i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> drop anchor in this one london hotel room, and you will think you are the skipper. it's a boat-shaped room sitting atop queen elizabeth hull looking out on the london skyline. its design won a contest to help visitors experience london from a different perspective. at $183 a night, that room is booked through june. >>> one artist in china has created a dragon out of flour and water to honor the year of the dragon. she used over eight pounds of drew. measuring about four feet, is symbolizes prosperity. >>> all right. fierce storms in the netherlands have one nursery there at double its normal occupancy. high tides in the region have wreak the havoc on the seals. workers hope to help the group recuperate by feeding them herring, sometimes lacing it with medication. full recovery could take up to three months. >> that's why my new goal in life is to hand feed a seal pup. >> that's your new goal in life? >> i'm very jealous of

i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with all eyes on iowa. republican presidential candidates are making their final big pitches in the hawkeye state ahead of the crucial caucuses that will not only kick off the election season but could have a huge effect on who wins the gop nomination. nbc's tracie potts is in des moines with more. good morning. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. at this point it's not so much what these candidates say, it's what they do. making a personal connection at the last minute before the voting begins tonight. >> ron paul! >> reporter: this late in the game for many voters is not just about issue, it's about trust. >> he's humble. i trust him. i don't trust anybody else in politics. >> you heard it here first, ron paul will carry iowa. >> reporter: it's possible, polling just two points behind front-runner mitt romney who boldly predicted victory monday. >> we're going to win this thing with all our passion and strength. >> reporter: rick santorum thinks he can win, too, in i

i'm veronica de la cruz.oday we begin with another romney victory. as predicted, he finished first in the new hampshire republican primary, dealing a blow to conservatives to hoped to break his momentum. now it looks like the rest of the field, including last night's runners up, need to work fast to catch up. tracy potts has more from new hampshire. good morning to you. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. all of these candidates now say they're moving on to south carolina. in fact, some are already there this morning. now only one can claim victory in two states. >> thank you, new hampshire. >> reporter: mitt romney scored a decisive victory. today, he heads to south carolina focused on president obama. >> we're asking the good people of south carolina to join the citizens of new hampshire and make 2012 the year he runs out of time. [ cheers and applause ] >> he certainly had a clear-cut victory, but we're nibbling at his heels. >> reporter: ron paul ran strong among independents and young voters here. jon h

i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with next stop new hampshire.itt romney is looking to widen the paper-thin lead he beat rick santorum by in iowa. michele bachmann has dropped out while texas governor rick perry says he is staying in. nbc's brian mooar has details now from washington. brian, good morning. >> good morning, veronica. yes, mitt romney won iowa, but his competitors are pointing out that the glass there was three-quarters empty. mitt romney's campaigning on home turf with a win in iowa under his belt, the endorsement of john mccain in his pocket, and a runaway lead in the polls. >> do you think we can do a little better here in new hampshire? maybe? yeah. >> reporter: even though romney beat rick santorum by only eight votes in iowa, it's a win. >> with romney, ron paul and rick santorum in the top tier as the three serious contenders coming out of iowa is just almost -- it's the perfect scenario for the former massachusetts governor. >> reporter: santorum had no virtually no organization but his iowa win was worth $1 million influx i

i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today."ust your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific tuesday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm veronica de la cruz.oday, we begin with the southern swing. the campaign push is on in south carolina where the republican presidential hopefuls are looking to lock in conservative support. nbc's brian mooar joining us from washington with those details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the candidates are slugging it out in the trenches with all but one fighting for survival. >> hi, guys. big night last night. very exciting. >> reporter: mitt romney's underdog opponents are hoping for a knockout. the republican front-runner is being hammered over the airways. online in a documentary and on the stump where newt gingrich is turning up the heat and not apologizing. >> i think that the american people deserve to know things. >> reporter: rick perry is trying to shoot down romney's credentials as a job creator. >> we need to have more venture capitalism going on in america and less vulture capitalism. >> reporter: after winning iowa and new hampshire, romney can afford to shrug off the attacks.

