and steven colbert is at it again. we'll bring you the latest. >> i've had it with these money grubbing superpacs messing with our monday to friday elections. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks, thanks for watching. all of a sudden 24 hours has become an eternity for the republicans. things are a lot different than than this morning. six new polls have been released since the republican debate on monday night. they all show a sizable bump for newt gingrich. mitt romney only leads gingrich by about one percentage point when you average all the polls together, three polls have gingrich winning. six-point lead over mitt romney. gingrich's debate performance clearly appealed to republican voters in south carolina. conservative outlets like the weekly standard are giving the tea party credit for gingrich's turn around. today one of the tea party's favorite candidates got out of the race and supported newt gingrich. >> i've always believed the mission is greater than the man. as i've contemplated the future of this c

up next steven colbert says he may run for president. e a joke but colbert has a serious point to make that super pacs aren't independent at all. and that's ahead. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] indulge all you want. now there's no need to hold back. ♪ new revolutionary scope with dualblast technology obliterates strong food odors and kills bad breath germs leaving your breath minty fresh. hey. sorry i'm late, baby. i bet you're starving. [ male announcer ] so there's no trace of evidence... hey, i thought i did the dishes. [ male announcer ] blast away strong food odors and bad breath germs with new scope dualblast. also, try crest complete extra white with scope dualblast. ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. >>> i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happening. a doctor for john edwards says the ex-presidential candidate has a serious heart problem. the doctor also says edwards will need a procedure next

and steven colbert is giving us another lesson.aking fun of this fiction that candidates go out there. their best buddies or fathers -- >> poke fun at the loose rules govaning how super pac's are formed. here they are discussing the rules. the truth is funnier than fiction. let's watch. >> can i run ads supporting steven colbert, who i believe in very deeply and perhaps attacking his potential opponents who i don't believe in at all? >> yes, you can. as long as you do not coordinate. >> well, that's interesting. you'd better leave for fear we would coordinate with each other. i cannot let you know my plan. from now on, jon, i will have to talk about my plans on my television show and just take the risk that you might watch it. >> i don't even know when it's on 11:30 monday through thursday. >> here's rick tyler recent aid to newt gingrich. knowing exactly what newt wants to say. he joins the pac promoting newt gingrich. they are not coordinating on the telephone, but he knows the message that will help newt. >> this is the problem

to be perfectly clear, i will not be assuming steven colbert to the identity. erent when it comes to the color of our hair. colbert's super pak now run by john stuart releasing this at exploiting the situation to voters. >> there is one name on the ballot that stands for a true american identity, herman cain. americans for a better tomorrow tomorrow believes a vote for herman cain is a vote for america. on january 21st, devoe and herman cain. >>> let's get some insight from the correspond with the nation magazine. the polls show that obama is at 41%. romney at 38%. colbert at 13%. well this alter the outcome on saturday in south carolina? >> he could take a bite out of it. this was actually the plot of an eddie murphy movie, the distinguished gentlemen were they say you have the right name id and say you are the other candidate, you can win as him. herman cain says he is not very serious about this, since he is playing along. >> sure. you never know. steven colbert could finish ahead of rick perry. >> that is not unheard of. maybe you should throw your hat in th

. >>> plus steven colbert gives rick santorum a second look after his big showing in iowa, yes, it involves a drinking game. that clip later in the show. first the news live at 5:30 a.m. at 30 rock in new york city. with only four days to go until the voting in new hampshire, the republican presidential field is gearing up for two debates this weekend. the focus likely to be on mitt romney. it's the latest suffolk poll that shows the former massachusetts governor carrying 41% support in the state. ron paul has 18%. coming off a strong finish in iowa, rick santorum is up two points, still with just 8% support. behind him, newt gingrich and jon huntsman, the man who spent all his resources inside new hampshire, still down there at 7%. huntsman getting a bit of a boost heading into the weekend. the newspaper "the boston globe globe" is putting its support behind the utah governor saying he offers the republican party a chance to "renew itself." while romney proceeds cautiously, strategically to appease enough constituencies to get himself the nomination, huntsman has been bold. he articulates

