it quickly spread 24r50u the attic and the walls -- through the attic and the walls. this morning people were gathering what belonging they could and looking for somewhere to stay. >>> richmond police have called off the search for a gunman bramed for a -- blamed for a shooting near the railroad tracks that happened this morning at 3:30. witnesses say a man flagged down the train and said someone shot him from the rooftop. he said he also saw a laser beam. they searched the area. they could not find anything. the shooting victim is expected to be okay. >>> some people are honoring martin luther king by doing service work, including the obamas. the obamas were in d.c. at the library sprucing it up. later today, the first couple will attend the "let freedom ring" celebration at the kennedy center. >>> hundreds of people boarded cal crane for the -- caltrain on the freedom train that commemorates the civil rights march from selma to montgomery. >> the train humanizes -- symbolizes human rights, freedom of thought. it symbolizes so many different things to so many differe

. >> heavy fire involvement on that second floor in the attic, we considered going defensive i, pull all of our crews out because we were afraid of the roof collapsing. we did not have to do that. we got a knock-down in 30 minutes. >> the captain tells us the homes a vacant but a homeless man did live there and may have accidentally started the fire trying to stay warm. firefighters say the blaze start in the second story and spread to the attic. hours before that, neighbors and firefighters pulled more than a dozen senior citizens to safety, after flames burned through an apartment complex near north capital avenue. that is where nbc bay area stephanie strong joins us. >> reporter: there were a few injuries but not qucritical. one couple i saw, fire, no home. they're upset and walked off. people here are counting blessings. take a look at the damage that this building suffered in east san jose. the fire began in the upper left unit. the units destroyed were right of the unit that was to the left. untouched, though, thianks to a strong fire wall the remaining units. looking at home vi

lock your kids in the attic. that's the kind of town you're dealing with. as we're seeing this through the idse of scout, a child, we have -- through the eyes of scout, a child, we have to dig into it ourselves to see what's going on and once you do you realize that atticus doesn't have a chance. there's nobody to appeal to. he's going to lose. and the moral of "to kill a mockingbird" isn't that atticus finch is a great lawyer or the lawyer that we should follow. the moral of the book and the movie is that the republican lawyer won't work any more. we need a new kind of lawyer. the only way to clean up a town like this is to bring in the federales. you know, everybody's got to go to jail. i mean, these -- you know, if you think about it, who is the real hero of "to kill a mockingbird"? who's the one who sees clearly? it's not atticus finch. he's not even a very intelligent father. i love him. i love him. but who lets your kids out in the middle of the night wearing -- dressed as farm animals and fruit when there's a craze killer who's vowed to get them? you

start. >> reporter: because these historic homes often lack fire breaks. >> we can have a fire in the attic and first floor within minutes. >> reporter: the home which is part of the historic district was heavily damaged. >> it's sad, you can't protect them from fire. >> reporter: the damage is of at least a half a million dollars. the red cross is putting them up for a few days until they can if -- figure out where to go next. >>> san jose police officers will not respond to burglar alarms unless there is some proof that a break-in is taking place. people say it is an invitation to burglars. the department says they don't have enough man power. >>> a 15-year-old petaluma boy is in the hospital after being hit in the crosswalk by an alleged drunk driver. police say 20-year-old wesley pittsburg failed to stop striking the teen in the crosswalk. the boy is in stable condition with serious injuries. pittsburgh was book into the sonoma county jail on $30,000 bail. >>> vallejo is marking a homicide rate that is getting worse instead of better. in 2011, 18 killings took place in vallejo. most not

it's a house fire but went to two alarms because it started in the attic, then they were fearful it mightit some of the other homes here. let me bring in the fire captain rob brown. what were the concerns of this fire and where are we at now? >> the initial concerns were keeping the fire contained to the house of origin. we have a house in about six feet so trying to make sure we didn't have fires spread. when the crews arrived they did have heavy fire coming from the attic area. we were able to make an aggressive attack and keep it contained to the attic. they have some fire down below the floors in the first floor and trying to figure out the cause. they have fire that they are trying to get contained. >> this intersection is blocked but no one was home at the time. no evacuations. your crews are very tired now. >> correct. this fire came in a little before 4:00 this morning, this is actually the third fire for the city today. we did have two other first alarm fires earlier in the day, now we have this one coming in the middle of the night. it's been a busy day. like i said this fire is

