the iowa caucuses moved up to january 3rd.

brian, a little note on the primary calendar, believe it or not, we are now 77 days away from the iowa caucuses. yesterday the iowa republican party announced that despite every effort in the national party to not have this season start off with a january schedule of events, it's going to be on january 3rd again. just two days after new year's day, and one day after all the bowl games. this thing is in the middle of the primary season now, believe it or not. >> the first thing you think of on new year's eve, chuck, is the iowa caucuses. thanks, chuck todd from our d.c. newsroom. >>> to the big news out of the middle east today, it was a prisoner swap, one man for 1,000 others. gilad shalit, an israeli soldier captured by hamas and kept for five years, was exchanged today for 1,000 palestinian prisoners who spent years in israeli jails. there were joyous welcomes for those released, the questions about this deal started almost immediately. we get our report tonight from nbc's ayman mohyeldin. >> reporter: corporal gilad shalit returned home to israel a national hero. saluted by his country's lea

>> reporter: with the iowa caucuses just ten weeks away, gop candidates are doing everything they can to stay in the race and energize their campaign. >> as president, i'll create at least 2.5 million new jobs. >> reporter: rick perry is launching this 30-second spot in iowa today. it comes just a day after the texas governor unveiled an economic plan that includes a flat income tax, a lower corporate tax rate, and the option of private social security accounts. but according to a new cbs news/"the new york times" poll, perry has a lot of ground to make up. one time front-runner is in fifth place, behind herman cain who surched ged to the top over romney. terrell? >> a long way to go there, susan. susan mcginnis in washington for us this morning, thank you. >> a pleasure. >>> the occupy wall street protests might have a reason for their anger. a new report from the congressional budget office says incomes of the wealthiest 1% of americans nearly tripled since 9/and 2007. middle class incomes grew up 40% and the 20% at the bottom of the economic scale saw income growth of only about 18

contestant, and rudy and fred were gone by the time of the iowa caucuses. we have about 68 days until the iowa caulk cus caucus vote on tf january. you take out the holidays, there's 45 days during which the candidates can campaign. we're going to see lots of ups and downs between now and then. that's the nature of a primary contest. >> we had herman cain on the program last night. he made comments about you and he doesn't like that white board of yours. >> he likes this one. he likes this one. >> i don't think there's anything not to like. all right. he has been able to sustain, you know, he's gone through a debate defending his 9-9-9 plan and still remained on top. it seems that the other comers surged and fell off more quickly. why do you think he's been able to sustain his surge, and interestingly, mitt romney just holds in there in the mid 20s the entire time. >> yeah. well, first of all, i'm not certain that he's necessarily sustaining. he began this move in essence in late september after the disasterous performance in the florida debate by rick perry

but can he solidify a place at the top of the polls in iowa before the caucuses?, herman cain is actually at the top of the polls, at least the last couple weeks, and andrew rafferty reported he has been bringing in about $1 million a week which is really important. now, that also comes when he finally made the announcement he had a -- his first hire, his first hired staffer in iowa. he's going to have a campaign infrastructure and spend money to actually get himself going a little bit in iowa. iowa is important for someone like herman cain, michele bachmann, newt gingrich, rick perry. if these guys want to emerge to the alternate to mitt romney, iowa will be the launching pad. >> dough minute i can, who would you qualify as the one to watch to win in iowa? a report from the "des moines ridgester" showed rand paul barely lost the straw poll to bachmann in august. >> ron paul is his own brand and has been spending money. under the radar, a lot of people don't necessarily pay a lot of attention as closely to ron paul because of his stances on foreign policy and just

with the iowa caucuses around the corner, she may be forced into it.

the iowa caucuses are just around the corner, january 3rd. can she make it?e'll make it to the caucus. it's not that you suddenly run out of, you can get your name on the ballot, people can vote. she'll get to that point. if she doesn't win iowa that's a major blow to her campaign. if she doesn't win south carolina it's a major blow to her campaign and that's going to happen mid to late january, early to late january, january 3rd is the iowa caucuses and south carolina later in the month, if after south carolina she doesn't emerge as the alternate to romney she's probably not going to be in this campaign much longer. >> there always seems to be room for a candidate who is not mitt romney, practically every candidate has had that chance at this point, michele bachmann was one at one point, perry is trying to get back in the game. there was cain, 9-9-9, now there's speculation newt gingrich or rick santorum could be next on tap. is there any truth to this? >> you've seen newt gingriched polled ratings kind of come up a bit in iowa and other places, as people li