i guess i'll just have to watch steven colbert when he's publicly speaking on television and look forto do. >> did queen isabelle a say go to america and then say have you found anything, like i haven't even gotten on the nina and the pinta and the santa maria yet. let me go and come back and find the spice route and then come back, please. >> jon: queen isabel a, columbus. italian spice. i get you. you're saying to me through the television the head of your super pac you want me to pay mario battali an enormous amount of super pac money to make me a delicious meal so that may be sustained for this voyage? chef! chef! ( cheers and applause ) thank you. that's beautiful. >> here you are mr. stewart. >> jon: frittat con eggs. that is beautiful. it looks delicious. but there is much more me to say yet tonight. i need to preserve my jaw strength. as you know, my saliva is considered currency in south america. >> it is going to cost you double, sir. >> jon: ridiculous. an almost crim criminal way of the people's super pac money. i'll do it. ( cheers and applause ) and that is how jon stewa

and steven colbert warns romney that he's made one dangerous mistake, leaving newt gingrich alive, angrier than ever. the news live at 5:30 a.m., after a photo finish at the iowa caucuses, the republican presidential field is hitting the ground in new hampshire. mitt romney looking to lock up back-to-back victories with state polling suggesting he should win new hampshire going away. the latest cnn poll shows romney leading the pack in new hampshire with an overwhelming 47% support among likely republican voters. ron paul comes in a distant second, 30 points behind romney at 17%. then a cluster there of jon huntsman, he's dedicated all his campaign resources to that state, and third within the margin of error. rick santorum up to 10%, and newt gingrich who is polling in the single digits in new hampshire at 9%. when the same group is asked which republican candidate has the best chance of beating president obama, look at that number. mitt romney, 65%. second on the list, newt gingrich with 9%. from 65% to 9%. santorum and huntsman round out the top five with 5%. saying they're confident in

steven colbert. during last night's ep seed of the colbert report the comedian transferred his super political action committee to his friend and icon john stewart. this would allow colbert to campaign as a candidate in his home state of south carolina. he only hinted at the possibility last night saying he was forming an exploratory committee for his possible candidacy. >> of course he is, why wouldn't he. >> actually could do well. >> he would get a lot of votes. it's 4:38 now. east bay college campus has a big problem. why officials at uc-berkeley warn of mountain lions near the campus. >> an apple store in a target store? the new concept being considered. >> republican presidential candidates changing their tune this morning, why they are dialing back their attacks on mitt romney. >> for your news, weather and traffic updates check us out on facebook. search nbc bay area news. >> searching for a beautiful shot we came up with this. a live look over san franciscoi background. hey, your high speed i

we told you last night comedian steven colbert will explore running for president and fellow funny manon stewart will oversee colbert political action committee but the real target for defeat is the big money they say is taking over american elections. more tonight from jonathan karl. >> even over lunch at lizard restaurant in columbia a-south carolina you can't get away from them. most of the nasty political ads in south carolina are not being run by the campaigns. but by brand new force in politic. outside groups called super packs. now into the fray a new candidate with his own superñç pack. commend yaichbility i am forming exploration committee for my possible candidacy for president of the united states of south carolina. i'm doing it. [applause] p.m. >>reporter: behind the joke is a serious point. super pack don't have to follow the rules. candidate can only accept donation of 2500 dollars per person super pack can accept millions from anybody. thanks to the supreme court recent decision citizens united. >> god bless citizens united. >>reporter: now the big money players have tak

