we get the story from our senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> reporter: today, massachusetts attorney general martha coakley accused five big banks of making the foreclosure crisis worse. deceiving homeowners about loan modifications, unfair and deceptive foreclosure practices, and pervasive use of fraudulent documents, including robo-signing, to speed foreclosures. >> this suit seeks be accountability for the banks cutting corners and rushing to unnecessarily foreclose homeowners without following the rule of law. >> reporter: the lawsuit comes on the heels of complaint by county property records officials, including john o'brien of salem. he accuses the banks of turning his office into a crime scene. so why do you call it a crime scene? >> because this registry has been infected with fraudulent documents. >> reporter: his office identified 26,000 foreclosure filings signed by robo-signers. one involved carol, who has lived in this home all her life but lost her job and fell behind on her mortgage. >> hi, lisa myers. >> reporter: the day we visited she just received a notice

nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. and nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd. also joining the conversation this morning, iowa's republican governor, terry branstad. >>> good morning. what a difference a month makes. newt gingrich is now the undisputed front-runner in the republican race, he's atop the polls in iowa and new hampshire, and look at this. this morning we have new results from our nbc maris poll, south carolina and florida. it is gingrich going away in both of those states. as the front-runner, gingrich bore the brunt of the attacks in last night's republican debate in iowa and here with us live this morning, dr. ron paul, the texas congressman and candidate for president, of course. dr. paul, welcome back to the program. >> thank you, david. good to be with you. >> did newt gingrich do anything to diminish his chances in iowa last night? >> well, i don't know whether he did it, but i think because he had to face a lot of serious questions about, you know, his change in positions and what he has

nbc's lisa myers tonight looks back at some of the hits, runs and errors. >> the speaker of the house, newt gingrich of georgia -- >> reporter: because of newt gingrich in 1995, republicans recaptured the house for the first time in 40 years. >> i am a genuine revolutionary. >> reporter: and working with president clinton, gingrich piled up real achievements, a balanced budget, and historic welfare reform. but his speakership was also marked by chaos, polarization, and incendiary remarks. after four years, gingrich was forced out by his own troops. former congressman joe scarborough helped lead the mutiny. >> he accomplished a lot. but he burned so many bridges that it hurt the republican party. and more importantly, to a lot of us, the conservative movement moving forward. >> reporter: a former press secretary says gingrich's brilliance was often outweighed by hubris and lack of discipline. >> newt never made the transition from being an entrepreneur or revolutionary to being a manager. >> reporter: twice gingrich shut down the government. he says this about that now. >> we stopped i

here's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> reporter: while most americans have gotten poorer in the last few years, a new study finds that members of congress have done quite well. since 2004, the median net worth of members of congress is up 15%, while the median net worth for all americans is down 8%. >> when you have nearly half of congress being millionaires, it's easy to see how the gap in understanding, in credibility can grow between congress and the people they're trying to represent. >> reporter: members of congress only have to report broad ranges of assets. all four congressional leaders appear to be millionaires, some many times over. democrat nancy pelosi is worth between $6 and $196 million. republican mitch mcconnell, between $10 and $44 million. democrat harry reid between $3 and $10 million. speaker john boehner has the least money, between $2 and $6 million. one explanation for the increasing wealth in congress, is that running for office takes so much time and money, it favors wealthy candidates. but there's also evidence that politicians are getting richer

our report tonight from nbc's lisa myers. >> how you doing? >> reporter: with newt gingrich on the rise mitt romney today went on the air in new hampshire emphasizing that he's a creature of the private sector. >> i spent my life in the private sector. i have competed with companies around the world. >> reporter: in an interview romney took a shot at gingrich portraying the former speaker as a career politician and a washington insider. >> speaker gingrich is a good man. he and i have very different backgrounds. he spent 30, 40 years in washington. i spent my career in the private sector. >> reporter: gingrich countered with a jab about romney's wealth underscoring his own humble beginnings. >> i haven't been as a successful as mitt romney, but when i babysat at fort reilly, kansas, and when i was a pin setter in a bowling alley, preautomatic machines. i set pins and worked as a gardener. >> reporter: with the emergence of gingrich as romney's main challenger, the vulnerabilities of both candidates were on display. romney became testy when pre

lisa myers, nbc news, washington. >>> and in a california courtroom today, a surprise when a federal judge handed down the sentence for the so-called home run king, barry bonds, convicted of lying to a grand jury in a case involving steroids and baseball. it's what didn't happen that has a lot of people asking tonight if the punishment fits the crime. our justice correspondent pete williams is in our washington newsroom with more on this. pete, good evening. >> and brian what didn't happen is any prison sentence, in this latest setback for the prosecutors who have spent millions of dollars investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. barry bonds remains a free man, his sentence is on hold while he appeals his conviction for giving rambling testimony to a grand jury looking into the use of steroids in baseball. prosecutors said 15 months, instead he got 30 days home detention. the judge called his conduct an aberration in an otherwise law-abiding life. this case began going south in april when a jury declined to convict him of lying about whether he use

nbc's lisa myers has the story. >> reporter: a bustling call center owned by an indian company.handles 100,000 calls a day. >> seven to ten business days. >> reporter: this facility is not in mumbai or bangalore. it's here in dallas, texas. more than 90% of the workers are americans. in the last few years the indian global outsourcing giant aegis has expanded its operations in the u.s. five fold. it now has nine call centers and more than 5,000 workers. these are the newest trainees in dallas. >> how many of you were unemployed when you got this job? most of you. >> reporter: so kathy gray who had exhausted all her savings, this job was a life saver. >> i felt kind of desperate, was i going to be able to find work that was going to pay me enough to keep my head above water. >> reporter: company officials say what's happening here is important. after more than a decade of american jobs being outsourced overseas, at least a few of those jobs are coming home, returning to the united states. why? high unemployment has kept down wages in the u.s. while labor costs in india and elsewh