i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the taliban is setting up shop with plans to open an office to hold peace talks with the u.s. the two sides have met secretly before but this is the first time the taliban has openly expressed interest in negotiating. >>> first decade of high level peace talks between israel and palestinian negotiators didn't go far but they agreed to keep talking. they am et met in jordan. >>> an army special forces engineer arrested after trying to bring a c-4 explosive on board a commercial airline says he forgot it with him. est arrested saturday in texas. he told authorities he he didn't realize the explosive was still in his luggage when he left afghanistan in april. >>> a new year's surprise after antarctica. researchers discovered new species including a colony of crab and this octopus. >>> now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines at msnbc.com. according to a new study scientists may one day slow down ageing with an injection of stem cells like they did in mice. when resear

i'm veronica de la cruz. those stories and much more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with another romney victory. as predicted the former massachusetts governor finished first in new hampshire's republican primary dealing a blow to conservatives who had hoped to break his momentum. now it looks like the rest of the field, including last night's runners up, ron paul and jon huntsman need to work fast to catch up. tracie potts has more from new hampshire. good morning to you. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. all of these candidates now say they're moving on to south carolina. in fact, some are already there this morning but now only one can claim victory in two states. >> thank you, new hampshire. >> reporter: mitt romney scored a decisive victory. today he heads to south carolina, focused on president obama. >> we're asking the good people of south carolina to join the citizens of new hampshire and make 2012 the year he runs out of time. >> he certainly had a clear-

i'm veronica de la cruz. those stories and much more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with next stop, new hampshire. the going is about to get rough in the granite state as mitt romney looks to widen the paper-thin lead he beat rick santorum by in iowa. in the meantime, michele bachmann has dropped out while texas governor rick perry says he is staying in. nbc's brian mooar has details for us from washington. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. romney won iowa, but his competitors are pointing out the glass was three-quarters empty. mitt romney's campaigning on home turf with a win in iowa under his belt, the endorsement of john mccain in his pocket, and a runaway lead in the polls. >> do you think we can do a little better here in new hampshire? maybe? yeah. >> reporter: even though romney beat rick santorum by only eight votes in iowa, it's a win. >> with romney, ron paul and rick santorum in the top tier as the three serious contenders coming out of iowa

i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." just your first stop of today on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're waking up to wet weather as we have some heavy rain overnight. you can see the rain showers from hagerstown through annapolis up to towson and some leftover in cecil county. there will be around the metro area for the next hour or two. most should be ended before sunrise. details when we come back in the forecast. >> 50 degrees on tv hill. education news. a prestigious honor for the maryland school system. >> the city council president does not think baltimore should host the baltimore grand prix anymore. >> i'm tara mergener are. nine days and counting until south carolina's primary and none of the candidates show any sign of slowing down. >> speeds are down this morning. we have to problems [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is

i'm veronica de la cruz. >>> today, we begin with romney's record. a week to go from the south carolina primary, republican contenders are sharpening their attacks on romney and his business career. nbc's brian moore joins us now from washington with details. brian, good morning to you. >> good morning, veronica. >> reporter: romney supporters are calling these recent attacks desperate. >> thank you. >> reporter: mitt romney is looking and sounding a lot like he is ready to take on president obama in the fall. >> we are going to see the change we are looking for and it's not barack obama. i believe it's going to be mitt romney. >> reporter: with wins in iowa and new hampshire and a good shot at sweeping south carolina, romney is still the prime target. >> he ran as a liberal against ted kennedy and lost and ran as a moderate as governor and governed as a moderate. >> reporter: for days romney took heat about his business record. the romney camp has fired back with its own ad. while newt gingrich and rick perry are not apologizing they are toning down

that is so sweet. >>> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. this will likely be the coldest day we have seen so far this winter season. we are around 30. you say that is not bad. it cannot move. that will be the high temperature in the day. it is a little breezy. the wind chills are running in the upper teens. a mixture of sun and clouds. a chance for some snow flurries. we will come back and check the forecast going into the weekend. >> 4:57. a baltimore city native has passed away. >> i am kate amara. republican voters begin choosing their nominee tonight. the latest snapshot of the campaign is coming up. >> the city has issued a code blue alert. i have more on what that means. >> wind warnings in effect at the area bridges. have a water main break withk [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live,

i'm veronica de la cruz.epublicans are turning out for the first primary for the 2012 race for the white house after midnight in a tiny hamp village famed for casting the first primary votes in the nation. all nine residents showed up to cast their ballots and so far a time between republicans mitt romney and jon hunts san jose. we will find out if romney can fend off last attacks from his more conservative competitors. steve handelsman has more details. >> reporter: the night before the primary, romney rivaled ganged up to charge he got rich by killing jobs. >> mitt romney and them guys don't care who i am. >> reporter: backers of newt gingrich released a film alleging romney's capital profited by gutting companies and laying off workers. romney said some firings couldn't be helped. >> it breaks your heart to see people lose their jobs. i thought it was going to come from the president and the democrats from left but instead coming from speaker gingrich. >> reporter: newt said better for romney to crumble be