it's interesting and i think the use of comedy to drive home a serious point and steven colbert is a of comedy i'll use that to go to a golden globes discussion. i was struck by the fact that the best stuff coming out of hollywood in my humble opinion is on television not on the big screen. you have home land, boss, game of throwns, episodes, enlightened. what is happening to the movie industry? >> i'm not the guy that ask, i am the only gay man in america that has never watched tv. i have never watched modern family, i am a bad, bad, gay. >> do you just watch movies? >> you know what i watch? msnbc, boom. >> that is all that you need to watch. i want to move on to back to the race a little bit. rick perry, commenting on the video of american troops, or marines, said what is disturbing to me is the over the top rhetoric from this administration and their dislike for the military. to call what they did a criminal act is over the top. >> this is a war crime, i think these kids should be prosecuted to the fullest. if afghanistan soldiers had done it to american soldiers, the country be

i'm doing it. >> steven colbert teasing 2012 ambitions and drawing huge attention to superpacs, without voters knowing who is behind them. george will have him on his program. george stephanopoulos asking colbert questions, george and stephen tomorrow morning. we'll be watching. >>> we'll move this evening, and overseas to a bloody day in iraq. at least 53 people were killed, more than 130 others wounded when a bomb ripped through a group of shiite pimm grams marching through shrine in iraq. and to iran tonight and escalating tensions with the u.s. word this evening that the navy may turn to a special weapon to help keep oil moving through the vital waterway. strait of hormuz. there's a report the u.s. could use highly trained dolphins to detect any mines placed in the waterway by the iranians if they deliver on the threat to stop the flow of one-fifth of the world's oil. >>> back in this country we learn about the uj believable rescue, a mother and children trapped in a car teetering over the highway bridge. we knows it t was a teen caught in the traffic jam, ran up to safe the family.

but we can only -- we always use one more and especially if it's that guy steven colbert is throwing his hat into the ring but he is running into problems in south carolina. details after we get back from new york and check on this morning's tech bites. >> reporter: in today's tech bites disappointing video game sales retail sales of hardware software and accessories off 21% from year ago in december. analyst say it's because systems are get being old but given the strong sales for modern warfare three it's a little surprising. samsung is showing galaxy note smart phone at consumer electronic show. it has an oversized 5.3 inch screen and says c net dan ackerman has a alternative to keyboarding. >> it has a stylist a lot of people use to take notes and to draw and sketch and do caricatures and it seems like a lot of fun. >> reporter: the samsung galaxy will be available from at&t only. and target is taking aim at apple. they are adding expanded displays of apple product creating mini stores at 25target location. those are the tech bites, i am paula ferris. >>> this is gene norman from

. >> steven colbert camp grirnz a candidate you only thought was off the ballot. >> and there is traffic on 80. there is a sea of headlights. take a look at traffic. if you're heading on the car, it's raining and slick. drive safely. stay with us. the news at 4:00 continues. >>> newt gingrich appears to be gaining ground. and we're live with the latest on the race that keeps changing. >> good afternoon, mitt romney is fighting hard for a win here, he and allies are reportedly paying twice the amount of money for television ads than newt gingrich. two days ago mitt romney looked like a sure bet but along came newt gingrich. there is a bomb shell interview with gingrich's second ex-wife he was asking to have an open marriage and i refused. >> last night gingrich turned the potentially explosive issue into a scathe attack on the media. >> i think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country and harder to attract decent people to unfor public office. >> in just one week his leap in the tracking poll has gone from 24 points to 10.

. >> steven colbert is not going to win. >> no. neither will herman cain. >> thank you. good talking to both of you. >>> some immigrants could end up stays in the u.s. as a result of controversial protocals. discretion to close immigration cases rather than take them to court. it's being tested in baltimore where they have recommended 1600 cases be closed. if it goes nationwide, 42,000 immigrants could be allowed to by pass the courts. >>> the fda says orange juice imports are safe after checking samples for fungicide contamination. they are looking at samples from brazil. last week, coca-cola found traces of fungicide in juice. the pesticide is banned in the u.s. >>> nearly 200 students and staff at the school in southgate, michigan came down with an illness. everyone is going to be okay. custodians have been busy sanitizing. >>> kia is recalling 46,000 vehicles to fix faulty air bags. it may not deploy properly. the effective models 2007 and 2008 kia rondo. the recall is expected to start in march. >>> this is the scene out of italy this morning. rescue divers are back

