i'm fredricka whitfield. back in one hour.f blitzer will be joining me to talk about the gop debate. he moderated in jacksonville. then it's on to las vegas. republicans will be caucusing there in nevada. nevada's biggest newspapers already endorsing their favorite candidates. more of that straight ahead. time for your money.

fredricka from there. she knows. should be in the 30s from boston to new york. 50s in atlanta, georgia, mid-60s 60s, should be at 52. on the whole incredibly warm for today. we're going to cool off the next couple of days. >> more of the same. incredible being home for christmas. we didn't have to wear coats. >> washington, d.c. >> thanks, alexandra, appreciate that. >>> checking today's top stories now, republican presidential candidates furiously campaigning in new hampshire. the state holds the primary. rick santorum in amherst hopping to build in iowa. mitt romney holding a commanding lead in the polls. all the candidates face off in new hampshire tonight at a debate. tune in to cnn tuesday night for full coverage of the primary results. >>> people protesting in the streets of nigeria as gasoline prices doubled literally overnight. the government removed the fuel subsidy on the 1st. it kept prices artificially low. nigerians acted angrily staging mass demonstrations. the police responded with force killing at lea

>> reporter: good morning, fredricka. iran is pointing the finger squarely at israel for this bomb attack and the death of this nuclear scientist. iran is saying this is the work of the zionists. the details that we've learned is that this was some kind of a motor bike attack, fred. essentially someone on a motor bike just drove by a car and then put a magnetic bomb underneath it of this nuclear scientist and it exploded killing him and wounding at least two other people. this man was a really important man in iran. he was a supervisor. he was of the natans uranium enrichment facility. that's an important site for the u.s. to keep its eyes on. it's suppose today have 8,000 centrifuges in operation. the u.s. believes iran is using this program to build a nuclear weapon. this isn't the first time a nuclear scientist has been killed, fred. a couple in the last two years have died the same way. >> zain, still talking about iran and other interests here. another american rescue of iranian mayor rin ners. the second one in the

i'm fredricka whitfield. of washington, gabby giffords announced moments ago she is resigning from her house seat. she made the announcement on youtube. >> i have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. >> let's bring in from washington athena jones. you've been watching this. any reaction thus far in washington? >> yes. we've gotten swift reaction already. a statement from nancy pelosi, congressman pelosi's office. i join all my colleagues in congress in thanking gabby for the honor of calling her a colleague and wishing gabby and mark great success and happiness. we expect to see more reaction as the day goes on. but as you saw in that video it's about two minutes long, posted on her website, much is a thank you to her constituents and supporters. we see a lot of images of arizona, pictures of gabby giffords from when she was a congresswoman before this horrible accident. this horrible incident at the supermarket last year, january 8th, 2011. the mass s

i'm fredricka whitfield. more news at the bottom of the hour. 2:30 eastern time. time for "the next list" with our sanjay gupta. >>> his motto is if everyone played the ukulele, the world would be a better place. it's a motto jake shimabukuro takes pretty seriously. you see jake is a virtuoso ukulele player. you don't typically think of those two words going together you're about to see why they perfectly describe this agent of change. jake is soft spoken, insanely likable and seems to be as much in awe of the attention he's getting as we were in watching him perform. don't let his easygoing spirit fool you. the moment he takes the stage, is the moment you witness how totally dominating he's been in redefining the instrument he believes can change the world. this is "the next list." i'm dr. sanjay gupta. >> my name is jake shimabukuro. i'm a ukulele player from honolulu, hawaii. ♪ and i started playing when i was about 4 years old. learned from my mom. she was my first teacher. started out playing all traditi

he can totally blanket and saturate the air waves after this, fredricka. >> appreciate that. thursday, january 19th, just days before the south carolina primary, the gop contenders debate on the issue. the debate is right here on cnn one week from tomorrow. thursday, january 19th at 8:00 eastern time. >>> and now to a story making headlines around the world. an iranian nuclear scientist has been reportedly killed in a bomb blast in tehran. it's the latest in a series of attacks against nuclear scientists in the country. vein verjee is joining us again from london. what are the latest details about the attack? >> good morning, fred. this is the work of designers, it says.