.: >> these are 35 year old hats that we dug out of the attic. >>j.r.: tailgaters used just about anything to keep every out of their faces. >> i am a 49ers standards of the day i die. >>j.r.: it looks like you're going to space. >> i will be staying dry. >> state drive for sure. >>j.r.: this is the most get a red truck. >> it is the 49ers truck. >> this is the penthouse of tailgating. >>j.r.: others said, what wet weather? seven years, i have been waiting for this. i have been sitting here year after year, waiting for the 49ers. >>j.r.: rain or shine, just another tail gate. >> we are here to win and have a good time. >>vicki: let's get a check on whether. >> we are getting ill little bit of a break in the rain. right now the heaviest and most widespread rain in the north bay, this is where the main rain band is taking shape. from guerneville to healdsburg and santa rosa. light-moderate. a few showers in and around livermore. in the santa cruz mountains, were showers taking shape. the winds are getting testy. here is the storm. the brunt of the s

she goes up into the attic, digs around in old photo and finds pictures of tom on his first birthday.it was laura. >> what? >> they were at the same place at the same time and at each other's birthday party? >> yes, but then tom's family moved away and the moms lost touch. >> after the first birthday, that was it. no contact. >> never saw each other again. >> i wonder all the people we've crossed paths with, became friends with later in the life, maybe i walked down the street and waved to beth, now i sit next to you. >> look closely at that picture and look at laura. she had her eyes on tom the whole time. >> this story is cool because it wouldn't happen nowadays. these moms would be facebook friends, pictures of baby plastered on the facebook profile and never would have lost touch. >> don't you miss the days where you lost touch? >> yeah. >> right. >>> behold the beauty of the snail. it's serene at the bottom of the ocean. it's also a deadly predator. it has a harpoon that comes out when a predator or when a food source is nearby. >> snails are decidedly slower than fish. so their

plus up in the attic. >> and there are flames spreading to two other buildings. officials say 1359 messonic avenue took the brunt of it. >> we do believe that it started in the, between fire building, explosion building towards the back to the rear. >> he described it as a lyle lite well. the fire displaced 10 people and this is a hardship felt by everyone involved. >> we're able to walk into the apartment and there are six or seven still standing on the street. >> the homeowner credits a fire resistant roof for saving her home. >> right now firefighters in pleasant hill and east bay are on the scene of a fire that broke out just before 3:30 and took three searches before rescuers found the owners. >> there was a fire in the kitchen seemed like it was around the microwave. i just kicked the door and it wasn't going out. >> firefighters got there quickly and they had to saw the door o and this man was taken to the hospital because of smoke inhalation. >> police have new information to share tonight regarding a shooting death of a 5-year-old gabrielle martinez, shot

the fire started in a fireplace downstairs and spread up towards the attic. investigators are working to figure out what caused the fire. >>> a bethesda mother faces charges after police say a fire started when she went to the gym and left her child home alone. firefighters were called to the apartment yesterday evening. officials say the 6-year-old girl set off the smoke alarm when she tried to use the toaster oven. when police showed up, the girl told them her mother went to a kickboxing class. the mother will be cited for leaving the child alone. they plan to turn the case over to the state's attorney office. >>> getting a first look at our forecast. tom kierein here. >> big change from yesterday. the winds have diminished on this thursday morning. plan for a cold start. get out the puffy coat. temperatures around the region now are way down below freezing. there's a live view from the city camera. there's the jefferson memorial along the still unfrozen waters of the potomac. the potomac water temperatures are still around 40, 45 degrees. the air temperatur

