captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. and then there were seven. acknowledging the harm charges of sexual misconduct have inflicted on his family, herman cain told his supporters today he was suspending his campaign for the republican nomination. that leaves seven candidates still in the race and a lot of questions about who stands to benefit. political correspondent jan crawford was in atlanta today for the cain announcement. jan, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening, russ. cain was once a front-runner for the nomination but then came allegations of sexual misconduct, an accusation of an extramarital affair. today he suspended his bid for the white house. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction. >> reporter: cain continued to deny the allegations that rocked his campaign. >> these false and unproved allegations continue to be spinned in the media and then the court of public opinion. >> reporter: after the announcement came, cain told cbs news he made the decisio

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: good evening. here we go again. it has been a weekend of twists and turns in the race for the republican presidential nomination. a man who lead the field just a month ago is now out of the race. and a man counted out not that long ago is now on top. whit johnson begins our coverage tonight of this weekend's surprising moves in the gop and what the white house thinks about them. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> reporter: with herman cain out of the race and his possible endorsement up for grabs, the now leading republican newt gingrich had kind words for his friend and former rival. >> i think he deserves credit for having had the courage to talk about big ideas and to focus on the economy. >> reporter: no one has benefited more from cain's fall than the former house speaker. a new poll out of iowa, the first state to cast votes shows gingrich leading with 25% followed by ron paul at 18%, romney at 16%. even the white house is beginning to take notice. >> i got to say, i think a lot

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: good evening. we begin in los angeles where for the past two nights a wave of arson has lit up the night sky. so far there have been three dozen separate blazes and now local investigators have called in the federal government to help. national correspondent lee cowan is in los angeles ands what the latest. >> reporter: it's become a terrifying predawn pattern-- for the past two nights, more than 30 vehicles in and around hollywood have been exploding in flames. >> i screamed for everyone to get out of their apartment. >> reporter: all the cars intentionally firebombed, say authorities, for reasons unknown. >> we want to get these s.o.b.s before they hurt somebody. >> reporter: the string of blazes have been set in densely populated neighborhoods in the wee hours of the morning when most residents were asleep. >> what are you thinking? one fire out of control could cost dozens of lives. >> reporter: crime scenes left not only a trail of scorched cars and small trucks. in many cases the apartments

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. it was a quiet end to a long, divisive and costly war. the last u.s. combat troops left iraq without incident today, leaving the country to continue its own course towards democracy. the american convoy left camp adder south of baghdad during the night bound for kuwait, and our jim axelrod traveled with them. >> reporter: for the first time in eight years, eight months and 28 days, the u.s. has no troops fighting in iraq tonight. the last convoy out of iraq rolled across the kuwaiti border at 7:37 local time this morning, capping a drawdown that saw the u.s. go from 50,000 troops in iraq as late as august to zero. >> i just wanted to say hello. >> reporter: the top u.s. general in iraq, lloyd austin, called the final drawdown, the military's largest, most complex logistical undertaking since world war ii. he stopped by with good wishes for the soldiers making up the final convoy as the military met its deadline of having all troops gone by december 31st. >> i'm very hopeful t

: thank you. >> mitchell: very promising. dr. jon lapook, thank you. in yet another case of alleged molestation of young boys, the amateur athletic association oust the 63-year-old robert dodd as its president today. memphis police said yesterday they're investigating allegations of abuse by dodd that occurred some 30 years ago. the a.a.u. is one of america's biggest youth sports groups. still ahead this evening, to raise taxes or not raise taxes. a tale of two states is just ahead. >> mitchell: we americans sets a record this week. we would just as soon take back. drivers have already spent more than $448 billion at the pump in 2011. that's a new yearly record and $100 billion more than all of 2010. gas prices are at average $3.29 a gallon, 31 cents higher than a year ago. cutting deficits is a headache that has brought partisan gridlock at all levels. this week two governors took steps to tackle deficits in their states by targeting well- off taxpayers. tony guida begins our coverage. >> washington is not coming to our resc

