what we're going to look at is, of course, depending on what the goals and the dreams are. retirement -- >> right. >> we're looking at the 401(k)s, roth i.r.a.s if you're eligible. if you don't have a 401(k), you can set up your own i.r.a., a college, 529 plans, if you're able to do that and more, mutual stocks, bonds, etfs, absolutely keep adding to the savings. >> okay. and you really can't consider yourself very lucky if your employer does offer a 401(k). >> you do. >> and you want to always take advantage of that. and if you can, maximize, right? >> you got it. >> so then the tricky part comes, you start making choices, where do you want those

investments to come from? >> great question. >> overseas, you know, small cap, large cap. >> often times you look at that -- you're eyes are blurred. >> two decisions, how much can i contribute? as you say, always go up to the max and a lot of people can't. they want to do a minimum of up to the company match. if you can max it out, just to let you know, it went up from 16.5% to 17%. so great if you can do the max there, but the way to decide how much, which fund, first of all, i say get some help. perhaps if you call your hr there is a representative that you could call that could walk you through -- >> usually it's free. >> always. >> if you have a financial adviser you work with, ask them, we help our clients on their corporate 401(k)s. and ultimately, there's usually a model portfolio you can use. >> okay. >> so based on your age, you might be able to go into modern portfolio.

last visual just shows you what that financial house would look like if it's nice and solid. we call it the financial planning pyramid. >> what's the top there? >> the top is going to be speculative investments. there's no reason to get involved with that. >> hopefully we can build that pyramid. it's a plan. >> it's the new year, we need a plan. >> that's right. >> we talked last week about your money resolutions and how you need to have a plan tackling short-term and versus long-term, especially pertaining to debt. >> keep on track. the plan will help you pave the way. >> that's right. thanks so much, karen lee. always appreciate your money advice. >> thank you. >> and now we know architectural advice, as well. >> a little on the side. >> thanks so much, karen. get more information by reading karen's new book, "it's just money, why does it cause so many problems?"

some people have hot flashes, night sweats, all signs of menopause. elizabeth cohen has more on this. >> reporter: she says her body's changing, she's approaching menopause. >> all of a sudden the 15 pounds happened, night sweats. >> she says it's been stressful. >> i didn't know what the -- why i was having mood swings, i just knew that afterwards i was angry for no reason. >> reporter: menopause is defined as the permanent end of menstruation and fertility and occurs near 41. the time leading up to menopause is when they slow their production of hormones and stop producing eggs sometimes leading to similar toymptomsymptoms. >> it affects bone density,

osteoporosis becomes more common. >> reporter: according to the doctor, the weight gain may be more of a side effect of a slowing metabolism. he recommends plenty of exercise and maintaining a healthy diet rich in calcium and vitamin d. to keep symptoms to a minimum. if your symptoms are severe, talk to your doctor about treatment options. >> all right, and something that will perk up everybody. the golden globe awards just over a week away, and they were focusing on comedy or the musical category. which was the best one? ♪ -- a heat wave ♪ ♪ i certainly can, can-can >> pretty good marilyn monroe imitation, enough to get a golden globe.

talking about our favorites and who is getting all the buzz, coming up later in the "newsroom." welcome to idaho,

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yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. an american company that's documented our lives may be fading. kodak considers bankruptcy. that story after a look at top stories. it'll be one year tomorrow since that tucson, arizona, shooting that left six dead and 13 injured, including congresswoman gaby giffords. this weekend, that tragedy is being remembered in many different ways. giffords made her first appearance at her tucson office

presenting a plaque honoring her aide gabe zimmerman who was killed. and part of a hiking trail was renamed for him, as well. today in memory of the victims, trees will be planted for peace. tomorrow, an interfaith church service, also a candle light vigil at the university of arizona which giffords is scheduled to attend. the arctic ice breaker is cutting a path to the town of nome, alaska. bringing in an emergency supply of diesel fuel and gas for the town after storms prevented the shipment in the fall. and the soldier accused of trying to bring military grade explosives on a cross-country flight is ou on $50,000 bond. a texas judge decided sergeant first class trey atwater was a low flight risk. he told police he didn't realize the c-4 was in his bag. and an american teenager deported to colombia is back on u.s. soil.