>> that's right, fredricka. among both students and nonstudents here on the penn state campus, there are tears. there are hugs and there are silent prayers for the passing of joe paterno. condolences coming in from all over the country, including from former president george herbert walker bush. the sandusky scandal will be part of joe paterno's legacy here at penn state. he is certainly beloved among everyone here. fredricka? >> susan candiotty, thanks so much. we'll hear from you later on at 2:30 eastern time. >>> join me at that hour. we'll have more on the late joe paterno. we'll also examine the week ahead in the 2012 presidential race following newt gingrich's win of the south carolina primary. i'm fredricka whitfield. "fareed zakaria gps" starts right now. >> this is "gps, the global public square." welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. first up, private equity. the words are on everyone's lips thanks to mitt romney. we'll sit down with one of the inventors p

let's start with alison in new york. >> hi, fredricka.r of improvement. the unemployment rate finished at 8.5%, the lowest in almost three years. 200,000 positions were added in december, bringing the tally for the year to 1.6 million jobs. the jobs situation has come a long way from 2009 when the economy lost 5 million jobs. kodak shares took a beating falling almost 30%. there was talk of a possible bankruptcy filing although nothing was confirmed. the new york stock exchange did, however, warn kodak it's in danger of being delisted because its stock has traded below $1 a share for 30 days. felicia? >> thanks. 2011 was a surprisingly good year for the american auto industry. gm, ford and chrysler all posted double digit sales increases with chrysler sales rising 26%. the big three also gained market share for the first time in decades. there was also a milestone in the music industry. digital music outsold physical cds last year. the first time that's ever happened. billboard and nielsen say digital sales accounted for more than 50% of

i'm fredricka whitfield. we're going to look at the 2012 political contenders. but first, an update on the top stories. the search continues in the wreckage of the italian cruise liner that ran aground. this as two more bodies have been found. five people are now confirmed dead. more than a dozen people are still unaccounted for. >>> iced in, nome, alaska, is getting some fuel. an american icebreaker helped a russian tanker get through the frozen barring see to deliver gas and oil. there is still a mile of ice between the tanker and the harbor. fuel will have to be piped in through a hose that is being laid out on top of the ice. >>> on what would have been dr. martin luther king jr.'s birthday, a wreath was laid at the new king memorial at the mall today. the interior department announced a correction will soon be made on an inscription there which paraphrases a quote from king. >>> and now to the 2012 contenders and the race to the white house. a new cnn sfch/orc poll shows m romney as a clear front-runner, 34%, ahead of newt gingrich. another poll saids light

i'm fredricka whitfield. we'll look at the 2012 presidential contenders in this political hour. but first an update on some of today's top stories. >>> one year ago today, gunfire at a tucson, arizona, shopping center left six dead and 13 wounded including arizona congresswoman gabby giffords. several events are happening today to remember that tragedy including a vigil tonight. giffords and her husband will be there. >>> in about 100 soldiers are on lockdown at a military base in washington state. that means no one in, no one out. commanders at joint base lewis mccord are looking for anyone who may have possession of some sensitive military equipment that didn't turn up during an inventory last month. >>> and crowds of people packed public spaces across syria again today demanding the ouster of president bashar al assad. officials from the arab league are talking today about whether to increase the size of their monitoring mission in syria. a human rights group says 11 people died today in clashes between security forces and army defectors. >>> all right there is a lot to diges