and up in the attic. >> reporter: what caused the fire is still a big mystery. the assistant fire chief tells us it started in this hallway. >> somewhere towards the back to the rear, and there is a big open area in there. >> reporter: 10 people were left homeless including this woman who came back this morning to check the damages. she was too distraught to talk about her ordeal. >> and all 10 residents stayed with friends and relatives thanks to american red cross's help. and a fire crew sweeping the broken glass that they just broke from up above. one neighbor says that he is hearing that perhaps an oxygen tank may have been the cause of that fire. we asked the assistant fire chief about that. he says that he heard one of the aren'ts does use a oxygen tank but he doesn't believe oxygen in itself may cause a fire. frank? >> gil, are the homes a total loss? or are they going to be able to salvage them. >> reporter: they're not considering it a total loss but they're saying there is considerable damage. especially up in the second floors. you can see there are b

when they arrived to the attic and home was engulfed. only one person was inside. no word on what started the fire but damage legs extensive. they pretty much limb meed -- limited the extension. westbound bay bridge is backed up for a 15 minute delay. we are working on church and all of the l rvs working are stopped because a car went into the tunnel and they have to get it out. you can take shuttle buses but this will mean big delays. let's go to steve. >>> we have mostly cloudy skies, temperatures have come up and there is really good rain on the north coast but nothing good yet. starting to move down the coast, mendocino coast and we have a ways before we reach south. it may not happen until tonight and the first system, we have had seven weeks of dry weather. that looks much better to me. live storm tracker two startling to move towards fort brag which is not oop towards clear lake or ukiah. 1939, cloud cover, that south wind will make for awhile wind and napa is 40 and cloud cover is moving in and you can get a good look at it right there. it does pack a lot of

the fire started around 3:30 in the attic of a house on green leaf lane east of the capitol expressway and south of aborn road. the people who live there were not home at the time and no one was injured. it took firefighters about two hours to put it out. there is no word on the cause. >>> excitement is growing for the 49ers' first playoff game in nearly a decade. this is not just good news for the team and their finance, but it's also great news for businesses around the city. >> reporter: good afternoon. 49ers is here. people are getting fired up here out on the streets for saturday's playoff game. let's take a look at some video from the niners' last game against the pittsburgh steelers, that win that we had. we talked to san francisco mayor ed lee who has a friendly wager with new orleans' mayor f san francisco wins, they'll get some creole shrimp and crab cakes. >> and sound like we have a better food basket. >> you might. we're going to see each other after ward, too. it's happening this saturday, of course, a 1:30 game. i'll be there. of course, i'm going to say it again. light

so many of us carry around this sibling thing in the attic thing. it came to me because something happened in our life which transformed our relationship. it was huge for me and huge for him. we learned how to become a team. and we had, my brother had a crisis and wrote me a letter about it, kind of a stunning letter that came like a time bomb, when he was quite young, barely 50 that he had a rare form of non smoker's lung cancer. it was all typed out like the fruit in a control freak way, a lawyers letter that came by fed excompletely mysterious when we had just been together at thanksgiving for 4 or 5 days. i get this manifesto, i am asking you to save my life. my life changed completely when that letter came into my life. then the great task was with how to come together, which we did. again, it was a huge experience. i never thought i would write about it. i didn't think i could bring myself to. >> yet you took notes all the way through? >> of course. i write in a journal almost everyday. i was trying to come up with a new book idea. i wanted to

the attic and garage were fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. one person inside got out safely. there's no word on the cause or what burned. the damage looks extensive. >>> uc president mark yudof frk says he is seriously considering a radical proposal from students to eliminate tuition. protests leak this one in september at uc berkeley have become a regular occurrence across the system. students angry about constant tuition increases and budget cuts came up with this idea. uc would drop its $12,000 a year tuition. students would commit to paying 5% of their annual salary for 20 years after graduation. >> tuition free, that would be great for a lot of people to the burden, the headache of money, and then of course when you graduate, you're expected to do well, so i think it would be fine. >> graduates who make the mean sal reef $50,000 a year would end up paying about the same as the current tuition. students say it may be possible for the university to profit from the arangement. >>> today apple announced what it calls a new experience for the

