this morning on "early today" -- decision day. gop presidential hopefuls gear up for the first showdown of the election season. in custody. los angeles police arrest a man suspected in a terrifying string of arsons. and double take. heavy snow sends an ohio bank thermometer soaring? captions paid for by nbc-universal television very good morning. welcome it our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with all eyes on iowa. republican presidential candidates are making their final big pitches in the hawkeye

state ahead of the crucial caucuses that will not only kick off the election season but could have a huge effect on who wins the gop nomination. nbc's tracie potts is in des moines with more. good morning. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. at this point it's not so much what these candidates say, it's what they do. making a personal connection at the last minute before the voting begins tonight. >> ron paul! >> reporter: this late in the game for many voters is not just about issue, it's about trust. >> he's humble. i trust him. i don't trust anybody else in politics. >> you heard it here first, ron paul will carry iowa. >> reporter: it's possible, polling just two points behind front-runner mitt romney who boldly predicted victory monday. >> we're going to win this thing with all our passion and strength. >> reporter: rick santorum thinks he can win, too, in iowa's biggest poll suggests he's moving in that direction. >> i didn't have the money to compete here. but we were able to do it. why?

because money doesn't buy iowa. >> reporter: newt gingrich claims money romney's negative ads knocked him out of the top three. now he seems undecided about his own chances. >> i don't think i'm going to win. we may pull off one of the great upsets in the history of the iowa caucuses. >> reporter: last-minute campaigning, can it make a difference? analysts say conservative values are still huge in iowa, but the biggest factor this year is electability, who can beat barack obama? >> every candidate's going to be going out, shaking hands and meeting caucus goers individually. at the end of the day, though, i think i do believe that mitt romney will end up on top. >> reporter: well, we'll see if that happens. by the way, romney's staff backed off his winning predictions saying he was referring to the nomination, not to tonight's caucuses. veronica? >> tracie potts in iowa, thank you for that. in los angeles now, there was a major break in the case of dozens of arson fires over the

holiday weekend. fires which caused millions in damages and left area residents on edge. stephanie stanton has details. >> reporter: since early thursday morning, there have been 52 fires in and around los angeles. sunday night a dozen more fires were set. but early monday morning, a break in the case. >> our long four-day nightmare is over. >> this morning around 3 a.m. the sheriff's department detained a 24-year-old man named harry burkhart, who has subsequently been charged with one count of arson. >> reporter: police say he's a german national. he's been charged with one count of arson and held without bail. it's also still unclear if he acted alone. >> there are some indicators that he may be a lone actor, but we do not know that yet. >> reporter: he was apprehended in west hollywood by l.a. county reserve deputy.

the part-time deputy says he made the traffic stop when he saw burkhart, who resembled the man seen in this surveillance video taken near hollywood and highland after a fire in a parking structure. officials say more charges are expected against burkhart after fires that terrorized the community and caused nearly $3 million in damage. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. an iraq war veteran suspected of killing a ranger at mt. rainier national park has been found dead inside that park. 24-year-old benjamin barnes was discovered partially submerged in a snowy creek where he apparently died from exposure to the cold. he was wanted in the shooting death of margaret anderson on sunday. the wife and mother of two was gunned down while trying to stop barnes after he drove to the park on the run. police say after shooting four other people in a seattle suburb. now, here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a string of firebomb attacks on

new year's day has new york police looking out for a a man using molotov cocktails. it caused fire and property damage to an islamic center, a private residence where hindu services are held and a convenience store. a georgia family suffered a devastating loss when an suv barrelled into a living room killing a 3-month-old and injuring a 20-month-old. he barrelled into the living room where a children and mother slept after running a stop sign and losing control. the driver was arrested for vehicle homicide and additional charges. a collision on a kentucky highway nearly killed one trucker when his semi hit a wild turkey. the bird crashed through the windshield hitting the driver in the face. he pulled over to toss the bird out on the side of the road where it was later put down by an emergency crew. finally, talk about your freak of nature. a winter snowstorm pounded most