joining me, nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers.nows a thing or two about newt gingrich, having covered him all those ars on capitol hill. chf white house correspondent and political director for nbc news,huck todd. republican strategistalex castellanos. and special correspondent for nbc's rock center news magine, ted koppel. what a pleasure to be able to say, c's ted koppel. thanks, ted, for being here. and live from des moines, iowa, is iowa's republican governor terry branstad. he was a popular guy last night. if you're running for the president, you want to get th important nod from the governor of the stat governor, good to have you. we'll be wh you in just a moment. chuctodd, this is how it looks in florida and south carolina, as i referenced, we'll put them up on the screen. south carolina first, it is ginh, going away. lindsey graham said he'd win the electio in south carolina if it were to today. d in frida, it's gingrich, going away. major moment, of course, the polling, the status of the rac and what happened last night i

lisa myers is here with details on this. good morning. >> good morning, matt. is called purebred breeders and that's exactly what its websites promise, healthy puppies from the country's top breeders. it all looks like a dog lover's dream, but our investigation found that the truth about some of these dogs has been more of a nightmare. her name is lola, a scrappy golden doodle puppy who at eight months old has already caused her family a lifetime of heart ache. what was supposed to be a fabulously happy event turned out to be a traumatic event. >> absolutely. >> reporter: it all started online. new jersey mom jen papa, whose husband is a nbc commentator was looking for a golden doodle for her boys when she found this adorable ad for lola. the website, new jersey goldendoodle breeders looked local and promised happy, healthy puppies from award winning breeders. jen called right away. >> i'm told the dog is from a great breeder, they're very reputable, there's a lifetime guarantee and you're going to get a top-notch dog for the money. >> reporter: turns out the c

here's nbc's lisa myers. >> reporter: the house ethics committee is poised to do what it tried hard toesist. appoint an independent investigator to look into the speaker's conduct. the scope may be limited to one issue. did gingrich improperly fund and use a televised college course for political purposes? some republicans worry more about another charge. last week, the federal election commission alleged that in 1990, gingrich's political organization known as gopac illegally helped his congressional campaign. >> it is phony. i got to make it clear, the word phony should get across to you. >> when people talk about newt gingrich's ethically dubious past as a problem for his political future, this is part of when what they're talking about. the ethics investigation into gingrich's activities, alleged misuse of political contributions ultimately ended like this. >> good evening, newt gingrich who came to power after all preaching a higher standard in american politics, a man who brought down another speaker on ethics accusations, tonight he has on his own record the judgment of his peer

lisa myers has more. >> reporter: three years ago, the former ceos of fannie mae and freddie mac infuriated a congressional committee by denying any blame for the financial crisis. >> we thought we made the right decision at the time. >> you have exhibited no sense of accountability for your actions here. none. >> reporter: but on friday, both former ceos, daniel mudd and richard siren of freddie mac were accused of civil fraud. the securities and exchange commission, or s.e.c., alleged that they and four other executives made false and misleading statements to conceal the extent of risky subprime mortgages. >> today's action is about holding individuals accountable for their role in misleading the public. >> who got hurt here? >> a lot of hard working americans saving for requirements. >> fannie and freddie were two of the most common companies that the average guy on the street invested their retirement in. their retirement accounts took a real hit. >> when the companies imploded, taxpayers had to bail them out. these are the highest profile individuals facing charges in the biggest meltd

i thought lisa myers yesterday on "meet the press" put it well. verbal combat.e enjoys. and you're not going to undo him on a debate stage, right? you're not -- this isn't rick perry that romney's going after. this is a guy who can turn what you swear you're about to win a debate point and he will just talk his way out of it in an incredibly slick way sometimes. so i think that that -- that's one of why this one feels different because gingrich seems to have the ability to sort of take the heat, if you will. but the other thing that is a problem for romney in these polls. and we saw similar thing last week in iowa and new hampshire, and we're seeing it again. joe, 70% of republican voters in south carolina and florida was almost -- it was identical. describe themselves as conservative. 51% of those folks say mitt romney's a moderate, 56% of those republicans in florida say mitt romney's a moderate. going through what we went through in 2010, find me the evidence that right now where the republican party is today that a moderate can win a republican primary. it i

sarah jessica parker, ashton kutcher, lisa michelle, jezebel deal, hilary swank and jeff myers. >> it is about getting another chance. >>gabe: in new year's eve is rated pg-13. >>grant: said john hill klees and no luck, and irresponsible college student who finds himself charged with three rowdy kids in the the sitter. he takes them all along on a wild and dangerous adventure to the seeds of new york. the sitter is rated r. >>pam: scan the raiders stopped airing rogers and the packers? fat albert full holes has made his decision. jason is up next on the details of one of the biggest signings in major- league history. all going ipod charge of the somme ipod tertian while it new- line all >> elbert polls did not sign with the chargers dead-with the dodgers, he signed a deal worth $250 million. he is rumored to be held to the miami marlins earlier in the week but then many felt he was going to return to the cardinals but the angels stepped in. the ninth time all-star will be 41 when his deal >> nba owners and players have finally data the is and cross the t's on a collective bargaining a