brian moore, nbc news, washington. >>> as many as a dozen people are recuperating after rev alary turn theed into instructace at the football game between oklahoma state and its rival, the university of oklahoma. francis koe reports. >> reporter: on saturday, the rival football game between the university of oklahoma and oklahoma state turned into just that, bedlam. thousands of osu fans poured on to the field to celebrate the win that guaranteed the cowboy tess big 12 championship. >> all the event staff tried to line up and stop us. there was no way they were going to. >> i've never been packed into one area and getting pushed and shoved and all over the place. people were so excite approximated. >> reporter: but it's all the excitement, as many as a dozen people were injured. one person fell over a wall, plunging 15 feet on to concrete. >> he wouldn't wake up. people were surrounding him and trying to get people off of him. >> reporter: the most seriously injured were air lifted to an oklahoma city hospital. while others, some suffering from broken bones were hauled away by ambulanc

brian moore reports. >> reporter: herman cain won't be the next president, but he may have an opportunity to play kingmaker. >> i am not going to be silenced and i am not going away. >> reporter: the now former presidential hopeful says he will be endorsing one of his republican rivals in coming days. the iowa caucus is now less than a month away and the battle for his supporters are heating up. >> they saw herman cain as an outsider. >> politico.com reports cain is leaning towards newt gingerich. gingerich already had a strong lead in iowa. 26%. well ahead of mitt romney and ron paul. and gingerich edges up to 28% with cain out of the picture. while cain is out, he says he still wants to be a voice. >> he might have a big impact, but, you know, you have to have the money and the campaign and the ability to get your voice out. >> reporter: cain's fall already reshaping the 2012 race for the white house. brian moore, nbc news, washington. >>> as many as a dozen people are recuperating after rev alary turn theed into instructace at the football game between oklahoma state and its rival, the

nbc's brian moore joins us live on capitol hill with the latest. brian? >> reporter: wendy, cain is out of the race, but insists he is not going away. embattled gop presidential candidate herman cain is calling off his run for the white house. >> with a lot of prayer, and soul-searching, i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> reporter: he remained defiant. >> i am not going to be silenced, and i'm not going away. >> reporter: cain lashed out at the media and the political establishment, angrily denying sexual harassment allegations and the claims just this past week of a 13-year affair. cain's wife stood behind him, literally. >> i am at peace with my wife. and she is at peace with me. >> reporter: cain made his announcement at what was expected to be a rally. >> i told my boys we were going to go see the next president. >> i think he represents all of america. >> reporter: a month ago cain was leading the presidential pack and now he's the first front-runner to fall. >> plan "b" is i will continue to be a voice for the people. >> reporter: cain sai

brian moore, nbc news, washington. >> thank you. >>> let's bring it back to the bay area.cifyingly the south bay where many families are enjoying their holiday gifts thanks to letter carriers who helped send. they spend the day in the robertsville station on brandon lane. at least one worker delivered santa's presents dressed as st. nick. >> you don't realize that we deliver on christmas day. on top of that, the surprise of having santa at the door. they rush and get their kids at the door and explain a little about santa delivering presents. >> everyone here is a volunteer. everyone of them. nomandatory whatsoever. >> reporter: we're told the letter carriers delivered every piece of express mail to each home today. >>> you would call this the ultimate christmas gift. the gift of life. an oakland man shot and killed this week giving his organs to people in need of life saving transplants. >> reporter: it is something no family should have to do on christmas. grieve the loss of a loved one. the family of 23-year-old charles butler gathered at praise fellowship bible church

if you put things off this long, you are not alone as nbc's brian moore reports. millions of people hit the malls across the country today. >> reporter: it's the most wonderful time of the year. ♪ let it snow >> reporter: unless that is you haven't finished your christmas shopping. >> this morning i woke up and nervous and ran out the door and went to target. >> reporter: the mad dash began at stores before dawn. and for some, there's a method to this mall madness. >> you have whatever's left over at this point. if you're -- chances are if you wait until the last minute, you get terrific deals. >> reporter: of course this year, small electronics are a big hit. air jordans are flying off the shelves. unless you have the reflexes of a professional athlete, chances are you're out of luck on that one. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: president obama did his shopping in the week and jetted off to sunny hawaii to be with the family after wrapping up the whole running the government and passing laws thing. back to the shoppers. here's a public service announcement. who a

