we have comeo the end of our first hour of this nbc news/facebook debate here in new hampshire. a few nbc stations may be leaving us now. r omofostf your this morning on "early today," all eyes on new hampshire. front runner mitt romney's presidential rivals scramble to win over the voters. dangerous liaison? the u.s. kicks out a venezuelan diplomat tied to a possible attack on the u.s. and terrifying plunge. an australian woman is lucky after surviving every bungee jumper's worst nightmare. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. we welcome to our viewers across the nation. i'm lori wilson.

today, we begin with heating up in new hampshire. with just one more full day of campaigning before tomorrow's primary, mitt romney's rivals are ramping up their attacks. tracy potts joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: lori, good morning. good morning, everyone, from new hampshire, where it looks like four out of five voters may have already made up their minds. romney's up by 20 points. his opponents are trying to cut that lead. >> if his record was so great as governor of massachusetts, why didn't you run for re-election? >> for me, politics is not a career. >> reporter: ron paul, fed up with the tone of sunday's debate, tried to refocus on foreign policy. >> we can't stay in 130 countries, get involved in had nation building. we can't have 900 bases overseas. >> reporter: romney and newt gingrich clashed over negative ads. >> i think the rhetoric, mr. speaker, was a little over the top. >> you think my rhetoric was

over the top, but your ads were totally reasonable? >> reporter: gingrich says today he'll release a youtube video listing all of the romney's tax hikes as governor. >> i am prepared to say, i am a regular conservative. he is a massachusetts monitor. that seems to hurt almost as much as his ads. >> reporter: john huntsman confronted romney's criticism that he served as china's ambassador under president obama. >> let's just be honest about it. i put my country first. apparently mitt romney doesn't believe in putting country first. >> mitt romney's the hope for america's future. >> reporter: romney's fighting back with help from chris christie and former rival tim pawlenty. but new hampshire's a tough crowd, and not everyone here is backing him. >> i will not vote for mitt romney. i think the fact he won't show his tax returns, he has something to hide. >> reporter: the next two debates are in south carolina. if, in fact, romney wins here and wins big, some campaigns are saying it could be hard to stop

him there. lori. it's hard to believe, it was just one year ago when congresswoman gabrielle giffords and 18 others were gunned down outside a grocery store in tucson, arizona. yesterday, congresswoman giffords and thousands of others gathered in tucson to mark the bitter anniversary. nbc's gina kim has the story. >> reporter: in one of her first public appearances in tucson since being shot, congresswoman gabrielle giffords joined hundreds of others at university of arizona. in a strong, passionate voice, led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance. >> and with leberty and justice for all. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: guided by her husband, astronaut mark kelly, she then lit the first candle in a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of an event that has forever scarred tucson. >> there's a reality that for many of us that there are dreams for our families' future that

will just have to let go. >> reporter: one year ago, a mentally ill gunman unleashed his frustrations and anger on the congresswoman and 18 others in front of a grocery store where giffords was hosting a meet-and-greet. six people lost their lives. on this anniversary, bells tolled, memories stirred, and promises were made to never forget. >> and my fellow tucsons, let's remember this day as a symbol of our strength when we can work together for the greater good. >> reporter: gina kim, nbc news, tucson. a venezuelan diplomat is being thrown out of the united states. the state department has declared venezuela's consul general based in miami, livia i acosta, to be persona non grata. while they won't say why she's being expelled, the move followed allegations she talked

about possible cyber attacks on u.s. soil and may have tried to get information about u.s. nuclear power plants. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. more than 1200 explosive devices were used to demolish a houston skyscraper. look at this. a series of explosions reduced the 20-story building to a pile of rubble in less than 20 seconds. the implosion was planned after asbestos and an ageing foundation made the building too costly to maintain. and the bird-watching world is abuzz with excitement over the arrival of a rare duck in california. fowl enthusiasts from across the country are flocking to the wildlife refuge where the duck can be spotted. the species strayed far off course. finally, new york's subway was the site of another big apple bizarre phenomenon 3.