of downtown cleveland, except one area that happened to be, what, 127 degrees? actually, a technical glitch caused a bank thermometer to display the wrong temperature instead of a temperature in the high 20s. probably just 27 degrees, bill karins, not 127 degrees. >> yeah, brings in a little humor, though, does it? >> either way, rather uncomfortable, whether it's 127 to 27. >> from death valley to thevero everyone. all the warm weather continues on the west coast. very mok-icngviquick-moving sto rolled through washington state last night. we did see through the evening hours, winds picked up. a quick half an i of rain in some locations. there it went. a little ball of a storm, and it had a punch to it. it's gone. north of montana. a fast-moving weather pattern. next batch of rain, right on its

heels, will move in during the day today. as far as the forecast goes, one storm fwon. next on its way. high pressure to bridge from texas to the pacific. continuing this mild flow of air up through the four corners, california, nevada and another beautiful day there. as far as radar goes, you can see the green here. what will happen today, most of the rain north of the peninsula on vancouver island. eventually, later on tonight to tomorrow, another shot of rain comes in, and that could drench areas north of seattle. yellow and orange coloring, 2 to 4 inches of rain possible. we have to watch that throughout tonight and tomorrow. chance of showers, portland, you're dry. california, warm and beautiful. we go through tomorrow, that's when the heavy rain goes to the northwest. that's a look at to find anythio

much to complain about. tucson, arizona, 78 and sunny. with the exception of washington state, pretty nice day in many areas. >> can you do me a favor? when there is a forecast like 81 degrees in los angeles, can you block it from us in new york? i would appreciate it. world markets get a jump on wall street, venezuela short changes exxonmobilexxonmobil, a strange defense. early morning business headlines straight ahead. and who would you choose to play him in a movie? overtime in fiesta bowl, record setting rose bowl and a wild finish in the winter classic. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning.

iran says it has successfully test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile now saying iran is in complete control of the strait of hormuz. a vital oil supply route. iran's army warned america not to allow another carrier back in the gulf after it was removed during iran's naval exercises. grim numbers from the front lines of mexico drug wars. mexican newspapers report 12,000 people were killed in drug violence in 2011. more than 50,000 people have been killed in 2006 when president calderon started a crackdown on traffickers. the christmas season brought an unusual sales record for guns. december 23rd was the second busiest day for gun purchases in u.s. history, right behind black friday. fbi records show more than 1.5 million names were sent in for background checks last month. the holidays are officially

over for the first family. they took a ten-day trip to his native hawaii. markets were closed yesterday for the new year holiday. here's an early look at how they will kick off today. the dow opens at 12,217 after falling 69 points last friday. the s & p lost 5. the nasdaq was down 8. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, nikkei gained 56 points while in hong kong the hang seng surged 443. most major global markets start the year off returning to action today but a few were open for business monday. germany and france led off 2012 rising on light volume on data showing recent european manufacturing data improved slightly. in asia this morning stocks generally did well on that same european data. oil rose above $10 0 a barrel. france's nicolas sarkozy and germany's angela merkel will

meet on new budget disciplinary rules. venezuela will pay exxonmobil only $255 million in compensation for nationalized assets, less than a third of what the oil giant was awarded by an arbitration panel and only a fraction of the more than $10 billion it originally sought. christmas returns are expected to hit an all-time high today at ups. half a million plus. a federal court monday bp said all of its costs and damages from the 2010 gulf oil spill should be paid by halliburton, the comment contractor on the project. finally, pepsi has an interesting but hardly reassuring defense against a lawsuit by a man claiming he found a mouse in his mountain dew. it's impossible because the soda would have dissolved the mouse before the man could have found it. hockey's winter showcase was a thriller and all the action from college football's biggest

bowl day. plus, of all those bowl games, if you liked scoring, the rose bowl was the one for you. your early morning sports headlines are up next. big arctic air has arrived but a warm-up is around the corner. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports monday was college football's big bowl day. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, good morning. there were six bowl games yesterday. let's get right to it. first up, the tostito's fiesta bowl. stanford and oklahoma city exchanging touchdowns all game long. williamson shanks a 35-yard field goal and off to overtime when the cowboys take the lead for good. sharp nails a chip shot. oklahoma state wins 41-38. another shootout in pasadena, oregon and wisconsin combining for a rose bowl record 83 points. thomas with two carries, take this is one 98 yards to the house. the other was a 64-yard touchdown. number five oregon shining brighter than their helmet win 45-38. outback bowl, michigan