nbc bay area's brian moore has the latest on the extension and other government extending approved. >> we'll get it done. >> reporter: in a rare saturday session, the u.s. senate approved more than $1 trillion in spending bills, including a 60-day extension of the payroll tax cut. >> on this vote, the ayes, 89 nchlg t, the nays 10. >> reporter: it sets the stage for another showdown early next year. >> it would be inexcusable for congress not to further extend the tax cut for the rest of the year. >> reporter: democrats had to give up on tax increases for millionaires and got an extension for unemployment benefits. >> true legislation, it was compromise. >> reporter: republicans exceeded to get the president to say yes or no within the next 60 days for the keystone oil pipeline project. >> everybody wants more american jobs right now. here is the single largest shovel ready project in america. >> reporter: before heading home for the holidays, the senate voted to pay for last year's natural disasters and approved a big spending bill to keep the government running through fiscal year 2

brian moore reports. >> reporter: with 20 more days before the iowa caucuses, newt gingrich is surging. mitt romney is playing catch-up. the other candidates are struggling to stay on their feet. >> we need a leader who understands who our friends are. >> reporter: the candidates are running out of time to make a difference. rick perry made a big controversial splash with his latest ad. >> gays can serve openly in the military. but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas. >> reporter: but he suffered another oops moment in an interview with the des moines register. he forgot the name of supreme court justice sonia sotomayor. >> it was -- >> sonya sotomayor? >> sotomayor. >> reporter: as front-runner, gingrich is in the cross hairs. >> there's a real sense in our family what it means to be an army family. what it means to basically dedicate your life to serving your country. >> reporter: his three marriages, opponents are trying to cut his political future short by focusing on his past. brian moore, news4. >>> today a professor from johns hopkins university was awarded the nobel prize

nbc's brian moore reports. >> reporter: in a rare saturday session, the u.s. senate approved more than $1 trillion in spending bills, including a 60-day extension of the payroll tax cuts. >> on this vote, the ayes are 89, the nays are 10. >> reporter: the vote ensures 60 million americans will not see their paycheck shrink on january 1st. it also sets the stage for an early showdown early next year. >> it would be inexcusable for congress not to extend this middle-class tax cut for the rest of the year. >> reporter: they got an extension of unemployment benefits. >> it was true legislation. because it was compromised. >> reporter: republicans succeeded in pushing the president to say yes or no, to the keystone oil pipeline project within the next 60 days. >> everybody in washington says they want more american jobs right now. well, here's the single largest shovel-ready project in america. >> reporter: before heading home for the holidays, the senate voted to pay for the past year's natural disasters, and approved a big spending bill to keep the government run

brian moore, nbc news, washington. >>> on the other side, president obama is quietly but studly building momentum. he has an approval rating with 45% saying they disapprove of the job performance. it's the first time since july that his approval rating was higher than his disapproval rating. that could have something to do with the recent battle over the tax break extension, where the president came out with a win over house republicans. >>> a new gallop poll ranks the most admired men and women in the country. president obama won the most admired man, and george bush came in second, and hillary clinton tops the list as the most admired woman for a record 16th time. and she was followed by oprah winfrey, michelle obama, and sarah palin, and condoleezza rice. >> we often consider politicians -- some of them to be the butt of jokes, but one center is dishing out laughs of his own. a specter told the crowd he has been in comedy now for 30 years, taking shots at chris christie, and presidential hopeful, newt gingrich. how did he do? well the philadelphia enquirer says the crowd roared with a

brian moore has the latest from capitol hill. >> the gop presidential deck has been reshuffled again, and mitt romney is on top. >> we will take back the white house thanks to you guys! >> ron paul has slumped to second but picked up a key endorsement from bachmann's cochair. michele bachmann says he was offered money, and he denies it. rick santorum suddenly vaulted into third place. >> how many times do you hear as a conservative, don't try to oppose your morality on us? >> newt gingrich is on the slide and lowering expectations. >> what do you have to do here? >> you have to be in the top three or four. >> you have to win either iowa or new hampshire, don't you? >> we'll win south carolina. >> ron paul is still leading the pack in iowa, but in new hampshire, it's mitt romney running strong with just 13 days to go before the first in the nation primary. brian moore, nbc news, washington. >> meanwhile, rick perry struggling in iowa is making an attempt to get on the ballot. he filed an emergency motion to allow his name to be on the ballot in march. he also filed a lawsuit saying the

