this morning on "early today," countdown in des moines. iowans have one more day to decide which gop candidate for president will get their vote. arson spree, authorities search for clues after dozens of fires are touched off in los angeles over the weekend. and riding high, side by side daredevils make a death defying jump to ring in the new side daredevils make a death defying jump to ring in the new year. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with the final push. republican presidential candidates have one more day to gain the support of iowa's first in the nation voters.

mitt romney is ahead in the latest polls, but a late surge from rick santorum and a large number of undecided iowans means this could still be anyone's race. steve handelsman has the details. >> reporter: rick santorum, his tireless campaign across the state is finally paying off. santorum could win tuesday night. >> i said this is an episode of "survivor." you're just going to survive. if you can keep surviving, you just never know what can happen. here we are, we've just kept surviving. >> reporter: the new des moines register poll puts santorum third. but if you count voters polled on the last three days of the poll, santorum is tied with mitt romney at the top. and a surge could win him the endorsement of iowa conservative leader congressman steve king. >> i'm closer on the social issues with rick santorum on those three, no questions. >> reporter: mitt romney kept to his game plan. sounding like the nominee. >> president obama and i offer

extraordinarily stark contrasts. >> reporter: ron paul with a shot at winning iowa ruled out a third party bid for now. >> i'm essentially tied for first place and why would i even consider doing anything like that? >> reporter: newt gingerich, fourth at 12%, looked for a bright spot. >> i was encouraged because 41% of the people in the iowan poll said they happen open to changing their minds. >> reporter: but at iowa's evangelical churches today, the buzz was about santorum. >> i'm going to take a closer look and see what he is really truly about. i'm not really satisfied with the other candidates right now. >> reporter: it's what rick santorum hoped for. steve handelsman, nbc news, des moines. in los angeles, dozens of cars have been set on fire in recent days. now police have released surveillance video to try and catch the kul print. authorities want to talk to a man seen leaving a parking structure in a popular tourist

area of hollywood where one of the fires started. the fires have spread to apartments in some cases. police are asking the public to lock their cars and leave their garage car port lights on at night. and they've posted a $60,000 reward. the search continues this morning for the man wanted in the killing of a park ranger. 34-year-old margaret anderson was gunned down yesterday while trying to stop a driver who ignored a check point at the park. dozens of officers are combing rugged terrain in their search. authorities are looking for 24-year-old benjamin barnes, an iraq war vet believed to have survival skills. he's the suspect in the shooting of four people shot just hours earlier. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. for folks in arkansas, 2012 kicked off with the same mystery that kicked off 2011. for the second straight year, a flock of dead birds has fallen from the sky. animal control officers picked up dozens of them for testing. last year, officials blamed fireworks for their deaths. the new year brought chaos

at one denver hotel. guests were locked out of their rooms when key card software systems crashed after midnight. new year's revellers packed hallways and there were reports of scuffles and gusts becoming ill. the system was up and running again after 3:00 a.m. over 1,000 new yorkers marked the first day of 2012 at the annual coney island polar plunge. the annual event raised money that will be donated to a summer camp for kids with life threatening illnesses. and finally, philadelphia's broad street was filled with a colorful brigade of revelers sunday. the 112th parade brought out crowds of spectators to the new york tradition in which participants in elaborate costumes compete for cash prizes. that guy should definitely get something. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. have a good weekend? >> yeah. it was fantastic. i had the night off.

>> oh, really? good for you. >> it was excellent. and you? >> i was asleep by 10:00. i tried. i tried my best. good morning, everyone. i hope you had a wonderful ringing in of the new year. we're starting off the new year with some interesting weather. arctic blast of air is coming down from the north. really one of the first ones we've seen. the lake-effect snow machine has been turned on high. that's where the worst of the weather is today. we're cooling things off for our friends in the southeast, which has had a mild period as of late. the lowest windchills now are northern minnesota and the dakotas. that cold air is about to sweep through the great lakes. we had a big windstorm over the weekend. we started off with gusty winds on saturday and over by the rockies and into the central plains. yesterday, all through the great lakes. but now that that storm is gone and the pressure gradient is all set up, the door is open for that cold blast of air. and the waters are still relatively warm for this time of year over the great lakes. we've had a mild december out there. now, with that cold air going over the warm water of the great lakes, the snow machine is on. we had a lot of snow from erie

