making news in america this morning -- open debate. >> the republican candidates faced off one last time before saturday's big primary. the hot topic? newt gingrich's alleged open marriage. also this morning, reno on fire. winds gusting over 80 miles an hour. hours tos are forced to evacuate. and speed roommating. just like speed dating. it's fast, it's uncomplicated, it helps you find exactly what you're looking for. good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. the final stretch of the fight for south carolina has been a wild ride. a few days ago, it seems like

mitt romney would cruise to victory. >> newt gingrich stepped on the gas but ran into a land mine. tahman bradley joins us with more. >> reporter: just as newt gingrich seemed to be coming on strong. a bomb shell from his ex-wife. beginnigingrich may have his pr but so does mitt romney. on the final day of campaigning, mitt romney is trying to hold on to his lead there and his front-runner status. polls in the palmetto state show newt gingrich surging. with rick perry dropping out and endorsing gingrich, there was one less conservative on stage. >> i think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country. and i'm appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a

topic like that. >> reporter: he was referring to the opening question that his ex-wife made about infidelity in an exclusive interview with brian ross. >> he was asking to have an open marriage. i refused. that i accept that he has somebody else in his life. >> and you said? >> no, no, that is not a marriage. >> the story is false. >> reporter: also last night, rick santorum, who it turns out won the iowa caucuses, tried to position himself as the conservative alternative. >> i'm steady. i'm solid. i'm not going to go out and do things that you're going to worry about. >> reporter: romney took heat for his career as an investor. >> i find it strange to have to describe that. >> reporter: mitt romney was asked if he would release several years of tax returns. he said maybe. the crowd booed.

>> newt is having a surge. in some polls, as close as seven points. what can mitt romney do to slow newt down? >> reporter: they're going after newt gingrich's claims of him creating jobs back in the '90s. he said he read the reagan diaries, and he only saw one mention of newt gingrich. well, president obama is also running hard. yesterday, he appeared at four, high-rolling fundraisers in new york city. there was a serious matter of foreign policy, saying the u.s. is safer now than three years ago. while at another at the apollo theater, he seems to be having a whole lot of fun. ♪ i ♪ am so in love with you

>> he's got a pretty good singing voice. that excerpt from al green's "let's stay together" could be the next theme song for the president's re-election. fire crews are scrambling to contain a wind-driven brush fire near reno this morning. they've saved 1,000 structures so far but have lost about 20. flames have consumed 3700 acres. one death is blamed so far. and the deadly storm that's pounding the pacific northwest has created a flooding danger. a woman and her 20-month-old son were killed when they were swept away. 350,000 still in the dark near washington's puget sound. time now nor the weather

from across the nation. it's not over yet in the pacific northwest. another 5 inches of drenching rain is expected and the biggest snowstorm of the season hits the upper midwest stretches east into pittsburgh. >> that storm brings some bone-chilling temps. plunging below zero in some spots. dallas topping out at the upper 70s, a full 15 degrees above normal. >> always so depressing to talk about texas because it's so much warmer there than here. >> welcome to new york. >> i think i need a vacation to texas. the people behind one of the biggest file-sharing sites says they're under attack by the government. the founder is now under arrest in new zealand where he lives. here's pierre thomas with more. >> reporter: the battle over copyrights and control of the internet has escalated.

two companies have been charged with selling pirated music and other materials on line. among those charged, the creators of megaupload. megaupload runs online ads featuring a who's who of celebrities. kim kardashian. >> i love mega up load. >> i love mega upload. >> reporter: there was a cyber attack with the justice department's website among those under assault. a group calling themselves anonymous claimed credit. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. here's a miracle pair you need to meet. each of these boys was born from the same mother but in two

separate uteruses. >> when they were born in october, they weighed just 1 pound, 5 ounces. carter's gone home. his brother is expected to join him, too. >> i saw it on an episode of "grey's anatomy" a couple of years ago. now in real life. the latest on the doomed cruise ship that is now quote a high risk of actually sinking. after filing for bankruptcy in 2009, how general motors is motoring back on top. and bad news for the football fans that enjoy the chicken wings while watching the big game. oh, you're not going to like this. we'll be right back.

