making news this morning, countdown to iowa. >> just one week until voters' voices are heard. iowans bracing for a full-court press by the candidates, beginning today. severe storms, threatening to bring tornadoes to parts of the south today. while winter's wrath, that returns to the great lakes. and record-breaker. nice guy q.b. drew brees is the talk of the sports world this morning. breaking a record that stood for nearly three decades. and good tuesday morning, everyone. i'm dan koeffler. >> i'm sunny hostin. so much for christmas truths. the presidential candidates are lashing out at each other before next week's iowa caucuses.

mitt romney, newt gingrich, michele bachmann, they will all be in the hawkeye state today. but the man there with the momentum seems to be ron paul, despite the controversy. with just one week to go until the iowa caucuses, the candidates have come out swinging. rick perry released an ad accusing many of the other candidates of being washington insiders. >> that's the reason i'd call for a part-time congress. >> reporter: meanwhile, the gingrich campaign, which made a promise to be positive, is hammering mitt romney at the montana. but mitt romney is increasing his efforts in iowa, and releasing a new ad. >> i'm going to do something to government. i'm going to make it simpler, and smaller and smarter. >> reporter: he'll begin his day in new hampshire. long shot, rick santorum, spent his day after christmas, hunting in adel, iowa.

he has picked up support of christian conservatives in the state and is now looking for an upset. >> i think we're going good. >> reporter: but the candidate with apparently the most momentum, right now, is ron paul. but he's facing questions about a controversial newsletter, which contained anti-semitic and anti-gay comments. >> i didn't write it. i disavow the messages, whatever was written. that's been 20 years ago. and it's been rehashed many, many times. >> reporter: the latest gallup poll -- and in new hampshire, which is one week after iowa, romney has a commanding lead with 39%, with gingrich and paul tied for second at 17%. and that same, new poll has good news for the white house. it shows 47% approve of the president's performance. that is up 5% since mid-december. the same poll also showing 45%, do not like the job the president is doing. that job is done, since the

president pushed congress to pass a payroll tax extension. new details overnight. a missing 9-year-old girl who had been the subject of a massive search in her indiana neighborhood, has been found dead the suspect is expected to make his first court appearance later today. new details in that christmas day fire that killed three children and their grandparents in suburban new york city. authorities now believe what caused the fire. wabc's kimberly richardson reports from stamford, connecticut. >> reporter: there's so much darkness in a place where there was once so much light. >> my heart is bleeding for them. i can't imagine -- excuse me. i can't imagine what she's going through. >> reporter: one can't help but stare which this pile of burnt

debris and wonder, what happened? what happened the spark inside 2267 chipan avenue, inside a home where a family was fast asleep on christmas morning. >> just horrific. and the whole neighborhood, we just, you know, kind of tempered our celebration of christmas. >> reporter: 47-year-old madonna badger and her male companion, who was her contractor, escaped the fire. firefighters tried to save her 10-year-old daughter, lily, her 7-year-old twins, grace and sara, and her parents, but couldn't. just hours before, he was in his element, working as santa claus in saks fifth avenue in midtown. crews demolished the home, which was under renovation. confident they found what they were looking for. the fire was most likely caused by embers from a fireplace. and the blaze was burning for about an hour before anyone

realized it. >> i just couldn't believe it. that a house of that stature burnt so quickly. >> thanks to kimberly richardson. the fire chief says the grandfather's body was found just outside the bedroom, where one of his granddaughters was sleeping. he had obviously been trying to take or lead her to safety. a medical helicopter crash in rural florida has killed a cardiac surgeon, medical technician and the pilot. the aircraft was flying to gainesville hospital to pick up a heart for transport. that heart could no longer be used in another transplant because its viability had expired. the patient that was going to receive it is back on the donor list. many americans heading home after the long christmas weekend is going to have rough weather to cope with it. it's a huge area of rain blanketing the southeast and the midwest right now. in fact, it's packing winds