the 15-year-old assumed a fake identity and said she was a colombian illegal immigrant. she arrived in dallas last night, seven months after she was mistakenly deported to colombia. checking in with jacqui jeras where it's spring and summer like almost in different locations. >> it's great. look at the temperature in atlanta, for example, fredericka. 68 degrees. >> i've been inside all day, but you're right, yeah, it's there. >> it's crazy warm, way above average. we're not quite seeing the plethora of record highs over the last couple of days, but still way above average. average high in atlanta is 52, so when you're looking at 68, you're feeling that difference and, you know, there's a cold front coming through here, so you're a lot cooler in minneapolis today, places like kansas city, down into dallas, but this isn't even all of that cold air. it's cooler than where you were, but not a lot to complain about.

temperatures on average are about 15 to 25 degrees compared to where you should be, and this warm air has been spreading east throughout the weekend, and it's going to continue to stay here, at least a sliver of it for sure across the southeast through tomorrow before temperatures begin to moderate a little bit. but still, nothing to complain about. this is a huge difference compared to what we saw just a year ago. and i wanted to show you this example and one of the contributing factors as to why it's been so much warmer. we don't have any snow out there. there's hardly any snow across the lower 48. this is what it looked like a year ago. and now take a look at what it looks like out there for today. we'll put this into motion so you can see a lot of that snow disappeared. you know, snow acts kind of like a refrigerator over the u.s., it helps keep the temperatures colder, it reflects the solar insulation of the sunlight and doesn't allow it to warm up when you've got the snow. when it's dark, it sticks around. that weak, cold front bringing showers across the southeast, expect kind of a cloudy, damp pattern over the next couple of

days, and a big storm developing across the southwest, new mexico is one place, fredericka, they're not saying, yeah, we don't have enough snow. they had a number of storms in november and starting out that pattern here in january. >> not complaining except those who count on cold weather for business. thanks, jacqui, appreciate that. kodak film could be fading. the word on wall street is that the company is close to filing for bankruptcy protection. how kodak changed the way we take pictures and how the company's strategy has changed over the years. ♪ and suddenly it's hard to find your memories you left behind ♪ >> reporter: the celebrated kodak moments. these commercials once helped define the brand to a new generation. capturing moments and time forever. >> new kodak camera is -- >> reporter: like this one, starring the late actor michael landon.

the place in history stretches back to 1881 when george eastman founded the eastman dry plate company in new york. the kodak name wasn't born until 1888, and the iconic logo has barely changed in more than a century. >> he actually chose the name that he knew would be read in multiple languages throughout the world, hence kodak. everybody can read kodak. >> eastman is seen here with thomas edison, who was a life-long friend. and they set a standard for motion picture film that is still in use today. kodak brought the camera to the public selling it for $1 with the mass production of the brownie, and that changed photography forever. >> not only was the brownie of the 1900s a phrase that went along with it was you push the button and we do the rest. but all the way into the '50s, that little brownie, that all the kids had, it was their first camera. so it was enormously important in terms of getting the idea of photography out to the mass

public. >> reporter: and kodak's energy enables photographers like steve mccurry to capture some of the world's most iconic images. this is a darkroom and a rare place to find these days, but of course, this is where film is processed. maybe 35 millimeter or medium format, and of course, film was a core business for kodak for many decades. and then once again, they revolutionized the industry by inventing the digital camera in 1975. the very technology that was undermine their original business. sales of film declined and kodak began to feel pressure from foreign competitors. in the last year, its share prices plunged 92%. and could be delisted from the new york stock exchange, for now trading below $1. kodak's solution, to sell the patents behind the digital imaging technology, which is widely used in mobile phones. >> if they get this infusion of

cash for $1 billion, they have to use this capital and be successful in the go forward businesses that they've chosen. >> kodak is the first company -- >> reporter: the company is pinning the future on the commercial printing business. time will tell if this develops into profit. but whatever the outcome, an american icon has been transformed far beyond the original blueprints of george eastman. felicia taylor, cnn, new york. and forbes magazine tallied box office earnings for stars who appeared as couples in films over the past five years. and i've got the results for you. shia labeouf with $1.1 billion for transformers dark of the moon. robert downy jr. and gweneth paltrow with $1.2 billion for the iron man films, shia labeouf and megan fox with $1.5 billion.