brian moore has the story in our commitment 2012 report. >> herman cain is calling off his run for the white house. >> with a lot of prayer and soul-searching i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> but he remained defiant. >> i am not going to be silenced and i am not going away. >> he lashed out at the media denying sexual harrassment allegations and the claims this past week of a 13-year affair. cane's wife stood behind him, literally. >> i am at peace with my wife. and she is at peace with me. >> cane made his announcement in what would to have been a rally opening his atlanta headquarters. >> this is not what i am expecting. >> i think he represented all of america. >> a month ago cane was leading the presidential pack and now he is the first frontrunner to fall. >> plan b is that i will continue to be a voice for the people. >> cane said he would continue to push his -9-9 tax reform and other elements of the campaign that ran its course. >> former democratic presidential candidate george mc govern is resting comfortablely after falling and hitting his head. he was injured as

in 30 days, the caucus will kick off in iowa, but as brian moore explains, there is a fight going onight now to win his support and that of his supporters. >> german king will not be the next president, but he may have an opportunity to play kingmaker. >> i will not be silenced, and i am not going away. >> the now former presidential hopeful says he will be supporting one of his rivals in the coming days with the iowa caucus less than one month away. the battle for his support is heating up. >> they saw him as an outsider. my voice would be the one that is most reflective of his. >> they say he is leaning toward newt gingrich. the latest poll shows supporters agree. he already had a strong lead in iowa, 26%, ahead of mitt romney and ron paul. gingrich will gain up to 28% with him out of the picture. >> you might have a big impact, but you need the money in the campaign and the ability to get your voice out there. >> already reshaping the 2012 race for the white house. in new hampshire, mitt romney losing ground but still holding onto a strong lead. in washington, brian mooar, wbal-tv

brian moore, nbc news, washington. >>> following saturday's debate in iowa, gop candidate rick perry added another oops moment to a string of memorable campaign gaffes. perry criticized president obama's backing of a now defect and now widely known energy company. while trying to recall exactly how much federal funding that company received, perry side, quote, i want to see it was over $500 million that went to the country solinda. solyndra, which manufactures solar panels, received loans and guarantees before going bankrupt earlier this year. >>> meanwhile, the budget battle could hit home for northeast residents as a federal government considers home heating cuts for those that can afford it the least. several northeast states have cut back on heating aid programs to poor households and now congress is considering slashing $1 billion from the federal budget. families in new england, where the winters are long and cold and people rely heavily on costly oil heat, are expected to be especially hard hit. >>> pakistan's military says the cia has vacated an air bass in the western part o

brian moore, nbc news, washington. >>> another christmas wraps up, and the kids are coming down from the excitement. it's time for weary shoppers to look for post-christmas bargains or take back what didn't work, didn't fit, or they wouldn't be caught dead wearing. >> reporter: around the country, around the world, christians celebrated the birth of jesus. midnight mass in new york, songs of praise in tampa. but the day was also about santa, whose trek across the globe overnight was tracked by record numbers of kids. more than 100,000 calls fielded by nor add, more than 1 million lights recorded on facebook. shoppers, gift cards in hand, are expected to be back out in stores monday morning, buying and returning. the national retail federation projected eight in ten shoppers would guy gift cards this holiday season, and that for every $1 retailers ring up, they get back a dime in return. people opt for cash over gifts. still, retailers are hoping for a strong finish. >> on average, the week after christmas, accounts are up to 10% of holiday season sales. it's a very important week to

as brian moore explained, he is hoping to get the endorsement of a former rival. >> newt gingrich is on our role in iowa and new hampshire, but he spent the day in new york, according the support of donald trump. >> one of the differences between my party and the other party is we actually go to people who know how to create jobs. >> it was a great honor to have nude up here. it is amazing how well he is doing -- to have newt up here. >> the latest nbc news poll shows gingrich with an 8-point lead in iowa. in new hampshire, he has gained nearly 20 points since october, which spells trouble for mitt romney. >> this translates politically into being out of step with the electorate on fundamental, ideological grounds. if you are conservative, you are looking for a conservative, and you don't think mitt romney is. >> working together, i know can rebuild america. >> ron paul is taking a very different tone. with these sorry politicians? >> i was top republican critics nothing but the unpredictable. >> some two-thirds of iowa caucus goers could still be persuaded to support another candida

gingrich was in new york to meet with donald trump, brian moore has the story. >> he spent the day in new york getting the support of donald trump. >> one of the differences in my party and the other party is we go to people who know how to create jobs. >> it was great to have newt up here. it's amazing what he's doing. >> reporter: it grew stronger when herman cain dropped out. gingrich has an eight point lead in iowa. in new hampshire, he's gained 20 points since october. that spells trouble for mitt romney. >> this translates into being out of step. if you are a conservative, you are looking for a conservative and you don't think mitt romney is. gingrich echoes ronald reagan. >> working together, i know we can rebuild america. >> ron paul is taking a different tone. >> lots of bark. when it's show time, whimpering. >> they predict nothing but the unpredictable. >> two-thirds of iowa caucus goers could be persuaded. it's going to be a wild ride. >> 29 days left and the gop candidates are cramming for their test. he is going to endorse a presidential candidate but not in the immediat

