of "dateline." i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. today," all eyes on new hampshire. front-runner mitt romney scrambles to win over state voters. dangerous liaison? the u.s. kicks out a venn zla lan diplomat tied to a possible attack on the u.s. a terrifying plunge, a plunger lucky to be alive after survivining everybody's worst nightmare. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, i'm lori wilson. today we begin with heating up in new hampshire. with one more full day of campaigning before the primary

mitt romney's presidential rivals are ramping up the attacks. nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: mitt romney with governor chris christie. >> we know a president when we see one, and he is right here. >> reporter: romney would be the first non-incumbent to win both iowa's caucuses and tuesday's first primary, but rivals ganged up to try to stop romney's role. >> we want someone who's going to stand up and fight for the conservative's principles. >> reporter: romney claimed he cut spending as a governor and then returned to the business world. >> i went to massachusetts to make a difference. i didn't go there to make a political career running time and time again. >> can we drop the pious baloney that. >> jon huntsman. he got slammed back. >> i put my country first.

apparently mitt romney doesn't believe in putting country first. >> reporter: rick santorum who nearly beat romney in iowa as a strong opponent of same-sex marriage but was not tripped up during the debate. >> what if you had a son who came to you and said he was gay. >> i would love him as much as i did the second before he did it. >> reporter: mitt romney loved by me conservatives but still on track. it's hard to believe it was just one year ago when congresswoman gabriel giffords and 18 others were gunned down outside a grocery store in tucson, arizona. yesterday congresswoman giffords and thousands of others gathered in tucson to mark the bitter anniversary. we have the story. >> reporter: in one of her first public appearances in tucson since being shot, congresswoman gabriel giffords joined hundreds of others at the university of arizona and in a strong

passionate voice led the crowd in the pledge allegiance. guided by her husband, astronaut mark kelly, she then lit the first candle in a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of an event that has forever scarred tucson. >> there is the reality for many of us that there are dreams for our families' future that we'll just have to let go. >> reporter: one year ago a mentally ill gunman unleashed his frustrations and anger on the congresswoman and 18 others in front of a grocery store where giffords was hosting a meet-and-greet. six people lost their lives. on this anniversary bells tolled, memories stirred, and promises were made to never forget. >> and to my fell low tucsons, let's remember this day as a symbol of our strength, when we can work together for the

greater good. >> reporter: gina kim, nbc news, tucson. a venezuela diplomat is being thrown out of the united states. based in miami, lydia acosta to be persona nongra ta, ordering her to leave the country by tomorrow. while they won't say why she's being thrown out she talked about possible cyber attacks while on u.s. soil and may have tried to get information about u.s. nuclear power plants. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a miami coast guard rescue crew scrambled to save an alabama couple after their plane crashed near the bahamas. the aerial unit discovered them less than an hour after their plane went down. the man and woman were pulled from the ocean without any injuries. more than 1,200 explosive devices were used to demolish a houston skyscraper.

a series of explosions reduced the 20-story building to a pile of rubble in less than 20 seconds. the implosion was planned after asbestos and an aging foundation made that building too costly to maintain. and finally, new york's subway was the sight of another bizarre big apple phenomenon. uh-huh, for the 11th year commuters stripped down their skivvies to take part in the no-pants subway ride. it was one rally at one station to celebrate the practical annual joke. the underwear prank was pulled, no pun intended, in washington, london, washington, d.c., and mexico. now for a look at your national and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. you know what? hey, it could have been worse weather to pull your pants down. >> it's true. i think the best would be you get the tourists from out of town, they're on the train and all of a sudden these people

come on in their boxers. explain that that to your kids. good morning everyone and welcome, lori. we're watching for rain down along the gulf coast and texas. we don't have a lot of big snowy weather to talk about. first off, the rain, and then a plunbling of cold air finally is going to look a lot like mid-january in the northern plains and great lakes by the time we end this week. by the time the rain goes, we're just getting soaked north of dallas. texas is in the midst of this two-year drought so we don't mind. but from aun to houstoning at any time you have a chance of seeing showers and storms including louisiana. our forecast, one to two inches. thunderstorms, possibility may be two to three. eventually all this wet weather may make up up the east coast by the time we get to wednesday. here owes our arctic air forecast. there's none covering the country. and then the plunge of cold air, kicks through the great lakes wednesday, thursday, northeast by the time we get to friday.