take a listen. >> you cannot run as supporting steven colbert, who i believe in very deeply, perhaps his opponents, who i don't believe in at all. >> yes, you can. >> can i legally hire steven's current super pac staff to produce these ads that will be, in no way, coordinated with steven? >> yes. >> well, it is really that simple and just another example of the corrupting influence of money in our political system, at least the way we use it it now, which is why we need to get it out. jeffrey clemmons is the author of corporations are not people, why they have more rights than you do and what you can do about it. jeffrey, what's your elevator pitch? >> my elevator pitch is this is exactly why we need the people's rights amendment to overturned citizens united. it's why we need the reforms and constitutional amendment you talked about so well on this show and elsewhere. it's why we the people need to take back our country. we have these absurdties like we saw colbert and jon stewart doing so well. the american people know not only is it absurd, it's dangerous. >> one thing that's been

the last word on the super packs should go to the comedian steven colbert who has set up his own superte, is 100% legal and at least 10% ethical. >> shep: he has done an amazing job exposing what this is. now to the anti-romney ad making waves among some conservatives. the first real attempts by any republican group to go after one of romney's key arguments candidacy -- that he created jobs in the private sector. rick tyler is a former spokesman for gingrich. he claims the group is vetting romney for the sake of the republican party. not all republicans agree with the strategy. the politically conservative organization put out a state, gingrich's attacks on romney's record at bain capital is disgusting. joining me is former gingrich aide and juan williams. dirty, isn't it? >> ads. >> they will start in south carolina. but amazing hype. >> shep: it's gross. the big money donor can donate to somebody who is not attached to somebody and beat the heck out of the candidate. is it gross. >> it's an abomination of the system. we should return freedom to the candidates and let them raise all t

but aren't you really as close to people in the white house as steven colbert is to john stewart?t know that i would use the word pornographic to describe what super pacs are in this process. i would say it's an imperfect system. unless karl rove and the coke brothers decide that they are not going to spend hundreds of millions dollars like they said and romney's private equity friends are not going to spend 10s of millions dollars that they are spending we do not think on the democrat side we should play by a different set of rules. >> steven colbert tried to make the point, of course of the so-called lack of of coordination saying they raised a million dollars and he wants that money back and this was the skit they put on last night. >> ♪ [ multiple speakers ] >> excuse me ladies, i'm sorry to kbrupt, have you seen john stewart? >> no. >> this tall, giant head, tiny body? like a human bobblehead but very old. very old. >> no. no. >> okay, i'm so sorry, carry on. carry on. >> it does make the point. just to say that the amount of money, maybe it's not pornographic mark but it's h

steven colbert, the invitation remains open. >> oh, good. >> bill, let's talk about how your subpoeperis not different from rick tyler's. i want to know your communication with the white house. >> there are of course rules in place that don't allow us to strategyize or talk our polling or plans or anything like that and we of course are going to follow all those rules we would never do anything that would come close to the line of coordinating with the white house or the campaign. i cannot speak to what their super pac is doing. i think their strategy is, well personally i think that they should put all their money in the bain ads instead of splitting it with the social issues and the bain stuff. >> the white house is giving you suggestions mr. tyler. >> there's a strategy there to save money. i understand it, yeah. >> i don't suspect south carolina is going to be that competitive. but, however, i would say that, you know, it seems like we have polled in south carolina. we know that even republican primary goers have a lot of concerns about how mitt romney spent his time in the private

and steven colbert's own super path. >>> let's get right to our strategy session and joinings out were contributor, along with our republican strategist. steven colbert, the comedian is having fun poking fun at the politicians but he has a serious point he's trying to make. here's one of his super pac ads that's now running. >> corporations, america's greatest institution, they built this country one job at a time. mitt romney says he's for corporations. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> but mitt romney has a secret. as head of bain capital, he bought companies, carved them up and god got rid of what he couldn't use. if mitt romney really believes -- >> corporations are people, my friend -- >> then mitt romney is a serial killer. please, "mitt the ripper." [ screaming ] if you believe corporations are people, do your duty and protect them. on saturday, january 21st, stop "mitt the ripper" before he kills again. americans for a better tomorrow tomorrow are responsible for the content of this advertising. >> americans for a better tomorrow tomorrow, that's steven colbert's pac bu

