this morning on "early today," rallying around romney. some of the gop front runners toughest critics rush to his defense after \s this morning on "early today," rallying around romney. some of the gop front runners toughest critics rush to his defense after his rival call him a job killer. dining hazard. scary moments when a tractor-trailer wheel crashes through a louisiana restaurant window. and iphone uproar. angry customers egg apple's flagship store in beijing over the postponed launch after product. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz.

today, we begin with romney's record. with a week to go from the south carolina primary, republican contenders are sharpening their attacks on romney and his business career. nbc's brian moore joins us now from washington with details. brian, good morning to you. >> good morning, veronica. >> reporter: romney supporters are calling these recent attacks desperate. >> thank you. my goodness. thank you. >> reporter: mitt romney is looking and sounding a lot like he is ready to take on president obama in the fall. >> we are going to see the change we are looking for and it's not barack obama. i believe it's going to be mitt romney. >> reporter: with wins in iowa and new hampshire and a good shot at sweeping south carolina, romney is still the prime target. >> he ran as a liberal against ted kennedy and lost and he ran as a moderate as governor and governed as a moderate. >> reporter: for days romney took heat about his business record. and time in bane capital. the romney camp has fired back with its own ad. >> don't believe fooled by newt's desperate attacks.

>> reporter: while newt gingrich and rick perry are not apologizing they are toning down their rhetoric. >> i'm shocked at how defensive they are. >> free market capitalism in the state of texas has created over a million jobs. we understand how capitalism needs to work. >> reporter: eight days before the south carolina primary, the candidates who aren't mitt romney are still looking for a winning message. and while the others look for that winning message, romney is still trying to convince conservatives that he is conservative enough. >> brian moore in washington, thank you. now to the latest on the scandal involving four u.s. marines who allegedly desecrated the bodies of taliban fighters in afghanistan. defense secretary leon panetta called afghan president hamid karzai on thursday to promise a full investigation. panetta called it inexcusable.

they are shown urinating on the taliban militants. four service members are identified and two questioned at camp lejeune, north carolina. secretary panetta announced thursday the u.s. will draw 7,000 troops from europe. the redeployment is part of the new military strategy that president obama announced last week. as tengs sorry. as tensions soar, president obama is warning iran about closing the strait of hormuz. "the new york times" reports that iran will cross a, quote, red line if it acted too close to the strait. iran recently staged military exercises after threatening to cut off ship traffic near e persian gulf, a crucial waterway for oil supplies. in the meantime, iran has surprisingly agreed to allow in a delegation of nuclear inspectors later this month but it's not clear if the inspectors will be permitted to visit key nuclear sites involved in a nuclear weapon program. iran denies it's trying to build a nuclear bomb. now here is a look at other stories making news early today

in america. this was caught on surveillance video when he confronted a couple of would-be car thieves. one suffered a knife wound and retreated in his home. police hope the footage will aid footage of the attack will aid in capturing the suspects. a freak accident caused a major scare and damage inside one louisiana fast food restaurant. a tire from a passing 18-wheeler launched into the front entrance of the eatery after falling off the trailer. four people inside suffered minor injuries. police have organized a statewide search for the truck. and, finally, it is award season and that means swag for hollywood hottest stars. the golden globe awards opened its annual one-stop shop and celebrities received free gift bags filled with accessories and pampering products. over 40 companies are taking part. talk about the rich getting richer. this year, merchandise

inside each bag this year is worth, cha-chink, 50,000 dollars. >> wow. now for a look at your national regional and weather forecast, here is meteorologist bill karins. i think they should donate the stuff. >> you would donate it? you're on the record you would donate it? >> come on. like they really need more stuff? $50,000 worth of stuff, like they can't buy their own? >> of course, they can, but it's free. >> i would donate it. >> you're on the record. but you've never gotten it. good morning, everyone. we are dealing with a snowstorm in the midwest. chicago, about 5 inches of snow yesterday. now the cold air has returned. everywhere in the purple is where your temperatures have taken the plunge. at this time, we are 22 degrees colder at this hour in atlanta than yesterday. the cold air has made it down to new orleans and san antonio and now sweep through the mid atlantic states and eventually all through new england. the windchills, this is finally looking and feeling like the middle of winter.