state's bell ties the game and forces overtime with just 14 seconds left. remains tied until the third o.t. spartans up three when they block the field goal attempt. michigan state wins 33-30 in triple overtime. a disappointing end for penn state. houston led the bowl start to finish. three touchdowns and houston wins 30-14. south carolina's shaw had three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground. they beat nebraska to win the capital one bowl 30-13. to the gator bowl where special teams were truly special for florida. returns a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, blocked a punt and returned it for a score. florida beat ohio state 24-14. and finally, can't forget about the winter classic in philly. nearly 47,000 saw the flyers jump out to a 2-0 lead. then the rangers score three unanswered. mike rupp with a pair. check out the celebration. exactly what the flyers jagr

does after his scores. rupp was having fun and so was henrik lundqvist, stopping brier late in the third. rangers win the classic 3-2. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. who's getting married and who says they never will again. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it is the national pastime, the stuff of legends, but for some it's even more than that. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. we look at the forecast today. we have rain go through last night. gusty winds early this evening in washington state that system gone. but more rain on the way. a damp forecast up until the weekend. we're okay. much of the other areas of the west mild. 50 degrees, phoenix, near 80 today. tomorrow, not a lot changes. wetter up in washington state a more significant slug of moisture. if you're watching on news channel 8 in portland, oregon, a unique selection of artifacts that document key moments in oregon's history. at treasures of the vault. >> complete unrelated and welcome to facebook. bill karins has a facebook page.

>> about a decade late now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. russell brand may be losing a wife but reports say in doing so he could be gaining millions of dollars. brand told "new york" magazine he and katy perry had no prenup meaning under california law he is entitled to half her earnings which as much as $20 million. a bio pic on the life of elton john is in the works and elton john is lobbying for justin timberlake to take on the lead role. jilted 85-year-old fiancee hugh hefner says he will never marry again. this summer, another royal wedding, aretha franklin announced she's marrying a long-time friend on monday. the 69-year-old joked, no, i am not pregnant. if you were doing a biopic, who would you have play you? >> play me? >> you, bill karins.

>> someone very good looking and very funny. >> who? taylor lautner? >> not taylor lautner. no twilight stuff. this comes to us from ksnw in wichita, kansas, where even in the dead of winter america's pastime played a vital role in one couple's wedding plans. instead of getting married in a traditional setting, they decided to get married where it mattered most to them. the couple met on the baseball diamond after a game in which their daughters played on the opposite teams. six years later, the bride and groom stepped onto home plate and made the commitment to take a swing at life together. that is so sweet. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

some canadians chose to start the new year cold and wet. cheered on by spectators, more than 400 people took an icy dip into lake ontario for toronto's polar bear plunge. it was expected to raise $40,000 to $50,000 for a toronto charity. australia, resident at one zoo are fighting unusual summer heat with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, animals got the ultimate cooldown treatment. staff spent the day spraying cold water and handing out blocks of ice. experts expect melbourne to experience heat wave conditions for much of the remaining summer months. and in china, on his big day, one groom was both romantic and eco-friendly.

the man greeted his bride at the altar on a bicycle decorated with balloons and flowers. the couple, bike enthusiasts, met during a cycling trip. bucking the trend of luxury wedding cars, the two read vows in front of a parade of other cyclists. so sweet. >> it wasn't a bicycle built for two because she was not required to pedal. he's already off to a good start. >> how did you guys celebrate your -- >> there was no carriages or anything like that. very typical limo. >> i like that. time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day in washington. protesters will fast to mark ten years although guantanamo bay. they argue keeping suspects indefinitely amounts to torture. new year brings new laws. several states have new laws on calling or texting while driving. starting today all commercial drivers nationwide are banned from using hand-held or push to talk cell phones.

and mel gibson turns 56 today, though his birthday party might not be so lavish. his ex-wife recently walked away with half of his fortune in their divorce settlement. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest 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. as iowa caucuses get under way, savannah guthrie goes one-on-one with gop front-runner mitt romney. and here from a man involved in the heroic rescue of three children after their car plunged into an icy utah river. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, sports, weather and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. enjoy your tuesday. i was told that i was at@risk

for sudden cardiac death. i was 23 years old. i wasn't overweight. i never dreamed this would happen to me. when the doctor told me i had three blocked arteries, i felt like i was punche in the gut. i found out that one in three women die from heart disease.