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: as the republican presidential hopefuls get set to debate in iowa tonight, new controversial comments on the middle east by the new front-runner are getting a lot of attention. newt gingrich called the palestinians an invented people. palestinian officials fired back saying "gingrich has lost touch with reality." paan reynolds is in iowa with more. >> reporter: tonight'sa debate will be the first since newt gingrich began surging in the polls and the first since rival campaigns began raising concerns about his leadership and temperament. >> the jewish people have the right -- >> reporter: king gingrich, a former history professor may have fueled those concern with his comment on the middle east, specifically, the sagaa of the israelis and will pool stingians. >> there was no palestine as a state. it was part of the ottoman empire. and i think we've had an invented palestinian people who are in fact arabs and historically part of the arab community, and they had a chance to go many places. >> reporter:

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. it's a deal but don't get too happy about it yet. that's the word from some republicans on a possible agreement to extend the payroll tax cut. while the senate today did give a final thumbs-up on a $1 trillion bill to keep the government running through next summer, the payroll tax deal faces another fight and soon. congressional correspondent nancy cordes has the latest. >> reporter: with the holidays fast approaching, senate leaders set aside their differences, to a point. >> we'll get it done. >> reporter: and crafted a deal that will extend the payroll tax cut but just for the next two months. >> the ayes are 89, the nays are 10. >> reporter: in a rare saturday session, the senate voted overwhelmingly today to keep payroll taxes at 4.2%, down from the traditional 6.2%. >> we stayed in session to present issues to the american public that were extremely important. >> reporter: they voted to give long-term jobless americans 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. but because neg

>> she said she assault mitchell heading to new orleans. -- she saw mitchell heading to new orleans. >> i think something is wrong. a.m. job put him on the wrong train. >> she bought the ticket to birmingham herself and never knew about the transfer. another call with conflicting information from a police detective in north carolina. >> he wished to go back to washington and they put to him on the back -- on the train back to washington. >> mr. smith -- mrs. smith worked for years in the d.c. postal inspection. >> that is different from what the witness said. >> the only phone calls she needs is the one from her grandson. >> your child is missing. and you are concerned. >> if the detective said is true mitchell has been back here in washington ever since december 17. we've reached out to amtrak and the north carolina detective. they both say more information will be forthcoming. >>> a hacking movement calling itself anonymous claims responsibility for the theft of up to $1 million that was meant for charity. in anonymous claims they have credit card numbers and personal information f

this is andrea mitchell reports live in iowa.ith the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you n defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira. did you hear sa

answers.gooddmorning patricc, 18-year-old brannon mitchell is facing first degree murder chhrges...still he was allowed &pto walk ut of these doors on bail ot just once but ttice week.pooice believe mitchell shot and killed 16-yeer old omar johnson back in june on breitwert venue near johhson was trying to elp a girl in distress during a fight when it hhppened.police arrested mitchell last eek... they charged him with irst degree murder....and held him without bond.but then he was given a $50-thouuaad dollar bail... whichhhe posted that -3day and walked out of jail.two days ago... police re-arrested 3 given bail a seconn time.... dolllrs... and he walks out -3 again.the victim's family is stunned. 3 (mr. anderson) "he got a bbil foo a frst-deeree murder charge!"(ms. anderssn) "i want justicc, i waat them to lock him back up.. put him behind 3 lock hat gate on him." attorney's oofice.we tried we left messages... buttno one has eturned our calls yet..- live downtown, megan gilliland, fox45 morninggnews. 33 two peeple are shot in - souttwest baltimore.it happened on belmont vvnue just befor

>> reporter: mitchell is legally blind. the grandmother in maryland and the rest of the family spent christmas worrying. you see back on december 16th, relatives dropped mitchell off at d.c.'s union station for a trip home to alabama. a route he took many times. >> there seems to be a bit of a problem of the woman who was from amtrak was talking to him and seemed he wanted to go is to alabama but the train we were on didn't go there. >> reporter: jane campbell lives in woodbridge, virginia, and she was on the train headed to atlanta. she said an a.m. track employee told mitchell he could get off at the train station in charlotte, north carolina, and wait five hours for a different train to alabama. >> i thought it was too bad it happened that way. that it was not the right train and wonders how that could have happened and to have to get off there at night like that was kind of hard. >> reporter: campbell said mitchell sat across from her as they headed to charlotte and an amtrak employee assisted him. >> and they made sure