luckily much of the house was spared though because the fire was mostly contained to the attic. no one hurt. a cause has not been determined. >>> two san francisco firefighters were hurt while responding to the house fire as you can see it this morning. and flames, they were shooting out of the building near 42nd avenue just after midnight. and the injured firefighters, they both suffered burns on their arms. and they are expected to be okay. no one hurt. but the house is badly damaged. the cause of the fire has not been released. >>> a police officer shot and killed a man last night during the traffic stop in santa clara. the officer pulled over the drivers, suspected of being under the influence. witnesses say that the driver, they were told repeatedly to put his hands above his head, but the man refused to cooperate and reached for a gun. that's when police say that the officer was forced to fire. >> when someone presents a firearm in your presence and, you know, the next plausible thing to think of is are they going to use it against you? you want to defend yourself. believin

outskirts of the country's capital for somalia's soldiers and government officials were killed in the attic fighting against the al qaeda linked militants it's the biggest offensive on these lama strongholds and several months. a series of coordinated gun and bomb attacks have killed at least seven people in northern nigeria the radical islamist sect boko haram has claimed responsibility for the deaths that targeted different locations including police stations and the regional police headquarters the group has been behind a recent campaign of violence in the country's mostly muslim north. the company which owns the costa concordia cruise ship is facing a lawsuit in the u.s. italy's consumer association once at least one hundred sixty thousand dollars for each passenger on the vessel many way of the captain of the ship for the tragedy which killed eleven people and injured hundreds more when the liner hit rocks last week athletes from around the world already have their sides firmly set on the next winter olympics in sochi in two years time and the host city which has always been the lure f

the fire very easily could spread up into the attic and into the other townhouses. we were able to safely put crews in the adjoining townhouses to inhibit the spread of the fire. the fire did spread into the adjoining townhouses. there's moderate damage in those two townhouses. the original townhouse of the fire is completely destroyed. >> firefighters say they'll have to rip open the back of the townhouse in order to fully extinguish the blaze in the basement, because the first floor collapsed into the basement. >>> divers searching the wreck of the costa concordia recovered another body today. that brings the number of known dead to 13. the body of a woman was found today underwater at the rear of deck 7. she was wearing a life jacket. 19 people still missing off the coast of italy where the giant cruise ship capsized after hitting the rocks. that was over a week ago. >>> the four republican presidential hopefuls are taking their messages to florida ahead of that state's upcoming primary. tomorrow is the first of two debates this week. a lot of observers say it's

firefighters say the attic and garage were fully engulfed when they arrived and they called the damage extensive. charred a new course for cruise ship safety in the aftermath. 11 people died and 21 more are still missing tonight's following last weekend's accident. barbara frost that ensured evacuation are cubbed before any ship leaves port. the house transportation committee is now launching its own investigation to redeem cruise ship rules and training procedures. >>> newt gingrich took the stage at debate in charleston tonight 2 days before the south carolina primary. jennifer david tells us it's been a busy day. one candidate drops out. iowa announced a different winner and newt gingrich's ex- wife claim he wanted an open marriage. >> i know when it's time to make a strategic retreat. >> and rick perry says that moment is now. the campaign trail the texas governor endorsed newt gingrich calling him the best conservative choice. >> newt is not perfect but who among us is. >> reporter: adds to the growing momentum in south carolina. he' rising in polls there but his second wife is no

it appears the fire started in the attic, but so far no word on the cause. >>> you've heard of kindergarten, how about kindergarten campout? dozens of parents in the south bay are hoping it pays off for their child. today is registration in santa clara. about 50 parents spent the night in the car outside the school to ensure their child gets into this kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year. 120 seats are available on a first come, first serve basis. >> this is worth it. >> it's worth it because it's our local school and oui always wanted to be here. >> the next registration window is here today from noon until 2:00. he expects all of the families will get in. >> time now to check in with meteorologist christina loren and go ahead and take advantage of today because it will get cooler. >> temperatures will drop off. those clouds that we're so used to in january will be back and yeah, we've got rain in the forecast, so enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures and prompting a spare the air day. you can see from this live picture of san jose. we do have a lot of haze out there and the unhealt