topping 70 miles per hour. it could be causing flash flooding. even tornados in some spots the afternoon. that system is expected to move into the northeast. >> that's not all. holiday travelers are facing several inches of snow around detroit, cleveland and the adirondacks, spreading to northern vermont later this evening. snowshowers around knoxville and lexington. up to ten inches of snow in the cascades and northern rockies. rain from seattle to portland. >> mostly 40s in the rockies. 56 in sacramento. 56 in phoenix. fargo, only up to 19. chicago, 39. 49 in new york. and 59 in new orleans. a nice, warm 81 in miami. not too bad. >> it always seems to be 81 in miami. and it was a record-breaking monday night of football down in new orleans. >> that's right. saints quarterback drew brees became the nfl's single-season passing leader with that touchdown pass. it moved him past dan marino's

5,084 yards that marino set back in 1984. we'll have more on that and that record coming up from espn. big smiles. new reasons to be optimistic about the economy in the upcoming year. plus, plummeting prices on televisions. why this might be the best time in a long time to buy. and facebook heroes. a woman held captive for days is saved after she posts a plea for help online.

and welcome back, everyone. there's optimism about the economy for the new year. top analysts surveyed by the associated press expect the u.s. economy to grow slightly faster than it did this year. 2.4%. that was verse an even 2%. but the economists' gest concerns, well, as usual, unemployment. and europe's financial problems. however, they are upbeat about job growth, based on the last couple of months. so, today, asian markets were down on a warning about the economy of the bank of japan. tokyo's nikkei average lost 39 points. hong kong's hang seng was closed, as was london's ftse. u.s. markets, they're going to reopen today. last week, the dow gained 428 points. the nasdaq index, that was also up, 63 points. the numbers aren't in yet. but it is believed yesterday was the third-busiest shopping day of the year. customers flocking to stores to shop bargains and use gift cards. there was a huge increase in

sales using mobile devices. those online sales is one reason it's a great time to buy a television. the internet deals are forcing brick and mortar retailers to cut prices. there's also been a big increase in manufacturing capacity. so, there's more than enough tv sets to meet demand. and big-name manufacturers are being squeezed by lower-cost labels. the 12 days of christmas itunes giveaway is under way. but so far, it's only available for customers in canada and europe. and the app doesn't work with some older apple devices. and a classic rock 'n' roll band is reuniting and heading back out on tour. tickets for van halen's concerts go on sale in two weeks. and an added bonus, lead singer, david lee roth, will be aboard. the band hit the road five years ago. but it's been 16 years since a

short-lived reunion with roth. >> is that "panama" i hear in the background? >> maybe. maybe. >> good reunion there. next on this tuesday, more on that historic night for drew brees. reaction still coming in from one of the most popular players in the nfl. and the all-out search and the $30,000 reward to find a missing toddler. [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪

there's a battery that's relied on to help bring children holiday joy. of course, children don't really think about which battery makes their toy run, but, still, you'd never want to disappoint. duracell. trusted everywhere. [ male announcer ] it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. ♪ that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. ♪ with your help, we can reach 20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. [ female announcer ] get 0 percent apr financing on select models for thirty-six months and we'll donate two-hundred and fifty dollars to your choice of five charities. now through january 3rd.

temperatures in minneapolis are plunging after the warmest christmas there in over a decade. golfers, runners and bikers took advantage of the unseasonably warm december weather that climbed to a record 52 degrees yesterday. today's high is just 28. but still, a few degrees warmer than normal. >> looks beautiful. now, for a look at the morning road conditions. wet on parts of i-10, 75 and 95 in florida.

i-85, from charlotte to richmond. and 95, from d.c. to boston. icy on i-80, from south bend to cleveland. wet on i-5, in the pacific northwest. slippery on i-94 and 25 in the rockies. >> if you're flying, delays are possible on the east coast from atlanta to boston. and snow could affect flights in detroit. there's news out of detroit this morning where police are stopping just short of saying they have a serial killer on the loose. they are now saying three of four women who have recently been found dead, all advertised themselves as escorts on the same website. >> two badly burned bodies were found in a car trunk christmas morning. two others were found in a trunk last week. the website linking the women is called backpage.com. it's an online marketplace that includes personal ads. police in maine are now offering a reward in the case of missing toddler, ayla reynolds. $30,000 will go to anyone who helps to ultimately find the