from cleveland all the way back up to erie. buffalo, you're going to get heavy snow as we go throughout the day today. also, now we're getting the snow coming off of lake ontario. some of those areas could get the 2 to 3 inches. grand rapids, i think some of the worst of it is coming off of lake michigan and lake superior. we've had blizzard conditions with the snow and gusty winds. the highest snowfall totals will be one batch here off of lake erie and another one in the favorite area north of syracuse, the tug hill plateau. so we have the gusty winds, the cold air arriving and the heavy lake-effect snow is on. if you're not near the lakes, it's a quiet day. yes, it's going to be chilly and windy out there from the central plains, but we don't have a lot of troublesome weather as long as you're away from the great lakes. that's a look at your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. so, pittsburgh, you'll see snow showers on and off. i know chicago has been reporting light snow off and on over the last three hours.

you'll probably have a little coating of snow on the ground there. minneapolis, very cold. one of the coldest days of the winter so far for you. we've got our first big lake effect. it's kind of interesting because, today, a lot of kids are still off from school. so probably not too many snow days. >> i want to thank you for the new year's president yesterday. it was so nice in new york. >> the warm air is coming to an end. >> i didn't have to wear a heavy coat. thank you. thanks, bill. europe warns, investors look ahead at how powerball officials are sweetening the that pot. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. actor tom cruise, he rings in the new year on top. the nfl playoffs are set. who says you need a helmet to play football? you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. iran claims it has created its first nuclear fuel rod and placed it in a research reactor

despite u.n. and u.s. efforts to stop iran's development of a nuclear weapon. also sunday, iran's navy test fired what it calls an advanced surface air missile in the strait of hormuz, a critical pass for part of the world's oil supply. in the philippines, one boy was killed and more than 700 people injured by fire crackers and gunfire welcoming in the new year. so many fireworks were set off, a dozen airline flights had to be diverted because of all the smoke in the air. in delaware, the new year meant the start of legalized same-sex unions. a pair of lawyers became the first couple to take advantage. delaware senator chris kunz read the sermon. days after leaving the hospital, england's prince phillip joined the family for the new year's day church surface. check this out, former x games medalist levi levalley

broke his own record for a snowmobile jump, more than 400 feet, doing so as another athlete made the jump side by side on a motorcycle. wow. >> and now here's an early look at some of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. medications to treat attention hyperactivity deficit disorder are in short supply. many patients are currently unable to find a pharmacy with enough pills to fill their prescriptions the. the "new york times" is reporting the shortage is mainly due to low manufacturing limits set by the drug enforcement administration in an effort to minimize abuse. for more information on this story and others, head to our health page online at msnbc.com. u.s. markets are closed for the new year holiday, but here is an early look at how they ended out the year. the dow closed at 217 friday after falling 69 points. the s&p was down 5. the nasdaq lost 8. taking a look at overseas

trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dipped 56 points. in hong kong, the hang seng was up 36. the new year marks the start of a new quarter of wall street. some are predicting it's going to be a bumpy ride as investors remain focused on europe's debt crisis. french president nicolas sarkozy said the greatest crisis europe has faced since the second world war is, quote, not over. german chancellor angela merkel warned next year will be, no doubt, more difficult than 2011. here in the u.s., the dow rose 5.5% as investors sought out the safety of blue chip stocks. the broader s&p 500 ended the year flat while the nasdaq lost 178 for the year. looking ahead, the big jobs report is on friday. this time, experts are predicting some 150,000 new hires. also ahead this week, the

latest auto sales figures are expected to be up for december. minutes from the fed's latest meeting will be released tuesday. investors will be looking for reassurance that the u.s. economy is on the mend. an arbitration panel has awarded exxon mobil $908 million in compensation for venezuela's 2007 nationalization of its oil assets. the award is less than 10% of what exxon was seeking. and it used to be all you needed was a dollar and a dream, but now even that is about to go up. tickets for the multi state powerball are doubling in price to $2. beginning january 15th, to entice players with larger jackpots. the jets season comes to an end while the giants head to the playoffs. a texan linebacker makes a helmet to helmet hit, but without a helmet. ouch. your early motors sports headlines are straight ahead. it seems like we've been waiting all winter for the snow

and the cold air. at least the cold air is arriving. your forecast is coming up next. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last night it was all or nothing for the new york giants as they claimed the nfl's last playoff spot. here is nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines.

