i do so solemnly swear. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again tomorrow where we'll be back in new york city. pulse of the nation. our new poll has bad news for the country and gop presidential frontrunner newt gingrich. road hazard. the federal government begins a new push to ban cell phone calls, texting and e-mails at the wheel. and "i don't," new numbers show marriage in america is on the steep decline. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and today we begin with a bleak outlook. a startling round of new poll

numbers point to what could be a game-changing election year given the overwhelmingly unsatisfied state of the american people. according to the latest nbc news/wall street journal poll, a whopping 70% say the country is headed in the wrong direction. americans felt a similar lack of satisfaction with congress and the economy. nbc's political director chuck todd has more results on the field of republican presidential candidates. >> let's start with mitt romney. his electability problem is getting the republican nomination. newt gingrich surged to 40%, the highest number any republican has had in the calendar year of 2011 since we started polling this primary. when the race shrinks down to three candidates, gingrich, romney, paul, gingrich's lead expands 53% to romney's 31%. what is romney's electability problem? one word, ideology.

70% of republicans call themselves conservative. 57% believe newt gingrich is one of them. newt gingrich has an electability problem but that is in a general election. mitt romney and barack obama would be a neck and neck race, 47% to 45%. newt gingrich, different story, 51% for the president, just 40% for newt gingrich. independent voters are sour on newt gingrich. elsewhere, last night on capitol hill, house republicans muscled through their version of a budget bill. it does extend payroll tax cuts also has approval of the keystone pipeline, something president obama and the senate have said they won't accept. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> ayes are 234 -- >> reporter: house republicans easily pushed through what they called their tax cut jobs bill. >> the american people were asking, where are the jobs? the house is listening.

we've passed a large big that contains many of the priorities of our caucus and the white house. >> reporter: but most democratic lawmakers were opposed. >> republicans want to go home for the holidays but they want working people to pay more in taxes next year and lose unemployment check. >> reporter: to make up for lower payroll taxes for medicare and social security, republicans voted to extend pay freeze on federal workers and eventually reduce long-term unemployment from 99 to 59 weeks. democrats had wanted a tax hike on the rich. and the republican bill would fast track approval of the keystone oil pipeline from canada to texas. opposed by environmentalists but backed by some unions and many conservatives. >> the keystone pipeline will create, as has been said, 20,000 to 25,000 jobs or more immediately. >> reporter: but president obama who wants more study of the pipeline vows to veto today's bill if keystone is included.

he's escalating the fight, urging democrats to hold up the latest government spending bill until the house passes a plain payroll tax cut extension. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, capitol hill. this could affect many of you at home. there is a bold new push from the national transportation safety board that is calling for an all out ban on cell phone use while driving. that means no texting, no talking, not even hands-free devices. and now it is up to the states to carry out that recommendation. nbc's brian mooar has details. >> reporter: what began as a school bus trip in missouri ended in a deadly chain collision crash and more than a year later it's leading to a call for an outright ban on drivers using mobile phones. >> and, yes, that does apply to bluetooth, hand-held, hands-free. a visual and cognitive distractions and manual distractions we're concerned about. >> reporter: it's one of the

most sweeping recommendations ever by the national transportation safety board. >> it may seem like a very quick call, a very quick text, a tweet or an update. but accidents happen in the blink of an eye. >> reporter: drivers could still use gps or other devices that aid driving. and passengers wouldn't be affected, but the ntsb call is only a recommendation. distracted driving has been cited in a fatal commuter train accident in california, a deadly boat collision in philadelphia and a passenger jet that strayed 100 miles past its destination. investigators say the true toll of distracted driving is impossible to measure. while a phone ban may be inconvenient -- >> death is inconvenient. >> reporter: a new drive to force american motorists to put down their phones. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. on the eve of today's tribute speech by the president

to america's military, vice president joe biden made an exclusive appearance last night on the rachel maddow show and rachel asked how he feels about the role he played in help to go bring one of the country's longest wars to an end. >> i tell you, i feel like -- i feel like i did something that -- or participated in something being done that i can be proud of for the rest of my life. had i stayed as chairman of the foreign relations committee, no matter how engaged i was, i don't think i would have been in a position to be able to effect events on a day to day basis to bring us to this point. our troops brought us to this point, our diplomats brought us to this point. but i'll be plunt withblunt wit. after i made that speech in the palace with maliki to iraqi and american assembled troops, i