the fire raced its way of the walls and through the attic. fortunately, no one was hurt. the homeowners oregon at the time. the alarm company called a family friend and told them what was happening. costs you can see two cars parked in the garage. they were not damaged. by the time for they were able to put out the fire, there was a lot of water damage as well as structural damage. the fire department believes there has been at least two of $50,000 worth of damage. the fire was contained to this house the. none of the other neighbors were forced to evacuate. >>mark: parents have been camping al for a spot for their children at a school in santa clara. there are only 120 spots available. craig skalar is live at the school speaking to parents who have been waiting. >>craig: registration is less than 90 minutes away. people have slept overnight and standing on the sidewalk off, you can see there camping chairs. let me show defectors from earlier cliff for people have been waiting out here over night and say it is worthwhile for their kids. >> it is a grade school and a great

a third building had minor damage in the attic. >>> creative arts charter school in san francisco won't open today acidded as workers continue to replace fire damaged materials from a massive blaze last month. officials hope to resume tomorrow. the fire caused eight million dollars in damage at this apartment building on golden gate avenue. the and next building suffered heavy -- the annex building suffered heavy losses. several offices were damaged. donations of classroom supplies are desperately needed to help speed up the recovery. >>> in a few hours at 10:00, 49er playoff tickets go on sale to the public on the team's website. there may not be many tickets left after season ticket holders were given first rights last week. >> >> reporter: 49er fever is taking over at the -- nfl shop where fans have bought up 75% of the merchandise. john says he came up from fresno to shop here. >> i went to the three stores tan they were sold out of all their 9er gear so i came up here today. >> reporter: the division championship t-shirt was sold out but he wasn't interested in what this store says

. >> we are told the attic, garage and other parts of the home were at one point engulfed in flames. flames blew through the roof of this vacant home on don hugh drive. firefighters had it under control in about a half hour. so far, no word on the cause and damage is estimated to be anywhere from 125 to $200,000. >>> this morning a man hunt is under way right now in the east bay for a man who drove straight toward an undercover cop and then started shooting. the officer was trailing an suv for suspicion of drugs near anz away when that driver pulled a quick u-turn and started shooting. bullets hit the officer's car and fortunately that officer was not hurt. the suspect did get away after leading police on that high-speed chase. >> this morning a 14-year-old boy will face charges of robbing and sexually assaulting two women. officers say one of the attacks happened here on 11th street in oakland and in that case the boy allegedly rode up to a woman on a bicycle, demanded her purse before taking her to an isolated area where she was allegedly raped. the boy turned himself into juvenile

this two-person army started a small business out of the attic and made up t-shirts for the 7 nation army. >> it's going to take a seven nation army to beat the ravens and that's the entire theme behind the shirt and the song. >> they have sold thousands of t-shirts and if you want one head to abc2news.com and we have a link to the story again helping out small business. >>> you submitted your photos with five golden logos tensileed through the the area and -- did stencilled throughout the area and this morning you will find out if you are the lucky winner for tickets to the game a random fan will be picked to go see the ravens in the afc title game. more than a thousand fans submitted the photos showing the stencil and to see if you are the big winner, head to the ravens facebook page and we will have a live at -- link at our website, abc2 news.con. look for the story -- abc2news.com. look for the story on the golden logo. >>> a georgia mother faces charges after allowing her 10- year-old son to get a tattoo. here's why. her other son died and the 10- year-old said wanted to remembe