. >>> this is captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >>> goodvening and merrychristmas. >>> we begin this evening inafghanistan with some 91,000 u.s. troops that have observed the holiday as much as they could we are. at 7000 feet this out post is one of the most remote and breath taking in all of afghanistan. it's been the scene of heavy fight being over the last six months. today the soldiers took a little time out to enjoy christmas on top of the world. >> christmas morning and the menman their provincial their post as usual. far from home on the pakistan border the season has been slow to set in here. there were a few noticeable changes. >> he may look nice but he isnot. >> a helicopter flew in from anearby base bearing gifts from home. >> cheese sausage. >> oh that is nice. >> corporal jennings worked as apastry chef before enlisting. >> my role is to make these guyshappy. >> the food hit the spot.the first few moments they were able to relax. even the afghan guards were in the spirit. the meal was cut short. a neighboring checkpoint came u

reporter: mitchell is legally blind. his grandmother in maryland and the rest of the family spent christmas worrying. back on december 16th relatives dropped mitchell off at d.c.'s union station for a trip home to alabama, a route he'd taken many times. >> there seemed to be a little bit of a problem. the woman who was from amtrak was talking to him. it seemed that he wanted to go to alabama, but the train we were on didn't go there. reporter: jane campbell lives in woodbridge, virginia. she was on that train headed to atlanta. she said an amtrak employee told mitchell that he could get off at the train station in charlotte, north carolina, and wait five hours for a different train to alabama. >> i thought it was too bad that it had happened that way, that it was not the right train and wondered how that could have happened and i also thought to have to get off there at night like that was kind of hard. reporter: campbell says mitchell sat across from her as they headed to charlotte. she said an amtrak employee assisted

chris mitchell asked him about the challenges faced by his congregation. >> tell us what the situation is on the ground for christians in bethlehem. >> on the ground, there is a great atmosphere of decoration. i know if you look deep within their hearts, many have fear and doubts in the unknown and unseen. that is what the message we are trying to give people in the city of bethlehem and throughout the holy land, hope is built on the true solid rock and that is the birth of christ, greatest in the history of man kind. it is a hope that will never fail us. >> as people turn their attention to bethlehem, how can they pray for you and other christians around the area? >> we ask for prayer for our protection. a lot of things that we do are unorthodox. they are not considered the smartest safest thing. it gets the message out. that is our calling to get the message at all costs. second thing, we are asking to consider standing and praying with the arab palastinian countries. we have seven ministries throughout the arab community teaching and preaching on the law of jesus christ. we ask peop

have been unable to locate mitchell smith. of course, his family &pis worried, but holding out years.melinda roeder... fox 45 news... at 5:30. &pone person was sent to the hospital after a fire broke out early this morning in charles village. village. fire crews were on the scene of the big boyz bail bonds on east 25th street just after 3 this morning. everyone was able to escape.. but a woman on the second floor had to be rescued by firefighters.. "the woman was actually with assistance climb down the ladder to the ground, she was treated at the scene and transported to shock trauma for evaluation" evaluation"several homes nearby also had smoke damage. no word tonight on hat sparked the fire. aad this is a look at the damage to the white elk motel in elkridge after a two alarm fire ripped through the building. it started just before 9 last night along route 1 and bonnie view lane. you can see the damage to the window. no one was hurt... but it took more than 60 firfighters to put the fire out. it's been a fixture in lexington

that's next on andrea mitchell reports.e phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. ♪ when the things that you need come at just the right speed, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ medicine that can't wait legal briefs there by eight, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ freight for you, box for me box that keeps you healthy, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ saving time, cutting stress, when you use ups that's logistics. ♪ >>> so which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? nbc contributor and "washington post" columnist jonathan joins us without a bow tie. i have to admit i'm a little bit disappointed. other than you wearing a bow tie, what do we have to look forward to in the next 24 hours? >> the big question will be whether the president is, will he stay or will he go, meaning hawaii? we know he is out and about prancing around -- p

