dropping out. less than a week before south carolina's gop presidential primary, jon huntsman is calling it quits. end of an era. a factory work's daughter helps bring down the site of a tragic fire. and red carpet close-up. hollywood celebrities strike a pose at the 69th annual golden globes. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we're going to begin this morning with a narrowing field.

former utah governor and u.s. ambassador jon huntsman is ending his bid for the presidential nomination. he is expected tone dors mitt romney later today. and tracie potts joins us from washington with all of those details. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. we don't see an immediate endorsement like this. it comes after huntsman was endorsed by south carolina's largest newspaper. >> any time you get the largest paper in the state to come out and endorse you, that's a big deal. >> reporter: but jon huntsman will drop out this morning and endorse mitt romney. a spokesperson says he doesn't want to stand in the way for the candidate best prepared to beat barack obama. >> in south carolina, romney took $12 million and laid off millions. >> reporter: he has a lead in south carolina and that primary sunday and he is being pummelled with neg-ads. his name comes up at every campaign event. >> i'm doing better if not

better than governor romney against barack obama. >> i'm the one person with a realistic chance of defeating him here. >> you don't have to let the popular media tell you who's best prepared to beat barack obama. >> reporter: in fact, ron paul is the only candidate focusing solely on his own success. >> i did well in iowa. i did well in new hampshire. and we're going to do well next saturday, right? >> reporter: candidates admit if romney wins conservative south carolina, it will be hard to stop him from winning the nomination. as of today, romney gets one more vote from huntsman. huntsman is supposed to talk with romney today. a spokesman says accident know what the candidate's immediate plans are or how often he'll be seen with romney on the campaign trail. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. else, where the u.s. emphasis in roam says two americans are among the 15 people still mising in friday's italian cruise ship disaster. at least five are now confirmed

dead after the cruise ship hit rocks off the tuscan koes and then capsized. the ships owner is joining the list of those making serious accusations against the captain. in a statement, he says preliminary indications show that there may have been significant human error. witnesses say he abandoned ship and may have been showing off by putting it too close to shore. now chilling images are emerging from that catastrophe that show a festive atmosphere at one moment and complete terror the next. reporter lewis van jones from itn has the disturbing video. [ screaming ] >> reporter: in the darkness, passengers are being lowered down the size of the cruise ship that is turned over and taking on wear the. this is what they would have been doing just earlier. this was filmed the night before

during dinner on friday. then came at announcements, anxious moments. and then the order came to evacuate. rescue boats took people from the liner to the island. on land the search for friends and family in a crowd of 4,000 people. some didn't wait for a rescue boat, they jumped and swam. >> in three, four, five seconds, it's like all the way to the waterment we thought we were going to get pinned under there. 150 people swam from the ship, us included. >> reporter: for the last 36 hours, this hotel has become a make shift rescue center processing hundreds of people, getting them on flights so they can finally get home. >> we're going to shift gears on a much lighter note. in hollywood last night, the

biggest stars in film and television took to the red carpet for this year's golden globes ceremony. nbc's mark barring barger was t. >> reporter: silence was golden. the artist scored three wins including best musical and comedy and best actor playing a silent movie actor facing the end of an era. >> thank you. >> also scoring big sunday night, "the descendents" took best drama and best actor honors for george clooney. >> i would like to thank michael for taking over the frontal nudity honor i had. >> and the iron lady brought home run number eight. best actress in a drama for playing margaret thatcher. >> i just want to thank my agent and god, harvey weinstein. >> another real life role, marilyn monroe brought michelle williams her first globe, best

actress in a musical or comedy. another first time globe winner was octavia spencer. christopher plumber took best supporting actors honors. and steven spielberg got best animated feature and martin score zazy won for "hugo." on the tv side, "tthe conspiracy thriller homeland won. kelsey grammer won in "boss." "modern family" grabbed kudos for best comedy and laura dern took best actress and matt will he blank took best actor playing an exaggerated variation of himself in "episodes." in beverly hills, california, mark barger, nbc news. and here's your first look at other news going on around america today. a police cruiser dash cam was

rolling when a florida police officer began beating a man with dementia. the 66-year-old allegedly pulled a knife on a co-worker. an elderly woman is lucky to be alive following a crash into a chicago building. the car was launched into an empty doctor's office after she was rear ended by a truck. the woman and the driver of the truck were taken to the hospital for minor injuries. finally, one visitor to a texas high school had no problem clearing the halls. that's a surprise. a wild buck jumped into a school window forcing teachers and students to duck in classrooms. the animal ran around for a bit and then able to find an exit and fortunately the commotion ended without any injuries. the end. and now for a look at your national weather, we turn to bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you.