women, overseas markets are up on good news from the united states. spain and france, tng tng gained 127 points today. hong kong's hang seng was up 167. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow rose 45 points yesterday. the nasdaq index added 19. well, general motors is motoring back on top. the company is once again the world's largest automaker. sales grow in every region moving more than 9 million vehicles last year alone. volkswagen was second. toyota, after a year of natural disasters, went from first to third. american airlines is hitting a built oit before turbulence.

they underpaid in prirmt plans. a government regulator says they have plenty of cash. forbes magazine says the best companies have the perks that make employees happy. this year's top is google. hear lots of good things about that. the second is boston consulting group. third is the sas cgroup. the cost of a super bowl staple is taking off this year. chicken wings are up over 52% this year. the cost of chicken feed is up. producers are losing money. each chicken, well, only has two wings. >> very good point. >> excellent point there. nothing better than a cold one and some chicken wings watching the game. >> chicken wings and bleu cheese. celery. >> a slice of heaven. the amazing rescue of a hirk

who tumbled down the mountain. and what apple's latest announcement means for the future of your child's textbooks. capital one's new cash rewards card

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what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] look at this. a harrowing ordeal on a rugged mountain in phoenix. a 22-year-old hiker fell ten feet, suffered multiple cuts and lost consciousness. he's in the stretcher being carried. he was flown to the base of the mountain where an ambulance was waiting. he's going to be okay. >> a lucky guy. rain and snow creating trouble spots today including i. 80 from omaha to cleveland. and interstate 5 south to bakersfield. airports delays possible in see atting, chicago, minneapolis, detroit, and san

francisco. we turn to the chipled cruise ship off italy. it shifted in the water again. that's forced them to suspend efforts to find the 21 passengers listed as missing. >> we're hearing from a new witness and new audio tapes from the moments after it happened. diana alvear joins us with more. >> reporter: the captain may be under fire for abandoning his ship. but he has a vocal supporter claims he's a hero. this is the woman italian authorities believe may provide key details in the "costa concordia" disaster. in this interview, 25-year-old domenica defended the captain, claiming he helped save 3,000 lives by steering the ship closer to land. she confirmed she was with schettino at the time of the

wreck. she says he was still on board at 11:30 that night when she made it off the ship. that contradicts what other witnesses said, that he was on the dock hours before the others esca escaped. he first said he fell into the water. then he said he tripped and fell into a lifeboat. this call, recorded 45 minutes after the ship ran aground. [ speaking i tall than [ . >> yes, affirmative, we have a blackout on board. we are checking the situation. >> reporter: as this conversation took place, panicked passengers were rushing to put on life jackets. divers may be running out of

time. storms are forecast to come through that area that could sink the ship even further, rupturing the fuel tanks. rob? paula? >> thank you, diana. be sure to watch a special edition of "20/20" tonight, called "cruise ship confident l confidential." 10:00 eastern, 9:00 central. new changes may be under way to diagnose and treat autism. they're proe poedsing a narrower definition of autism and related disorders such as asperger's syndrome. apple is selling digital texbooks. they run on the ipad. they'll be sold for about $15 or less. the company didn't mention programs to help schools or students by the ipads themselves.