brian moore has our story. >> reporter: losing ground and running out of time, mitt romney is fighting to convince conservatives he is the man to take on president obama. >> i don't think he understands why our economy is the most successful in the world. i don't think he understands america. >> reporter: he went on the offensive at a gop presidential candidate forum held by the republican jewish coalition in washington. romney was well received as he slammed the president for being too tough on israel and gentle on iran. >> he's more generous to our enemies than our friends. >> reporter: the latest polls show romney's strength is wayning at the worst time. newt gingrich is in the lead and gaining momentum. >> how many agree we are far enough off the right track that we need fundmental change? >> reporter: his message is clearly hitting home with conservatives who question whether romney is conservative enough. romney is attacking the former speaker who has been married three times on family values. >> i will be true to my family, faith and country. >> reporter: they are fighting for t

. >> and brian moore is in washington with tonight's update. >> a sharply divided senate shot down competing it is to extend tax cuts for more than 160 million americans. republicans refuse to raise taxes on millionaires. democrats would not agree to slash federal jobs. if congress does not extend a tax cut and the unemployment insurance, president obama is threatening to keep lawmakers in town for the holidays. >> we are going to stay here as long as it takes to make sure the american people's taxes don't go up on january 1. >> the president is refusing to back out to republicans in the last big showdown of a politically toxic year. >> they think we should do a payroll tax, but the question is, what price will they extract from the president in order to get it done? i just want to make clear, this is not about me. >> republicans are pressuring the president to sign off on building the keystone oil pipeline from canada. >> the american people are still asking the question, where are the jobs? this is a bipartisan proposal that the president ought to endorse. >> senate republicans held up the

brian moore, wbal-tv 11 news. >> still ahead, 100 gallons of gasoline spilled across route 3. >> if you think that sounds like a mess, you should have seen the traffic. an update on a crash that shut down the road for a least 12 hours. >> scientists say they now know why the number of bedbugs keeps growing and spreading. new research takes a look at why we cannot control the infestations. >> is saying c average still but -- is a c however still good enough to play high school sports? that is coming up. [ female announcer ] at verizonfios.com, you can choose your channel package. ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪ now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon only at verizonfios.com. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. >> the southbound lanes of route three are back open after a tanker truck hauling gasoline overturned. crews were able to con

brian moore has the story from capitol hill. >>

brian moore, nbc news, washington. >> roughly 20% of all drivers admit they texted while driving. the average goes up to 50% when the drivers are between the ages of 21 and 24. >>> a surprise development today in the penn state sex abuse scandal. the former assistant football coach jerry sandusky walked out of the courtroom moments after his preliminary hearing was called to order. it is a move that will keep the accusers from having to testify for several months. craig melvin was in the courtroom today. he joins us live from there. >> reporter: good afternoon to you. it was flat out stunning this morning. we had been expecting to hear from a handful of the alleged victims here at the courthouse. as you mentioned, three minutes, roughly three minutes after the preliminary hearing started, there was a side bar and then all of a sudden we heard that jerry sandusky and his attorney had decided to forego that preliminary hearing. over the week the attorney that we have seen and heard from so very much over the past month said this preliminary hearing, what happened. just yesterday he

this guy, brian moore, a science fiction writer, not so famous, he has two screenplays, "aquatica" andsis for "avatar." he claims there are a lot of similarities like blue skin and green skin and battle scenes on limbs and branches. and he wants $2 billion. >> $2 billion. >> is he going to get it? i don't know. >> it seems like if something does really well everybody comes out of the woodwork whether it's an album or tv show, that was my idea. >>> james franco was at nyu here. and now there's a professor who's coming out speaking publicly and saying that he gave the star a d in his class and that's why the school eventually fired him. this professor, jose santana, gave him a d after he failed to attend almost all of the classes in the school of arts. 2 out of 14 is all that he attended here. he'd also been spotted sleeping in the library and all this. and just said the university bent over backwards to do anything for mr. franco because they like to have celebrities on campus. wake up, james. >> i don't like that. >> wake up, james. wake up, james. [ female announcer ] have you met you

moore. she turns 75 today. >>> all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." >>> finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. with less than a week before the iowa caucuses, presidential candidates newt gingrich and rick santorum speak out. >>> and from a laughing baby to rebecca black. the biggest internet sensations of the year are live in studio. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.