down to the wire. time is running out for newt gingrich in florida as new polls show mitt romney is surging in the sunshine state. chain reaction, thick smoke on a florida freeway triggers a deadly pileup. and is there life out there? mysterious blue lights cause folks in utah to think twice. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead, this is "first look" on msnbc. we'll begin this morning with romney rocketing. with just over 24 hours to go

before the florida gop primary vote, temperature and the rhetoric between the two top contenders is rising as are mitt romney's poll numbers. nbc's brian moore joins us from washington with the latest on all of this. brian, good morning. >> reporter: mitt romney is up in the polls and under the skin of newt gingrich. with the all-important florida primary a day away, newt gingrich is asking conservatives to keep his contest with mitt romney alive. >> i believe the republican party will not nominate a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate for massachusetts. >> the latest nbc news poll shows romney has taken a lead in the state with 50 delegates on the line. ron paul isn't contesting florida and rick santorum has gone back to pennsylvania to tend to his ailing daughter. that makes florida a virtual two-man contest. >> 196 house republicans that voted to reprimand newt gingrich

when he was speaker. >> reporter: romney unleashed a harsh series of ads, he says that's not why gingrich is falling behind. >> he's looking for some count of excuse but the real reason he hasn't been successful connecting with the people of florida is because of his message and failure to connect to the needs of people in this state. >> romney, romney! >> reporter: in florida, a nomination fight that's gotten personal. rick santorum tells supporters his daughter has seen a miraculous recovery and he is heading out on the campaign trail today but not to florida. to four western caucus states. lynn? >> brian mooar in washington. thank. floridaens are asking why an interstate highway was left open after a horrific pileup. ten people were killed and 20 others injured after a series of crashes involving cars, trucks and tractor-trailers. a blinding mix of heavy fog and thick smoke from a nearby brush fire blew across i-75, south of

gainesville, produreducing visiy and causing havoc in both lanes. the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in the wreckage. terrible there. elsewhere, occupy oakland protesters battled with police over the weekend in the most violent confrontation yet launched by the movement against inequality and corporate influence. more than 400 were arrested during clashes in which demonstrators threw rocks and bottles and then ransacked city hall. police responded with tear gas. at least three officers and one protesters were injured. in new york, occupy wall street protesters marched sunday night in solidarity with occupy oakland. in washington, d.c., occupy demonstrators face a noon dead lien from the national parks service and could be arrested if they violate a new ban on camping. here's your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america today. near dallas, a sheriff's deputy rescued two women who were trapped in a car sinking in

a lake. video from his patrol car shows the deputy making his way into the water. he then smashed a window and saved the women who they say got lost trying to find their way home. the deputy just happened to be driving by when he saw the car's taillights. the sands of palm beach, florida, turned into a makeshift runway this weekend. no one was hurt, welcomely but crews had to dismantle the plane and take it off the beach in pieces. in ka cal, a woman didn't bother to ask how much is that puppy in the window? instead, she just stole the dog from the pet store. come on, lady. the store will not press charges after the suspect sent the store $600 in cash and a note poll hissing. she's off hook. she's going to keep the dog. and even though it's been a mild winter for most of the country, the water can still be mighty cold and that did not

stop 14,000 people from diving into chesapeake bay this weekend in maryland. they took part in a national polar bear plunge and raised about $2.5 million for the special olympics. a great cause there. for a look at your national weather, let's check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> this winter doesn't really count. >> of course you have something cynical to say about. >> it was like 50 degrees. the water was 48. they had to put sunscreen on before they went in. >> we're trying here. go with it. >> i am going with it. there's no signs of winter returning. this morning is the same. you have to search the weather map to find winter. there's light snow shower activity through the berkshires in massachusetts this morning. if you're up there in wisconsin you may see snowflakes. that's it. that's really all for winter. everyone else is going to be warm. if not usually warm during the day today. here's a look at some of the

snow showers. again, the berkshires are getting enhancement here. there's not much out there. maybe a little bit in the mountains of new hampshire. boston, northwards of portland, you may see a snow shower. we may get up to an inch of snow in wassau. now let's talk about the warmth. this time of of the year, you'd expect the coldest air to be monday none, northern rockies. it's 45 degrees in billings, montana, this morning. 43 in denver. it's a little chilly in minneapolis but that's not cold by their standards. our daytime shies should be in the upper 20s in minnesota. the picture from d.c. to boston. it's a mild weather pattern. their jet streams are split, typically in the wintertime, the northerly jet stream dips down into the u.s. kind of snakes its way through the country. the jet stream is locked to the north, pretty much all of