windchill, minneapolis, minus 4. all areas of the northern plains are in the single digits or negative numbers. kansas city at 1 and windchill in atlanta is 19. bundle the kids up this morning in the southeast. eventually, as i said, over the next couple of hours, those temperatures are going to plunge in new york city, philadelphia, washington, d.c., baltimore. the cold air is on the way. there is rain actually all the way up to central new york but now that cold air is moving in and changing over to snow. the heaviest snows are now found in between buffalo and erie. throughout the day we get the highest accumulation. a possibility of 6 to 12 inches of snow. we get the initial burst and lake effect later on today. lake-effect snow, pittsburgh, syracuse, rochester, buffalo, a snowy drive during the day today. midwest, you're cold but at least you're dry. that's a look at the national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. areas like boston will be warm but during the morning hours, the afternoon is when the temperatures will begin to plunge and in pittsburgh, a cold

day. high only 24 degrees. that is one of the coldest days of the winter and you will see some snow showers. weekend forecast looks chilly, but not a lot of snow so it looks okay. >> i'm perplexed there is even snow. it's amazing. >> some areas, it's the first time. >> how are you feeling, better? >> we are working on it. >> all right. home depot is hiring. food lion is firing. and a very unusual recall at bed, bath & beyond. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. could she be going from one of show business bad boys to one of sport's altar boys? coming up, nhl all-star rosters are announced and shocking upset in college hoops and things from bad to worse for the knicks. you're watching "early today." things from bad to worse for the knicks. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz.

here are some of your top headlines this morning. the space station had to get out of the way this morning because of passing debris from an aging satellite. while the space junk was only the size of a softball it was moving fast enough to puncture the space station. myanmar, 650 political prisoners have been freed as its military government try to legitimatize itself in the world. a group of amish men sentenced to jail for putting refusing to put orange triangles on their buggies. the men say it goes against their values to live low-key lives. but the sheriff in connecticut says not having them makes the buggies a hazard on the road. wild elephants have been on a rampage in eastern india. residents trapped as the elephants damage a number of homes going after stockpiles of grain.

in china, customers started throwing eggs in protest after the apple store in beijing canceled plans to sell the new iphone 4s. apple became worried about safety after thousands of campers were camped outside. now here is an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc. according to a new study, girls who eat frequent meals and snacks will put on fewer pounds and gain fewer waist line inches over the next decade than those who only eat a couple times a day. while the study author says it's too early to recommend that style of eating to prevent obesity, they speculate more frequent meals and snacks keep girls satisfied longer preventing overeating. for more information on this and other health stories, head to the web and check out the home page at msnbc.com. the dow opened at 12,471 after adding 21 points yesterday. the s&p up three points and nasdaq gained 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 114 points

while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 109. following oil and strong european bond auctions drove a late comeback on wall street thursday. spring stocks to close slightly higher. caterpillar and alcoa leading the dow. on europe delaying its iran embargo. pushing stocks surprisingly strong bond auctions in spain. and italy which eased europe debt worries. chevron warned on fourth quarter profits. they took a late hit. corn futures plunged. due to higher than expected supplies. wheat futures tumbled. stocks tripped up early on data. december retail sales rose at the weakest pace in seven months. first time jobless claims moved higher last week mainly due to holiday temp layoffs. company news. multifine line electronics surged on better than expected sales outlook.

wynn resorts fell on news its vice chairman sued the company for blocking his view of business accounts. home depot will hire 70,000 seasonal workers for the spring and food lion belgium operators says it will close 113 locations in belgium and cut almost 5,000 jobs. slot machine maker international double down interactive for $500,000. today, traders will watch early for the first big banker jpmorgan chase. finally. a kind of problem you don't hear about every day. bed bath & beyond is recalling metal tissue holders sold in more than 20 states contaminated with low levels of radioactivity. hockey all-stars are announced and flute goal on the ice. and a top ten upset in college hoops. what is supposed to be a rosy year for the new york knicks keep getting dimmer and dimmer. your "early" morning sports headlines are straight ahead. now that winter has arrived

we are waiting on more lake-effect snows. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports rosters are out for this season's nhl all-star game.