the first presidential caucus state. a new poll shows iowa voters are leaning toward herman kaund cca mitt romney for the republican nomination. cain holds a 1% slelead. the iowa caucusesuary 3rd. ron paul did okay in the "register" poll but he really excelled in the straw poll of likely iowa voters because he showed up. he got 82% in the national federation of republican assemblies presidential straw poll. herman cain was second at 15%. paul and rick santorum though were the only candidates who showed up in des moines on saturday. >>> weekend polls are just part of the story in iowa, of course. cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser takes a look at the week ahead in politics. >> good morning, alina. most of the republican presidential candidates will spend much of this week in iowa, the first state to vote in the primary and caucus calendar. on tap, republican governor on tuesday and a gop party dinner friday night. the next day, two of the candidates, former godfather's pizza ceo herman cain and former house speaker newt grinning grich face off in a debate in texas organized by a tea party group. >> paul steinhauser, thank you very much. >>> children are head

about three months until the iowa caucuses he wouldn't have had time to mount a successful campaign. christie said timing was not a decision. we're looking at three more people who could jump in. that leaves sarah palin and rudy giuliani, the major unknowns. chances are, the most people you will see are those you see right here. what's interesting is voters have had team to get to know the voters but they haven't picked a favorite. take a look at the latest abc news "washington post" poll. rick perry down to 16%. herman cain has jumped up to 16%. he's in a two-way tie. it shows that voters are pretty volatile. the field may or may not be set but the candidates have to do a lot of fight huge did he tip his hat -- of -- >> he said america would be better off with a one term president. one thing we three in when chris christie decides to put his name behind one of these candidates, we'll know about it. >>> well, lots of people were waiting with anticipation for chris christie to make that decision about whether or not he would run and perhaps none more than herman cain. the latest poll

the first presidential caucus state. a poll shows that iowa voters are leaning toward herman cain and mitt romney, almost a dead heat. the iowa caucuses are set for january 3. >>> ron paul did okay in the registered poll but excelled in a straw poll of likely iowa voters. he got 82% of the national federation of republican assembly's presidential straw poll. herman cain was second at 15%. paul and rick santorum were the only candidates to show up at the event yesterday. >>> rick perry isn't going to be skipping any debates after all. the texas governor says he's ready to take part in the next four debates in november. cnn is hosting two debates in washington, d.c., and arizona. earlier, perry had indicated he might skip some of the debates in order to spend more time with voters. >>> america's veterans are having a rough time finding work, and the problem is even more profound for female veterans. you're going to meet someone soon who knows firsthand what that's all about. >>> you're watching cnn sunday morning. we're back after this. ...was it something big? ...or something small? ...something old? ...or something new? ...or maybe, j

iowa with mitt romney. the des moines register survey shows cain with a edge over the former massachusetts governor. 23% to 22%. the iowa caucuses in january will kick off the presidential nominating season. >>> millions of people are still without electricity after a powerful nor'easter pounded new england this weekend. the storm set records for how much snow fell and for the amount of people left in the dark. randall pinkston has the latest from new jersey. >> reporter: power lines are still down and electricity out for more than two million people from maryland to maine. >> it's a street with no lights. it's cold. we have senior citizens that are suffering, children that are suffering. our schools are closed. >> reporter: residents in new jersey and connecticut say power outages are worse than the records set during hurricane irene earlier this year. >> the biggest challenge here, what makes it more difficult than irene is this is really a power power outage driven by the snow and the fact that the leaves are still on the trees. >> reporter: in teaneck, new jersey, fire investigators are working to figure out if the loss of p

does in iowa, the better his standing. >> there's a good shot i might become the next president of the united states. it's not a sure thing but it's a good shot. >> reporter: the iowa caucuses are 11 weeks away, right behind them, new hampshire, where romney is the runaway favorite. romney hopes 1-2 punch in the first states to vote will knock his opponents out of the race early next year. >> michele bauchmann may have hit another bump on the campaign trial. while campaigning in iowa today where she was born, she spent time dispiewght a report that all five of her paid campaign staff in new hampshire have quit. ahead, the protests have gone global, but will a uniifying message from the occupy wall street crowd emerge? that story is next >> it's been more than a month now since the occupy wall street movement took root in lower manhattan, then spread throughout the country and even abroad, but what exactly is the message? elaine quijano went to lower manhattan to ask the occupiers. >> reporter: five weeks after it began, there's still no single list of demands by the occupy movement, but protesters say right now, that's not the point. >> really, what's going on, this is a pl

