just when it appears that stephen colbert has not upped his game, he ups his game. now it's time for "the last word with rallying around romney. some of the gop frontrunners' toughest critics rise to his defense. dining hazards. scary moments when a tractor-trailer wheel crashes through a louisiana restaurant window. and iphone uproar. angry customers egg apple's flag ship store in beijing over the postponed launch of a product. very good morning to you. those stories and much more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

and we begin this morning with romney's record. with a week to go before the south carolina primary, republican contenders are sharpingening their tacts on mitt romney and his business career. brian moar joins us with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. romney supporters are calling the recent attacks desperate. mitt romney is looking and sounding a lot like he's ready to take on president obama in the fall. >> we are going to see the change we're looking for. it's not barack obama. i believe it's going to be mitt romney. >> reporter: with wins in iowa and new hampshire, romney is still the prime target. >> he ran as a liberal against ted kennedy and lost. he ran as a moderate for governor. >> mitt romney -- >> reporter: for days he defeat the his business record with

bain capital. don't be fooled by newt's desperate attacks. >> reporter: newt gingrich and rick perry are not apologizing, they are toning down their rhetoric. >> i'm shocked at how defensive they are. >> free market capitalism in the state of texas created over a million jobs. we understand how capitalism needs to work. >> reporter: eight days before the south carolina primary, the candidates who aren't mitt romney are still looking for a winning message. and while the others look for that winning message, romney is still trying to convince conservatives that he's conservative enough. ver on yak? >> brian mooar, thank you. last night on lawrence o'donnell, stephanie cut ter, mitt romney was asked about cutting jobs in the private sector. >> we're wondering why nobody was even bringing up this topic. it was brought up in the 2008 campaign n fact, john mccain attacked mitt romney for

precisely these reasons that, mitt romney is taking credit for jobs, taking credit for being in the private sector and john mccain was holding him accountable for that. he went into a company, stripped them down and sent them into bankruptcy and fired workers and sent the jobs overseas. so this debate was had in 2008. we've been waiting for it to happen. we're pleased the issues are finally raise. we disagree it's free enterprise on trial. this is about mitt romney staying his entire candidacy on his private sector jobs record. and it's only natural for people to ask what that record is. and what that record means and are those the values we want in the oval office? i think most people are saying no. >> be sure to lean forward with "the last word" at 10:00 eastern on msnbc, the place for

politics. and now to the latest on the scandal involving four u.s. marines who allegedly desecrated the bodies of taliban fighters in afghanistan. defense secretary lee on panetta called afghan president karzai to promise a full investigation. he called the actions, if confirmed, inexcusable. an image from the video purports to show the marines urinating on the remains of the taliban militants. the four service members have been identified and two of them are being questioned in camp lejeune, north carolina. secretary panetta also announced the u.s. will withdraw 7,000 troops from europe. it is part of the new military strategy that president obama announced last week. as tensions soar, the obama administration has used a secret channel of communication to warn iran against closing the straight of harmuz. the u.s. message to tehran's supreme leader said they would cross a red line if they acted too close to the straight.

iran recently staged military exercises after threatening to cut off the straight. in the meantime, iran agreed to allow a delegation of united nations nuclear inspectors later this movement but it's not clear if the inspectors will be permit to visit key nuclear sights. iran is denying they're trying to build a nuclear bomb. here's your first look at the other news going on around america today. a texas homeowner's scary brush with death was caught on video. when he con fronted a pair of would-be car thieves. the man scuffled with one suspect before suffering a knife wound and retreating into his home. they're hoping it will aid in capturing the suspects. a free accident caused a major scare and damage inside one louisiana fast food restaurant. a tire from a passing 18 wheeler launched into the front en. >> translator: front entrance of the eatery.

four people suffered injuries. police organized a statewide search for the truck. and finally, it is a board season. the golden globe awards opened the annual one stop shop where celebrities receive free gift bags filled with pampering products. over 40 companies are taking part. talk about the rich getting richer this year, merchandise inside each of those bags worth $50,000. now for a look at the national weather, we turn to bill karins with the weather channel forecast. $50,000. >> this is how it works, right? they wear the stuff and then people see them in the magazines. they promote the products. >> it's like advertising. >> which is why they should just donate it. >> who, the stars? >> i know, makes absolutely no sense. they don't need more stuff. it's stuff. >> it's just stuff to them. >> and $50,000 worth of stuff. >> i get it.

not coming any way either. good morning, everyone. around the country, big weather changes. we have five inches of snow in chicago. the kids get to go out and play for once in the snow. first significant snow of the season in areas like milwaukee and chicago. we even had a horrible morning commute yesterday around st. louis and indiana. much of the state of illinois. today, it's not going to be quite as bad. temperatures, though, are chilly. 24 hour temperature change. the cold air shown in the purple. it's 22 degrees colder right now in atlanta than this time yesterday. bundle the kids up from new orleans to atlanta and all the southeast. eventually that cold air will work into new england during the day to day. it's actually warm in new york city at 46. later on this afternoon, the temperatures will drop into the 30s. wind chills in the 20s. that cold air is arriving. wind chill right now in minneapolis, minus two. we've had snow on the ground in chicago. that wind chill of one does not feel good out there if you're shoveling and even our friends in new orleans this morning have a wind chill below freezing. one of the colder mornings we've had in many areasst country.

