all about iowa. republican presidential candidates make the most of the final seven days before iowa caucuses. rich representatives. new figures show the growing pay divide between members of the house and the average american. and unbearably cute. denmark's darling polar bear cub opens his eyes for the very first time. too cute. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is fis "first look" on msn. we begin this morning with one

week to go. from bus tour to fresh tv ads, republican hopefuls are pulling out all the stops in iowa this week as they make their final campaign push one week from today. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it's been a rough primary season, but the republicans are about to face their first official test. one week before the iowa caucuses, ron paul is leading the gop presidential pack. but it's still anyone's race. >> usually the iowa caucuses aren't completely defined until very close to the end. >> reporter: while rick santorum is hunting for votes -- >> you're not electing someone to cast votes. you're electing a leader. >> reporter: michele bachmann is getting ready to hit all of iowa's 99 counties. rick perry released a new attack ad. but it's aimed at washington. >> get a job like everybody else back home. thank you so much. >> reporter: mitt romney is still trying to convince iowans he's conservative enough. >> i'm going to do something to government.

i'm going to make it simpler and smaller and smarter. >> reporter: newt gingrich failed to make virginia's primary ballot, and days before iowa, that's a setback he can't afford. >> well, look, we're disappointed but it was our fault. >> the primary is now a side show. i can't imagine anybody paying much attention to it. >> reporter: but right now all eyes are on iowa, where anything can happen. establishment republicans may be uneasy with ron paul but right now in iowa he's got an organization that is hard to beat. veronica? >> brian mooar in washington, brian, thank you. the white house confirmed monday it is considering a request from president saleh to travel to new york city for medical reasons. he's seeking treatment for injuries he suffered in a near-fatal june bomb blast in his presidential complex. the issue is a hot potato for the administration because many in yemen who hoped to see ali prosecuted for the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protests fear he'll seek asylum here.

if permission is granted, the white house is expected to stress it will only be for medical treatment. as iraq struggles for stability without a u.s. presence, there are new calls within maliki's own shiite government for a shakeup. al sadr wants the current parliament to be dissolved and new elections held but maliki may not want to start over after the last elections. iraq is dealing with a new wave of violence, believed to be the work of sunni insurgents with ties to al qaeda. well, voters feeling a disconnect with washington may have more proof of a divide. a new analysis by "the washington post" shows that between 1984 and 2009 the median net worth of a member of the house of representatives when adjusted for inflation more than doubled to an average of $725,000. during the same period, the wealth of the average american family has dipped slightly to

just over $20,000. california republican congressman darrell issa leads the pack with a net worth of nearly $450 million. here is your first look at some other news going on in america today. a north carolina employee used his last hook to bring in a abrupt end to a would-be thief's robbery. the hero saw the suspect flash a gun moments before he clocked him on the face. the thief laid on the floor bleeding until police arrived to arrest him. a five point buck gave one utah family a christmas story to tell for years to come. it was christmas eve when the animal fell into a window well and broke through the bedroom window. unfortunately, animal control officers had to put the deer down to remove it. finally, while most of the nation was recuperating from holiday shopping hangover and family gatherings, the crew

worked on floats for the tournament of roses parade. with less than a week until the event, they snipped flowers, gluing decorations and painting. the 123rd tournament of roses parade can be seen right here on nbc january 1st. now on for a look at your national and regional weather, bill karins with the weather channel forecast. it's absolutely amazing what they do with those floats. >> yeah. >> it's so tedious, i can't even imagine. >> probably in person would be really cool. as far as the forecast, the weather out there, today is the worst travel day of the next five. so as we head towards the new year, the weather pattern will get calmer. today very active. just a very strange end to the year. this december has been very warm, lack of snow. yesterday we had record high temperatures in areas in the dakotas and minnesota, 52 in minneapolis. their average high should be like 32 degrees. it was 52. no snow on the ground there either and no cold air on the

map. we have a big storm out there brewing in the south just cold enough now especially during the overnight hours we're seeing rain turning over to snow in areas of illinois and indiana. also the front going through florida with showers and thunderstorms. cooler air arriving for the northern plains. a little cooler in areas of texas and oklahoma but if you're anywhere in the eastern seaboard it's an umbrella day. this huge shield goes from florida northward all the way up towards georgia, rain covers kentucky and also ohio now. you can see the back of the storm. there's white, that's the snow changing -- that's the rain changing over to some snow here. now, temperatures are warm enough the roads should be fine. may get minor accumulation on your car or grassy surfaces but once up to detroit, cleveland, toledo, you may have to do shoveling. 1 to 3 inches. a little enhancement in areas of