january and it's kept the cold air up in canada and alaska. the mild pacific air continues to dominate the nation because our southerly jet stream is more active than normal. that's kind of why we had so many tornadoes last week, too. as long as this pattern continues we won't see any cold air. right now the cold air by the hudson bay, shown in blue, here's the forecast for the cold air. it continues to stay to the north. a little piece of it by the end of next week comes into the central u.s. overall, the heart of cold air nowhere to be found here in the u.s. today enjoy an unusually warm and dry january day. it will be 65 in kansas city, 60 in denver. areas of the east coast, you'll see some of the warm air middle of this week. >> i'll take it. >> i know. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, a big week for earnings. a huge ipo on the horizon and proof some guys will do absolutely anything not to miss the super bowl. it's kind of ridiculous.

a your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. super bowl week is upon us as football's best show off in hawaii. history at the straussle open and perfection the the x games, you're watching "first look" on msnbc. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. capping the bloodiest week in syria's ten-month uprising, at least 66 people were reportedly killed there yesterday. government troops have seized several towns on the outskirts of da mamascus. rough seas forced divers to suspend their search for the 16 people who remain missing after the ship's position shifted by more than an inch. a team of international inspectors is in tehran trying to find out whether iran has a secret nuclear weapons program.

tehran maintains its program is for purely civilian purposes. yesterday, in response to u.s. and european sanctions, iran's oil minister says it will soon stop selling oil to some countries. in just a month after the last u.s. troops left iraq, the state department is using surveillance drones to help guard american diplomats and personnel. according to this morning's "new york times," senior iraqi officials have expressed outrage at the program. a wrecking ball finished the damage mother nature started in jopl joplin, missouri. one of last spring's devastating tornadoes nearly destroyed the hospital. well, the building can't be imploded because there are old led mines underneath. and in utah, a mystery in the night sky had some folks rattled. look closely there. some thought it was a ufo or maybe just a small remote controlled plane. even a paraglader. it turns out it was a local artist who filled garbage bags with helium and attached

flashing l.e.d. lights all to promote a website. we'll have to hold off for the ufo proof. here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,660. the s&p lost two points on friday. the nasdaq was up 11. take a look at overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 48. in hong kong, the hang seng sank 341. this week may finally bring the most anticipated ipo in a decade facebook may file for its initial public offering as early as wednesday with a valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion. another hectic earnings week with exxonmobil and almost one-fifth of the s&p 500 posting quarterly results. we're going to get the latest earnings report from am zhan.com. the leaders of the eu have a summit meeting today to sign off on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone. the chinese debt should not be a

problem for business according to government officials in beijing. bank of america is shaking up the leadership of its investment bank to put new executives in charge of its divisions. and change may be coming to citigroup as chairman richard parsons considers stepping down with a decision expected by march. almost three months after the collapse of mf global, more than $1 billion in customer money is still missing and may never be recovered. delta airlines has reportedly hired advisors to explore possibilities of joining with u.s. air to take over amr, the parent company of american airlines. more than 70% of americans say now is a good time to buy a house. but only 11% think it's a good time to sell a house. a new survey shows that it pays to work in technology, with average silicone valley salaries at more than $104,000 a year. and finally, according to a new survey, 15% of american adults, we're guessing it's probably men

on this one, say they would miss the birth of their child for the super bowl. you may not believe me but there was an unscientific poll here in the studio and it does not give me much confidence. guys, we need to re-assess this. as tempting as it might be to rush out and buy a big screen tv for the super bowl this weekend, you might do yourself and pocketbook a big favor by waiting a while. if you insist, we have a few suggestions on how to score the ultimate big screen before the big game. >> reporter: big screen tv sales were so good over the holidays last month that the traditional sales around the super bowl may not be so super this year. still, there's been dramatic price reductions. >> and i've seen them as low as 800 to $1,000. >> reporter: james wilcox at "consumer reports" says the better bargains on big screens await those who can hold off another month or so. >> when manufacturers and retailers clear out the inventory of 2011 models to make

room for the 2012 sets. >> reporter: if you can't wait, at least spend some time this week comparison shopping. before heading to the store. >> the good thing about going into retail, you can kick the tires, take a look at the tv and all. certainly there's tons of online resources you should use before you go into a store. >> reporter: his biggest complaint is that big screen manufacturers haven't concentrated as much on the sound coming from the tv as the picture quality. so be prepared to enhance it with an external system. and when you do set it up, remember your viewing distance should be at least twice the width of the tv. >> the thing is you don't want to sit too close to a tv. if you do, you'll see the individual pixels or picture elements. >> reporter: "consumer reports" just completed testing on big screens for reasons that should be obvious. >> truth is sports is just a great show case for tv technology. >> reporter: if ever there's a show case in sports, it's the super bowl.