. >> it may be a spoof but steven colbert's super pac has been able to raise serious questions aboutle the super pacs play. is he performing a service to the american public? >> absolutely. we will have a decision this saturday on american's united and this is, i believe, is the sleeper issue in this election and it is going to take people like colbert and stewart who are not needing to raise money from the new interests that can suddenly give unlimited money to raise the issue. it's been brilliant. i would like to say colbert, or now stewart, put a spotlight on the issue of where the money can come from for is super pacs, which is unlimited amounts of money from corporations and going and saying, cocoa coal a, give me $4 million for my subpoena pac because they could. >> there's a group trying to get a constitutional amendment to repeal the act. if that happens that still remains to be seen. what is amazing to me, is guys are saying, the super pacs are terrible. rick was advocating for unlimited donations for my presidential campaign so there's more transparency. does anybody have a

comedy central host, steven colbert who tried to get his name on the ballot, saying a vote for cain is vote for colbert. >>> i'm roosevelt leftwich, coming up new at 6:00, days before christmas handed layoff notices. now workers at the steel mill could be days away of going back to work. the deal that may have saved the mill. >>> a picture is worth a thousand words, more than you pack in to a tweet or status update. this is growing in popularity. karen looking at the interest. >> reporter: designer by trade, visual by nature. >> i come across an image on a style blog, and i want to capture it and remember it. i'm going back and referring to look books that i store. >> reporter: that that is one of the reasons pin tres caught her eye. >> it allow knows connect with friends -- allows me to connect with friends through an artistic side. >> reporter: they launched in 2010s but recently exploded in traffic and on line buzz. the premise is similar to the old cork board, users create collections of stuff they like by uploading pins, images from around the web. there are followers, users can l

. >> reporter: running low on>td cash and support, he trailed comedian steven colbert in one poll, todaytsman endorsed the gop front-runner he was hammering one week ago. >> i believe it is time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat barack obama, despite our differences and the space between us, on some of the issues, i believe that candidate is governor mitt romney. >> reporter: the former governor of utah and ambassador to china, under president obama, had been one of romney's harshest critics. his aides are scouring the web trying to erase videos highlighting romney's flip-flops. >> do you trust governor romney? >> he was hat put forth reason if give us a reasonq,e. for uso trust him. >> reporter: new hampshire was where huntsman played all his chips after finishing third he said his cam bull paid off. >> i say third -- third place is a ticket to raoeufpld >> reporter: six days later he's riding into the 2012 sunset. leaving romney up against four others who want to be his conservative alternative. one called huntsman's endorsement just a moderate backin

. >>> and steven colbert. last night on his show, he flipped, then flushed me. i have a number of problems with that. let's go "outfront." ♪ ♪ >>> hello, i'm erin burnett and out front tonight mitt romney begins a battle in south carolina. five days until the primary in new hampshire, right in that's where the former massachusetts governor has a solid lead. so where he decided to spend most of the day was, south carolina. >> i want to restore to america the principles that made us the powerhouse, morally, economically and militarily, in the entire world. >> romney, his pal john mccain, and gal nicky haley, all there, giving a joint speech in charlston. this is a whole new ball game. one of the highest concentration of evangelical voters in america, nearly half of the population identifies itself as evangelical. which doesn't exactly mean good things for mitt romney. in iowa, 34% voted for rick santorum, only 14% for mitt romney. here is what is amazing. we don't know if romney has made it right with christians in south carolina because polls are about a month ol

huntsman never gained ground in south carolina, and was polling even lower than comedian steven colbert. the utah republican is now throwing his support behind fellow mormon mitt romney. for our nation to move forward together with new leadership and unity. the republican party must first unite. >>> huntsman says he believes romney has the best chance to defeat president obama in the general election. but first, romney has to win the republican race. >>> romney has a comfortable lead in the south carolina poll. and a win in this saturday's primary could lock in his nomination. but his four remaining challengers are trying to convince the state's social conservative evangelical voters to change their minds. >> all of us need to be engaged in the public arena speaking about the values that are important to us. >> the candidates will get a chance to take on romney directly tonight when the republicans debait in south carolina. danielle nottingham. cbs news, the white house. >>> south carolina is almost always a make or break state. the republican who wins south carolina often goes on, almo