this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. captioning sponsored by cbs >> good evening and merry christmas. we begin this evening in afghanistan with some 91,000 u.s. troops that have observed the holiday as much as they could. the border of afghanistan. at 7000 feet this is one of the most remote and the most breath taking in all of afghanistan. it's been the scene of pretty heavy fighting months. today the soldiers took a little time out to but today, the soldiers took a little time out to enjoy christmas on top of the world. christmas morning and the men man their post as usual. far from home on the pakistan border, the season spirit has been slow to set in here. there were a few noticeable changes. >> he may look nice but he is not. >> reporter: a helicopter flew in from a nearby base bearing gifts and mail from home. >> cheese and sausage. >> oh, that is nice. >> reporter: corporal jennings worked as a pastry chef before enlisting. >> my role is to make these guys happy. >> reporter: the food hit the spot. for a few momen

but mitchell was given bail a second time...oo charre!"(ms. anderson) "i want 3 hii backkup.. put hhm behind them baas where he belongs.. locc that gate on hii." him." joonnon is demandinn aaswers frommthhecity state's meesages... but no one hhs &pbaltimore's first grand prixx..thrilled more than a weekend.but months after the race walls were taken down...the inancial struggles, are beginning to sur. surface.the formee c-e-o of the company that put on the grrnd prix in baltimore ssys high innerest looa to saae the 1-ppint-1 million dollar loan. &ppart of the reaasn they couldn'ttpay bacc taxes o tte city and state.. baltimoor racing authority owes the city alone 1-point-5 million dollars in unpaid taxes anddfees. "my intial ake issttey really need the money, ad real quick so you have to sk somee questions, what have ttey done with the money before rawlings lake has given the group until dec 31st tt pay baak the mmney to the ccty.to ensure the ástateá gets it's franchot has put a lein on some of the property owned by the company.

johnsoo's faaily is - outraged over mitchell beinn allowed tt bb free on bail.tchell's attorney -3 believes hhs ccient should bee allowed to walk free until his trial. trial. 3 3 (cardin) "i believe my clieet was entitled to bail bbcause heehad no record, he is not a fliggt risk...." risk...." cardin admiis prosecutors did not present facts of other cases involving pis client, incllding a prior unrelated attempted murder ccargg.... that may have caused the judge to think twice aboot allowing a bond in the cuureet murder caae. meantime, a spokesman for thee state's attorney's officesays - prosecutors argued for no bbnd at every stage.. but it's the judge who makes the final 3 3 penn state.../ football coachh..// - mmke mcqueaay .../// says.../ he... saww../ jerry sanduskyy../ -3 molesting... a boy.../ in... the showwr... / &p3 mc-queary.../ - leet... court this morning .../ ááaattráá -3 testifying...// against... 2... former bosses.../// at... penn state... / -& áánowáá chaaged.... with lying.../ to... a... grand jury....//// áámcqueryyá said.../ he... was... cer

. >>> i'm chris sill lis cillizza andrea mitchell today. with six days left to go mitt romney is rising while newt gingrich may be running out of steam. all those negative ads seem to have having an effect on gingrich's poll numbers and his effort to stay above the fray. >> if you want to attack people, at least be man enough to own it. you look at ron paul's total record of systemic avoidance of reality and you look at his newsletters and then you look at his ads, his ads areç about as accurate as his newsletters. >> jonathan capehart is an editorial writer for "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor and my friend and the best dressed man in washington. want to get all those in at once. >> i appreciate that. >> newt gingrich never one for under exaggeration. this is a systemic exaggerator. he's kind of lashing out at ron paul, lashing out at mitt romney. the problem though, jonathan, he's not doing this on at the vision adswise so not many people are seeing it. is this a sign of a candidate who senses his moment may be slipping awa

mitchell malik smith has been missing since december 16.is family is growing more worried everyday.:37 "not knowing anything.... why haan't he called."relatives say they dropped him off at union station in washington d-c... with a ticket for birmingham, alabama. since he's blind, he was placed in the care of amtrak workers. 01:00 "in order for him to get onto the train... helped him off." but smith somehow ended up on a train bound for new orleans instead. a nearby passenger heard amtrak employees tell station in charlotte and wait until the next train out to birmingham. then - the witness says - they escorted him off.now, a detective in charlotte is investigating. 01:37 "and he said in the confusion ... to come here." but it's been eleven days now and still - no sign of him. 01:58 "we have a human being missing who's dependent... that's a little disturbing." still, they hold out hope... for a safe return home.melinda roeder, fox 45 news at ten. amtrak is now searching through surveillance videos recorded at amtrak stations... hoping to hel