he is part of the show. we're trying to trickle it in. >> welcome back to you, by the way. >> thank you. >> it was cold yesterday throughout many areas of the east. it's going to warm up this week. we may see the coldest day ofs the winter yesterday. right now it's still a very chilly morning by any standards. 3 in albany. these are the temperatures, too. there is not much of a wind out there anymore. the winds have gone calm. that's g d.c. is not quite as bad as 25. new england and northern new england is the coldest spots out there. 6 in hartford. as we go through the day to day, sunshine at least. that will make you feel a little better. yesterday was in the teens and 20s for highs. today, the 20s and 30s. so about 5 to 10 degrees warmer today. it won't be as windy. hopefully we'll be okay and more bearable out there. 32 in boston for you. areas in the west will see clouds late in the day. you'll get the warmer temperatures. this will be a warmup into tuesday. as we go throughout monday night and into tuesday, that's when we have the issues. there is moisture heading our

way. it's not heavy. it's going to be just cold enough that to start off with some snow and then change over to some sleet and freezing rain. we're not really talking the big cities. the interior sections, north of philly all of upstate new york, hudson valley and new york city, central connecticut, north wards up into massachusetts. we have winter weather advisories in effect. possibility of a little ice accumulation and sleet. and then a little snow. tomorrow morning's commute is going to be a problem. now as far as temperatures go, big warmup in the middle of the country. there is the cold air in the east, warm air is already returning from the middle of the nation along with it, rain today. if you're in areas like memphis or little rock or nashville, that is going to be a little wet. as far as the week ahead goes, mild air over the southern half of the country. we're going to get a very active stormy pattern. a lot of heavy snow in the mountains. rainy weather in areas of northern california, especially think in oregon. a little bit of that moisture

will try to move to the east. it's very dry in the east. we're going to get more clipper type systems. great lakes, do expect snow showers. bottom line is there is not any big snowstorms in areas of the east. if anything, it should warm up towards next weekend. as far as snow forecast goes for the next 48 hours, a little bit in the north dakota areas, up to northern new england and then the bulls eye, heavy snow is expected over the next 48 hours in the mountains of the northwest. lynn, overall today, it's not as bad as yesterday, slow improvement as we go throughout this week. >> that's good news, bill. thanks so much. >> france is stripped. pump prices rise and why natural gas customers are jumping for joy. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. the ravens fly into the afc title game and the giants shock the defending champs. you know when i grow up,

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welcome back to "first look." after threatening to cut off access to the straight, iran is warning neighbors against backing new u.s. oil sanctions. president obama signed a law freezing out institution that's deal with iran's central bank or buying iranian oil. in iraq, ten people were killed including police officers after gunmen armed with explosives attacked a police compound in ramadi. there is word this morning that a car bomb has killed at least eight near the northern city of mosul. police used tear gas to control riotors in bucharest. a demolition with a twist in england. a campbell soup factory was brought down sunday. campbell's left the daughter of an employee killed in a workplace accident years ago have the honor of lowering the boom. she says it gives her family

closure. and finally the first family took time sunday to hohn yort birthday of dr. martin luther king jr. president obama, first lady michelle and their daughters joined worshippers in washington, d.c. baptist church. the civil rights lead woehr have turned 83 yesterday. and u.s. markets are closed in observance of martin luther king jr. day. but here's a look at how they ended the week. the dow closed at 12,422 after losing 48 points on friday. the s&p 500 was down six points. the nasdaq fell 14. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 121 points. in hong kong, the hang seng tumbled 192. something to spice up your day there. when trading resumes on tuesday, wall street will be watching energy prices, european debts anticipate new earnings reports. among the companies reporting this week are key financial stocks like bank of america and

goldman sachs. french president nicholas sarkozy is calm. germany insists that reforms can help greece return to economic growth. but talks between the government and private creditors to avoid default have stalled. oil prices in aija edged up, nearly $99 a barrel today amid concerns that tensions might hurt crude oil supplies. despite sanctions on iran's oil, the country's crude should still flow but perhaps at a deep discount. iran may ultimately have to sell its oil for 10% to 15% less. so far in january, we have not seen falling gasoline prices like we normally do. aaa says gas prices are at historic highs for had time of year, up 11 cents so far this month. meanwhile, the price of natural gas is way down which helps both

customers, homeowners and businesses. it fell 13% last week to the lowest winter time level if a decade. the nation's largest retail trade group expects a solid 3.4% increase in sales this year. sales could reach over $2.5 trillion in 2012. and internet users in china surpassed 500 million. new web surfers in china are going online using mobile phones and tablet computers. coming up in the nfl playoffs, ravens move on with a decisive win over the texans. plus the giants upset the defending champ packers to advance to next weekend's conference title game. your first look at sports is straight ahead. [ male announcer ] this black history month, you can make a difference. ♪ i give new generations better opportunities. ♪ i protect the lives that make up my community. ♪ i'm discovering ways to improve our quality of life.