for the 11th year in a row, riders stripped down to take part in the no-pants ride. they held a celebration to celebrated the annual joke. the underwear prank was pulled, no pun intended, in dozens of other cities including washington, d.c. and mexico city. whi quite a party there. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's bill karins with the weather channel forecast. not a bad weekend to pull that kind of stunt. >> i guess if you're going to do it. i'd rather have people do it in the summer. >> but it was warm this summer. >> that's a lot of layers to rip off. good morning, everyone. it's been mild across the country. that trend continued this weekend. we're looking at temperatures yesterday that were in the 60s in most cases in california. 40s in the mown nous areas in the pacific northwest. medford has been one of the cooler spots as of late. this morning, your temperature is below freezing. there's widespread fog. watch out for freezing fog.

a little bit of wet weather to the north. high pressure dominates just about 95% of the west right now. that's going to continue our mild flow. while the rest of the country will significantly cool off, we're going to keep it mild with that ridge in place here, keeping all the storms from the pacific up north. we need wet weather in the west. the only wet weather we're getting is just a little bit here in the pacific northwest, north of seattle. that's about it. not a lot of moisture with this next front coming onshore today, although a slight chance of showers. l.a. today, beautiful. phoenix, vegas, enjoy it.nd mis. not a ton of wet weather expected. just showery light rain. all right, lori. looks like a nice forecast. the mild air continues. >> yeah, i'm still bracing for

winter to eventually arrive. >> you think it would, right? >> i know. thanks so much, bill. earnings season starts. gas rises, and a penny worth a million. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, beyonce and jay-z produce their greatest creation yet. a professional bowler strikes out. the giants cage the falcons, and more himile-high magic for tim e bow. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lori wilson. here's some of your top headlines it morning. iran ran president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in venezuela this morning, the first leg of a four-nation tour through lath tin america. he'll meet today with hugo chavez. an iranian born in arizona has been sentenced to death after accused of working with

the cia. he once served in the marine corps, who was also convicted of accusing iran of being involved in terrorism. off the coast of new zealand, a container ship broke in half on sunday after becoming stuck on a reef last fall. crews have been trying to recover the cargo, but hundreds of containers remain aboard. and a heart-stopping moment for a woman after her bungee cord failed during a jump. the 22-year-old plunged into a river along the border of zambia and zimbabwe. she was able to swim to safety despite a broken collarbone and her legs being entangled by the cord. and happy birthday to the duchess of cambridge. the former kate middleton turns 30 years old today. she and her husband hit the red carpet today for the london premier of "war horse." buckingham palace says her birthday will be low key and private. here's an early look at one

of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. sunday, novartis issued a solitary recall of excedrin and bufferin because they may contain stray or chipped tablets from other products. they warned the mixing of different products in the same bottle could potentially result in an incorrect dose or an allergic reaction. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,359 after losing 55 points friday. the s&p was down 3 points. the nasdaq added 4. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei dipped 98 points. in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 272. this week's big question on

wall street will be, can better economic news combined with strong earnings trump euro fears? alcoa kicks off earnings season today with foufrt quarter corporate figures expected to show strong results. germany's angela merkel and italy's nicolas sarkozy meet today. italy and spain will hold their first bond auctions of the year. wall street will watch closely. traders will also eye greece, where more crucial austerity measures must be passed. thursday's december retail sales will be the week's most closely watched data. expect auto news and noise this week in detroit at international auto show and tech buzz in las vegas at the annual consumer electronics show. elsewhere, bristol-myers is buying inhibitex for $2.5

billion. venezuela's hugo chavez says he won't recognize any ruling by a world bank tribunal in a multi-billion dollar case of chavez nationalizing an exxon-mobile project. and how's this for inflation? a copper penny minted in 1793, the first year the u.s. made its own coins, fetched $1 million this weekend at a florida auction. keep up with those pennies. all right. the giants pluck the falcons, and every bowler's nightmare happens to a pro on tv. plus, tim tebow and the broncos take on a the playoff savvy pittsburgh steelers in the afc wild card action. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we have a rainy monday morning in much of the deep south heading for the east coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, chalk up another improbable win for the denver broncos and tim tebow. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi, there. good morning. tim tebow adding yet another chapter to his storybook season with a thrilling overtime win over the steelers. to denver we go. no one gave the broncos a chance. that's exactly the kind of thing

