iowa blitz. republican presidential candidates scramble for votes just one week before the iowa caucuses. economic outlook -- leading economists are upbeat saying the economy should grow next year but the unemployment rate won't change much. and passing record. the saints' drew brees breaks a record that lasted 27 years. captioning funded by cbs and good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm whit johnson in for betty nguyen. we begin with politics in the last lap before the iowa caucuses with just a week remaining before iowans capped the first vote of the 2012 campaign. the candidates are ready with a

final round of speeches and unleash a new round of commercials. duarte geraldino has more. good morning, duarte. >> reporter: most decided to attend the caucus are still open to the idea of changing their minds. so with so much at stake, presidential candidates are becoming increasingly aggre aggressive. rick santorum was the only presidential candidate campaigning monday spending part of the day pheasant hunting. the real hunt in the top spot for the iowa caucuses will intensify today. >> i'm going to do something to government. i'm going to make it simpler and smaller and smarter. >> reporter: mitt romney released a tv advertisement that stated he tries to sway undecided voters. with only a week to go to the caucuses, the latest polls show a three-way race between romney, newt gingrich and ron paul. rick perry is trying to improve his position to launch a bus tour today and also released a fresh ad in iowa.

>> if washington is the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? >> reporter: paul at the top of many polls in iowa won't be campaigning there today. his next event is scheduled for tomorrow. gingrich and michele bachmann will make numerous stops on their bus tour as they hit the final stretch of campaigning. historically a victory in iowa does not guarantee lasting success in the race for the republican nomination, but it often forces some candidates to finish in the back of the pack to drop out, possibly hitting the field a week after the caucuses. the big unknown is obviously voter turnout. some analysts believe a desire to win back the white house may bring more republicans out. whit? >> duarte geraldino, thank you. a belated christmas present for president obama. 47% of americans now approve the job mr. obama is doing. that's up 5% from mid-december. his disapproval rating fell to 45%. the first time since july the president's approval rating has

been in positive territory. of course the economy will play a central role in next year's election. on the "cbs moneywatch" faster economic growth is predicted. drew levinson has that and more. good morning to you. >> reporter: asian markets were mixed lower today after japan's central bank issued a warning about possible risks from the european debt crisis. japan's nikkei lost a half percent. hong kong's hang seng gained over 1%. wall street was closed yesterday on friday. the dow finished higher by 124 points. the nasdaq was up 19 points. barring repercussions from the european debt crisis, economists expect the u.s. economy to grow faster next year. in a survey released this morning three dozen economists expect it to dproe 2.4% next year. this year it grew less than 2%. but they don't predict a big change in the unemployment rate, expected to be 8.4% by the election.

holiday sales look to give this year's economy a boost. analysts say there were ten individual days over a billion dollars in sales this year. in just one day hit that mark last year. and yesterday it's estimated post-christmas shoppers racked up $29 billion in sales, bigger than black friday. >> it looks to be pretty good for sustained spending growth for the consumer. consumers are basically much healthier than they were a few years ago. >> and a big jump in online sales. ibm found online shopping jumped 16.4% on christmas day over last year. the dollar amount of those purchases that were made using mobile devices leaped almost 173%. nearly 7% of all online purchases were made using an ipad. a just released study shows a growing income gap between most americans and members of congress. between 1984 and 2009, the median wealth of members of the

house rose 2 1/2 times from $280,000 to $725,000. that's according to "the washington post" and the university of michigan. over the same period the median wealth of american families declined slightly, $20,500. and that is a look at your business news. whit? >> not good for the approval rating, drew levinson, here in new york. the babysitter accused of murdering a 9-year-old indiana girl will be in court today. 39-year-old mike plumadore has been charged with killing aliahna lemmon. she had been missing since last friday and her body was found yesterday. police say plumadore was a family friend. >> after three different interviews with one of the individuals involved, he was taken into custody tonight about 9:00 p.m. and charged with murder. aliahna's remains have been located. >> according to court records plumadore has been convicted of forgery and auto theft.

investigators are trying to determine the cause of a connecticut fire that killed five people. the house has been torn down after the christmas morning fire that killed three children and their grandparents. the home was being renovated by advertising executive madonna badger who escaped but could not save her family. some charity groups will have to return some improper donations. the group calling itself anonymous gave money to the groups after stealing credit card information in a cyber attack on a security company. anna werner reports. >> reporter: visitors to the stratfor intelligence website looking for analysis of world affairs found this video calling card posted by the hackers who broke into servers, stole a list of the company's subscribers, then posted their personal information on the internet. >> they released their name, a credit card number, the expiration date. >> reporter: internet security expert alex stavos says the information is a treasure trove for people who want to commit identity theft.