left, got on the phone and called the president and said thank you. thank you for giving me the opportunity to do something that meant a great deal to me personally and to the country. to end this war in iraq. >> be sure to check out rachel maddow's unique take on politics a and all the day's top stories. that's the rachel maddow show week nights at 9:00 eastern. the place for politics. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a momentary distraction may lead to a lifetime of embarrassment for one miami police officer. he was reaching for a fallen pen when it caused him to lose control of his cruiser and drive up a wire attached to a utility pole. stuck at a 45-degree angle the officer, who was not hurt, thankfully, needed a rescue crew to help him exit the car. a gun-wielding thief disguised in a scooby doo ski mask has the public asking for help.

they released surveillance video hoping someone may be able to identify him. an oklahoma restaurant has snacks for you. they have taken all the fun foods from state fairs and put them on their menu. customers at the eatery can now get a year-round fix of funnel cakes, fried candy bars, corn dogs and other popular dishes. and now here's a look at your weather with bill karins. some states are like trying to ban junk food and only like baked chips in the vending machines. they're going all out on this one. >> they have an audience. >> yeah. all in moderation, folks. >> funnel cake for breakfast once a week? >> doesn't hurt. >> just don't eat breakfast the rest of the week. good morning, everyone. umbrella weather many areas of the country. we don't have a lot of snow out there. just a lot of rain. rain has moved into the state of

ohio, pretty much covering it from toledo to columbus. and in pittsburgh, bring the umbrella with you. also our friends up in detroit. as far as chicago go, we've seen the roads get wet. on and off rain overnight. that continues this morning. a little bit of a break around springfield. milwaukee, areas of iowa. just a lot of rain. amazing that we don't have much snow and ice. only areas getting wintry frozen precipitation is northern wisconsin and up around duluth. as far as the radar goes, this storm started yesterday out here near phoenix. they picked up about an inch of rain for the desert areas, that's significant. and just light rain left in kansas and oklahoma. dallas and san antonio, you have a chance of seeing some thunderstorms. once we get to the yellow kro s

colors, that's two inches. but we have no flooding concerns. the green is an inch or less of rainfall tlou much hroughout mu great lakes and ohio valley. the big story is the warm temperatures. we're at 41 to start your morning in chicago. we've warmed it up considerably in new england compared to this time yesterday. now in areas leak new york and boston, we're almost at 40 degrees. so that warm air is heading to the east and that will feel nice over the next couple days even if it is cloudier with rain. so forecast middle of the country is the rainy weather, the storms, the eastern seaboard. you're dry for one more day. tomorrow is when we'll seee umbrellas in the northeast. >> all right, bill, thank you. coming up, the fed does nothing and wall street wine whines. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the denver nuggets earn the best free agent on the market and the longest shot you'll ever see. nyquil (st uffy

): hey, tylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. tylenol: we are? nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for unsurpassed fruit and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion. could've had a v8. v8 v-fusion. i joined the navy when i was nineteen. i spent four years in the military and i served a tour in iraq. all the skills that i learned in the military are very transferable into the corporate and real world. chase hired me to be a personal banker. the 100,000 jobs mission has definitely helped me get my foot in the door. chase is giving opportunities to vets who don't think that there's any opportunity out there. chase and these other companies are getting a great deal when they hire veterans. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home.

welcome back. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. in a surprise move, it was last minute, jerry sandusky, former penn state assistant coach charged with molesting ten boys, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. prosecutors were prepared to call 11 witnesses. many alleged victims. in the belgian city, a gunman sprayed bullets at christmas shoppers and hurled a grenade at a bus stop, killing four people before taking his own life. more than 120 were wounded. donald trump has canceled plans to moderate a republican presidential debate in iowa, one in which only two candidates agreed to take part. trump says he wants to maintain the option of running for president himself. and a new analysis of census data finds a record low number of adult americans are currently married. just 51%, down from 57% in 2000.