i'm veronica de la cruz. today, we begin with another romney victory. as predict the former massachusetts governor finished first in new hampshire's republican primary dealing a blow to conservatives who hoped to break his momentum. including the rest of the field including ron paul and jon huntsman, last night's runner-ups need to do more to catch up. steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: two wins in a row for mitt romney. >> thank you, new hampshire. tonight, we made history! >> reporter: it's a blow to conservatives. newt gingrich was back in the pac tied for fourth with rick santorum, the stop romney vote got split. exit polls found moderate and conservatives cast votes for romney and ron paul was second, his biggest finish. >> we have had a victory for the cause of liberty tonight! >> reporter: jon huntsman third. >> ladies and gentlemen, i think we're in the hunt! >> reporter: but he lacks organization. it's romney's dream result. he took aim at president obama. >> if this election is a bidding war fo

i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with a big endorsement.the boston globe's" endorsement of jon hanuntsman is not only a big boost it's a snub to mitt romney. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. good morning, everyone. "the boston globe" said that jon huntsman is the best prepared candidate and, specifically, they said he would make a better president than mitt romney, even if mitt romney gets the nomination. "the globe" said it would make romney a better nominee. huntsman slammed romney yesterday for leaving the state and going to south carolina to campaign where he picked up the endorsements of both south carolina's governor, nicky haley and senator john mccain and also there romney slammed president obama for making recess appointments without senate confirmation. but back in new hampshire, focus also on rick santorum, who came out of iowa just eight votes shy of winning. he called that a tie, saying that he raised $1.5 million online since iowa. and santorum also saying

i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with the final push. republican presidential candidates have one more day to court iowa's first in the nation voters. mitt romney is ahead in the latest polls, but a late surge from rick santorum and a large number of undecided iowans means this could still be anyone's race. tracie potts is live in des moines. good morning to you. >> veronica, good morning to you santorum seems to be the one to watch with a late surge. if you are used to casting a secret ballot. the caucus ballot is a whole different ball game. people here like to see their candidates, talk to them, shake their hand, and right now, more iowans are leaning toward rick santorum. >> trust your judgment, and lead, like that right decision. >> reporter: the "des moines register" puts santorum third, but virtually tied. >> rick santorum rock solid on values issues. >> reporter: that's the issue between these two. who is more conservative. >> you can't have a strong economy unless you have strong families and moral values. >> i'll let people mak

that is so sweet. >>> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> our time is 4:28. we have, appropriately enough, 28 degrees out there. yes, 28 degrees. what a change from what we've seen lately. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this tuesday, january 3rd, 2012. >>> they've been on the campaign trail for months, but today decision 2012 officially begins. iowans will head to churches, meeting halls, and schools tonight to caucus for who they want to take on president obama in november. >> but that's still up in the air with what seems like a different front-runner every week and many voters saying they're still undecided, tonight's caucus could be a big surprise. nbc's tracie potts reports. >> ron paul! ron paul! >> reporter: this late in the game for many voters, it's not just about issues, it's about trust. >> and i trust him. i don't trust anybody else in politics. >> you heard it here first. ron paul is going

i'm veronica de la cruz.oday we begin with a big endorsement. "the boston globe's" endorsement of jon huntsman is not only a big boost for the form every utah governor, it's a big snub to mitt romney. it's the second time the big newspaper has failed to endorse the former massachusetts governor. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. good morning, everyone. that nub lets everyone known that south carolina is a big prize for votes, but new hampshire coming up first and romney taking heat for courting both states. huntsman slammed obama for making appointments without senate confirmation. >> chusing winners and losers, and particularly the people in power will choose the people they want to give favor too. >> "the boston globe" endorsed jon huntsman, calling him best prepared. >> the people of new hampshire don't want a coronation. they want people to earn the vote. as opposed to sitting down tonight the people so certain of a victory. >> reporter

i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with the final push. republican presidential candidates have one more day to gain the support of iowa's first in the nation voters. mitt romney is ahead in the latest polls, but a late surge from rick santorum and a large number of undecided iowans means this could still be anyone's race. steve handelsman has the details. >> reporter: rick santorum, his tireless campaign across the state is finally paying off. santorum could win tuesday night. >> i said this is an episode of "survivor." you're just going to survive. if you can keep surviving, you just never know what can happen. here we are, we've just kept surviving. >> reporter: the new des moines register poll puts santorum third. but if you count voters polled on the last three days of the poll, santorum is tied with mitt romney at the top. and a surge could win him the endorsement of iowa conservative leader congressman steve king. >> i'm closer on the social issues with rick santorum on those three, no questions. >> reporter: mitt romney kept to his