>> the list of users is very interesting because it contains people who work for the security teams, large corporations, banks, and even government agencies. >> reporter: stratfor analyzes global intelligence and security for police and the military, among others. the company declined interview requests but in a statement its ceo says stratfor is working closely with law enforcement in their investigation. the hackers claim to be part of the group calling itself anonymous, which has hacked other websites. in a message today, it linked this attack to the effort to free bradley manning, the u.s. army private suspected of releasing thousands of classified government documents to wikileaks. in an interview this past summer, a member of anonymous described their mission. >> we aren't a group. we're an idea. we're an expression of the anger that every person feels when

they see injustice. >> that was anna werner reporting. well, coming up on "the morning news" a terrorist group takes responsibility for the deadly attacks in iraq. plus conflicting reports government tanks are pulling out of a syrian town. first, jeff glor has a preview of tonight's ""cbs evening news"." >> with millions of americans facing foreclosure, we're going to take a look at a free phone service that might help you avoid legal pitfalls and save your home. that story tonight on the ""cbs evening news"." "evening news." it feels totally different from a regular toothpaste.

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in syria reports this morning government tanks are being pulled. this video taken from a social media website shows the tanks prowling the streets. arab league monitors are on their way to make certain the government complies with a peace plan. activists say government forces have killed hundreds of civilians across syria in recent days. in nigeria at least two suspects are under arrest for the christmas day terror bombings that killed at least 35 people. david martin reports on how africa's most populous nation is struggling with the growing islamist movement. >> reporter: a nigerian newspaper called it the blackest christmas ever. dozens of people killed in the bombings of three christian churches. a radical islamic group popularly known as the nigerian taliban claimed credit for the attacks which marked an especially bloody day in the war against its government, the world's tenth largest oil producer. the nigerian taliban, whose official name boko haram,

roughly translates as western education is evil, is trying to establish an islamic state in the largely muslim north of nigeria. with an estimated size of only a few hundred followers, it has been fighting a violent insurgency against the central government with atrocities committed by both sides. in august, boko haram claimed credit for the bombing of the united nations headquarters in nigeria which killed 23 people. the latest attacks raised the destabilizing prospect of a civil war pitting the muslim north against the christian south. the u.s. has been providing nigeria with intelligence on boko haram and they say it has no significant ties to international terrorist groups like al qaeda and no plans to attack targets outside nigeria. even so, the u.s. has offered to help the nigerian government track down the bombers. an offer which includes sending fbi agents to assist in the investigation. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon.

an al qaeda front group is claiming responsibility for a wave of attacks in baghdad last week. 69 people were killed when bombs went off in cafes, grocery stores, markets, and government buildings. they were the first major attacks since u.s. troops withdrew from iraq this month. straight ahead, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, drew brees leads the saints to a record and a rout over the falcons. i'm a dad, coach... and i quit smoking with chantix. knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke -- and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix.

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here is a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york afternoon rain, 55. miami rain, 80. chicago windy, 38. dallas, sunny, 56. los angeles sunny, 68. time for a check of the national forecast, the latest satellite picture has a massive system bringing snow to the great lakes and rain to the gulf coast. the northeast shows clouds. the southwest is clear while the northwest has another storm washing ashore. later today the storms along the coast from georgia to virginia could turn severe. rain showers will move into the northeast. the northern plains have scattered snow showers. it will be sunny and breezy in the southwest with rain and snow heading into the northwest. in sports, the saints' drew brees was on fire against the falcons. not only did he throw for four touchdown passes including this third quarter toss to robert

