close call, one of the closest caucuses in history. hands up. a modern day bonnie and clyde crime spree plays out in the western desert. and strange new world. scientists discover a lost world of marine life in warm waters in the antarctic. good morning to you. those stories and much more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

mitt romney won the iowa caucus in a nail biter defeating rick santorum with eight votes to spare. one republican candidate is it considering whether or not to change his request for the white house. tracie potts is in des moines with the latest. good morning to you. veronica, good morning. this was a very long nirght, as you say, for mitt romney. we awaited the results. it is believed to be the closest caulk us in iowa's history. so close, in fact that, we had to wait until every last vote was counted. >> congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 iowa caucuses. >> reporter: hours after they spoke, iowa voters called it. mitt romney wins by just eight votes. >> this is a campaign night

where america wins. on to new hampshire! >> senator john mccain's expected to endorse romney in new hampshire today. >> thank you so much, iowa. >> reporter: it's a big win, too, for rick santorum. he got 25% after polling in single digits just a few weeks ago. >> we will be in new hampshire. we'll leave tomorrow. we'll spend our time there. and with your help and god's grace, we'll have another fun night a week from now. >> reporter: ron paul came in third and thanked an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. >> we will go on. we will raise the money. >> reporter: but romney's biggest challenge may come from newt gingrich who vowed to fight neg-ads by attacking romney's record. >> the truth seems negative. that may be more a comment on his record than it is on politics. >> reporter: coming in next to last, rick perry announce the his suspending his campaign. >> with the voters decision tonight in iowa, i've decided to return to texas, assess the

results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself and this race. >> reporter: michelle bachmann came in dead last but gave no indication she is splitting. >> i believe i'm that true conservative who can defeat barack obama in 2012. >> reporter: republicans moving on to new hampshire with a virtual tie at the top. but the other story here, a 25% win. it's the smallest win in the iowa caucuses in at least three decades, veronica. >> absolutely amazing. what does coming in second mean for rick santorum now moving forward? >> reporter: well this was literally almost a win for him. i mean we're talking a few handful of votes here. and so essentially what it means is that he moves forward in a very strong position for new hampshire and also it means that he is now in a good position to pick up more money,

fund-raising, more donations will put him much further down the road in terms of florida, south carolina, and some of the other big primaries leading into super tuesday. >> and iowans were really lucky. for the most part, they had good weather. >> what role, turnout did iowa voters play in this finish? >> reporter: they saw record turnout here. over 122,000 people. it was big thaeger than four ye ago. and that was record turnout. so we saw a lot of iowans very engaged in this process with essentially six candidates who were vying for their attention. they had a record turnout here. lots of people wanted to have a say in who goes on in this presidential race. >> all right. tracie potts in iowa, we always appreciate it. thank you. last night during msnbc's special coverage of the iowa caucuses, lawrence o'donnell mixed it up over the legal

technicalities over how much success a reporter can have. >> i know the candidate cannot specifically coordinate with the super pack. but any candidate can say and romney can say i want all of the negativitiesing to stop. what prevents him from saying that? >> well, what prevents him from saying that is the plain wording of the law. >> forget the law. i'm saying, if he can say, i don't want negativitiesing in this campaign. without any reference to that super pack, he avoids the technicality. >> lawrence, i'm sorry, but if he can say that, then he can also say i want you to buy 800 gross points worth of time in the northwest corner of the state that targets 18 to 28-year-olds and you would say that was illegal. >> you're distorting the law. >> i disagree. >> it doesn't prevent him from

saying i don't want negativitiesinnegativitiee advertising. >> lawrence, we talked about this. this is what the law is, lawrence. >> lean forward with "the last word" as lawrence o'donnell takes on the day's most compelling stories. it airs week nights at 10:00 eastern on msnbc, the place for politics. here is your first look at the other news going on around america today. a murderous crime spree by a couple the media dubbed a modern day bonnie and clyde came to an end in tuesday. they gave up without a fight after an air unit spotted them wandering in a desert. they allegedly killed an elderly couple in their utah home and shot a woman in the head during an attempted carjacking in nevada. the couple faces numerous charges. a collision between a tractor-trailer and jeep led to a multivehicle crash on a dallas highway. the initial crash caused the truck to slam into a concrete

divider crushing two other cars. crews were called in to clean up a diesel fuel spill and clear the accident. one person was hospitalized. finally, check this out. a georgia neighborhood is beginning to look like a scene from a famous hitchcock movie. residents have been invaded by a flock of turkey vultures, hundreds have been spotted on trees, roofs, and in back yards. wildlife officials are assessing the spooky situation. that is a big bird. now for a look at the national weather, we turn to bill karins with the weather channel forecast. scary, too, those things. >> you don't want them circling over your house. >> they're buzzards, right? >> they tear things up, let's leave that way. good morning, everybody. what a night in iowa. temperatures there were okay for people getting out to the caucuses. there was no rain. actually around the country, there is no rain or snow.