two wood frame homes were burned and a third building had minor damage in the attic. the fire department now believes that the blaze started in a light well between two homes badly damaged. bonnie lake was visiting her daughter. >> you can see the flames that were going up 15-20 feet into the air, sparks like a bonfire at the beach. sharks were flying. >> the sharks rained on robin's home, one with minor damage. but the roof never caught on fire it came to your roof? >> it got hot. but it didn't ignite. >> from the third floor window you can see charred remains of the back of the home, that is how close flames came. she counts her blessings, putting in a fire resistant roof just nine months ago. >> they specialize in products that endure that. is why they call it ce-dure. >> we haven't had this many major alarms. >> fire official says they were fortunate winds were not as strong as those which fueled a five-alarm blaze in the western edition december 226789 a fire tore through two residential buildings displacing about 60 people. again, just to recap, we still don't kn

third building had minor damn the attic. >> authorities in washington top state have identified a body open the slopes of mount rayonier national park as the gunman accused of killing a park ranger yesterday. 200 law enforcement officers join the search for been gentleman minibarns. 24-year-old iraq war veteran. police believe he shot and killed 24-year-old parng park ranger margaret anderson during a traffic stop and suspected of wounding 4 people during a new year party near seattle. east trapingd wife says he's suffering from ptsd. >> man in custody with a stripping of arson fires in southern california may have been motivated by deportation battle. 24-year-old harry burkhart a german national told officers i hate america. sources say burkhart mother business to be deported. investigators believe burkhart deliberately set more than 50 fires in hotel wad west hollywood and san fernando valley. all fires targeted cars. but authorities have not said how they were started. >> many questions will good unanswered. but that is not because the investigation is of dormant. that is because we

third building had minor damn the attic. >> authorities in washington top state have identified a body open the slopes of mount rayonier national park as the gunman accused of killing a park ranger yesterday. 200 law enforcement officers join the search for been gentleman minibarns. 24-year-old iraq war veteran. police believe he shot and killed 24-year-old parng park ranger margaret anderson during a traffic stop and suspected of wounding 4 people during a new year party near seattle. east trapingd wife says he's suffering from ptsd. >> man in custody with a stripping of arson fires in southern california may have been motivated by deportation battle. 24-year-old harry burkhart a german national told officers i hate america. sources say burkhart mother business to be deported. investigators believe burkhart deliberately set more than 50 fires in hotel wad west hollywood and san fernando valley. all fires targeted cars. but authorities have not said how they were started. >> many questions will good unanswered. but that is not because the investigation is of dormant. that is because we

respect israel can be anything in the gaza blockade can be maintained i don't think the policy in the attic i solution. can be made in your to some of shifting and even. going to. the respirations in the region and if there's an iran that they want to understand that how that plays out in the details in their story robert thank you so much for weighing in and everything that is going on in the region that was policy director for just foreign policy robert naiman. and be sure to stay tuned to our take coming up in just a half an hour is the big picture tonight as president obama delivers his state of the union address thom hartmann will tell you the real state of the union millions of americans are facing each day and then later tom well put mitt romney's tax the bottle into the microscope with help of think progress reporter amanda beetle that's going to wrap it up for the news for more on the stories we covered you can head over to our p dot com slash usa. and you can also check out our youtube page it's youtube dot com slash r t america and to find out what i'm not doing when i'm on the a

we don what's in the attic or in the walls we don't know where to apply insulation to figure out howey. >> the things we'll be looking at is attic insulation, the weatherization of your windows, we'll check your appliances for combustion safety. we'll take this information and put it into a software program that will allow us to provide recommendations for your home so you can make an informed decision that will save you energy and money. >> that's pretty good. i probably need my ducts clean, too. >> the county wants everyone to have this available. we have a program that we're paying 80% of the cost of the home energy assessment, up to $800 for a limited time. >> the process was easy. i visited the website, there was a list of contractors. i called a couple and made an appointment. >> if the county is going to pay for 80% of it, it's a no-brainer for us. >> now you have a sense of what a home energy assessment is all about. given that our county rebate funds are limbed, i strongly encourage you to go to the website, /ergrayune adepgnd cgsc sc.org/energyupgrade and hedule your appoin