good morning. win and you're in, simple enough. and the new york giants made it look easy. g-men came to play against the cowboys. eli manning hits cruise and cruz does the rest. going 74 yards to the house, giants up, 7-0 and never look back. they beat dallas, 31-14. they'll play atlanta next sunday. that's because the falcons made the buccaneers walk the plank. get this. atlanta was up 42-0 in the first quarter. yep, 42-zip. that's a new franchise record for points in the first half. speaking of franchise records, the packers set one against the lions with aaron rodgers, the backup matt flynn went out and threw for a team best 486 yards. packers won and the lions will host the saints in the nfc wild card game. to the afc, san diego beat

oakland, 38-26. richard goodman returns a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. the win eliminates the raiders and even though the broncos left lost yesterday, they'll host the steelers in the afc wild card game. jets ended the year losing three straight and they'll be watching the playoffs from home. mark sanchez losing against the dolphins. new york ending the season with a 19-17 loss. finally, the most important piece of football equipment has to be the helmet, right? the texans brian bremen may disagree. against the titans, mark mariani returns a punt. that's breman without his helmet. but that doesn't stop him. his head hits mariani's helmet. breman was okay, although some might argue after seeing that play that mark was never okay to begin with. that's a look at your sports on "early today." steven spielberg's "war horse" gains some traction.

your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. if you're just joining us, i hope you had a wonderful ringing in of the new year. if you're near the great lakes, you're getting some lake-effect snow and the cold air is arriving in the northern plains, especially up there in the dakotas. minnesota through wisconsin and

chicago. eventually, that cold air will work its way all the way to the east coast and you'll feel it as the gusty winds will bring in that cold air. tuesday, lake-effect snow continues. notice that chunk of cold air. the coldest part of it will be over the eastern great lakes up through new england. if you're watching us on wrc nbc 4 in washington, d.c., see art that explores 19th century american innovation at the great american hall of wonders at the smithsonian american art museum. that's your "early today" event of the day. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. tom cruise's new mission remained impossible to beat at the box office. "mission impossible-ghost protocal" came in first at the box office. it is cruise's first $100 million hit since mission impossible three. sherlock holmes, a game of

shadows was second. and "alvin and the chipmunks chipwrecked" came in third. at $18.3 million. but it was steven spielberg who caught hollywood's attention over the weekend. "war horse" finished a strong forth with almost $17 million likely benefitting from word-of-mouth. "the girl with the dragon tatoo" continued to underperform in fifth place. it came in with $16.3 million. sources tell tmz the failed marriage of katy perry and russell brand was plagued by constant bickering. the one bone of contention was katy loves to party and russell, who is sober, was more of a home body. i'm surprised about that. katy perry stays out of the headlines for a girl that likes to party. >> and you would think he knew what he was getting into. maybe he thought she would settle down. >> that's too bad. they were both quirky.

if you had to pair her with anybody, who would it be? and you can't say you. >> maybe no one for a bit. let her have fun for a while. you're right. in tampa, florida, one couple began the new year the same way they ended 2011. in one night, blake and jocelyn blair became the parents of the first and lady babies of the year. they welcomed jenna into the world at 11:59 and leah at midnight on new year's day. the twins' parents say the birth was a surprise since the girls weren't even due until january 26th. and they can't think of a better way to start off 2012. congratulations to them. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> good morning of, everyone. the coldest air mass of the season is moving in. it's not going to be that cold today, but right now it's 40 at the airport. 36 in westminster. the temperatures are going to fall off as we head through the day today, probably dipping into the mid 30's by the time you drive home. we're going to say breezy and colder with a mix of sun and clouds, even a chance for snow flurries north and west of town. winds will gust to over 20 miles per hour. temperatures steady or slowly falling. when we come back, we'll look at the forecast. for now, to the news desk. >> 4:57, 38 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead on 11 news today.

>> the last full day of campaigning before the iowa caucuses. good morning, i'm tracie potts in des moines, iowa. coming up, who's surging ahead? we've got the answer. >> the ravens beat cincinnati. they're in a great position for the playoffs. i'm kim dacey. i've got more on that, next. >> i'm sarah caldwell taking a look at your commorning commute. we'll update any problems on the roads.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning. anticipate hue year, i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. >> tony has a check of the forecast. >> it's going to get cold the next couple of days. high temperatures tomorrow are going to stay in the 20's. it's going to be a big difference coming up here. the front that's bringing in the air came through last night, so it's kind of seeping through maryland. let's take a look at the current conditions. 38 at the airport right now. it will continue tll