as far as the temperatures go, we were advertising this one of the coldest mornings in a long time in florida. it's pretty cold. it hasn't really surged that far to the south all the way down to miami. right now they're at 44. they koend up in the upper 30s by the time the night is overwith. the freeze line is right through orlando. orlando is 34. north of daytona beech ach. the heart of the strawberries are to the east of tampa. they'll get through the night just fine. tallahassee to gainesville, that's where the deep freeze s the wind chills will really get your attention this morning. it's one of the mornings in new england where you wish you had the car starter. 2 in philadelphia. wind chill is 2 all the way up to new york city and hartford. boston, one of the lowest wind chill values at minus seven. northern new england, the coldest. saranac lake, by the way, one of the colder spots in new england

in the big outbreaks. minus 14 right now wind chill. now the good news is that it's almost overwith. yesterday was very cold in the midwest. now we're improving. kansas city, wind chill is 29. chicago, 20. yesterday morning it was zero. so there is definitely been a big temperature change in the middle of the nation. our 24-hour temperature change shows it already warmed up 20 degrees right now compared to what it was yesterday. the east coast, you notice here much colder. so just give it 24 hours and that warm air will be over the eastern seaboard. there is no snow or rain. weird. i can't find any snow or rain on the map with the exception of the extreme pacific northwest. it is cold but a dry air mass. that means a lot of sunshine out. there as long as can you deal with the temperatures, bring the sun glass wuz, tglasses with yo. >> it's painful when you see the single digits on the map. thanks, bill. stocks surge, data shines and starbucks hikes prices. your first look at this morning's business headlines is

straight ahead. coming up, an upset, a controversial call and overtime in the sugar bowl. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i'm just a bit of residue left behind by some mop. why you... nobody's taken a shine to me in a long time. phooey. i don't need anybody...but you! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. used mops can push muddy water around.

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welcome back to "first look." the taliban is literally setting up shop in qatar. the two sides met secretly before but this marks the first time the taliban has opened the expressed interest in the negotiating. the first day of high level peace talks in more than a year between israeli and palestinian negotiators didn't go very far. but they did agree to keep talking. they met in jordan to discuss future talks between israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas. and a special forces engineer arrested after trying to bring a c-4 explosive onboard

a flight said he forgot he had it with him. he was arrested saturday at the midland airport in texas. he told authorities he didn't realize the explosive was still in his luggage when he left afghanistan in april. and a new years surprise off antarctica. researchers uncovered new species at an underwater hot spring including a colony of crab and a pale octopus. so cool. here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12 snchlt 397 after rising 179 points yesterday. the s&p 500 climbed 19. nasdaq, jumped 43. taking a look at overseas traiting this morning in tokyo. nikkei nudged up 104 points. in hong kong, the hang seng dipped 150. fueled by positive economic news, wall street started out the new year tuesday with a bang. money magers with fresh cash to spend were buying. banks, materials, industrials all posted big gains.

alcoa, j.p. morgan clas ahase a bank of america led the dow. november's construction spending surged to the highest in nearly 18 months. also, overseas, germany reported last year's unemployment average was the low nest two decades. and china slowdown may be over as manufacturing grew there in december. gold reversed its year end slide rising over 2% and oil surged over $4 to almost $103 a barrel on iran tensions. coal-related stocks jumped on last friday's court ruling delaying new air pollution regulations. chesapeake energy rose after selling part of the business to french oil giant total for $2.3 billion. devon jumped after china invested $2.2 billion in devon interest.

all right. listen up. badz news, caffeine lovers. starbucks raised prices in the north and the southeast. and finally, after a lengthy legal battle, a judge ruled an african-american church in columbia, south carolina, is the rightful owner of a building where the red neck shop is located. a store selling racist ku klux klan memorabilia. the church's pastor said he wanted to close the store and use the building to hold services. top ranked battles in college hoops and down to the wire in nba action. plus, the replay took center stage at the sugar bowl with virginia tech and michigan both hanging on. a ruling over this play. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. plus veggie nutrition.