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before the break, we named some of the top earnings screen couples over the last five years rounding out the top five. robert pattinson and kristin stewart with $200 billion for "twilight" and rupert grint and

emma watson with $4.2 billion for the harry potter series. the golden globes coming up next sunday, january 15th, and today the focus is on the comedy or musical category. movie critic with rottentomatoes.com with me right now. let's talk about what we have here. let's begin with movies that are nominated thus far. >> yes. >> "50/50" a really solid film, that's joseph gordon leavitt starring as a man with cancer, based on a story with a writer who gets cancer and kind of his dealings with it. it's very funny, but gets pretty serious, as well. we've also got "the artist" which is probably the favorite. the artist is a fantastic film, a silent movie, kind of a throwback to the silent movie era about a man who is trying to change it with the invention of sound as sound comes into the film. directed by a man named

michael -- it's a french film. and it's a really interesting movie with the love interest and as the lead, there's a lot of gene kelly as you can see. it's a great performance and i think he's probably the favorite for best actor in a comedy this year. >> okay. and we're talking about this comedy or musical category. and also included one finds this hard to believe, "bridesmaids" not because it wasn't funny or over the top hilarious, but wow, it's up for a golden globe? >> i was really happy to see it got nominated for the golden globe. it is a very funny movie and shows that the hollywood foreign press association did catch that movie. it's hilarious, kristin wiig, melissa mccarthy who kind of steals the movie, you know. it's kind of a female take on say the "hangover."

and we'll probably see a sequel, as well. >> okay. let's take a look at some of the actresses nominated in this category. and we're talking about jodie foster in "carnage," charlize theron, "young adult." >> yeah, a lot of glam in this category. charlize theron, jodie foster, we've got kristin wiig, michelle williams who is probably the favorite here, kate winslet, as well. i think her portrayal of marilyn monroe in "my week with marilyn" is probably going to walk with it this week. they like to give it -- they really like to give the award to the most glamorous person, you know, or the most glamorous role in this particular category, and i think that she's probably going to get it. >> wow. okay. so now actors nominated in this category. the comedy or musical category? >> yes, we are, believe it or not. believe it or not. some relatively serious people

in here. you know the musical and comedy category, it's kind of a weird one. they divide it up from the foreign press the way we see it different than we get in the oscars, but you've got heroic i mentioned paul dujardin playing the lead in the artist, brendan gleeson, joseph gordon-levitt, ryan gosling and owen wilson. i think it's going to jean dujardin. >> more musical than comedy? >> i think so. i think they kind of considered it kind of a musical, kind of a comedy. it's got a lot of dance numbers, they play a lot for laughs, and it does have a serious story going on. it's kind of that old school silent film where it never gets too heavy. it's still played pretty light. so i think that's kind of why it ended up in that category. >> yeah, and those facial expressions.

you know, more important than anything because it is a silent movie. i guess if you pull that out, that takes you to a whole other level of respect. all right, matt -- >> right, right. >> thank you so much. appreciate that. we look forward to the golden globes. >> thank you. >> next week, of course. check out all of matt's grades and reviews by going to rottentomatoes.com. back to politics in a moment. okay. looks like a silent movie there, you saw his lips moving but you didn't hear him, kind of the same thing. we're going to talk about how rick santorum and how he and others are krcrisscrossing the state of new hampshire looking for a victory. >> we are not looking for a chief executive officer for this country. we're looking for a commander in chief. >> a look at what this former senator brings to the world stage next. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself?

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all right. presidential hopeful rick santorum is well known for his strong conservative record in washington, but where does he stand on foreign policies? kate bolduan taking a closer look at his views and record on topics across the globe. >> tell me what you would do -- >> reporter: it was a blunt statement, rick santorum says if he were president and iran didn't come clean on its nuclear intentions, he would authorize attacks on the country's nuclear

sites. i would be saying to the iranians, you open up those facilities, begin to dismantle them and make them available to inspectors, or we will degrade those facilities through air strikes. >> reporter: his hard line stance on national security was also on display at a recent c, in n debate. >> we are not fighting a war on terrorism, terrorism is a tactic. we are fighting a war against radical islam. >> reporter: foreign policy is an issue he touts on the campaign trail as setting him off from the pack. >> i know one of my opponents who has directed his attention to me surprisingly has said that he has executive experience. we are not looking for a chief executive officer for this country. we're looking for a commander in chief. >> reporter: the gop hopeful campaigning in new hampshire this week also took a swipe at the current commander in chief. >> the obama administration has been an abject failure on every front on the foreign policy front.