i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. in our daily fix today, new polling from nbc news and the wall street journal shows with the first voting only three weeks from today, republicans are not happy with tlir choices. only 21% of registered republicans say that the current field is strong. with many good candidates to choose from. 51% call their choices average. 27% say the field is weak with hardly any good choices. chris alisa is managing editor of post politics.com. there is a look at the poll. what does this tell us about the mood of the electorate certainly out there in iowa and the field, republican choices that they have in a very big field. >> let me first say, andrea, i get excited what new poll comes out. that's an exciting time for me. this is good news. i'm glad we get to talk about it. look, i think it is surprising. at least to me, that you have only 20% of people saying they have a strong and a lot of good choices. that's a number we likely have seen this past summer. we did see this past summer. usually wh

he grew up in mitchell and went to school there. but the most important lessons were learned at home. his mother, a gentle spirit. from his father, christian principles and hard work. his father had spent his boyhood in the illinois coal country where 14 hour days were measured out at 10 cents a bucket. but he found time to read scripture and decided to abandon the mines for politics. in 1899, he was ordained a minister. reverend mcgovern built his last church in mitchell when george was a fight. as a boy, george had his father's love of history, but he would not despair the troubles of his own time. -- he would not be scared at the troubles of his own time. -- be spared the troubles of his own time. the memory would live with them his whole life. >> we are at the mcgovern museum. scott farris, tell us about george mcgovern. what through his life, starting early on, influenced him -- to find him? >> it is important to remember his father was a minister in the wesleyan minister -- wesleyan methodist denomination. it discovered drinki

have been unable to locate mitchell ssith. beware of fake facebookers... looking to take yourrmoney! money!police say these scams are similar to the email scams pleading for financial help. but in this case ... they're actually posing as one of your facebook friends!investigators say there's been at least one case in baltimore where the perpetrators were successful.... and several other attempts that were not. . 5642 they take the name off of your friends' list. post something on your page and says you know i've been arrested or i've been mugged and now i need to either get bailed out of jail or to return home from a flight overseas 54 54some things you can do to tighten your facebook privacy settings soothe scammers can't get access to your page.and never give out pprsonal internet... without confirming the recipient. if you feel pou have been targeted... contact police. 3 police are hunting for a possible serial killer who is tracking his viitims through a popular social networking site. mara macdonald explains how two charred bodies lead detectives to b

a new report reveals the historic mitchell courthouse downtown and courthouse east.. could be hazards.... the report done by the chief clerk and presented to the boarr of finance in november says the fire suppression system is inadequate to non-existent.the document goes on toosay... the fixes are urgent... but aren't scheduled until 2014... we have citizens oming in and we have an obligation to protect them... them... the city estimates it will need 14 million dollars to complete renovations outlined in the report... it's been a fixture in lexington market since 1968. 1968.but polock shutting down. the owner... says business here... has been declining for the pastthree years.and she has no choice buu to close. 3 (wilkins) "i'll miss everything about it. i love being here and i wish i could stay you know, been here for a longgtime, haae a lot of history with the polock johnny founder so it's a sad day." day." locations... the one at security square mall... and... one on washington boulevard.... will remain open. an arson investigation continues in urbana... the flames

historic night for dc boxing to see lamont peterson and seth mitchell do what they did on a nationaltage it was epic i was there, seth mitchell thank you for coming in andre hunter, trainer extraordinary in here this morning as well gentlemen. let's get your thoughts, sethly start with you, just having the dc crowd being in that atmosphere for the first time having michael buffer be the ring announcer what was it like for you. >> it was a surreal moment, walking out there, having the crowd you know screaming for me, try to you know block it all out because i have a job to do that is go in there and win the fight but it didn't really soak in until i went home the next day and watched it on tv and watched it -- to have them introduce me but the atmosphere was crazy it is cool i am glad i went out there and put on a good performance for the crowd. >> how do you keep them focused when you've got the hometown crowd, michael buffer in there and the pomp and circumstance how do you keep him focused. >> sethis disciplined. he knows the job ahead of him we just do what we do stay on our game