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in sports, the michigan wolverines marched back to the top of fobl football. here is fred roggin. >> each bowl has come down to the final play. the rose and fiesta, the sugar bowl went to the wire. virginia tech rallied for 11 points down against michigan. justin meyer nailed a chip shot to force overtime. hokies prepared to take the lead in ot. logan thomas to danny cole. haul it in and keep a foot inbounds. however, they reviewed it aefr ov and overturned the touchdown.

minor shefranked it. the wolverines took advantage. right down the middle. michigan won the suigar bowl in overtime. >> spartans up three in overtime. time winding down. ryan evans tied it with a three at the buzzer, or did he? evans didn't get the shot off in time. that all depends on which clock you're look beinging at. the shot clock at zero, the stadium clock behind it had .2 on it. they reviewed it and waved the basket off. spartans escape with an overtime win. seton hall handed uconn the first loss of the season. theodore scored all 19 points in the second half. seton hall upset uconn 75-63. nba, bulls scored just 26 in the first half against the hawks. then they decided to show up. 34 in the fourth quarter alone. low all day and got the fall with just three seconds left. the hawks let this one slip away 76-74. finally, after winning their

first five games of the year, the thunder lost two straight. portland, game high 30. frustration boiled over late in the fourth. perkins and aldridge got tangled up. cooler heads prevailed, trail blazers handed the thunder the second loss in as many days, 103-93. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> and now for another quick look at the weather, here is bill karins with the weather channel forecast. what is your game? hoops? hockey? football? it's football, i'm guessing. i'm guessing. >> no, golf. >> is it really? >> oh, no. in high school i played the typical. but now in my old age, it's golf. >> it's golf. >> yes. less physical sports. good morning, everyone. it's a very cold morning out there, especially in northern new england. when we get to the white colors on the map, those are negative numbers. this is by far the coldest

morning so far. as we go through the day, the sun will be up and shine bright. we should see temperatures trying to slowly rebound. it will be a cold day everywhere. d.c. does get up above freezing. that is about it. things dramatically improve. notice for tomorrow high temperatures. we get into the upper 30s. d.c. gets up to 45. and new york city which is seeing the coldest day of the year today will get up to 50 degrees by saturday. so it's like winter just can't stick around. i mean it's like little teases here or there. we really don't have a snow pack across the country. once you get the snow on the ground, it helps lock the cold air in. there is no snow around with the extension of the great lakes. today's forecast, rainy in the pacific northwest. everybody else is dry. we're sunny. it's a very cold morning in florida. but even there we're going to get to the 50s today and tomorrow up near 70. so once again, just a quick shot of cold air and now we warm it back up. >> 24-hour freeze if you will. >> yes. >> all right. thanks, bill. which singer says she won't be an actress and which actress

has been knighted by france? plus who's the friend cany per ji turning to during her breakup with russell brand? your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in.

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today was the iowa caucus and the dugger family are endorsing rick santorum for president. they said if he needs more voters, they'll just make them. the u.s. government is selling $30 billion of fighter jets to saudi arabia. now as part of the new initiative called operation regret this in five years.

congratulations to our pal lebron james who got engaged to his girlfriend over the weekend. yeah. afterwards he was like, so, what's it like to have a ring? >> tonight jimmy welcomes filmmaker ed burns, model and iron chef winner. that is late night with jimmy fallon weeks nights at 12:35. all right. it is time for your first look at entertainment news. reports say katie perry is leaning on rihanna during her split from husband russell brand. "the new york post" reports the singer who arranged her bachelorette party is planning a girl get away trip for them to mexico. they say fwland never took to rihanna because he blamed her for fueling perry's partying ways. demi moore will join a big name cast in an upcoming film about porn star linda lovelace. for christmas, she bought him

two vintage guitars forred 12dz,000. in a move that is raising eyebrows in and out of showbiz, sal moo highback has been named a knight of the legion of honor by france's president. highback's husband is the billionaire ceo of a french company. and finally, whether or not you believe lady gaga followed a master plan for success called madonna, there is at least one material girl direction lady gaga is going in, acting. she insists she is just a musician. but that can also be the madonna plan in a way. she probably looks at her acting career and goes off it. >> didn't go so well. but i think she went to nyu, lady gaga. a lot of those -- i don't know. i don't believe it. people get the acting bug. >> so you don't think it's going to hold? >> i think she'll do as well as she can. and justin timberlake didn't get into acting five years later. >> i think we'll see her on stage at some point.

or at least in theaters. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early with willy geist" starts right now. game on. >> thank you so much, iowa. you, by standing up and not compromising, by standing up and being bold and leading, leading with that burden and responsibility you have to be first, you have taken the first step of taking back this country. >> thank you, iowa, for the great sendoff you're giving us to and the others in this campaign. look, this