all eyes on new hampshire. front-runner mitt romney scramble to win over voters. dangerous liaison. the u.s. kicks out a venezuelan diplomat tied to a possible attack on the u.s. terrifying plunge. an australian woman lucky to be alive after surviving every bungee jumper's nightmare. i'm lore i wilson, this is "first look" on msnbc.

we begin this morning with heating up in new hampshire. with just one more full day of campaigning before tom's primary, mitt romney's republican presidential rivals are ramping up their attacks. nbc's tracie potts has more from new hampshire. good morning. >> reporter: lori, good morning. good morning, everyone, from new hampshire. where it looks like four out of five voters have made up their minds the day before this primary. romney is up by 20 pointses a his opponents are trying to cut that lead. >> if his record was so great as governor of massachusetts, why didn't he run for re-election. >> for me politics is not a career. >> reporter: ron paul tried to refocus on foreign policy. >> we can't stay in 130 countries, get involved in nation building. we cannot have 900 bases overseas. >> reporter: romney and newt gingrich clashed over negative ads. >> but i do 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 romney's tax hikes as governor. >> confused. >> reporter: jon huntsman confronted romney's criticism that they served as china ambassador under president obama. >> let's be honest about it. i put my country first. apparently mitt romney doesn't believe in putting country first. >> mitt romney is the hope for america's future. >> reporter: romney's fighting back with help from new jersey governor chris christie and former rival tim pawlenty. new hampshire's a tough crowd and not everyone here is backing him. >> i will not vote for mitt romney. i think the fact that he won't show his tax returns, i think he has something to hide. >> reporter: now, the next two debates are in south carolina. if in fact romney wins here and he wins big, some campaigns are

saying it could be hard to stop him there. lori? >> thanks, tracie. it's hard to believe it was 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 the university of arizona. in a strong passionate voice, led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance. >> one nation under god with liberty and just for all. >> reporter: guided by her husband, astronaut mark kelly, she lit the first candle in a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of an event that has forever scarred tucson.

>> there are dreams for our family's future that we'll 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 to my fell low tucsonians, 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 to be per known thsona .

she may have tried to get information about u.s. nuclear power plants. here's your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america today. a miami coast guard rescue crew scrambled to save an alabama couple after their plane crashed near the bahamas. the aerial unit discovered the pilot and passenger on an inflatable raft less than an hour after their plane went down. the man and woman were pulled from the ocean without any injuries. more than 1,200 explosionive devices were used to demolish a houston skyscraper. 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 aging foundation made the building too costly to maintain. finally, work subway was the site of another bizarre big apple phenomenon. for the 11th year, commuters stripped do unto their skivvies

to take part in the no pants subway. i thought that looked like you, bill. they held a rally at one station to serve an annual practical joke. the prank was pulled in other cities including london, washington, d.c. and mexico city. now for a look at your national weather we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. who was moonlighting there? >> it was a tough decision as to what pair of boxers to wear. >> you know it's going to be on video. >> you have to have the cool boxers. everyone's wondering what the weather will be like for the primary in new hampshire. it's actually looking like it will be mild by new hampshire standards for midwinter. temperatures won't be a problem for people heading out to the polls. we should have good turnouts in a lot of the southern cities. snow showers, a period of light snow during the daylight hours as we go into northern new

hampshire, berlin, conway, whitefield, we could get an inch or less. that won't keep people from heading out to cast their votes. the weather overall, maybe a b plus. as far as the forecast goes for today, if you're joining us anywhere in the south, the carolinas to georgia, even d.c. as a chance of light rain today. the soaking rain is down here in texas. that's where we're going to get drenched. we like that. remember texas was under a horrible drought last year. we'll take every ounce of rain we can get. thunderstorms are plentiful. they'll be like this pretty much the next two days through texas. houston, lake charles, all through louisiana you have to prepare for that heavy rain event. they'll be playing that big football game tonight in louisiana. no problems there. the game is being played indoors. the forecast of the rain, 1 to 2 inches is possible in the next 48 hours from texas through louisiana, mississippi, arkansas and eventually lighter rain will

work its way to the southeast. there's another story out there. it's been so warm, we've been talking about that day in and day out. there's a big shot of cold air heading for the northern plains. the white and the purple is where the heart of the cold air is. watch what happens. a little chunk of it comes from alaska to minnesota. that will be the coldest air of season for the northern plains. it clips new england on thursday. the thing that's changing, it's not like the cold air hits and leaves, it's being reinforced by more cold air. middle of january, end of january will probably feel like winter. be prepared to are that. it's about time, right? more record highs today in northern plains, montana in the 50s with minneapolis, rain and thunderstorms in the deep south. so i think lori you get the gist of it. we have rain to deal with and winter will return in full as we head towards the end of this week. >> all right. pull the coat back out. >> yes. earning season starts, gas

rises and a penny worth a million. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a professional bowler strikes out, the giants cage the falcons and more mile high magic for tim tebow. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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good morning and welcome back to "first look." iranian president ahmadinejad is in venezuela this morning. he'll meet today with president hugo chavez. breaking news just in from iran. an american born in arizona has been sentenced to death after being convicted of working with the cia. the report says amir hekmati who once served in the marine corps was also convicted of trying to accuse iran of being involved in

terrorism. 100 soldiers are on lockdown at an army base in washington state while authorities search for stolen gear. hundreds of pieces of weapon attachments like rifle scopes and night vision goggles disappeared. off the coast of new zealand, a container ship broke in half after becoming stuck on a reef last fall. salvage crews have been trying to recover its cargo but hundreds of containers remain aboard. a heart-stopping moment for a woman after her bungee cord failed during a jump. she plunged into the river near the border of zambia and zimbabwe. she was able to swim to safety. happy birthday to the duchess of cambridge. the former kate middleton turns 30 years old today. she and husband, prince william, hit the red carpet sunday for the london premiere of the movie "war horse." buckingham palace says her birthday will be low key and