tebow thrives on. up one in the second. tebow call us his number. broncos are surprising everyone. up 14 at the half. steelers didn't go down without a fight though. clawing their way back into it, down by a touchdown. roethlisberger finds cotchery. pittsburgh tied the game. we're off to overtime. the broncos need one play from scrimmage in o.t. tebow hits thomas in stride. he does the rest, creating some space with a stiff arm and rumbles 80 yards down the sidelines. one play, 80 yards, game over. the legend of tebow continues to grow as the broncos beat the steelers 29-23 in overtime. next up, the patriots. the early game not as exciting, unless of course you're a giants fan. new york had their way with atlanta. eli manning to hakeem nicks. nicks takes it 72 yards to the house. giants up 17-2. to the fourth. manning tossing his third

touchdown of the game. this one to mario manningham. giants embarrass the falcons 24-2. they will play the super bowl champion packers on sunday. finally, we've all gone bowling. pretty sure we've all thrown a strike. i don't think any of us have struck out like this. he's a rookie in the pba. i guess you can call this a rookie move. gets his fingers stuck in the ball, and you see what happens next. he falls harder than the pins. to make it worse, he bowled a sorry 159. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> that hurt his pride. a shocker delivers a shock at box office. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, white rhinos are increasingly rare. when they're babies, they're just so adore bli cute. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. update on your forecast. a little bit of freezing fog around the medford area until about 10:00 a.m. that will get better. we're also watching a slight chance of showers. mostly coastal areas. california, nevada, arizona, your forecast looks great. i'll show you one location that's been extremely cold this winter. it continues today. fairbanks at minus 22. yes, that's a real number. if you're watching in san diego, explore the earth's most extreme

photography. alaska felt like antarctica lately. they've been storing it up and saving it. >> they can keep it. here's an early look at this morning's headlines. the stork paid a visit to beyonce and jay-z this weekend in new york city. the music no gulls are proud parents of a new baby girl named blue ivy. reports say beyonce rented out the hospital's entire fourth floor for more than $1 million. doctors, staffers, and even a father of prematurely born twins complained security hired by the couple restricted access. elsewhere, kiefer sutherland says a movie based on his "24" series will begin shooting this spring. finally, "the devil inside" scaring up a $34.5 million

opening, bouncing tom cruise out of the top spot. this comes from kxax in dallas, texas. a new bundle of joy has made a big splash. turns out the birth of a baby rhino last fall was a history making event. the newest addition made her 42-year-old mother the oldest white rhino to give birth in the united states. the public won't get to see the baby until next spring. i'm lori wilson. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

china have been chosen to live in wild. tthe sip the sthe six bear protectprotecte protecteprf chinachina'p china's effch the wild. they were chosen after observation of their health and genetic backgrounds. only two remain alive in the wild. this weekend, china's world famous ice and know festival sculpture took center stage. 28 teams from nine countries competed, including one sculptor from dubai, who was thrilled to see so much ice. competitors like working with

the ice from this particular region saying it's transparency better reflects the light. and austria has had so much snow recently, even skiers are saying it's too much. heavy snow has brought almost everything to a stop in austri austria's western area. skiers are happily making due despite some complaining of how tiring it can be skiing through that deep snow. and you look at that beautiful snow, and you think about the fact that it was 60 degrees here in the northeast. >> in a lot of areas. so many places would love to ship some of that snow. all the ski resorts are struggling. it's almost a sad sight you have to go to austria. >> could we get some of that over here? all right. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. if a first amendment battle that could head to the supreme court, a federal appeals court

will review whether the small town of manchester, missouri, can enforce a law designed to prevent an anti-gay group from protesting near funerals. in los angeles, a hearing is scheduled for singer chris brown. it's a progress report after brown pleaded guilty to assaulting his former girlfriend rihanna. on a happier note, the dallas mavericks head to the white house today. they'll be honored for their championship win. all day long, you can stay on top of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight, be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. newt gingrich talks live about tomorrow's new hampshire primary. singer jennifer hudson opens up about the tragic deaths of her mom and brother. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lori wilson. thanks for watching "early

today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.