romney rising. the gop front-runner looks for a knockout blow in iowa with voters set to have their say in just four days. pay up. verizon sparks a rage of consumer outrage over plans for yet another fee. and on the edge. a dramatic rescue high on a california cliff as a hiker risks his life to save his dog. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, december 30th, 2011. good morning, everyone. thanks for joining us. i'm whit johnson. we begin with the republicans last-minute jockeying for votes in iowa.

as iowans prepare for tuesday's caucuses the latest poll shows mitt romney in a position to win a state he had all but written off. duarte geraldino is in washington with more. good morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: mitt romney and ron paul clearly in the lead right now in iowa and hoping that position doesn't backfire on them like it did for rick perry and newt gingrich. mitt romney's campaign bus pulled into a packed warehouse in iowa trying to rev your voters. he attacked president obama suggesting he was out of touch with struggling americans and even comparing him to infamous french queen maria antoinette. >> i watched the president. he says, well, it could have been worse. that goes down there with let them eat cake. >> reporter: romney and ron paul lead the polls in iowa. >> the idea that mitt romney can lose to barack obama is false. and you don't have to settle. >> reporter: rick santorum is hoping to capitalize on his growing support which has other contenders taking notice.

>> which republican running for president voted for the bridge to nowhere ear mark? >> rick santorum? >> correct! >> reporter: rick perry released this ad slamming santorum. slamming him for a wasteful. michele bachmann is denying rumors her campaign is in disarray after losing not one, but two, key staffers. thursday, she lost her political director a day after iowa campaign chairman kent sorenson defending joining ron paul's team. bachmann showed reporters her phone insisting sorenson told her about a -- she received from ron paul's camp. >> clearly, this is something that they generated and it shows, again, that we have powerful momentum. >> reporter: both sorenson and the poll campaign deny the allegation. according to a new poll, if there was a contest between mitt romney and president obama, mitt romney would win about 45% of the vote while president obama would only get about 39%. >> duarte geraldino in washington, thank you.

romney's fortunes are rising in iowa. newt gingrich who led a month ago has fallen back in the pact. campaigning yesterday gingrich said he wouldn't respond to the negative ads that have hurt his campaign. gingrich asked if he will continue if he finishes fourth or lower in iowa. >> considering that i'm 20 points ahead in some other states, it would be foolish for me not to stay in the race. looking beyond iowa. a gingrich supporter is suing to have gingrich's name put on the ballot for the virginia primary even though he didn't collect enough signatures to qualify under state law. gingrich says he'll continue no matter the outcome in iowa, texas governor rick perry is not so sure. when asked if there was an outcome next tuesday that would force him from the race, perry said, it might, if that is, quote, god's will. one republican candidate isn't focusing on iowa. jon huntsman has spent his time to win voters in new hampshire.

huntsman says the iowa results will soon be forgotten. the day after the iowa caucuses, president obama will do a little campaigning himself. it's in iowa. -- it's in ohio. a key state he won in 2008 but it has been hard hit by the economy and that will be the focus of the president's visit. yesterday, mr. obama and the first lady visited the memorial honoring the more than 2,300 americans killed in the attack on pearl harbor in 1941. and threw flower petals over the sunken halt of the "uss arizona." north korea says its new leadership does not change his position. north korean political and military elites are uniting around kim jong-un who replaced his late father. the north military says anyone expecting them to ease its confrontation with the south is, quote, foolish. some crew members remain on

board a dry dock nuclear missile submarine that caught fire. it's unclear whether those crew members are trapped, but at least seven were taken to hospitals earlier suffering from smoke inhas lags russia said the vessel's nuclear reactors are safe. on the cbs "moneywatch," stocks in asia posted modest gains in trading today. alexis christoforous is here in new york with that and much more. >> reporter: asian markets finished the year with modest gains. tokyo's nikkei gained about half a percentage point and hong kong's hang sang added a fraction but a rough year for those markets, they lost 20% apiece following the earthquake and tsunami in japan in march. today is the last trading day of the year on wall street. thursday, stocks rallied. the dow jumped 135 points and is up 6% for the year. the nasdaq gained almost 24, but it is down 1.5% for 2011.