20-month-old girl. reynolds' weather reported her missing ten days ago. an unbelievable story. a utah woman has been rescued after being held captive and beaten in her own home. her boyfriend, the alleged attacker, had taken all the phones from the house. so, she reached out for help, using the only thing that she had left, facebook. more, now, from noah bonham, our affiliate in salt lake city. >> reporter: the victim wrote on christmas eve at 4:39 a.m., hello? is anyone out there? i'm having serious problems and will be dead by morning. she was hiding in the closet with her laptop, the only device she could find to get help. roughly 20 minutes later, a friend responded, i have her address if it helps. one by one, friends logged on. and together, they schemed to call police and lead them to her

home in this neighborhood. police could see where he tried to strangle her. and they found bruises all over her body. they also found a 17-month-old child, the couple's son, bruised, as well. the victim doesn't want to talk on camera. but neighbors are shocked facebook could be her only outlet for help. >> for her, i'm sure she considers it a lifesaver. it's another tool that is available to people. i'm not on it. all my nieces or nephews are. if i got in trouble, i probably would get on it and find somebody to help me. >> reporter: police arrested troy critchfield. he held his girlfriend against her will about a year ago. this time around, he beat her and strangled her for about four days, only letting her go after she sought help on facebook. troy critchfield is in a county jail. his girlfriend and their young son is recovering from several injuries to their body.

noah bond, abc news. from california, something of a mystery, christmas. check out the guy in the santa hat. he's wearing a mask at this pharmacy on saturday. he hands the pharmacist a note, asking for money and drugs, including oxycontin. the guy behind the counter wasn't taking any chances. >> i assumed he had a weapon. he had one in his hand in his pocket of his jacket. i didn't want to find out. i just gave him what he wanted. >> the suspect took his note back before he left, which left police without any fingerprints to work with. and now, on to those details that we promised from last night's record-breaking feat on "monday night football." we get them from espn news. >> good morning. i'm zubin mehenti with your espn news update. and a sport full of numbers, the one that dominated on monday night, 305. that's the number that drew brees needed to break the

single-season passing record, held by dan marino. pick it up on the third. they start on the ground. darren sproles takes the draw 36 yards. sproles had 67 yards on 5 carries. later in the drive, it's brees, stepping back and hitting robert meacham, the former tennessee volunteer in the end zone. the saints using up 28-10. 31-16 lead, matt ryan hits julio jones. he's stripped of the ball by malcolm jenkins. right place, right time, right bounce and right to the house. takes it all the way back for the score. one more look. a great job of stripping the ball by scott shanle. and new orleans, all over it. that aggressive defense by gregg williams, doing the work. fourth quarter. third and nine, brees 30 yards from the record. marques colston, for the first down to extend the drive. brees to devery henderson, for 11 yards and another first down. he needs seven yards to make

history. two plays later, nfl immortality. >> brees back. touchdown and there's the record. drew brees, in rare air. the all-time single-season nfl passing record. >> brees breaks the mark. saints break the falcons, 45-16. by the way, brees still has one more game to go. a scary thought for any opposing defense. >> i absolutely -- >> that's right. >> widely regarded as one of the nfl's genuinely good guys. in fact, a reflection of that was dan marino's reaction to that accomplishment. after brees broke the record, no said great job by a great player. >> brees said the record isn't about one person. it's about the whole team. >> that's true class right there. >> he's one of the most beloved players in the nfl. i remember his picture with his

little child when he won. "the pulse" is up next. and the question is, which pop star's reportedly eyeing a move to amish country? plus, should maria take to amish country? plus, should maria take arnold back? joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness.