conventional wisdom in that state is if any one is going to pull a huckabee come from long shot to win the iowa caucuses, t is you. what is your strategy? >> well, the strategy is to it go down and talk to the people of iowa and do town hall meetings. i have been to almost 70 counties of the 99 counties as you mentioned. we spent a lot of time there. i think we done almost 180 town hall type meetings. we are not hitting huge crowds but we are hitting the people who are the engine of the iowa caucuses and they are the folks that talk and have influence in their community and the fact that i have been in the community. being in some of the small counties pays a lot of dividends and obviously our plan is not to peak in june or july but in now january. we were hoping february but now january when the votes are counted. >> chris: you raised in the second quarter that ended in june, $582,000 by way of some pair son herman cain raised over $2 million. you have got a report your third quarter, the number that, the quarter that ended the end of september you a report your fund raising numbers this week. what is

they went at it last night with only ten weeks to go before the iowa caucuses, it's pretty clear the gop presidential hopefuls are doing everything they can to stand out and discredit each other. all bets were off in las vegas as the republican candidates went head-to-head. >> rick, i'm speaking. i'm speaking, i'm speaking. a tough couple of debates for rick and i understand that. so you're going to get -- you're going to get testy. >> reporter: the debate heated up last night as texas governor rick perry and former massachusetts governor mitt romney clashed over illegal immigration. >> mitt, you lose all of your standing from my perspective because you hired illegals in your home and you knew about it for a year. >> if there is someone who has a record as governor with regards illegal immigration that doesn't stand up to muster, it's you. >> reporter: no. >> reporter: most polls show mitt romney is the front-runner. all of the candidates zeroed in on another big challenger, georgia businessman herman cain. >> herm, i love you, brother, but you don't have to have a big analysis to fi

. >> with just two months to go before the iowa caucuses, today more evidence that herman cain is for real. >> i believe i'm doing so well because i'm connecting with the people. >> reporter: cain is now leading a closely watched iowa poll, edging mitt romney, the pair about 10% ahead of everyone else. cain is a favorite of iowa conservatives, regardless on his stand on abortion which he said is choice. >> i am pro-life from conception, period. >> reporter: the good news for cain comes as he deals with another controversy. the campaign ad featuring his chief of staff shown smoking. today cain said the ad was not meant to promote tobacco use. >> mark is a smoker, and we say let mark be mark. that's all we're saying because we believe let people be people. >> i don't think it serves the country well, and this is an editorial opinion here, to be showing someone smoking a cigarette. you're the front runner now. >> it was not intended to offend anyone, and being a cancer survivor myself, i am sensitive to that sort of thing. >> reporter: cain has surged ahead of conservative rivals, like f

the iowa caucuses could now come as early as january 9th followed by new hampshire, nevada and south> at which point florida will move its date back to november 15th and new hampshire will move it up to november 30th. long story short the republican primaries already happened and donald trump is the party's nominee. we'll be right back. [cheering and applause] >> jon: welcome back. my guest tonight, oh, he's got a new film out called "real steel." >> i know you're in there. i'm not sure if you're getting this, but i know you're in there. >> come on. >> give me a minute. i know you can't hear me, but you can see me. watch me. watch me. >> you're not talking to a robot. >> i know. shut up. watch me. [cheering and applause] >> jon: please welcome back to the show hugh jackman. [cheering and applause] >> nice, nice. >> jon: i will... [cheering and applause] >> the fan, the fans. nice, nice. >> jon: this is like one of those bad before-and-after magazine pictures. once i started taking citrical, my life turned around. >> my balls are the size of a raisin. >> jon: i would go anywhere, i wo

>> the iowa caucuses are two months away, but the chicago caucuses were held this week. and axelrod got on the phone with plouffe and the others and said they had to do this. they didn't want to do it, because they wanted to have this titanic battle with all of the republicans going after each other, doing obama's work for him. unfortunately, that didn't work out -- >> i think they made him their may queen this last debate. they were all romping around him like a rope, saying how great he is. >> exactly. three weeks ago, they were saying, they really don't want to kill rick perry off just yet, because they think they could do some more damage to romney. they no longer -- they feel that they have to get into the game now. they didn't want to sully themselves at this point, but there's no choice. >> here it is, romney's debate comments about the payroll tax that put the obama team in a fiting stance. let's listen. they think they've got some opportunity here. let's listen. >> if the payroll tax cut is not extended, that would mean a tax increase for all americans. what wou

the iowa caucuses will be held january 3rd. herman cain and mitt romney have spent the least time campaigning there this year. >>> still ahead tonight, shark attack. a surfing outing comes to an bankrupt end when a shark clamps down on a man and his board. >> all aboard for an unexpected semester at sea. new housing for college students docks in maryland. >>> and tens of thousands hit the streets for the 34th annual marine core marathon. and they didn't let the cold slow them down, did it, chuck? >> it slowed a few of them down, but not all of them. a few of them finished. that's what counts the most. clear skies and very chilly, but how long is our little cold snap going to continue? i'll give >>> a surfer in california making progress after being attacked by a great white shark. that 27-year-old had just gone into the water yesterday morning in monterey, california, when the shark bit him on the neck and forearm. that chunk also took a good chunk of his board too. the surfer's friend pulled him out of the water. other surfers