malcolm mitchell took a hit from kevin minter, number 46. gary: those little checkdown passes are going to get a little scary. you as an offensive player now have to be ready when you're getting the ball thrown to you. that was helmet-to-helmet right there also. to get your head around fast and know that l.s.u. will likely be playing zone so they're going to run to the ball. verne: aaron murray for the day 14-32. they needed a little bigger game out of him. and they need something out of their rung department. here's murray. well, jerry palm is wildly regarded as a b.c.s. guru and this is what he said -- and so it would appear -- go ahead. gary: in the first half i kind of felt a lot of people were watching and saying well, maybe an offensive team would be a better matchup with these guys. now i think they're saying no, you have to have a defensive team to stop these guys. i think the more people watched the more they said if you don't have a strong defense to stop them you have no chance. so it went from well, let's look at oklahoma state.

malcolm mitchell took a hit from kevin minter, number 46. gary: those little checkdown passes are going to get a little scary. you as an offensive player now have to be ready when you're getting the ball thrown to you. that was helmet-to-helmet right there also. to get your head around fast and know that l.s.u. will likely be playing zone so they're going to run to the ball. verne: aaron murray for the day 14-32. they needed a little bigger game out of him. and they need something out of their rung department. here's murray. well, jerry palm is wildly regarded as a b.c.s. guru and this is what he said -- and so it would appear -- go ahead. gary: in the first half i kind of felt a lot of people were watching and saying well, maybe an offensive team would be a better matchup with these guys. now i think they're saying no, you have to have a defensive team to stop these guys. i think the more people watched the more they said if you don't have a strong defense to stop them you have no chance. so it went from well, let's look at oklahoma state.

in for andrea mitchell. we begin in the hawkeye state. five candidates are holding 22 events today alone as the race for iowa enters the home stretch. nbc's peter alexander is live for us in des moines. peter, hello there. i assume you're going to be at most of these 22 events. you're in the place to be. obviously, 22 events is a whopping number. this is the final push. what's your sense from out there on where things stand today? >> reporter: yeah, it's exactly right. 22 at least events today. we'd like to say we're going to hit all of them. clearly, that's not possible. michele bachmann alone is trying to hit all 99 counties in this state. only rick santorum has done that so far. she only has two more days left in which she thinks she's going to be able to accomplish this. the conservatives in this state have traditionally done very well in the caucuses here because only a small population shows up on caucus day. the weather should be good here, which may indicate a more moderate showing in terms of the people that come to the caucuses

pollster peter hart, "meet the press" moderator david gregory, and from washington, nbc's andrea mitchell. and chuck, let's start with the hard numbers today and what they tell us. >> this poll that we have tonight is a tale of two republicans with their own set of electability problems. let's start with mitt romney, his electability problem is getting the republican nomination. as you can see, newt gingrich has surged to 40%. that is the highest number any republican has had in the calendar year of 2011, since we've started polling this primary. when the race shrinks down to three candidates, gingrich, romney, paul, gingrich's lead expands. 53% to romney's 31%. what is romney's electability problem? it is simply one word, ideology. 70% of republicans call themselves conservative. 57% believe newt gingrich is one of them. only 29% believe mitt romney is a conservative. that's the reason. newt gingrich has an electability problem, but that is in a general election. mitt romney and barack obama would be a neck and neck race. 47 to 45 according to our poll. newt gingrich, different story. 51

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"andrea mitchell reports" comes back live from tel aviv. great prices. i just wish you could guarantee me they won't be beat. oh, actually... then i'd be like, you rule! and my kids would be like, you rule! oh, load up the sleigh; this is going to be a great christmas. [ male announcer ] more christmas for your money, guaranteed. see? he's taking his vitamins. new one a day vitacraves plus omega-3 dha is a complete multivitamin for adults. plus an excellent source of omega-3 dha in a great tasting gummy. one a day, gummies for grown-ups. . >>> president obama is in kansas today. he's going to be speaking in less than an hour there trying to sell the extension of his payroll tax. well, chuck todd, nbc news chief white house correspondent, political director and host of "the daily rundown" joins me now for our daily fix. hey, chuck, i think supposedly he's going to be channelling teddy roosevelt in kansas. but i think to sell the payroll tax through congress he's going to need more than just a big stick. >> well, he is. and i love the teddy -- the t.r. ana