get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. [ male announcer ] enbrel. after your dishcloth? bounty extra soft can help. in this lab test bounty extra soft leaves this surface three times cleaner than a dishcloth. super clean. super soft. bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. free gold ! we call that hertz gold plus rewards. you earn free days, free weeks and more fast. that's a plus. upgrade your ride. that's a plus. rewards with no blackout dates so you can redeem anytime. and it's easy to redeem your points online. already a gold member ? just select gold plus rewards in your profile and start rewarding yourself now. just go to hertzgoldplusrewards.com to join. hertz gold plus rewards. journey on.

time to check "the pulse," in pop culture this tuesday morning, starting with a celebrity true or false. true or false on this one, is outrageous lady gaga thinking about moving to amish country? >> it's true. the singer has been spotted several times in central pennsylvania at bars, restaurants, even a grocery store. and gaga is said to be house hunting in lancaster, pennsylvania, where her boyfriend, tiler penny is from. she was looking at a mansion in an exclusive, gated community. >> i don't see her making quilts with the rest of the amish

community. >> who knows? a second true or false. is maria shriver having second thoughts about her divorce from arnold schwarzenegger. >> unfortunately, that also seems to be true. the couple spent christmas together at their l.a. home. and they were spotted at the lakers' home opener later that day. sources tell tmz, this is due to a number of factors, including her catholic faith, shriver is rethinking divorce plans. >> that hurts you. >> it does hurt me. on behalf of all women. i understand why you keep the marriage together. >> all for the sake. >> yeah. here's some evidence of christmas that one family in utah is never going to forget. take a look at this. while waiting for santa and the reindeer, one buck, a full-grown eight-pointer comes right through the basement window. >> all they heard was a window crash. when they opened the bedroom door, there he was. eventually wildlife control put the buck down to get him out. >> yeah. the room the deer was in was the

christmas room. but. umm, nah you go ahead. i'm good. alright. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicorette mini helps relieve cravings in minutes. so you can quit one cigarette at a time. nicorette mini helps you go from one little win to another. until you reach your goal. nicorette mini. quit one cigarette at a time.

but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum. a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum. look for your five dollar coupon in this sunday's paper.

updating the day's top stories. one week now until the critical iowa caucuses. and there's still no clear front-runner. the new poll finds newt gingrich slightly ahead of mitt romney. president obama is getting approval in a new poll from voters. and britain's prince philip will be back at his country estate today, after a four-night stay in the hospital. the 90-year-old royal was treated for a blocked artery. and looking at today's weather, severe storms in the southeast. snow for detroit, cleveland and knoxville. also, snow in the cascades and the northern rockies. and finally, is going to the movies losing its appeal? ticket sales are not only down this year. they're back to where they were in the '90s. >> the question is, will dinner

and a movie soon be going the way of the driveway. abc's cecilia vega reports, now, from hollywood. >> reporter: it was supposed to be the year of megahits. >> your mission, should you choose to accept it. >> reporter: now, movie executives have a new mission on their hands, to get people back into movie theaters after a year of death-defyingly low turnouts. 2011 ticket sales are on pace to be $500 million behind last year. and attendance hasn't been this slow since the mid-'90s. are people still in love with the silver screen? >> people love going to the movies. and it's getting more expensive. and that's excludeing a lot of moviegoers from going to the theater. >> i just watch it at home. >> reporter: not even conan's muscles were enough to draw the huge crowds this year. among the other forgettable blockbusters in 2011 that turned out to be so unforgettable, "the green lantern," "cowboys and

aliens." and "mars needs moms." >> alvin. >> reporter: critics say there were too many family movies, pushing out teens and young adults that normally pack theaters. and one too many dark flicks. >> i'm sorry. >> reporter: moviegoers are getting the movies they want in new venues, too. streaming big hits online and at home. >> i have a tv at home. >> reporter: there's a hope for a mad rush to the box office. and if not? well, there's always 2012. >> happy new year. >> reporter: cecilia vega, abc news, los angeles. >> people want to see their movies at home. >> it is nice to be able to pause it when you need to. >> yes. >> very true. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." have a great tuesday.