when it comes to problems that have come up under his watch. >> reporter: santorum says he's the only candidate who has the credentials to back up the tough talk. he served on the armed services committee for more than half of his 12 years in the senate. john elliott is a former spokesman for that committee. >> he had eight years on the armed services committee and that's a good credential when you look at the other candidates in the field. if you look at that, hillary clinton was only six years on the armed services before she was secretary of state. so he served two more years than she did. >> reporter: but most of santorum's committee work was before 9/11. >> the final year was after 9/11 he was on the committee. most of the issues were keeping funding going for major programs. >> reporter: he supported the war in iraq, opposes time line for pulling out of afghanistan and a staunch advocate for israel. the reality, though, on foreign policy, there's not much daylight between the top gop presidential contenders which could make it tough for santorum

to stand out. making it even harder, according to a recent "time" poll. likely voters continue to say the economy, not foreign policy is the most important issue to their vote. kate bolduan, cnn, washington. >> and join us every sunday afternoon at 4:00 eastern time when we dedicate to our presidential contenders in this 2012 election. all right, a new app lets you send a voice message just like a text. yes, phone calls are becoming obsolete. [ female announcer ] last year, the u.s. used

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our christmas may be over, the new year's celebration behind us, but hey, in some places, they're still kind of celebrating a little bit of a -- what would be a holiday tradition. >> all month long, right? so you have an entire month to look at this. this is in harbin, china. they get the siberian express really cold air. >> this shouldn't be happening right now here because it's too warm for ice sculptures of this magnitude. >> so tell me more about these ice sculptures. haven't they beautiful? >> big blocks and they cut them out of the river nearby. and they build these beautiful sculptures. the sides of buildings literally, and then they take lights and they just shine them through the transparent ice.

>> in something that all there. >> it's beautiful. you can walk up the steps of some of these buildings. >> artistic. >> gorgeous. >> somebody's trying to win. >> competitive there in china. thank you very much, jacqui. >> if you need more information just about anything, there's an app for that, right? the magazine has ranked some of the top ten free apps. we always like free. bing is cited as the best place to find things, bing, bing, bing, and adobe photo shop express and flickr are the places to go for pictures. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment...

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all right. taking a look at the best free apps from pc magazine, espn score center and find my iphone is among the top apps. a new app is changing the way people interact. >> fredericka, if you look at the way people have communicated by phone, e-mail, and texting, each by itself was revolutionary. now there's a new way to communicate, and will it take its place on that pedestal? for tom, the idea arose from the heat of battle. >> you're a communications specialist in the army? >> yes, i was special forces

communication sergeant. >> reporter: and he found himself fighting in afghanistan a year after 9/11. it was his second stint in the army. >> if i ever thought of myself as the green beret, now's the time to do it. if not now, when? >> reporter: he found battlefield communication challenging and something that hadn't really evolved since world war ii. >> you could only talk to one group or one individual, one channel at a time. yet you have to maintain multiple separate of them simultaneously. >> voxer hit the apple app store. borne out of his wartime experience. it's an app that turns your apple or android device into a walkie talkie. >> it does these other things. all of a sudden they realize, well, it doesn't actually interrupt. i can talk and they get a notification. >> it acts differently by

storing all of your messages in the cloud so users can listen to the message live or later and then respond. >> hey, dan, i'm here, showing off the software -- >> it's a lot like text-base messaging but adding a voice to it. though it was first envisioned as a technology for the military, voxer is for every day consumers. and since it launched in itunes in may, it's been gaining a cult following. recently even beat out facebook and twitter as the number one downloaded social networking app. >> over the last month, we've seen it explode. and that's where we started to feel like we've got something here that's got some legs. we've got users in saudi arabia, got users in brazil, in asia. >> reporter: the company attributes the app's success to a new form of social etiquette driven by young people, less phone calls, more texting. a new form of communication with a marriage of traditional phone call and the text message. >> at this point, voxer has not made a dime because it's a free

app. >> that's right. it's lost a lot of money. it's very standard to lose money at first. you're trying to prove something new, and if you put up a big barrier of charging for it up front, people aren't going to try it. so it's classic premium model. you get people using it for free and then you find a way to get some percentage of pay for better stuff. >> and they plan to roll out the premium features over time, but they always plan on keeping a free version of voxer. we should add that right now the effort is almost entirely self-funded by the ceo tom katis, he has a second company called triple canopy, a private security firm with over 8,000 employees. so right now they are very well-funded. fredericka? >> thanks so much, stan. so straight ahead in the next hour of the "cnn newsroom," if your computer is running slow, it's time to clean house. our gaming and gadgets expert marc saltzman has five things you need to do to get your computer ready for 2012.