and by this time it's different. it looks like it hangs around. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look outside your weather window. washington, d.c., looking at chance of some showers late in the day today, 48. maybe some snowflakes heading off the mid-atlantic coast later on this evening. milwaukee, you look dry, but areas like atlanta watching storms later today. well, lori, we're going to continue to watch pretty warm conditions around the country until wednesday. that's when reality sets back in. >> all right. i've got my socks on. thanks, bill. earning season starts, gas rises, and a penny worth a million. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, beyonce and jay-z cree produce their greatest creation yet. a professional bowler strikes out, the giant cage of the falcons and more magic for tim tebow. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lori wilson, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in venezuela this morning, the first leg through latin america. he'll meet today with hugo chavez. breaking news. state news is reporting that an american born in arizona is sentenced to death after being reported of working with the cia. he once wovged in the marine corps was also convicted of trying to accuse iran of being involved in terrorism. a container ship broke in half sunday after being stuck on a reef last fall. they tried to recover its cargo but hundreds of containers remain aboard. >> a hart-stopping moment for a woman after her bungee cord failed during the jump. the 22-year-old plunged into a river along the border of zambia and zimbabwe, she was able to

swim to safety despite a broken collar bone and her legs being entangled by a court. happy birthday to the duchess of cambridge. she turns 30 years old today. buckingham palace says her birthday will be low key and private. now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. sunday novartis issued a nationwide voluntary recall of certain bottled version of ex-said din urks buff rinne, know doze because they may contain stray chips. it could potentially result in an incorrect dose or an allergic reaction. for more information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.com.

and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,359 after losing 55 points friday. the s&p was down 3 points, and the nasdaq added 4. taking look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei dipped 98 point ts, but in hong kong the hang seng climbed 272. this week's big question on wall street will be can better economic news combined with strong earnings trump euro fears? in the wake of friday's data showing the lowest jobless rate in three years ail coca kicks off earning season today expecting to show strong results. germany's angela merkel and italy's nick lal sarkozy meet. wall street will closely watch interest rates on those bonds. traders will also eye greece where more crucial austerity

measures must be passed. thursday's december retail sales will be the week's most closely watched data. expect auto news and noise this week in detroit at the international auto show and tech bonds in las vegas at the annual consumer electronics show. else ware bristol-myers squibb is buying for $2.2 billion. regular gas jumped over the last three weeks. venezuela's hugo chavez says he won't recognize any. venezuela faces 20 other cases at that tribunal. and how's this for inflation? a copper penny minuted in 1793, the first year the u.s. made its own coins fetched $1 million this weekend at a florida auction. keep up with those pennies. all right, the giants pluck the falcons, and every bowler's

nightmare happens to a pro on tv. plus, tim tebow and the broncos take on the playoffs afz savvy pittsburgh steelers in the wild card action. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we have a rainy monday morning in much of the deep south headed to the coast. you're watching "early today." headlines are straight ahead.

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, chalk up another

improbable win for the denver broncos and tim tebow. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all of your sports headlines. >> hi, there, good morning. tim tebow added yet another chapter to the storybook season with a thrilling win over the pittsburgh steelers. no one gave the broncos a chance, and that's exactly the kind of them tebow thrives on. bulls his way into the end zone. you thing he's pumped up? broncos are surprising everyone. steelers didn't go down without a fight climbing their way back by a touchdown. then roethlisberger finds jericho in the back of the end zone. pittsburgh ties the game at 23 and we're offto overtime. the broncos need one play from scrimmage. tebow hits him in stride and he does the rest, creating some space with a stiff arm and rumbles 80 yards down the sideline. one play, 80 yards, game over, the legend f o tebow continue gross as the broncos beat the