there are also some positive new signs of strength on the labor front. the labor department says in the past month, unemployment claims averaged $375,000 per week, the fewest since june 2008. now for some perspective here, at the height of the recession in 2009, more than 600,000 americans were applying for unemployment each week. analysts say the trend is promising. >> the jobs market is moving out of recessionary territory into recovery. it doesn't look like the jobs market is healing. >> reporter: next year should be even better, according to a new survey of three dozen economists. they expect 175,000 jobs a month will be created in 2012. the economy needs around 200,000 a month before we see any significant cuts in the unemployment rate. verizon will charge customers a $2 fee if they pay their bill over the phone or online with a credit card. what the verizon calls a new convenient fee goes into effect january 15th and will not apply

to electronic check payments or automatic credit card payments. experts say verizon is trying to push customers to sign up for its free automatic payment program. moments after the news broke, people logged on to voice their anger comparing it to the debit card fee bank of america was forced to abandon. the new ipad could be along sooner than anyone expected. according to a report out of taiwan, apple could announce the ipad 3 as soon as january. until this rumor, most were expecting the version in march or april. get ready, whit. >> i still don't have the first one. but anyway. stick around for there story, alexis. i have here in my hand the annual list of words and phrases that somebody at a college in northern michigan wants to ban from the english language. the list of overused terms includes baby bump. i guess we can thank beyonce for that one.

then the neanderthal with tv phrase man cave and ginormous and occupy. the word that got its most bandit votes this year, amazing. they blame day time tv talkers for wearing that one out. no surprise there. just ahead on the "morning news," a risky rescue on a california cliff. plus, wild wind causes havoc on a colorado highway. this is the "cbs morning news." that keep accuracy high, along with training and other benefits, like being able to work anywhere in the u.s. with my current license. it's good to know you're working with the best. and that's good for our veterans. (announcer) learn more about careers with today's va at vacareers.va.gov.

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there were no injuries. colorado is being hit by some triple digit winds. wind gusts of up to 102-mile-per-hour knocked over some tractor-trailers west of denver on thursday and in colorado springs, traffic lights were swinging in the wind when a cable snapped and hit a car, scaring the driver. >> all of a sudden, i heard this big crack and i seen a shadow of it and i couldn't figure out what was going on. i heard a crack and i went, what in the world was that? >> high winds and blowing snow also caused problems for drivers in colorado's mountain passes. in southern california, a hiker and his dog are lucky to be alive this morning after a harrowing ordeal that started when the dog fell off a cliff and its owner tried to save her. bigad shaban has more from the los angeles suburb of lake view terrace. >> reporter: stranded 150 feet off the ground, a teenage hiker and his dog could feel the dirt slipping right under them.

ivan and hit pes pet lola were hanging on for their lives along the foothills of southern california as worried family watched on. >> just like hours of suspense waiting for him to be okay. >> reporter: firefighters dangled off a cliff to rescue the pair. lola was saved first and then ivan. he made his way down the hillside using a safety harness. >> i thought it was the end of my life. i saw the bottom and like nothing to hold on to. i was like, i first have to get my dog safe. if anything happens, i hope it happens to me and not my dog. >> reporter: you still thinking about your dog? >> yeah. >> reporter: ivan was hiking on a trail up the hillside here when lola fell down the cliff going after a bottle. ivan immediately went after her. when firefighters found the two, they found the two halfway down, struggling to hold on. >> the footing on the hillside was challenging to us. quite a bit of shale and soft

dirt up there. >> reporter: after an hour and a half rescue, ivan was back home. what was it like when you got to see him walk through doors of your house? >> i was screaming. crazy. >> reporter: the two are now back together. >> i want my dog to be safe first than me. >> reporter: even though you thought you could die? >> uh-huh. yeah. >> reporter: ivan says he would do it all over again for his best friend. bigad shaban, cbs news, los angeles. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, the heisman trophy winner puts on a show in a history-making bowl game. >> even his family can't believe it! captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ] long live your buddy. long live your dog.