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with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease

and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. in sports the nfl conference championship games are set for next weekend. that will determine which teams go to the super bowl. here is mario solis. good morning. there will be a new super bowl champion this year. the giants marched into green bay and knocked off the packers in decisive fashion. the g-men came into lambeau playing their best football of the season. and they kept it going against the heavily favored packers. tied at three in the first, manning hits nicks across the middle. bounces off one defender and rumbles 66 yards to the end zone. giants up 10-3 after one. final seconds of the half,

instead of attempting a long field goal, the giants decide to go for it. manning throws up a prayer and it is answered by nicks. the hail mary gives new york a 20-10 halftime lead and momentum heading into the third. turnovers broke the packers all game. aaron rodgers connecting for the short gain. he fumbles the ball. giants recover. packers had four turnovers and you're not going to win a play-off game or any game for that matter when you give up the ball that many times. the fumble sets up this. manning to mario manningham. giants led from start to finish and beat the defending champions 37-20. they'll travel to san francisco to play the niners in the nfc title game. turnovers also did in the texans. the ravens take advantage of a houston fumble early in the first. joe flacco to chris wilson before the fans get settled in their seats. ravens already up 7-3. they had the lead tend of the quarter. bolden and the end zone. ravens clicking on all

cylinders, up 17-3. texans chip away at the lead and have a chance to tie it in the fourth. down seven, t.j. yates throws into double coverage. picked off by ed reid. one of three interceptions thrown by yates. ravens score early and hold on to win 20-13. they'll play the patriots on sunday. and that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> and now for another quick look at the weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your forecast. good morning. >> very excited about the football this weekend. >> oh, yeah. i stayed in the entire weekend just watching it. >> the giants won. that was the big news. >> why are you giving me a summary? >> i feel like you need cliff notes. >> good morning, everyone. i hope you had an enjoyable weekend. a little winter weather heading for new england tonight and tomorrow morning. it's going to be lal better today. let me take you through the timing of this. we're starting off with clear skies, lots of sunshine. by 7:00 p.m., the white on the map shows the clouds will be

increasing. the green shows you where the rain is. the rain will move into the area after dark tonight and midnight. but areas that are away from the city, cold enough, that will start with the blue which is the snow. so albany, new york, boston, hartford, northward, you'll get a period of snow sometime around midnight. then it's going to go over to freezing rain for an hour or two, maybe three hours. and then it should be moving out. so by 6:00 a.m., we should be warm enough in connecticut. i think the highways will be okay tomorrow morning. if you're in hartford, north wards up by the mass pike near the north way, the new york state thruway and vermont, that's the worst of it. i think we'll get a coating of isolate tonight and tomorrow. tomorrow morning's commute in southern new england could be a little dicey. >> no fun. all right, thanks so much. coming up, disney rakes it in with a new dimension on an old favorite. plus, crime pays at the box office as mark wahlberg debuts in "contraband." wake up!

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rick perry jokingly called on a mannequin during a question and answer session. the weird part is it didn't ask anything and perry still gave the wrong answer. that's all right. rick perry called on a mannequin during a q&a session. even worse, the mannequin is leading perry by 8% which is -- i like what the mannequin has to say. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes actor

leem niece on and piers morgan that is "late night with jimmy fallon" on your local nbc station. it is time for your first look at entertainment news. there were three movie release that's gave hollywood a boost. mark wahlberg's smuggling filler "contraband" easily stole the top spot with a better than expected $24.1 million. the 3-d release of "beauty and the beast" waltzed into second place with $18.5 million. that is good news for disney considering they only spent $10 million to convert the classic. and the weekend's third new release, "joyful noise" starring queen latifah came in fourth with $11.5 million. the big question, did you watch the golden globes? >> i didn't. >> i have two children. >> we're in trouble. we haven't seen a lot of the movies. like "the descendents,"

"artist," "help." >> we have catching up to do before the oscars. i'm lynn berry. stay tuned, "way too early" is next. breaking news. late last night jon huntsman will drop out of the presidential race today. less than a week after a disappointing third place finish in new hampshire and he'll endorse mitt romney. the question, is what does huntsman's exit mean to the republican race? six people confirmed dead, 16 more missing after a cruise ship ran aground in italy with officials saying there may have been "significant human error" involved in this tragedy. the question is, what happened? and the new york giants do it again to the packers on their home field in the playoffs. the question is, can the giants keep this thing rolling next weekend in san francisco against one of the best defenses in the nfl? it's "way too early"