we still have snow out there. we're not done yet. we still have significant snow in western new york from buffalo down to erie. and then still snowing light fli many are lightly. a couple inches there. we still have the snow squalls through areas of kentucky and also the higher terrain here in the appalachians between kentucky and west virginia. and we're traveling there. you could get quickly into blinding snow. as we go throughout the day to day, the lake-effect snow will be a big problem. in the big cities from newark to trenton to philly, a line of rain will go through. that will mark the cold front behind that. the winds will crank this afternoon. very windy conditions. expect significant airport delays also. as far as the snow forecast goes, the bulls eye is going to be the lake-effect snow later on tonight and tomorrow. erie to buffalo and south wards, north of pittsburgh and eventually syracuse, too, will get lake-effect snow. so your forecast for your friday, again, airport delays are going to be possible because of the windy conditions in the big cities of the east. cold air already arrived in the midwest.

as far as the weekend goes, veronica, it quiets down. there is no problems over the weekend. we're going to watch a chilly winter weekend for once. can you believe it? middle of january and now finally feels like winter. >> i can't believe we're finally seeing snow, bill. thanks. home depot is hiring. food lion is firing. and a very unusual recall at bed, bath & beyond. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the nhl all star rosters are announced. shoging upset in college hoops and things go from bad to worse for the knicks. ♪ you're singing with a broken string ♪

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here are the top stories making news this morning. the international space station had to fire up the engines and get out of way because of space junk. it was moving fast enough to puncture the space station.

more than 650 political prisoners have been freed as the military government tries to legitimatize itself in the eyes of the world. the government also agreed to a cease-fire with rebels and started a dialogue with pro-democracy leader chi. a group of ammish men have been sentenced to jail for refusing to put orange reflective triangles on their bugies. they say the bright color goes against their vow to lead low key lives. the sheriffs in kentucky says not having them makes the buggies a hazard on the road. wild elephants have been on a rampage in eastern india. residents have been trapped as the elephants damage a number of homes going after stockpiles of grain. and in china, customers started throwing eggs in protest after the apple store in beijing canceled plans to sell the new iphone 4 s. apple became worried about safety after thousands of shoppers camped outside. and now here is your first look at how wall street will kick off

the day. the dow opens at 12,471 after adding 21 points yesterday. the s&p 500 was up three. the nasdaq gained 13. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 114 points while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 109. falling oil and strong european baund auctions drove a late come back on wall street thursday causing stocks to close higher. materials and industrials drove the recovery with caterpillar and alcoa leading the dow. oil fell below 1$100 a barrel this year. and also pushing stocks, strong bond auctions in italy and spain which eased european debt worries. energy shares took a hit after chevron warned on fourth quarter profit. corn futures plunged. wheat futures also tumbled. stocks tripped up early on data. december's retail sales rose at

the weakest pace in seven months. first time jobless claims moved higher last week mainly due to holiday temp layoffs. and company news, multifine line electronics surge ond a better than expected sales outlook. wynne resorts fell on the news that the vice president chairman sued the company for blocking review of business accounts. home depot will hire 70,000 seasonal workers for the spring. food lion's belgian operator said they'll close 113 locations and cut almost 5,000 jobs. ingt confirmed it plans to acquire double down interactive for up to half a billion dollars. and today traders will watch early for the first big bank earnings from j.p. morgan chase. finally, here is a kind of product problem that you don't hear about every day. bed bath & beyond is recalling metal tissue holders sold in more than 20 states contaminated with low levels of radioactivity. and in health news, according to

a new study, girls who eat frequent meals and snacks put on fewer pounds and gain fewer waistline inches over the decade than those who only eat a couple times a day. the study's author says it's too early to recommend that style of eating to prevent obesity. it keeps giving satisfied longer to prevent overeating. head to the web and check out the health page on line at msnbc.com. hockey's all stars are announce ed announceded, a fluke goal on the ice and another top ten upset in the hoops. and plus what was supposed to be a rosey year for the new york knicks keeps getting dimmer and dimmer. your first look at sports is straight ahead. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

in sports, rosters are out for this season's nhl all star game. here is fred roggin with a look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. the nhl all star game rosters released yesterday and the stars were shining brightly last night. the game will be held in ottawa at the end of the month. last night the senators in new york. jason spezza voted by the fans. he had a pair of goals against the rangers. his teammate maholic also a fan. tim tavis will play in a second all star game. he had a solid performance against the canadiens. bruins took the lead on a wild