respect israel can be maintained in the gaza blockade can be maintained i don't think the policy in the attic isolation that. can be made in your to see some kind of shift and even if you're going to have to accommodate us is going to have to on the day we're aspirations in the region if there's an iran that they want to understand that how that plays out in the details in their story robert thank you so much for weighing in and everything that is going on in the region that was policy director for just foreign policy robert naiman. well coming up on our table five how to call for every time i saw you made in the u.s. soccer i'd have about five seven looks like the u.s. just can't get manufacturing jobs take a route that story next. let's not forget that we had an apartheid regime right now in the us. i think iraq the eatable and one well. whenever the government says they're going to keep you safe get ready because you give them your freedoms. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so for like sleep you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see

. >> when we get fires like this it could end up in the attic and basal. >> reporter: the home -- and the basement. >> reporter: the home was severely damaged. >> sad. basically the -- we lose things by fire. >> firefighters estimate the damage of a half million dollars. the red cross is putting them up till they can figure out where they will live next. maureen naylor, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> a new year and with that comes new laws for california. whether it is how you buckle up your kids or what types of treatment medical insurance must cover. there is a good chance one of these laws will apply to you. we will detail some of the new laws coming up later. >>> the squirrel monkey named banana sam is back at the san francisco zootonight. he was found yesterday afternoon by a man a mile from the zoo. the man coaxed the monkey into his back pack and then he called police. officials say the monkey was scared and hungry but healthy. banana sam was taken or escaped thursday night. the man who found the monkey was questioned and is not considered a suspect. >>> it didn't feel like winter to

as you can seat fire spread to the attic. the damage is thought to be at $350,000. the fire did major damage to the condo and one next to. vehiclors haven't determined the cause. >>> gop hopefuls are rush over iowa even at this late hour and the countdown is on for the official start to the 2012 contest and tonight the race is fluid and unpredictable. craig boswell joins us with the latest. >> reporter: good evening to you. a rush is the way to put it. all the candidates fanning outhitting about two dozen cities. its been a roller coaster for them. rising and falling as they search for support as they look for last minute support now and people are out listening to what they have to say. >> the traditional way of campaigning in iowa is on the ground. >> reporter: the republican candidates making their final pleas to voters. >> i need you to tomorrow night. i need every single vote in that room. >> i'm asking for your vote, you to vote your conservative values. >> we are excited, we look forward to tomorrow night. >> reporter: six of the seven major candidates chris

i wrote a book about a dozen years ago, "confederates in the attic," that was mostly about civil war memory in the south today because i've always been interested in the civil war. while i was researching that book, i went to harper's ferry and, you know, again, it's this very spooky place that still feels haunted by john brown, so i've always been chewing on him. to be honest, it was partly the nagging of my wife. she, geraldine brooks, my wife s a historical novelist and wrote a book called "march" that was a book about imagining the father of louisa may alcott based on her real father, bronson alcott, and as part of this she began researching the secret six who i referred to because they come into her story a little bit, and she said to me, you know, you're a civil war bore, you need to write about these people. it's a little known story, etc. , and really to get her off my back i started researching them. [laughter] and i find them fascinating, but they're not probe files in courage. -- profiles in courage. when brown's raid goes bad and they're implicated, one of them's already a

as you can seat fire spread to the attic. the damage is thought to be at $350,000. the fire did major damage to the condo and one next to. vehiclors haven't determined the cause. >>> gop hopefuls are rush over iowa even at this late hour and the countdown is on for the official start to the 2012 contest and tonight the race is fluid and unpredictable. craig boswell joins us with the latest. >> reporter: good evening to you. a rush is the way to put it. all the candidates fanning outhitting about two dozen cities. its been a roller coaster for them. rising and falling as they search for support as they look for last minute support now and people are out listening to what they have to say. >> the traditional way of campaigning in iowa is on the ground. >> reporter: the republican candidates making their final pleas to voters. >> i need you to tomorrow night. i need every single vote in that room. >> i'm asking for your vote, you to vote your conservative values. >> we are excited, we look forward to tomorrow night. >> reporter: six of the seven major candidates chris