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> iran may be one step closer to being a nuclear nation. cess's semiofficial news agency reports that scientists successfully built and tested iran's first nuclear fuel rod. the rod contains natural uranium, used to fuel nuclear reactors. >>> the number of suspected arson fires in the los angeles area has risen to 39. investigators say seven of them were set last night. a $60,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. most of the fires targeted cars that spread to nearby homes and buildings. >>> the new year is off to a sad start for the atlanta braves baseball team. the wife of a team trainer was killed yesterday after a georgia state patrol cruiser struck the family's suv. our affiliate ws television says the trooper was responding to a police chase at the time. >>> and civil unions for same sex couples are now legal in hawaii. this is just one of thousands of new laws that take effect today. the bill grants same sex couples many of the same rights that married couples receive. hawaii's governor signed the bill back

. >>> hello again, i'm fredricka whitfield. it's 4:00 eastern time. let's great straight to the news. the u.s. state department confirmed more than 120 americans were onboard that cruise ship that ram aground off the coast of italy. there are no reports of any americans being among the dead and injured. the captain, however, is under arrest. a local prosecutor says he is being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship. at least three people are dead. rescue crews and survivors say the death toll is likely to rise. >> translator: i am afraid the people with me the entire time are dead. i think the two people i was helping the entire time are dead. i don't know where to ask. >> the reporter is at the port where survivors are being taken and will join us with an update seven minutes from now. >>> republican presidential candidate rick santorum solidified his social conservative base in a big way. the family research council led a gathering of religious conservatives in texas today and the group decided to endorse santorum. tony perkins will join

. >>> newsroom continues at the top of the hour with fredricka whitfield.legal guys who are always with us every noon eastern time and today we'll tackle something very interesting. so what would you do in the case of you get stopped for a speeding violation, you get a v citation. the police officer reaches out and leaves you a note on your car and says i want a date. >> this is a problem there. >> that is a case that our legal guys will delve into. she is suing. she says her right of privacy was violated, so we'll talk about that one. >>> then we are already seeing that the presidential race, the race for the white house, is taking a whole new kind of shape in large part because of super pacs. we're talking about supporters who can make very sizeable donations to the candidates of their choice. unlimited donations without the direct participation of the candidates. it's really changing the face of this race and it also is giving some candidates quite the upper hand. we'll talk about what super pacs are, how it works and where it's going from here. >>> then

i'm fredricka whitfield. we'll look at the 2012 presidential contenders in this hour. first, we'll begin with some breaking news. the arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head one year ago is announcing that she will resign this week. gabby giffords released this video statement online today saying she has to focus on her recovery. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. i have more work to do on my recovery. so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. i'm getting better. >> let's bring in cnn's athena jones from washington. what kind of reaction are we receiving? >> the reaction has been swift here on capitol hill from both sides of the aisle. democratic leader nancy pelosi said i join all my colleagues in congress in thanking gabby for the honor of calling her colleague and wishing gabby and mark great success and happiness. and house speaker john boehner said in his statement, i salute congresswoman giffo

. >> it's just been terrible really for a good month or more across parts of the west, fredricka.ve been in what we would call a snow drought, and we finally see a significant change in our weather pattern that is finally bringing some snow. look, you can see it already in seattle and into the portland area with a lot of moisture starting to come in across parts of the south out ahead of this. as we look at the week ahead, our jet stream is shifting to the south, and so that means we're going to be seeing a series of storms across the west slam in, and within one week almost all of these mountain ranges are going to have accumulating snow. so this is actually some really good news, but we really need at least three storms to line up to start making up for some of this deficit we've been seeing. the snow packs are record or near record across most of these areas. >> so, jacqui, this snow is important, particularly because some areas are counting on that snow to replenish or keep their water supply, what they need. >> that's right. the ski resorts have been suffering. of course, tou