i have had nothing. >> reporter: madeline is worried about her grandson, mitchell. he had come to the d.c. area to visit relatives in december but managed to disappear on the train ride ohm to alabama. the 33-year-old legally blind from injuries resulting from a shooting was last seen at the train station in charlotte, north carolina where there may have been some type of mix up. >> there have been a lot of confusion. the charlotte police called us this morning and said that they understood that he'd got off the train in charlotte. however they say that someone at amtrak told him they put him on a train to come back to washington. >> reporter: charlotte police have found no trace of mitchell smith. his grandmother grows more worried by the day. >> even if he lands somewhere he doesn't know where he is his way is to pick up a phone or find a phone and he will call me. he knows my number by heart. >> reporter: amtrak says the incident is under investigation. >> jackie bensen, thank you. >>> a lot of people spent this day sitting in traffic and fighting crowds trying t

in for andrea mitchell.

i think that's what the driving force is on the right. >> andrea mitchell in washington, i spoke to a veteran of the social wars in this country of a few decades back, who said, look for the summer of 2012, if this all -- if this spark becomes a prairie fire, look for the summer of 2012, when we have two political conventions to look a lot like the summer of '68 perhaps. >> well, it could happen, because you got so much anger, so much frustration. the numbers that peter sites and that chuck has cited show there is an extraordinary disaffectionate all institutions. there's no respect for anything except perhaps the military here. with that kind of anger building, and you have the occupy folks on one side, the tea party on the other, i think you could start seeing a joining of forces with these two parties. you don't know what to expect and it's all been so unpredictable until now. >> peter hart, it's safe to say, we haven't seen this country in this shape before, and we certainly haven't seen the electorate look like this before? >> anger is all around. the thing that most disappoints

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joining us now from washington is nbc news correspondent andrea mitchell, host of "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc and veteran of several campaigns. thank you for being with us tonight. >> you bet, ravchel. >> we're getting pushback from herman cain's campaign. what is the latest you're hearing about tomorrow's announcement? what is nbc's reporting at this point? >> our reporting, and david circled back to his source, i've talked to other people, our reporting is that every indication is that he will be announcing that he is dropping out tomorrow, but as we said on "nightly news" and there was no challenge to anything that was reported on "nightly news." they did have problems with apparently some of the reiterations in social media on twitter. but in terms of what we are reporting, it is that while with the cain campaign, until he actually announces it, himself, no decision is final. he is certainly leaning toward getting out because of the pressure on his family. this was, tonight, the first face to face meeting with his wife, gloria. this has also come amidst a lot of mixed signals. t

is live downtown from central booking where they're demanding some answers. 18-year--ld brandon mitchell is facing first degree murder charggs...still he was allowed to wlak out of these doors oo in the same week.e but twice week.policeebeeieve mitchhll &pshot and killee 16-yearrold omar johnson back in une on breitwert avenue near washington blvv.witnesses say johnson was trying to elp a girl ii distress during a fight whenn i happenee.police &pthey charged himmwith first degree murder... and helddhim originally without bond.but thhn he was given a $50- thouuand dollar bail... which out of jail.two dayy ago... police re-arrested mitchell on unclear.but mitthell issgiven time ffr $250-thousand again.the victim's familyyis just stunned hhw this could (mr. anderson/faaher) "if it was a black man he woolln't ever get a chaace tooevee think about walking out hat front door.. it'ssno way in hell that the state's attorney &ppcty state's ttorney's offfi. we left messaggs... but no one has returned our calls yet. johnson's family says they just want justice.they want miicheelllocked up behind ba

good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. in our daily fix today, the republican candidates piled on newt gingrich. but missing from the brawl, mitt romney. is that because he has a super pack and is spending millions of dollars in attack ads to do the job? we have an msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics. thanks so much for joining us. let's talk about how the second tier candidates at least piled on newt. did they do any damage? >> i think they did. she scored some hits on fannie mae and freddie mac. and the other thing, you mentioned this in the opening. i haven't seen that much written in the report about it. i do think it's interesting. he was very dismissive of her. very dismissive. at the end she said i'm a serious candidate, you need to take me seriously. i think it's always dangerous to be dismissive of the only woman on stage. you know, i think newt gingrich does not view michelle back man as his intellectual equal. but you have to be careful not to let that kind of thing show. and he didn't do as g