here is fred roggin with a look at your sports headlines. >> good morning. the nhl all-star game rosters released yesterday and the stars were shining brightly last night. the game will be held in ottawa at the end of the month. last night the senators in new york. jason speaks spezza had a pair of goals against the rangers. mahalak also a favorite. the all stars got it done and beat the rangers 3-0. tim thomas will play in his second all-star game. bruins took the lead in a wild play in the first. kerry price, also an all-star, came out of the net to play the puck when it took a crazy bounce off the pass. caron put it in the net. it doesn't get any easier than that. the bruins win it 2-1. red wings and coyotes. datsyuk is lone in the all-star game for detroit. this decided in a shoot-out. zetterberg undressed mike smith.

a great move and finish. red wings won in a shoot-out 4-3. the 59th annual all-star game is sunday, january 29th on the nbc sports network. puck drops at 4:00 eastern. in the nba. the knicks struggling this season. this didn't help anything. carmelo anthony left the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle. thank goodness, the negatives are negative and he sat out the rest of the game. the grizzlies win it 94-83. a big upset in college hoops. minnesota down to indiana and took it to the eighth ranked hoosiers. allen, a career night. 18 points for the golden gophers. indiana had chances at the end but couldn't knock down the big shots when they needed it the most. minnesota shocked everybody and won it 77-74. that is your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend, i'm fred roggin. a neck and neck race at the

box office. two old action war horses are returning to the big screen. your early morning entertainment headlines are next. and coming up later today, 60 years of "today" show. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." let me take you through your weekend forecast.

cold air move in today. it's cold through the great lakes. we got a lot of snow out there. especially in michigan and western new york. saturday and sunday, not a lot of changes. a big warm-up in the middle of the country by the end of the weekend. if you're watching us on wvit nbc 30 in hartford, connecticut, mystic, explore the features of six jellyfish species at jellies, the ocean in motion at the mystic aquarium. that is your early today event of the today. >> jellies, the ocean in motion? that is something. at the box office this weekend, two new films and a family release will battle for the top spot with most experts calling the race a tossup. the mark wahlberg and kate

beckensall "contraband" film is expected to appeal to men. "joyful noise" as directors of competing church choirs target women and faith-based awed yens. starring dolly parton and queen latifah. beauty and the beast after families. all three expected to earn somewhere in a $15 million range. elsewhere heather locklear parents say she is resting and in stable condition in a california hospital. tmz reporting she took a dangerous mix of prescription drugs and alcohol. old school action stars sylvester stallone and arnold schwarzenegger will reunite in a movie called "the tomb." katy perry's preacher parents are trying to set up a meeting between her and broncos quarterback tim tebow. my thoughts exactly, shouldn't they wait for the ink to dry on her divorce papers? >> i think anybody wants to put the wagon on tim tebow right now. he is a hot commodity.

>> i don't understand the phenomenon. you're on the wagon? >> it's an amazing story and we will see what happens this weekend. >> you'll have to explain it to me. >> okay. this comes to us from new york city where the red carpet is rolled out. tv's brightest stars gathering to mark a major milestone in morning tv. the 16th anniversary of the "today" show was celebrated at a thursday night gala. since hitting the air waves in 1952 the program has evolved into a dominant television brand that is part of the morning routine for millions of americans. coming up, matt, al, and natalie will keep the party going here on this nbc station. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. it is a friday morning. friday the 13th. yesterday was beautiful. this morning, we're in the low 40's. we have some rain around the area. some snow and sleet is mixed in with that. the wind is from the west. 43 at the inner harbor.

we'll will not do any better than that today. details on the forecast are coming up. >> 39 degrees on tv hill. the"today" show celebrating 60 years. >> we want to know your favorite moments. >> an outbreak of scarlet fever has parents on high alert. >> it is a race to the finished in south carolina. how some of mitt romney's rivals are trying to slow him down. >> we are tracking an accident and will update you on

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