i'm veronica de la cruz.are some of your top headlines this morning. in nigeria, gunmen open fire in a church during prayer service yesterday killing at least five people. the shootings follow attacks on other churches by a radical muslim sect. there's been no claim of responsibility but it may have been the work of a group trying to instill sharia law. >>> a dam burst has led to mass evacuations in rio de janeiro. several neighborhoods flooded in just hours. heavy rains are to blame. >>> a dramatic rescue in the waters of australia. two fathers and their two 11-year-old sons were saved after their fishing boat caught fire off the coast of sydney. the boys had the presence of mind to grab a cooler, holding on, staying afloat until help could arrive. >>> 5,000 artifacts from the titanic are going up for auction exactly 100 years after the ill-fated maiden voyage. the winner will have to buy the entire collection and put it on public display valued at $189 million. >>> and the new year brings the first eruption

i'm veronica de la cruz. here are top headlines this morning. >>> the taliban literally setting up shop in qatar. they are opening an office to hold peace talks with the u.s. the two sides have met privately before, but this is the first time that taliban has expressed interest in negotiating. >>> israeli and palestinian negotiators didn't go very far, but they agreed to keep talking. they met in jordan to discuss future talks between benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas. >>> an army special forces engineer arrested after trying to bring a c-4 explosive on board a commercial airline said he forgot it was with him. he was arrested at the airport in midland, texas. he didn't realize the explosive was still in his luggage when he left afghanistan in april. >>> a new year surprise off antarctica. researchers uncovered new species in an underwater hot spring, including a colony of yeti crab and this pale octopus. so cool. >>> here is an early look at one of the top health headlines at msnbc.com. >>> according to a

i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning.ran claims it has created its first nooul nuclear fuel rod and placed it in a research reactor despite the attempts to stop iran for developing a nuclear weapon. >>> the strait of ho are rmuz, a critical pass for part of the world's oil supply. >>> in the philippines, one boy was injured by gunfire welcoming in the new year. so many mistakens had to be diverted because of all the smoke in the air. >>> the start of a new year and a pair of lawyers became the bifrt couple to take advantage of same-sex marriage in delaware. >>> english prince phillip joined the family for the new year's day service. >>> former x games medalest levi levalley broke his own record for a snowmobile jump, more than 400 feet, doing so as another athlete made the jump side by side on a motorcycle. wow. >> and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines. medications to treat attention hyperactivity deficit disorder are in short supply. the "new york times" is reporting the shortage is mainly due

i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned.th willie geist" starts right now. > >>> the candidates have made their closing arguments here in the state of new hampshire and the voting has already begun in the village of dicksville notch, population 75. since 1970, they have been the first to vote here, opening its polls at midnight. many polls open here in manchester about 30 minutes from now. good morning. welcome back inside jd's tavern in manchester. i'm willie geist live from the new hampshire primaries, setting the stage in today's voting. here is the mont recent polling from the university of new hampshire and wmur. mitt romney sitting pretty followed by ron paul and rick

i'm veronica de la cruz. now back to "lockup." >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> 100 mile east of prague are the more avian islands. considered the green heart of the nation interesting highland consist of small villages like this. population 420. an almost equal number of men live right next door in this medieval castle. mirov prison. >> filming in mirov was extremely difficult in the sense that everywhere you turn there is a beautiful shot and you want to stop and go oh, there's another one. get another shot. we didn't have that kind of time. we had other elements in the story to capture and different people we wanted to talk to. but you could spend all day, two days, three days, just shooting these beautiful, incredible architecture type shots. >> the nation's oldest prison, it was billed in the mid 13th century to protect the land holdings of a local bishop. it was first used as a prison in the 14th century. today, it is a maximum security institution that houses the czec