i'm fredricka whitfield. "fareed zakaria gps" starts right now. >> this is "gps, the global public square." welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. first up, private equity. the words are on everyone's lips thanks to mitt romney. we'll sit down with one of the inventors private equity, the co-pounder of the legendary carlyle group, david rubenstein. then i have a lot to talk about with an all-star panel. ariana huffington, steve rattner, david frum and mort zuckerman. next up, what do the shipyard in tahrir square have in common? a lot. first, here's my take. i spent the last few weeks working on an essay for "time" magazine on barack obama's foreign policy. and in association with that piece, i interviewed the president last wednesday in the oval office. let me give you a few of my thoughts and impressions. obama seemed relaxed, calm, confident. i asked him about mitt romney's attacks on him as indecisive, timid and nuanced. i don't quite know why being nuanced is

i'm fredricka whitfield. we'll look at 20912 presidential contenders in this political hour. but first, an update on some of today's top stories. an ugly scene in oakland, california. police say demonstrators tried to take over a vacant convention center and then later broke into city hall. protesters say they just walked in because the doors were open. >>> in northern florida, interstate 75 is closed after a string of crashes overnight that killed at least nine people. officials tell us the highway will be closed in that area for most of today. the sheriff's office says visibility was poor because of smoke from a nearby brushfire. >>> all right, in just two days, florida's primary, most delegate rich contest so far. and candidate newt gingrich is heading into it with a new endorsement. >> i hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse newt gingrich for president of the united states! >> will herman cain's backing influence primary voters in the sunshine state? a live report straight ahead. >>> and now to the campaign trail, extending beyond florida. ron paul spent the week

>>> hello, thanks for joining us, i'm fredricka whitfield. first an update on top stories. iran one step closer to being a nuclear nation. scientists successfully built and tested iran's first nuclear fuel rod. the rod contains natural uranium, which is normally used to fuel nuclear reactors. >>> and the number of suspected arson fires in the los angeles area is up to 39. investigators say seven of them were set last night. they are offering a $60,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. most of the fires have started in cars, then spread to nearby homes and businesses. >>> and the new year is off to a sad start for the atlanta braves baseball team. the wife of a team trainer was killed after a georgia state patrol cruiser struck the family's suv. our affiliate wsb television reports the trooper was responding to a police chase at the time. >>> and civil unions for same-sex couples are legal in hawaii. this is just one of thousands of new laws that take effect today. the bill grants same-sex couples the same rights that married couples receive. hawaii's governor sig

>> that's right, fredricka.ents and nonstudents here on the penn state campus, there are tears. there are hugs

the contenders 2012 continues right now with candy crowley. >>> thanks, fredricka. our final hour here for today. we are bringing you these candidates as they campaign across the state of iowa, those caucuses on this tuesday. so there is not much time left. we're trying to give you a sense of what iowans hear and have heard for about the last year. we have jim acosta in marshall town, iowa, with newt gingrich. we have joe johns available as well in atlantic, iowa, with romney. what we expect in this coming hour is two live events. one a press availability with newt gingrich, those are always interesting. and a press availability with mitt romney. another interesting event. so we're going to bring you both of those live, provided they don't all begin at the same time. but right now what we want to do is while you're watching rick santorum, newt gingrich was talking and we want to bring you some of what he had to say to his audience. >> and try to get them to turn out. i thought it was very revealing in the des moines poll this morning that 41% of the voters are still

facility was that without enough top tier economies to guarantee its aaa status of financial analysts fredricka william endl says agencies are not impartial. the role that the u.s. based grading agencies have played since the greek crisis erupted in december of zero nine has been what many people here see as a brazenly political role and it happens to be that they preemptively downgrade greek sovereign debt just when european leaders in march of two thousand and ten were coming to an agreement in principle they downgraded to junk status forcing a massive sell off of greek debt by pension funds i don't think they're there i don't think they're the independent agencies that they portray themselves to be they enjoy a very curious role in being blind to the. problems in companies like g.e. just before the september two thousand and eight explosion there that caused a global systemic shock and as well be the background to the whole subprime crisis they were asleep at the switch many times when it comes to the interest of the wall street banks the so-called gobs of money banks like goldman sachs or o