meacham but in the fourth he broke the nfl record for passing yards in a single season set by dan marino in 1984. and of course he did it with the td pass. the saints blow out the falcons 45-16. in college ball, missouri rolls over north carolina in the independence bowl. a trick play in the first quarter captures the tar heels secondary off guard. missouri scores and by the end of the first half they had racked up 31 points. the independence bowl record. missouri trounces north carolina 41-24. in basketball the suns blow it at home against the hornets. under pressure, eric gordon nails the jumper to put new orleans up by one with less than five on the clock. then phoenix loses the ball. after the inbounds pass, the hornets survive. the suns 85-84. in charlotte, the clock is

winding down and augustine to the hoop, giving them a one-point lead over the bucks. then mike dunleavy takes the desperation shot for the win, and it bounces off the rim. bobcats over the bucks, 96-95. when we come back, another look at this morning's top stories and the japanese obsession with beethoven's ninth. is this your normal?

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truth is, you need something powerful. you need lime-a-way. it's 4 times more effective at removing limescale than the leading bathroom cleaner. because lime-a-way is specially formulated to conquer hard water stains. for lime, calcium and rust... lime-a-way is a must. on the cbs "morning news" here is a look at the weather. a wintry mix will impact the great lakes area. severe weather moves into the east coast. the southern plains will be dry with temperatures in the 50s to the 70s. northern plains see scattered snow showers. here is another look at this morning's top stories. with just a week before the iowa caucuses, three republican candidates begin bus tours

through the state today and several have launched new campaign ads. and a big jump in online sales this holiday season. ibm found online shopping jumped 16.4% on christmas day over last year. the dollar amount of those purchases that were made using mobile devices leaped almost 173%. a couple of grinches in minnesota stole some presents, and it's all caught on videotape. you can see the two burglars enter the apartment in st. paul. they took a laptop and other valuables from the family of a soldier serving in kuwait. police are still looking for the suspects. in japan everyone has a favorite song at this time of year, but it's not a japanese song. in the land of the rising sun, they all rise for beethoven's ninth. >> reporter: in countries like japan while most people still

identify with buddhism the usual trappings of christmas are a side note. but there's nothing low key about one japanese holiday tradition. ♪ >> reporter: this time of year japan goes batty, beethoven's masterpiece "ode to joy." the beethoven craze began strangely enough during world war i. german soldiers being held as prisoners in japan staged the very first performance of number 9 here. the japanese liked what they heard. by the mid-20th century number 9 had become a holiday hit. as japan recovers from the tsunami last march, the lyrics have taken on deeper meaning this year. "the disaster showed us we need to help one another," said one chorus member.

"that's what this song evokes for me." performed and song all through the months from concert halls to department stores, number 9 now is a welcome if predictable for japanese musicians and conductors. >> i have done more than 150 times. >> reporter: for shear scale, nothing beats the 10,000-man number 9 chorus. talented and tone deaf alike, all vie for the chance to stand on stage, a healing note for a shattered nation. preparations are under way for the annual rose parade in pasadena, california. workers are putting the finishing touches on floats that took most of the year to design and build. the theme this year is just imagine. the rose parade with its spectacular floral floats is the day after new year's.

this morning on the "early" show pistol packing mamas. why the number of women learning to shoot has shot up. i'm whit johnson. this is the "cbs morning news." mas. why the number of women learning to shoot has shot up. i'm whit johnson. this is the "cbs morning news." a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, hershey's air delight. experience light and airy, melty bubbles. made from pure, delicious hershey's milk chocolate. hershey's air delight. nyquil tylenol: we are?ylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion.

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good morning, everyone, i am jessica kartalija, in for don. the last tuesday good morning. >> the last tuesday of december, right now moisture aapproachinging from the south and west, let me show you what is going to get your attention, that is a lot of moisture. get an umbrella out. temperatures 40s to near 50. it is wet. jess, take it away. >> here is what we have got our eye on today. calls to archivists and more.

making news this morning the city's falling homicide rate nearing a historic low, what is behind the trend. racing toward a deadline, adam may looking to whether the grand prix will race threw the streets again next year. and it is flipping our nation's finest, not with weapons but ipads, more news, ,,,,

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this is wjz tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com, baltimore. >> good morning, maryland. now don scott, marty bass, and the latest breaking news from wjz's news team, your rs