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good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows cloud bringing rain and snow to washington and idaho. skies remain clear over the southern plains and southeast. later today, the northeast will see cloudy skies return as showers approach rapidly from the west. the southeast will have mild and pleasant weather with highs in the 60s and 70s. it will be cold across much of the north from the plains to new england. in sports, a record-setting shoot-out in san antonio, texas. baylor versus washington in the alamo bowl.

heisman trophy winner robert griffin iii ran for one touchdown and threw for another. there was plenty more, as baylor went on to win 76-56 in the highest scoring bowl game in history. in college basketball, a stunning upset in the second overtime, rutgers miles mass hit a three-point jump shot to give the scarlet knights the lead on 10th ranked florida. rutgers squeaked out a win 85-83. in milwaukee, vanderbilt's john jenkins scored 14 points. to help upset number 14 marquette. vanderbilt to a win over the golden eagles. in the nba, the defending champions dallas mavericks are still winless. the mavericks vince carter hit a three-pointer to give dallas the lead in the closing seconds,

but oklahoma city's kevin durant hit a buzzer-beater and the thunder beat dallas 104-102. in los angeles, kobe bryant surge in the fourth quarter against the new york knicks. the final, l.a. 99, new york 82. another ring for michael jordan. this one a little bit different. the basketball legend is reportedly engaged to his long time girlfriend model yvette prieto. this will be the second marriage for jordan who divorced his first wife juanita in 2006 after 17 years. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and nasa kicks off the new year by going back to the moon twice. all about the new mission next.

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on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. storms will continue over much of the northern half of the nation while the south will

enjoy sunny skies. the pattern will start to change over the weekend. here is another look at this morning's top stories. mitt romney is looking for a victory in next week's caucuses in iowa, a state he had all but written off at the beginning of the campaign. and this is the last day of trading for the year on wall street. the dow is up 6% for the year, but the nasdaq is down 1.5%. china has announced plans for a great leap into space. it says it will send more man spacecraft into orbit in coming station, but its ultimate goal is to put an astronaut on the moon in about five years. if all goes as planned, nasa will mark the new year this weekend with the start of a new moon mission of its own. a pair of robot spacecraft will swing into lunar orbit beginning

an ambitious project to map. paul day of kcnc has their story. >> reporter: it was way back in 1969 when america was the first to put a man on the moon. but despite everything learned since about the lunar landscape& a major mystery remains. >> the main secret with the moon is the interior of the moon. >> reporter: so this weekend, nasa will steer not one, but two nearly identical spacecraft into orbit around the moon. >> this mission with the two spacecraft configuration will be able to measure the gravity and use that to infer the interior composition of the moon. >> reporter: called grail, the twin spacecraft were built in colorado by lockheed martin. launched in september, grail will take more than three months to reach the moon when astronauts needed just three days back in 1969. why? going slow means grail can be put into lunar orbit with a

smaller fuel-saving rocket and using twin satellites allows for triangulation with the earth. it's the most precise way to measure the moon's gravity explains stu spaeth of lockheed. maybe the moon starts pulling on one? does the other sense it? >> that is exactly correct. >> reporter: spaeth and his team of support engineers will be on duty this weekend making sure the preloaded orbit commands are carried out as planned. >> we're all excited and optimistic of the results. >> reporter: the data collection for grail begins in march and lasts only three months, but when it's finished, amazingly nasa will have a better understanding of the moon's gravity than the earth's. at the campus for lockheed martin, paul day, cbs 4 news. preparations are under way for the biggest new year's eve celebration of all. the one right here in new york city. yesterday, they held a test run. confetti was tossed onto the

streets at times square from eight stories above. at midnight on saturday night, one ton of confetti will fall on as many as 1 million expected revelers. this morning, on "the early show," the biggest entertainment stories of the year. i'm whit johnson and this is the "cbs morning news." as a va pharmacist, working directly with our veterans is really gratifying. plus, i have advanced pharmacy systems that keep accuracy high, along with training and other benefits, like being able to work anywhere in the u.s.

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. it is the last friday of 2011. let's head over to marty. >> it is about 31. low 50s for lunch. some clouds, the temperatures in the low and mid 50s. here is what we have our eye on today, the maryland general assembly is considering a bill next session to promptly notify police about dead or missing children. that after the death of kayly

anthony. the governor is proud of the city for the declining homicide rate. we are watching and learning more on that crash and the chance of higher gasoline prices is appealing to lawmakers and preparing for a prosecution, who are the feds getting ready to prosecute for the bp oil spill? ,,,,,,,, when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast,

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