chris clackum, nbc news. in health news this morning, there's a new way to increase the number of parkinson's disease patients for recruiting to test new drugs. people don't know how to sign up. actor michael j. fox's foundation has created an online tool to match study volunteers with research trial coordinators. for other information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc. m msnbc.com. the nhl all-stars on the ice, a long marathon on the tennis court in australia and shaun white shakes off a big injury for a big win. and brandon marshall stands out at the nfl pro bowl in hawaii. your "first look" of sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ lane ] is your anti-wrinkle cream gone...

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he takes home mvp honors as the afc wins it 59-41. there's one more game to play. 25,000 patriot fans gave their team a super bowl sunoff. >> we're going to give it our best and hopefully we have a lot more people at our party next weekend. thanks, guys. >> reporter: hours later they arrived in indianapolis where they'll face a giants and super bowl xlvi sunday. alfredson leads his team by example. nifty move, ties the game at 5. chara, making sure his team comes up on top. novak djokovic against rafael nadal.

we go to a fifth and final set. djokovic takes his fifth grand slam final. it took 5 hours and 53 minutes. shaun white road his snowboard into the history books. judges gave him a perfect 100. white takes home his fifth consecutive superpipe gold. no doubt he's the best in the world. for another look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has the weather channel forecast. are you part of the 15% that would miss your child's birth. >> i would not miss the child's birth but if we could schedule it after or before we could all -- >> this is on television. be careful, bill. she could be watching. she will kill you. >> there's a lot of women that would probably not want to miss the game, too. >> they don't have a choice. do not argue this.

>> all right. i'll stop this conversation. good morning, everyone. let's talk about something that will make a lot of people smile. that's going to be the incredible warmth we'll see this week. today is a bad day, a typical winter, snow showers this morning. i want to show you how warm areas like washington, d.c. are going to be. we'll be in the 40s today. tuesday and wednesday, the low 60s in washington, d.c. to end january and start february. as we cool it off towards friday, temperatures in the 50s. other areas of the country will be the same. st. louis in the 60s today. we drop you into the mid-50s to the rest of this week. there's really no behind of cold arctic air coming. it looks enjoyable, rainy in the pacific northwest. friends in alaska are really the only ones suffering. they've had a horrible winter. >> didn't i hear it was negative 50 in some parts of alaska. >> populated area like fairbanks. >> insane. the latest awards and hints ahead of the oscars. plus, he's the action star

pushing 60 who just notched another number one film at the box office. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ all right ♪ yeah ♪

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. three's a charm for liam neeson. he has the box office touch. there's no doubt. "the grey" took in over $20 million this weekend. "one for the money" with katherine heigl opened in line

with expectations, finishing with almost $12 million, in third place behind last week's champ, "underworld awakening." the weekend's other new film, "man on a ledge" opened weakly with just over $8 million but did manage fifth place. elsewhere last night, "the help" got a big boost for oscar hopes with the screen actor's guild awards. the film ace viola davis won for best actress while octavia spencer won top supporting actress. john desjardins won best director for "the artist." i make it my goal to watch all those before the oscars. >> how are you doing with that? >> not good. i don't know how i'm going to watch the silent movie. >> i'll work on getting you the screeners. >> it has to be better than i think it is going in.

>> let's hope so. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. speaker gingrich has painfully revealed himself over these last few days and it's sad to watch. i think unfortunately we're seeing some of the qualities that got him into so much trouble when he was speaker of the house. >> he has a basic policy of carpet bombing his opponent. he doesn't try to build up mitt romney. he tries to tear down whoever he's running against. it has an effect. i give his campaign for the sheer amount of money they raise on wall street. >> gingrich and romney, fighting for votes coincidentally also while wearing pastel