steelers 29 hch 23 in overtime. next up, the patriots. the early game not as exciting unless, of course, you're a giants fan. this is what you call phantom defense. four falcons and no one makes a tackle. nick takes it 72 yards to the house. giants up, 17-2. manning tossing his third touchdown of the game. this one to mario manningham. they embarrass the giants. they will play the super bowl champions packers on sunday. finally, we've all gone bowling. i don't think any of us have struck out like this. josh blanchard is a rookie in the pba, and i guess you can call this a rookie move. gets his finger stuck in the ball and you see what happens next. to make the day worse he bowl 139. blanchard and his game are in the gutter. that's a look at sports on "early today." a shocker delivers a shock

at the box office. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. white rhinos are increasingly rare and when they're babies, they're so adorably cute. you're watching "early today."

well good monday morning. welcome back to "early today." you definitely need the umbrella. make sure you prepare the kids for rachblt all of louisiana, mississippi, eventually into alabama and north georgia.

and d.c., also areas of the carolinas there could be light rain later on today. and then tomorrow we do it all over again. more wet weather especially down here in the deep south. well if you're getting ready to watch ksn news at its new time in wichita, kansas, enjoy habitat where you can watch tigers prowling, behaving as they would in the. at the tiger trek at the sej women county zoo. here's a look at this morning's headlines and entertainment. the stork paid a visit to beyonce and jay-z this weekend in new york city but heavy security ruffled many. they're the proud parents of a new baby girl named blue ivy. reports say she checked in under the name of ingrid jackson, renting out lenoxville's hospital's entire floor for more than a million dollars. but he complained that the security hired by the couple

restricted movement in the hospital, quote, like an exclusive club. elsewhere, kiefer sutherland says a movie based on his 24 series will begin shooting this spring. finally "the devil inside" confounded the experts scaring up a monstrous $34.5 million opening more than doubling expectations and bouncing tom cruise out of the top five. i'm not into scary movies. >> you don't like them? >> no. >> you don't like them? >> no. >> she thinks the trailers are a little too scary. >> i think so too. the name blue ivy? scariest? >> blue ivy? >> as opposed to green ivy, orange ivy? >> i don't know. >> apparently there's a boutique named blue ivy. >> jackpot for her. >> this comes to us from kxas from nbc 5 in dallas, texas, a new bundle of joy has made a big

splash at one wildlife facility. turns out the birth of a baby rhino was a history-making event. i made her 42-year-old mother the oldest white rhino to give birth in the united states. mom's experience, she's had 13 other calves before this baby, and, of course, while we brought you this sneak peek, the public won't get to see the baby until next spring. >> so we're debating, cute or not cute? >> it's a face only a mother could love. no, anything that small, relatively small. >> if you compare it to the fuzzy pandas that were just born. >> yeah. it's got nothing on the pandas. >> poor rhino. we'll put a bow on her. >> i'm lori wilson. this is your first stop of the day today on your nbc stay.

good monday morning, everybody. it is 4:28. starting off our workweek, we've got the cold. it has returned, and it looks like we have overnight temperature in the upper 20s, the middle 30s. we're going to be checking in with meteorologist tom kierein coming up. >> good morning, i'm eun yang. >> good morning. a new poll shows mitt romney holding the top spot in polls. ron paul took 20% followed by

jon huntsman with 11% and newt gingrich with 9%. >> this is the last full day of campaigning ahead of tomorrow's new hampshire primary. the republican presidential hopefuls squared off in two weekend debates, then criss-crossed the state for rallies and speeches. nbc's steve handelsman has more on their effort to reach potential voters. governor of the state of new jersey -- >> reporter: mitt romney an exeter with new jersey governor chris christie. >> we know a president when we see one, and he is right here. [ applause ] >> reporter: romney would be the first non-incumbent to win tuesday's caucuses and thursday here the first primary. >> get out and vote. >> narrator: at today's debate, rivals ganged up to try to stop romney's role. >> we want someone to fight for the conservative principles. >> reporter: romney claims he cut spending as a governor, then returned to the business world. >> i went to massachusetts to make a difference. i dt