the median age when people first marry is now at an all-time high, 26 for women and 28 for men. and how about some blink? this toilet in japan has more flash than flush. the pretty potty is bedazzled with 72,000 pieces of crystals and is worth $128,000. now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,954 after falling 66 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 10 points. the nasdaq lost 32. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was down 33 points while in hong kong the hang seng fell 92. like a child expecting a gift from a visiting relative, wall street pouted tuesday when the federal reserve showed up empty-handed. despite expectations the fed would stand pat, stocks still slumped on disappointment over

no new stimulus. the fed opted against any movement, including another round of quantitative easing. on both europe and economic improvement here, the central bank will just wait and see. adding insult to injury, the fed told wall street what it already knew -- europe and strains on financial markets still pose danger. earlier, stocks traded higher despite german chancellor angela merkel rejecting raising europe's bailout fund. the euro sank to the lowest level since january. gold lost another 2.5%. on tensions with iran, oil jumped more than 2%. wheat down 11% over the past month, jumped almost 3%. retail sales rose again, but less than expected in november. best buy tumbled on lower than expected quarterly profit. boeing took its first order for the new 737, part of a $19 billion southwest deal, the airline's largest. pfizer led the dow on its $10 billion stock buy back.

urban outfitters led the s&p on fast rising sales. finally, headlining last night's

kings lost five straight boston winning 3-0. sabres and senators needed overtime. eric karlsson fed cowen in front of the net. miller with a season high 41 saves but couldn't stop that one. ottawa won it 3-2 in o.t. finally predator's shea weber has the hardest shot in the league and can it do it from long distance.

took a shot from high above the ice. looked like it was going to the right and it was, right into the net. that was a three-point shot in hockey, he had it. that's your first look at sports. let's get another check of the weather with bill karins. bill good morning once again. >> continuing to watch warm conditions out there especially throughout areas of the east. we've warmed it up significantly up through new england especially over the last 24 hour. 38 in boston, 39 in new york. it will be sunny and beautiful day in most cases. the only areas that will be an exception will be from pittsburgh to buffalo. also down to areas around erie, pennsylvania. that's where we'll continue to watch some of the clouds increasing and that's where you need the umbrella today. so the forecast actually looks pretty nice in many areas from philly to new york up to boston.

enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. thursday is when it will add rain to this area and we'll have temperatures soaring. look how warm it will be. temperatures near 60 degrees in philly and d.c. as we go towards tomorrow. so the troublesome weather today will be areas like chicago. well, coming up, who is not dating tim tebow? who is going to rehab? who's afraid of snakes? plus she says she's a changed woman. do we believe her? your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. w blackberry ? it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis... of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora. oh, no i'm an only child. and nick, you shouldn't even be here, you can do everything from the golf course. good? good. [ male announcer ] on at&t, blackberry® torch moves at the speed of 4g.

♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow

my old contacts would sometimes move and blur my vision. then my eye doctor told me about acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink so now, i'm seeing more clearly. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com.

donald trump has decided to cancel his republican debate he was going to cancel later this month. good news, he only has to tell two people. only ones who showed up. >> that was jay leno last night on "the tonight show." and tonight jay welcomes louie ck and musical guest young the giant. time for your first look at entertainment news. the new lindsay lohan says she's learned from her mistakes. >> i'm so on her side. >> wait, wait for it. unfortunately, she has yet to show it. are you surprised? lohan missed a flight home from hawaii, missing a taping with ellen degeneres but a spokesperson says she'll definitely be back for today's can't miss l.a. court appearance. brooke mueller's recent arrest for cocaine possession has checked into rehab.

newly single lindsey vonn took to twitter to shut down rumors she's dating tim tebow. jessica simpson's last laugh on weight critics signing a $3 million deal to be a spokeswoman for weight watchers. >> postpregnancy. finally, we bought a zoo co-star scarlett johansson tells people her scariest moment on set around the animals was, quote, watching matt damon cry like a baby and rock back and forth when the snakes were on the set. i thought there was some kind of code between co-stars that you don't tell people you cry like a baby. it's like george clooney in the background waiting to pop out and have like -- >> what eat deal with the weight watchers? what if you don't lose the weight? >> she still gets the $3 million, i think. she signed on the dotted line. >> for $3 million, i could lose the weight. >> definitely.

i'm lynn berry. this is "first look." "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. the republican dilemma. new nbc polling shows newt gingrich with a good sized lead among primary voters, but mitt romney with a much better shot to defeat president obama in the general. the question is, what does romney, the man criticized for not being conservative enough, have to say in it a new interview about gingrich's conservative credentials. the white house marks the return of combat troops from iraq after nine years of war. the question is how did vice president respond when asked what the united states will say if down the road iraq requests more american military help. an interesting answer. and the ntsb recommends officially that all cell phones be banned in cars. the question is, will the the board's recommendation maket through washington's lobbying