higher elevation outside of erie and lake enhancement. buffalo, you could get snow. winter weather advisories, pittsburgh expecting 1 to 3 inches. typically it's no big deal but this is one of the first snow events for some of these areas. syracuse will get the ground covered possibly burlington, vermont. it's a very warm day out ahead of the storm. temperatures as warm as 50 as far north as new york city, area ins in massachusetts will be warm. the combeder air on the back side will move in behind it wednesday. as far as wednesday goes, if you could choose to travel either today on the east corps or wednesday, wednesday looks fine. temperatures will be fine and there will be no rain or snow to deal with. the only weather issue is tomorrow, new storm comes into the northwest with some snow in the morn rockies. veronica, overall today is the

worst travel day, a little bit of snow for some people and maybe the kid also appreciate it because for them it'll be some of the first flakes of the year. >> trying to make snow angels, thanks, bill. well, the goal for the week on wall street, shoppers go on out mega monday and the girl got a violin worth tens of thousands of dollars on a bus. that's straight ahead. another tough outing for the defending champions. wild play in the independence bowl and drew brees make nfl history. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. one week after the death of north korea's leader, his son and successor is sharpening his diplomat skills. kim jong-un paid his respects to his late father before his

funeral tomorrow. after christmas shopping took a tragic turn when an 18-year-old was stabbed to death. it shows the frenzy of shoppers and letting the emergency workers through. the death toll from devastating flooding in the philippines has surged by more than 200 in one day to well over 1,400. navy and coast guard officials predict the death toll could reach 2,000. police in california say 19-year-old ruben herado turned himself in for a shooting that left 22-year-old christopher sullivan a purple heart recipient paralyzed. an argument over football teams apparently led to the incident at sullivan's homecoming party last week. finally, we just can't get enough of these cute little pictures of siku from denmark of the month-old polar bear cub who's become a worldwide

sensation. he just opened his eyes for the very first time. later this morning, you can see him live on the "today" show. something you probably don't want to miss. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the markets were closed but the dow will open at 12,294 after closing last friday up 124 points. the s&p gained 11. the nasdaq was up 19. taking a look at overseas trading in tokyo, the nikkei lost 38 points but in hong kong the hang seng jumped 250. investors enter this last week of trade with one hurdle left. wall street enters it facing light volume and only one question, can the nasdaq join the dow and s&p 500 to end 2011 in positive territory? the nasdaq is down 1.3% for the year. elsewhere there is optimism that yesterday dubbed mega monday by retailers with high hopes that americans off work would head to the stores will prove to be the third biggest shopping day of the holiday season. spurred on by bargain hunters and gift card redeemers, some even predicted that yesterday retailers would outsell black

friday, the day after thanksgiving, when americans spent over $27 billion. watch for fallout from a justice department opinion made friday that clears the way for states to legalize internet poker and all other forms of gambling except those on sporting contests. the move will eventually reap billions in tax revenue. berkshire hathaway completed buying warren buffett's home town paper "the omaha world-herald" for t$150 million and the assumption of $50 million in debt. in asia, chinese officials announced the industrial output is expected to ease next year to 11% growth. the yuan will hit an all-time high against the dollar on monday. christmas game early for one very relieved boston music student who found the $175,000 violin she was loaned after she forgot it in the overhead compartment on a bus she rode to philadelphia last week. lucky girl. in health news this morning a new study suggests the reason one perfume you love repulses another is because of genes. scientists ask people to rate

their preference for the scents found in perfumes. it turns out which people's gene var rations correlated with what they liked best. for this and more head to msnbc.com. a trick bowl game. kardashian's ex comes up big. plus breezing to an easy victory against atlanta, the saints' drew brees breaks a new record. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. in sports last night the new orleans saints made it clear they're ready for the playoffs and their quarterback earned a slice of immortality. here's nbc's mario solis. >> good morning. saints' quarterback drew brees broke dan marino's single season passing record and did it in dramatic fashion. needing 306 yards to break the record, brees started chipping away in the first half. colston from eight yards out. saints up 21-10 at break. fast forward to fourth quarter, under three minutes left, brees only needs eight more yards and he gets nine. a touchdown to darren sproles and there it is. drew brees breaks the single season passing record that stood for 27 years. saints march over the falcons with a 45-16 win. time to go bowling. north carolina and mizzou. had independence bowl. tigers pulling out all the stops. double pass, t.j. mow airs it to

wes kemp. tar heels don't know what hit them. missouri on all cylinders, wild interception in the second quarter, jones, he's hit, fumbles and the ball bounces around off his back and into the hands of gooden. everything going right for missouri. they win big, 41-24. nba tough couple days for the champs after being blown out by heat on christmas day. the nuggets have their way with the mavericks yesterday. at one point denver scores 20 unanswered points in the second quarter. dallas never recovers. nuggets win 115-93. after an eventful off-season that included a reality show, a short marriage to kim kardashian and a divorce, kris humphries is back to doing what he does best. had a double-double against washington. nets beat the wiz, 90-84. finally, no chris paul, no problem for the hornets. down one to the suns in final seconds and it's gordon hitting the big shot for the lead. of course, gordon came over from the clippers in the paul trade. big day for new orleans. drew brees sets the record and the new-look hornets win their

