this morning on "early today," on the attack. with just three weeks to go until the iowa caucuses, the gop gloves come off. danger down under. surveillance video captures a horrific tanker explosion at an australian gas station. and rush of color. one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world becomes even more dazzling. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with assessing the damage.

newt gingerich is still standing after his republican rivals pile on to personalize his personal and political past. but mitt romney may have tripped himself up at the worst possible times. the latest polls show on gingerich ahead in the first four presidential contests. and making headway in the fourth. trace good morning to you. >> republicans and democrats are criticizing mitt romney for the $10,000 comment. in terms of the polls, the one to watch seems to be newt gingrich. gingrich is widening his lead and republicans are going after him. on conservative views. >> there is not a dime's worth of difference. >> and personal attacks. >> if you will cheat on your

wife you will cheat on business partners. >> people have to render judgment. in my case i have said that i made mistakes at times. i have had to go god for forgiveness. >> but romney took the harshest criticism. >> $10,000 bet. >> i'm not in the betting business. >> of all the things you do well, betting is not one of them. >> that's what democrats are saying, too. the $200 million candidate betting what amounts to about two and a half months salary. but romney still seems confident saying i'm going to get the nomination. >> tracie, thank you. following saturday's debate

in iowa, gop candidate rick perry added another oops moment to a string of memorable campaign gaffes. perry criticized president obama's backing of a now defect and now widely known energy company. while trying to recall exactly how much federal funding that company received, perry side, quote, i want to see it was over $500 million that went to the country solinda. solyndra, which manufactures solar panels, received loans and guarantees before going bankrupt earlier this year. meanwhile, the budget battle could hit home for northeast residents as a federal government considers home heating cuts for those that can afford it the least. several northeast states have cut back on heating aid programs to poor households and now congress is considering slashing $1 billion from the federal budget. families in new england, where

the winters are long and cold and people rely heavily on costly oil heat, are expected to be especially hard hit. pakistan's military says the cia has vacated an air bass in the western part of that country in the wake of last month's nato air strikes near the african border that killed at least 25 pakistani soldiers. the departure comes at pakistan's request and last night the last group withdrew from nato drone missions. the u.s. and nato have denied pakistani assertions that the raid was deliberate and have begun an investigation into the killings in a region where pakistani militants have been fighting. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. an alleged car jacker flees from california plea and came to a painful ending. after leading authorities on a high speed chase in a humvee

limousine, the suspect attempted to escape on foot naked. his fight for freedom ended when a police dog tackled him on the ground. oh, that woke bill up. a spectacular lighting display in upstate new york kicks off a pre-new year's bash. officials recently hit the lights. it is beautiful. timely, the obamas continue their celebration of the holiday season. they, along with host conan o'brien and justin bieber and jennifer hudson attended the annual washington event. the event raises money for the children's national hospital. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. it's good to see you. it's been so long. >> morning. >> did you see the lights over

there? >> that would be a special treat. >> spectacular. >> and if i ever have to sing in public, i want jennifer hudson next to me. i think even i would sound good. hope you had a wonderful weekend. here is what we're looking at out there. the rain will cause travel issues in southern california. it looks like i-5 is going to be very wet this morning. los angeles already some stuff on the radar popping up. and we will have locally heavy downpours, too, which will cause problems on the road. you notice this area of low pressure is going to be with us for a good portion of two days. as it pushes on through, snow levels are going to drop at some of the higher elevations. there are winter storm warnings. now the storm system itself, this jet stream is sneaking its way from canada all the way back down. in a process of trying to cut

itself off. it will move through arizona and the days ahead. at the beginning of the week it's definitely a little work. really all the action this morning is down there in southern california. that's a look at your tucson, arizona will have periods of rain along with friends in phoenix. we will look at snowfall in arizona coming up. >> are they going have a white christmas? >> in the mountains. >> and we're not? >> no. >> all right. europe makes a deal, england is left out. and the latest tv conflict with a boycott threatened against a home improvement chain. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, alec baldwin apologizes to himself? we'll explain. coming up, a giant comeback. the texans clench and six in a row for tim tebow. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. marathon u.n. climate talk necessary south africa have added five more years to the kyoto protocol. a new treaty would force all major polluters to targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. that would include china and india. a major demand of the obama administration. the u.s. has yet to ratify the kyoto agreement. some 1300 pounds of munitions were exploded in libya sunday.

it's part of an effort to make sure unsecured weapons from that country's civil war don't fall into the wrong hands. former dictator manuel noriega will serve out three 20-year sentences a prison for slaying political opponents in the 1980s. japan successfully launched a spy satellite into orbit this morning. officials are being tight lipped about its capabilities, but it's part of an intelligence gathering network developed after concerns over north korea's missile program. and a 35-year-old truckdriver is lucky to be alive after his gas tanker burst into a massive fireball at a filling station in australia. the driver was hospitalized with burns to his arms and legs. the cause is being investigated. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off

the day. the dow opens at 12,184 after rising 186 points friday. the s&p climbed 20. the nasdaq jumped 50. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 117 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng was down 10. wall street rallied friday. but europe has a big hole to dig out of. all 17 countries agreed to automatic penalties if they overspend. as for countries currently struggling, the european central bank has taken some steps and may take more to ease their burden. even france sits precariously. friday, moody's investors service downgraded france's three largest banks. england was seen as the biggest summit user. england used its veto party to prevent an agreement, so the english were circumvented. even with a deal, most analysts feel europe is heading into recession, which has u.s. companies worried.

on friday, dupont cut their outlook for the quarter. reuters reports negative quarters are outpacing positive ones by the biggest ratio in ten years. here, spending is up 15% compared to last year. the fed meets this week, but is expected to stand pat playing wait and see on europe and big developments here. this week's big po will be zinga president at around $129 million, it's the largest from a

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every december, one man in croatia dedicates himself to creating a christmas wonderland for neighbors and visitors. his more than 1700 family estate has been decorated with 1.2 million christmas lights and features over 111 miles of wire placed in trees and shrubs. he collects a small entrance fee to help foot the $12,500 electric bill. my goodness. in paris this weekend, santa stayed warm, running for charity. dressed to the nines in santa suits and other festive costumes, over 3,000 contestants of all ages took place in the

annual race to raise money for charities working with children in africa. over $5,000 was raised. and it seems santa in a speedo had time to make a stop in canada this weekend. frigid temperatures didn't stop 15 nearly naked santas from taking part in toronto's annual race, which raises money for a local children's hospital. the event has raised $180,000 in seven years, bringing christmas cheer in the form of toys and games to patients. wait, you're doing that one next year, right? you were just telling me about it. >> i was in the video. you didn't see me there? >> were you? >> i had the six-pack. >> that's right. that was you. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. google is celebrating the life of robert noyce, cocreator of the microchip with its latest home page doodle marking what would have been the late silicon valley legend's 81st birthday. noyce conducted intel in 1968.

in california, an exhibit will preview hundreds of items from michael jackson's home that are due to be auctioned off next weekend. the collection showcases antique furnishings and paintings as well as the bed in which the so-called king of pop died the. and a very happy birthday to game show icon bob barker who turns 88 years old. all day long, you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, be sure to watch brian williams with nbc nightly news. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. nbc weighs in on the republican presidential rate as mitt romney and newt gingerich went on the attack at the latest gop debate. and actress car let johansson talks about her new film "we bought a zoo." now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific monday.

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