. >>> comedian and television host steven colbert is having difficulty getting his name on the ballot. he said he's going to join in the republican race for president in his home state of south carolina anyway, but south carolina election officials say colbert's name won't be on the january 21st primary ballot. he missed the november 1st deadline for that. in south carolina they don't allow ridin candidates in the primary. colbert failed in his bid to run for president in 2007. >>> the city of oakland could start sending out layoff notices to hundreds of workers as early as next wednesday. after the state supreme court ruled the state can legally shut down local redevelopment agencies. oakland stands to lose as much as $30 million in redevelopment funds. the mayor says oakland has a history of using redevelopment money wisely, including downtown near the fox theater. >> we use redevelopment money to bond so that we could fix the fog, so that we could retrofit all of these buildings down here that were empty and crippled. >>> the city is now trying to get more time before it has to clo

. >> reporter: running low on>td cash and support, he trailed comedian steven colbert in one poll, todayuntsman endorsed the gop front-runner he was hammering one week ago. >> i believe it is time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat barack obama, despite our differences and the space between us, on some of the issues, i believe that candidate is governor mitt romney. >> reporter: the former governor of utah and ambassador to china, under president obama, had been one of romney's harshest critics. his aides are scouring the web trying to erase videos highlighting romney's flip-flops. >> do you trust governor romney? >> he was hat put forth reason if give us a reasonq,e. for uso trust him. >> reporter: new was where huntsman played all his chips after finishing third he said his cam bull paid off. >> i say third -- third place is a ticket to raoeufpld >> reporter: six days later he's riding into the 2012 sunset. leaving romney up against four others who want to be his conservative alternative. one called huntsman's endorsement just a moderate backing a mode

. >> steven colbert continues to poke fun the at the people -- primary process.ys just because his name won't appear on saturday's ballot in south carolina doesn't mean he couldn't become president or even pope. >> excuse me. you're married, aren't you? >> are we going to get into our private lives? how married? >> ey, i am but i'm not trying to be pope or president. >> that's after i have my exploratory committee to be president. they say i can't get on the ball atlanta south carolina. >> no write-ins. >> they said you can't go to the moon. you can't put cheese inside a pizza crust. but nasa did it. they had to because the cheese kept on floating off in space. >> alan: the host of the colbert report ran in 2007. and actually grew up in south carolina. all right. league is here. it is cold out outside. >> leigh: yeah. down as much as 15 degrees in some locations, all thanks to the northwesterly wind. boy. >> alan: and windy. >> leigh: yeah, barreling in here by noontime. this is from the high definition mt. tamalpais, where the windses are gusting up to 46 miles-

hampshire's primary is trailing, according to some polls here in south carolina, behind comedian steven colbert who says even he is considering a presidential run. >> so it goes. peter alexander in hilton head tonight, thanks. >>> monday night on "rock center," ted koppel will have a special report on these new big money super pacs that are changing the face of presidential politics this year. monday night on "rock center." >>> now to the rising tensions overseas with iran, over that country's threat to close a vital oil-shipping lane in international waters in retaliation for sanctions over its nuclear program. the u.s. is warning iran now publically and through back channels privately, not to try anything. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more on this high-stakes dangerous standoff. >> reporter: today in tehran, the funeral of a nuclear scientist assassinated this week, and everyone knows who to blame. "death to israel," "death to america," they shout. u.s./iran relations are plunging fast and military analysts warn this could escalate well beyond angry rhetoric. the likely s