private. here's your "first 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 and the nasdaq headed 4. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dipped 98 points. in haong kong, the hang seng climbed 272. in the wake of friday's data showing the lowest jobless rate in three years, alcoa kicks off earnings season today with fourth quarter corporate figures expected to show strong results. germany's angela merkel and france's nicolas sarkozy meet today in berlin on euro debt issues. this week, italy and spain hold their first bond auctions of the year. wall street will closely watch interest rates on those bonds. 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 at detroit at the international auto show and tech buzz in las vegas at the annual consumer electronics show. elsewhere, bristol-myers is buying hepatitis c drug developer inhibitax. regular gas jumped 12 cents a gallon over the last three weeks. venezuela's hugo chavez says he won't recognize any -- over chavez nationalizing an exxonmobil project. venezuela faces 20 other cases on that tribunal. and how's this for inflat n 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. not bad.

in health news this morning, sunday, novartis issued a voluntary recall of certain bootles of products. they warned the mixing of different products in the same bottle could potentially result in an incorrect dose or allergic reaction. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. the giants pluck the falcons and every bowler's nightmare happens to a pro on tv. plus, tim tebow and the broncos take on the playoff savvy pittsburgh steelers in afc wild card action. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. 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. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. okay... is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one.

[ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval,

as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. welcome back to "first look," i'm lori wilson. chalk up another improbable win for the denver broncos and tim tebow. here's mario solis. tim tebow added yet another chapter to his story book season with a thrilling overtime win over the steelers. to denver we go. no one gave the broncos a chance and that's exactly the thing tebow thrives on. he calls his own number, bowls his way into the end zone. you think he's pumped up? broncos are surprising everyone, up 14 at the half. steelers didn't go down without a fight, clawing their way back

into it, trailing by a touchdown. jericho cotchery in the back of the end zone. pittsburgh ties it at 23. we're off to overtime. tebow hits thomas, in stride, he does the rest, creating 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 in overtime. the earlier game not as exciting unless, of course, you're a giants fan. low to mid- eli manning to hakeem nicks. giants up 17-2. to the fourth and 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.

josh blanchard is a rookie in the pba. i guess you can call this a rookie move. you see what happens next. he falls harder than the pins. he bowled a sorry 139. blanchard and his game are in the gutter. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm mario solis. >> i'm embarrassed for him. all right. now here is another quick look at the weather. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel. >> i don't get it. did they prank him and put something in the finger? >> that would be the story i would tell. >> it was a setup. >> i feel bad for the guy. >> good morning, everyone. if you're just joining us, let's recap what we're dealing with in the northeast. the pramry coming up tomorrow in new hampshire. it's cold in northern new england right now. the big cities are doing okay. boston at 26, hartford at 25. it's a chilly morning. the wind chill is not that bad. it's a decent afternoon. just a couple degrees cooler than what you dealt with

yesterday. it was a nice weekend, too, boston at 39, albany at 38. d.c. could have rain showers. if you're from richmond, d.c. to southern maryland and delaware, light rain this afternoon. tomorrow another warm day, 50s again from the mid-atlantic up to new york. 40s in much of new england. the only thing we have to worry about a little bit is in northern new hampshire tomorrow from whitefield to conway to berlin could get a little dusting of snow, maybe an inch at most during the primary. all of the big cities to the south, the weather looks perfect. the bottom line is we had great weather for the iowa caucuses and it looks like the primary new hampshire pretty good. >> that means voters will come out. >> yes. >> historically. >> no excuses. >> thank you, bill. a shocker delivers a shock at the box office. plus, beyonce and jay-z produce their greatest creation yet. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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iran just announced plans to strict web access and launch its own international internet. they're creating an internet that's totally cut off from the rest of the world or as that's also known, aol. this is nice last night, joe biden and his wife went to the movies to see "the girl with the dragon tattoo." it was annoying when they showed the girl with the dragon tattoo and biden was like, is that the girl with the dragon tattoo? there's a new video online

where a guy proposes to his girlfriend at a jumbotron at a basketball game and she actually says no. the worst part is afterwards when marv albert is like, rejected. he didn't have to do that. >> tonight jimmy welcomes actor mark wahlberg. welcome back to "first look." i'm lori wilson. stork paid a visit to beyonce and jay-z in new york city. heavy security for that stork ruffled lots of feathers. they are proud parents of a new baby girl named blue ivy. >> what? >> blue ivy. i said it. beyonce checked in under the name ingrid jackson renting out the entire fourth floor for more than a million dollars. doctors, staffers and even a father of prematurely born twins

complained that security restricted movement in the hospital like an exclusive nightclub. keefer sutherland says a movie based on his "24" series will begin moving this spring. the mystery of brat pd pitt limping this weekend has been solved. he picked up a top prize. he hurt himself protecting his 3-year-old daughter vivian from a fall while skiing on a family vacation. finally, the fright flick "the devil inside" confounded the experts scaring up a monsterous $34.5 million opening, more than doubling expectations and bouncing tom cruise out of the top spot. i'm sitting here trying to think of what colors are names. i never heard blue is -- >> heather. heather gray. >> rose. that's a color or the flower. why not blue.

why not green. >> i love it. i'm lori wilson and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. >> i think what republicans have to ask is who's most likely in the long run to survive against the kind of billion dollar campaign the obama team is going to run. and i think that a bold reagan conservative with a very strong economic plan is a lot more likely to succeed in that campaign than a relatively timid massachusetts moderate who even "the wall street journal" said had an economic plan so timid it resembled obama. good morning and welcome to manchester, new hampshire where they are proud to host the country's first primary every four years. we are