. >> fredricka, good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> high praise, newark, new jersey mayor cory will be honored with a trumpet award in atlanta. i'll talk to him about his work. a lot of patients are using toothpaste to clean their dentures. you really want to be careful, you can't use something as abrasive as a toothpaste because it will cause scratches. as a result of those scratches, bacteria will get lodged in that denture and as they multiply in the mouth the odor can get stronger. i always advise my patients to use polident. it has specific agents in it that can kill bacteria. using polident daily, you definitely will not be creating the scratches. you're going to have a fresh bright smile, and you're going to feel confident. e eye. >>> now it's time for a look at interesting stories our affiliates are covering across the country. first, massachusetts. nothing ruins a robbery like a trooper in the store. >> there was a man behind the counter with a hood up. definitely didn't look like. >> massachusetts trooper john mckinneyon watching to the cvs when the clerk told him som

i'm fredricka whitfield.op stories. >>> happening in northern florida, interstate 75 is closed after a string of crashes overnight that killed at least nine people. officials tell us the highway will be closed in that area for most of today. the sheriff's office says visibility was really poor because of smoke from a nearby brush fire. >>> ugly scene

i'm fredricka whitfield. straight to our top stories, in italy the captain of the cruise ship that has ran aground has been arrested. he's been investigating for abandoning ship and manslaughter. three people are dead and many more missing. the president of the cruise line released this statement a short time ago. it reads in part, i want to express our deep sorrow for this terrible tragedy that deaf states us. he goes on to say we are not at this time able to pride an answer to all the questions because the competent authority are trying with our cooperative efforts are trying to understand the reason for this incident. let's bring in reporter barbie nadeou, she's in the port where the survivors have been taken. what more can you tell snus. >> reporter: tonight the rescue efforts or recovery efforts have been stopped for the night. there were divers out all day long looking under the area of the ship that is still under the water level. the captain has been arrested. he's being investigated, as you said, fon

join fredricka tomorrow afternoon. >>> with the uncenters in the economy, millions of baby boomers are to the workforce. the number of workers between the ages of 25 and the 54 decreased by 6.4%. the number working over 65 increased by 12%. a jump-start in the work force. valerie burt sn the author of "where will you go from here" thank you very much for joining us. >> good to be with you. >> tell me why so many middle age and other americans are going back into the workforce xwvrnlg. >> it's a few different things. a lot of these are people are afraid. a lot of people on the verge of retirement a few years a and everything went downhill so even if they have been able to regain some retirement savings, they're afraid to step out of the job market and some who jumped out of the job market before 2008 are going back in in order to shore up of that retirement. >> a trend we expect will continue in the next few year? >> i in it will continue in part because older isn't wa it used to be. people like a sense of purpose every day and research shows on average men who live to age 95 don't reti

first, here's fredricka whitfield on "cnn newsroom." >>> breaking away from traditional new year's resolutions from your closet to facebook. how to identify what weighs you down in 2011 and start anew in a nontraditional way in 2012. join me at 5:00 p.m. eastern sunday. lobster. still just $15. get soup, salad, unlimited cheddar bay biscuits, dessert, and your choice of 7 entrées, like new honey bbq shrimp skewers or shrimp and scallops alfredo. all four courses, just $15. [ jody ] it's really good value. all my guests love it. i'm jody gonzalez, red lobster general manager. and i sea food differently. will be giving away passafree copies i'm jody gonzalez, red lobster general manager. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. >>> aretha franklin, queen of soul, some people call here re-re recently announced she's going to be a bride. she sat down with soledad o'brien to talk about her beau and ups and downs with weight loss. >> your boyfriend -- >> my man. >> your man. >> i don't have a boyfriend. >> your man. >> yes. >> is somebody who's been in your life