. >> reporter: he says she doesn't like the spotlight, but with the iowa caucuses around the corner, she might just be forced into it. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >>> and here in new york, that big showdown that was looming between police and wall street protesters today was avoided. but later, there were at least 15 arrests, one man was hit by a police motorcycle. and the clashes spread to other cities, with police making dozens of arrests in denver and seattle. >>> a federal court rolled back part of the toughest immigration law in the country today, for now. children in alabama will not be used to track their parents. abc's steve osunsami is in steele, alabama. >> reporter: for the hispanic students we met in jefferson county, alabama, today's court ruling brings relief. some of them are undocumented and for now, the schools can't report them to police. but for their parents, who work on the farms and in the factories, the law still stands. their employ years have to report their citizenship, and police can stop and detain them at will. >> the new immigration law is going

. >> reporter: chris christie is running up against the clock to make his decision with the iowa caucuses only three months away. meanwhile, rick perry is responding to those accusations after he suffers his latest blow. rick perry is still trying to drum unfortunate support despite the latest hit to his campaign. on sunday "the washington post." >> that is very insensitive and since governor perry has been going there for years, to hunt, i think it shows a lack of sensitivity. >> reporter: republican presidential candidate herman cain shared his outrage on sunday. but perry's camp says, quote, a number of claims made in the story are incorrect, incoment and anonymous. he denied he used saying his father painted over it. while perry tries to get his campaign back on track, they are waiting to see if another potential candidate jumps into the rate. new jersey governor chris christie didn't answer questions on sunday but he is reportedly closing in on a decision and apparently has a team looking into a possible presidential bid. >> i think he has done a great job as governor. i think he wou

with nevada running up, does that mean the iowa caucuses could end up in december? by happenstance, matt strong, chairman of the iowa republican party and the man that can set this date. tell us now. clear it up before i ask you where iowa stands, this is what we know about new hampshire. bill gardner said this morning, he is not setting this date possibly not until before november 1st. what does that mean? will you set your date before iowa, before new hampshire? >> i think it's something we need to look at. initially when florida made their announcement on friday, i said we were going to wait to see what date new hampshire sets. i will act accordingly. based on reports this morning, we've got over 1700 precincts we have to organize. what i'm hearing from iowa republicans is that we may have to set a date very soon. those discussions will continue into the day and the rest of the week. iowa cannot necessarily wait for new hampshire to set a date. >> and are you adamant about making sure iowa's first, or are you adamant about not breaking the sort of december -- this

does this help romney if the iowa caucuses are late december, early january? robably a little bit, but campaigns are like hangings, wolf. if you're the one getting hung, you'd like for the process to stretch out a while. if you're behind, you'd like it to go a long way, but if you're a front-runner, the quicker the better. the republicwe don't know how s front-runner romney is, so he's going to get tested in these next couple of weeks. i think the focus is going to be on him. >> you speak of someone who helped romney four years ago although you're not now. you remember the democrats last time. they had the same crazyness. the iowa caucuses were january 3rd and you remember who won. >> senator obama. >> correct. it helped him. move up all of that at that time for whatever reason even though hillary clinton was going into a lot of that, she was a favorite. >> all that movement didn't hurt the democrats a bit. i don't think this hurts the republicans to move around. the most important thing the college football. this saturday -- going to beat oklahoma. not much fo

john king takes a look at how they view the candidates. >> fredricka, evangelical voters are critical in iowa caucusesh carolina primary. our recent polling shows a fascinating breakdown of where the race stands right now. let's two to iowa. last time around, 60% of republican voters in the caucuses described themselves as born again christians. it's a romney/cain dead heat in iowa. cain has 23% to lead the pack among evangelicals. governor romney is second at 19%, about the level of support he had back in 2008, though. this is a warning sign for rick perry. you'd expect him a strong chr christian conservative to have evangelical support. 60% of the voters last time in the caucuses were evangelicals. if the percentage holds up, he will be a factor in iowa. evangelicals in new hampshire, that's not what you worry about there. evangelicals are important when the republican calendar moves to south carolina. 50% in the 2008 south carolina republican primary described themselves as born again christians or evangelicals. again, this is a romney/cain when you look at the statewide polling among republicans a