on a lighter note from the world of sports, here's mike yam from espn news with last night's highlights. good morning. we start on the nba hard wood. the lakers are latmatching up against the heat. james not feeling well early thursday. mike brown, his former coach, a pleasant interaction before the game. courtside, jeffrey lawyer ya. the owner of the marlins. the guy that helped up lebron james. not taking a whole lot of threes this season. burying that one. 8 and 8 for the king. shane battier, oh, nice pass from lebron. he hit three threes in the game. he had 11. miami, 9 of 18 as team from beyond the arc. there's lebron again. heat in control. they shot 45% from the floor. kobe, having some struggles in

this game. 8 of 21 from the field for 24 points. heat up by 16. fourth quarter, they're up by 18. more from lebron. complete frustration from the lakers bench. a 21-point game. kobe. just can't get much done. certainly can't be happy with that performance. the lakers lose, 989-87. that will do it for this sports update. back to you guys. thanks a lot. elephants are the symbol of the republican party. sometimes you have to ask an elephant who is going to win? >> an elephant from the ringling brothers circus made a pick. >> he went a different route. very independent elephant. he's throwing his weight behind stephen colbert. makes you wonder if comedy central gave the elephant a few

peanuts for making so much publici publicity. >> peanuts for the pachyderm all in honor of -- politics. up next, why deleting your facebook account might be the secret to happiness in. if you could pick one celebrity to cheat with, who would it be? the story is coming up next in the pulse.

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all right, time to check "the pulse" the stories you'll be talking about today. does facebook make you sad? a new study finds that the more you use facebook, the more you believe other people are much happier than you are and that life is simply unfair. it's the result of the carefully chosen photos. the solution? delete your facebook at and socialize in person. if things between you and your mate seem frosty lately, you're in the alone. >> turns out, january is the worst month for couples. two-thirds of the pairs a group studies broke up. >> shorter days, miserable weather and the post holiday lack of cash cause cabin fever.

more times indoors lead to more time to argue. >> i disagree. hope you survive the month. >> you, too. a poll question sure to kick up controversy this morning. the folks at the extramarital dating site ashleymadison.com asking subscribers, if you could cheat with a celebrity, who would it be? >> number five, jennifer aniston. number four, salma hayek. >> number three, mila kunis. number two, rihanna. number one, katy perry. >> plenty of the 25,000 people asked must have been dudes. >> i'm just guessing. don't cheat. if you have to, pick some good ones. >> for some of you, your local news is coming up next.

for others, a sign of the times as to how to find a roommate. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. chili's lunch break combos are full of delicious choices, starting at just 6 bucks. choose from savory favorites or our new philly cheesesteak sandwich. layers of shaved steak and grilled peppers served with fries and a tasty soup or salad. chili's lunch break combos.

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♪ updating the day's top stories now. today is the last day of campaigning before the big south carolina primary on saturday. can newt gingrich keep his surge going after his ex-wife came forward with details of their marriage? at least 20 homes are destroyed in nevada. fire crews have saved about 800 others. efforts to search the cruise ship off the coast have been suspended this morning because the ship shifted in the water. 21 passengers are still missing. bitter cold in the midwest moving into the northeast. showers in the southeast. tote t toasty temps across the south. everything else is happening online these days. why not add one more.

this is like finding someone to date. but just a little bit different. >> it's the newest way to find someone to live with. it's called speed room nating. jamie ross has the details. >> reporter: they may look like four friends chatting. maybe later. tonight, they're strangers talking business. the question, can we room together? >> can we -- >> i condition. >> we want you -- >> reporter: this is speed roommating. hosted by spare room.com. >> we're looking at astoria. it's a possibility. we're looking for around the same price range. so -- >> reporter: crystal and danielle need a third roommate. alina needs a room. line up people with similar interests. get the deal done. matt hutchinson's events took off in the uk. >> we had people show up off the fly. needing somewhere to live.

>> reporter: and people of all different backgrounds and ages. a sign of the times. >> people can't afford the live the way they used to. i find myself in the same position. the money is not like it was. >> everything is to exorbitant now. >> reporter: here, you talk expenses and rent and let your instincts down the rest. >> here you are meeting a bunch of people. you get to pick and choose. >> and if you don't like the person, you know -- >> you knee right away. >> reporter: do crystal and danielle know? what do you think about elena? >> well -- no. we would have never met someone like her. we tried craigslist, we tried everything. >> i think we're ready to take cute pictures. >> roommates that drink together stay together. >> i guess so. mymy whole family is going to move in with you.