i'm fredricka whitfield. first, an update on some of the today's top stories.be one step closer to being a nuclear nation. the country's semi official news agency reports that scientists successfully built and tested iran's first nuclear fuel rod. the rod contains natural uranium used to fuel nuclear reactors. the number of suspected arson fires in the los angeles area is now up to 39. investigators say seven of them were set last night. they are offering a $60,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. most of the fires have started in cars, then spread to nearby homes and businesses. >>> a sad start for the atlanta braves. the wife of a teen trainer was killed yesterday after a georgia state patrol cruiser struck the

he was asked last hour by fredricka whitfield if he thought santorum could get the gop nomination. >> i think that is the thinking. it's time to get off the sidelines, move into the process and express support for the candidate that is most conservative. >> south carolina primary one week from today. i'll be reporting there. join us for those reports. that meeting in texas has the attention of a lot of republicans in south carolina. i want to talk with cnn's political reporter shannon travis in myrtle beach right now. is this a big deal these conservatives are now backing rick santorum? >> reporter: it is a big deal. think of it this way. there's been no secret these evangelicals wanting to take on somebody like mitt romney. now they are saying it should be rick santorum. two problems. number one, it's coming late in the pros. mitt romney won iowa. mitt romney won new hampshire. secondly, these christian evangelicals tried to do it with mike huckabee in 2008. it didn't work so well. there is question whether their influence is waning. a few issues with that. i can tell you that the ri

. >>> new room will continue at the top of the hour with fredricka whitfield. fred is very thirsty.ust did. >> she and i are gabbing. this is amazing with these polls. >> i think we're all salivating over this race in south carolina. it is extraordinary. of course we'll continue to watch it all day long and of course our special coverage this evening as we await those results. but we've got a lot of other things taking place today, beginning at noon eastern time. garth brooks, you know, he's got friends in low places. >> i know the song. do you want me to sing it? >> go ahead. >> no, no, i'm just kidding. that's a joke. >> he's hoping he's got friends in the jury pool as well. according to our richard herman. avery friedman will be along to talk about the case of gaurt brooks making a $500,000 donation to a hospital in the hopes of his mother's name being put on one of the buildings, the facility at that hospital. but the hospital is saying, no, we thought this was an unconditional donation. so this is now finding its way in the courts. >>> and then when you take a bite of chocolate

she's calculated out is an enormous amount of money, actually if you calculate that difference, fredrickait's about $2,500. her theory, i'd rather get that rather than the 200 bucks. >> yeah, except, richard, a lot of times people make a purchase of a vehicle based on the mileage that is promised on that sticker. so she's likely alleging that she bought this civic hybrid in harn large part because it was going to save her money. >> it's brilliant, she's bringing it in small claims court where the cap is $10,000. so even if she gets her $7,500 in the state she brought it, she is now going to probably represent -- she's not a lawyer. she used to be a lawyer. now she's a paralegal. she's probably going to represent hundreds and hundreds of people in small claims court. they're going to get more money in small claims court than they would have gotten if they went in the class action. that's why this is brilliant. she's going to win. it's going to be victorious and she will win it in small claims court. >> catch our legal guys every day saturday noon eastern. >>> 1,500 refugees around the worl

i'm fredricka whitfield. see you then. "your $$$$$" starts right now. >>> as we count down to new hampshire, the economy is still the driving force in the minds of voters in the united states. but is it the driving force in the republican primary? welcome to "your $$$$$." i'm ali velshi. the latest cnn opinion research corporation poll shows 57% of americans think that the economy is the most important issue facing this country. i want to bring in cnn senior political analyst david gergen. david, the polls say mitt romney has the best chance to beat president obama in the republican field. do conservatives still reluctant to get behind romney feel he lacks what it takes to turn the economy around or is it something else all together? >> he is actually doing well when people asked is your most important issue the economy in iowa. he won a healthy plurality of those voters who thought the economy was number one. he's having some trouble connecting with voters emotionally. they seem stiff, reserved, can't quite understand him