play in the first. carey price who is also an all star came out of the net to play the puck but it took a crazy bounce off the glass. jordan caron was there to put it into the empty net. the bruins won it 2-1. red wings and coyotes pummelled them in the all star game. they tied it at three. this decided in a shootout. zetterberg simply undressed mike smith. red wings won in a shootout 4-3. the 59th annual all star game is sunday january 29th on the nbc network. nba, knicks struggled this season. this definitely didn't help anything. carmelo anthony left the game in the third quart we are a sprained ankle. the x-rays are negative and he's day to day. the knicks folded without their star. the grizzlies won it 94-83. finally, a big upset in college hoops. minnesota down to indiana and took it to the eighth rank

hoosiers. 18 points for the golden gophers. indiana had chances at the end but they couldn't knock down the big shots when they needed it the most. minnesota shocked everybody and won it 77-74. that's your first look at sports. have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. and now for another quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. everybody's talking about what little snow we have out there. >> yes. it hasn't been that snowy. it hasn't been that cold. but that has changed in many areas. good morning. if you're just joining us, this isn't a misprint. right now, its 42 in new york wind chill. very mild. feels great. don't get used to it. right now the wind chill in pittsburgh is 4. the cold air is rushing into the big cities of the east. so although you don't need the heavy gear, winter gear as you go out this morning, when you return this afternoon, it will feel much, much colder and very windy, too. so there is a little bit of rain out there. you may want the um brel yachlt showers are rolling through philadelphia right now. trenton, they're heading for new york city here shortly.

behind that is where the cold air will begin to arrive. this is all the white on the map. this is all snow. western new york got snow this morning. probably going to be some school delays around buffalo and then as we go throughout the evening hours, more snow will kick in with lake effect. and there is still snow showers from pittsburgh and all across michigan and the state of ohio. so the bottom line is if you're joining us from anywhere in new england or along the mid-atlantic, the temperatures will tumble during the day to day. as far as the middle of the country goes, it's going to be a cold day in chicago, coldest of the winter. five inches of fresh snow on the ground. it's 20 degrees with the wind chill. feels like zero this morning. the cold sayer in minneapolis and kansas city. but this winter we can't keep the cold air as we go throughout saturday and sunday, we jum top 50 in denver. and then kansas it is ji back in the 50s by sunday. so although it's going to be cold, it's not going to stick ash. >> 30 degrees? am i reading that right? 30 degrees in new york and 20 for boston? >> yes. >> yikes. >> neck and neck race at the box

office and two old action war horses are returning to the big screen. but, could she really be going from one of showbiz's bad boys to one of professional sports alter boys? your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. 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. laces? really? 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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did you see this new tell all book about mitt rom i coming out next week. it is called "the real romney." it is based on romney after 300 pages. the last line is actually, i just changed my mind about all. that a survey found that 16% of employees are late to work at least once a week.

can you believe that, higgins? president obama met with brad pitt and angelina joe lee in the oval office yesterday. after they left, obama checked the white house to make sure sasha and malia were still there. tonight, jimmy welcomes joyful noise, queen latifah and john mullany. that is "late night on jimmy fallon" on your local nbc station. all right. it is time for your first look at entertainment news. at the box office this weekend, two new films and a family rerelease the battle for the top spot with most experts calling the race a tossup. contraband, a remake of a 2009 film is expected to appeal to men. joyful noise starring queen latifah and dolly parton targets women and faith-based audiences.

the rerelease of beauty and the beast will go after families. they're all expected to earn in the $15 million range. heather locklear's parents say she is resting and in stable conditions in a california hospital. she took a dangerous mix of prescription drugs and alcohol. old school action star sylvester stallone and arnold schwarzenegger will reunite in the film "the tomb." finally, okay magazine claiming newly single katie perry's preacher parents trying to set up a meeting between they are and broncos quarterback tim tebow. >> yeah, they have to get in line. i think there is a lot of parents that would like -- >> are you jealous? >> no. i think tim tebow is one of the hottest commodities out there being a single man. >> i thought you were saying get in line for katie perry. >> i'm sure there's a line for both. tim tebow's line is very long. >> i would never have my parents set me up. bad idea. bad idea. >> how do you know? >> because. just -- you just don't have your parents do stuff like that.

>> okay. >> i mean, do you? >> i don't know. everybody can do it differently. fit works, it works. >> this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned because "way too early with willy geist" starts right now. have a great weekend. hillary clinton calls four marines desecrating bodies in afghanistan disgusting. what does the video mean to america's future in afghanistan? back at home, conservatives now rallying around mitt romney in the face of attacks from newt gingrich and rick perry about romney's time and work at bane capital. the question is, has the front-runner nailed down a convincing defense on this issue? one he will certainly need again if he makes it through to the general election. and stephen colbert makes a big announcement about his presidential aspirations. the question is, to whom will he hand off his beloved