opener 85-84. and that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> for another quick look at the weather here's bill karins with a weather channel forecast. >> some snow in the forecast for once and if you look outside right now in st. louis it's snowing pretty good. i'm not sure we really expected it but on the back side it's cold enough that it's falling from the sky. actually a lot of the white you see is rain changing over to snow throughout the ohio valley and, you know, funny to be excited about the first snow of the season at the end of december but that's what we're dealing with in some areas. interstate 70 snow changing from st. louis over to indianapolis, up to ft. wayne, a batch of moderate snow that could accumulate. snow transitioning into detroit, toledo and cleveland towards the end of the day. temperatures pretty warm out there especially the east coast ahead of that storm. we're in the 40s in d.c. and 40s

in new york city to start your morning and eventually it will move into the big cities. it'll take a while, d.c., midmorning or so. as we go through the afternoon new york city will see rain. hartford, boston, it won't be until after the sun sets when the rain moves into your direction. all of these big cities, it's an all rain forecast. no snow at all. only areas that will see snow eventually as we go through western new york, pittsburgh, erie, cleveland and back up into western portions of new york state so, veronica, maybe a little snow for the kids to play but most of us plain old rain. >> sounds good. who is getting married? who had a baby and who is fighting over a dog. plus a new lawsuit against lady gaga makes her sound not the greatest person to work for. your first look at entertainment straight ahead. you're watching "first look." other makeup can sit on your skin, so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin.

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welcome back to "first look." someone out there had a very merry christmas after hitting the powerball jackpot christmas eve. it was worth 125 million and was sold at a small store near the pennsylvania border in eastern maryland. darcy spencer has the story. >> reporter: someone is $125 million richer after buying a winning powerball ticket from this machine on saturday. >> everybody that i know wishes it was them. >> reporter: how about you? >> it would have been nice but, hey, you know what, i hope the person that won it, they need it. >> reporter: the ticket was sold here at wesley's liquor store. jeff punched in the sale at 3:13

p.m. on christmas eve. >> people believe if you sell one winning ticket it's a hot store. >> reporter: a man claiming to hold the winning ticket called the store christmas day. he said he'd come forward after the media frenzy dies down. >> we'll wait till he comes in. if he does we'll shake his hand, if not -- >> what would you like to say to him? >> congratulations, good luck. don't throw it all way. >> reporter: the store is in cecil county. it's a family owned tore that's been in business since 1951. what do you think the person who won should do with all that money? >> have a good time. enjoy himself and forget everything in the world. >> reporter: in the winner chooses a lump sum that will be $79 million or 52 million after taxes. what kind of person are you hoping won this money? >> someone who needed it. maybe who's facing foreclosure. >> all right. okay. time now for entertainment news

and congratulations to that lucky lotto winner by the way. matthew mcconaughey asked his girlfriend to marry him. a picture of the pair kissing. the fact they have two kids already probably mean she said okay. lady gaga is being sued by a former assistants saying she owes her thousands in back pay. she says life with gaga wasn't pretty including dealing with spontaneous random matters in the middle of the night. robert de niro is a father again. the 68-year-old actor and his 56-year-old wife had a baby girl through a surrogate mother. finally, "people" magazine reporting hugh hefner and crystal harris are in a custody battle over their spaniel charlie. hefner thinks if she keeps the ring and the bentley, he should at least get to keep charlie. i don't know. this makes perfect sense to me. i just got a puppy for christmas. i'm a dog owner now so i get it. i mean pets are people too. that dog is my entire life.

>> what would you fight more for, the going or the money. >> the dog. take the ring, take the bentley. i want the dog. >> a lot of fights is over the pets in custody. >> no, i would say it's over the money. >> it would be nice to be lady gaga's assistant. >> the hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> complaining she was owed. which leads me to the question how much do they make? >> the article said she's underpaid. >> yeah. >> yeah, i don't think so. underpaid, definitely not. >> call me in the middle of the night if you want 0 give me hundreds of thousands of dollars to be the assistant. how do you apply to be an assistant for a star? i didn't know it was that lucrative. >> there are agencies you can get involved with. >> they're going to take a cut. >> right. >> probably took a percentage. >> 25% or something like that. i'm veronica de la cruz.

stay tuned becausewayw "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. have a great day. well, the gifts have been opened and returned and now it's time to get serious about this presidential campaign. one week now until the voting begins in iowa. mitt romney is making a push to the top of the polls and newt gingrich is trying to stop the bleeding, the question is after months after looking for an alternative will they come home to mitt romney. ron paul continues to lead many polls in iowa as he attempts to explain some of the ugly content of a publication that bore his signature in the early 1990s. the question is will his explanation that he was not aware of the content of his own newsletter satisfy primary voters? drew brees makes mihistory. the question is could bre