i'm veronica de la cruz. here's what's happening. los angeles are releasing surveillance video of a man wanted for questioning in connection with a rash of 43 suspicious car fires in the city. the man was seen on saturday emerging from a parking structure that was the scene of a car fire. >>> and the manhunt continues in washington's mt. rainier national park for a gunman who shot and killed a park ranger during a routine traffic stop. the park has been shut down. i'm veronica de la cruz. now back to our program. >>> msnbc, this is where it be. lockup. yeah. steps you don't want to follow. because it's a hard pill to swallow. tomorrow is a promise, because today is a dream. there's nowhere left to run, there's nowhere left for you to hide. there's no ways out except parole and suicide. i suggest you stay away from here and follow god. this isn't place you want to be, because prison life is hard. lockup, lock up, everybody locked up. this ain't the place you want to be, because prison life is hard. lockup, lockup. this ain't the place

i'm veronica de la cruz. let's get you back to "lockup." >>> among the challenges facing officials at kern valley state prison is the growing number of inmates with long-term sentences because typically this population is the most angry and the most violent. the staff knows the importance of keeping these men occupied. there are 1,300 inmates serving life sentences at kern valley. their crimes were often coldblooded. >> i'm here for aggravated mayhem, attempted murder, kidnapping, and great bodily injury. >> i'm in here for the heat of passion. i caught my wife with somebody and killed her. >> for some of these inmates, the prospect of spending decades behind bars affects their ability to function. for others, a prison job can give them a sense of purpose. they work in the kitchen preparing and serving the food. they serve as porters, clerks, and barbers. marcus armstrong and jeffrey cattera know it's likely they'll never see the outside of prison again. >> january 13th, 1989, i committed my crime, was arrest

i'm veronica de la cruz.am. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> whether smuggled in or fabricated from everyday items, inmate-made weapons are a constant concern to officers at indiana's wabash valley correctional facility. with so much effort focused on keeping weapons out of the prison, it might come as a surprise that in one housing unit scissors are given to inmates nearly every day. >> how are you doing? >> i'm all right. may i get a pair of scissors, please? >> certainly can. how's the sewing project going? >> pretty good. i've got it about halfway done. >> that's good. that's what we want to hear. >> thank you, sir. >> keep up the good work, you hear? >> all right. >> one of the main things we do in our unit, which is kind of unique, is we have taken up quilting. most of us men never sewed before when we came into this unit. you know, most of us probably never sewed a button before. we always had someone to do that. i never had a thought sometime in the future i would li

i'm veronica de la cruz.hree people are dead after a light rail train and suv collision in sacramento, california, saturday. 17 others were injured and taken to area hospitals. witness reports say the driver of the suv may have tried to go around the barrier arms of the safety rails as the train was approaching. >>> former presidential candidate herman cain is endorsing gop presidential candidate newt gingrich. the endorsement comes just days after florida's crucial primary. i'm veronica de la cruz. now back to our program. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> and there's miss rivera. smile. >> kenneth morgan, also known as peaches, was one of the more memorable inmates we met at the penitentiary of new mexico. his life in prison is marked by a clear duality. >> hi, boys! >> he was an open, if not flamboyantly gay inmate living in jaerm population. but when it came to adhering to the inmates unone code of conduct, he made it clear that he was no different than anyone else. durin

i'm veronica de la cruz.ou back to "lockup." >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> most prisons offer religious services, but for some inmates not even the chapel is sacred. >> i was down in the chapel. i was down there with another person. and i knew that the situation was the wrong place to be. and an officer walked by and seen something that looked very inappropriate. >> when we met joseph gilchrist, the openly gay inmate was locked up in administrative segregation at iowa state penitentiary awaiting judgment for his latest transgression. >> so what's the charge? >> sexual misconduct. >> inmate gilchrist was allegedly involved in a situation in the chapel where he was involved in sexual activity with another inmate. he has a history of this. it's not a great surprise. >> there is a lot of sex in prison. the officers try to deter it as much as possible because of the fact that, i mean, it is iowa, it's not the most openly gay state. >> any type of sexual activity between inmate

i'm veronica de la cruz. short time ago, president obama spoke in phoenix, arizona, as part of a three-day swing through five battleground states. he reiterated some of the themes in his state of the union speech like creating jobs for the long term and reviving america's manufacturing base. he pointed to the comeback of general motors saying what happened in detroit can happen elsewhere. >>> punishing rains and winds battled central texas earlier. trees and power lines were down in the area which also saw massive flooding. roofs were ripped right off of houses. at least three tornadoes reported. >>> and the u.s. army is reportedly planning to cut the number of combat brigades to as few as 32. according to the associated press, it's part of a strategy aimed at cutting costs and the overall size of the service by about 80,000 troops. the pentagon's 2013 budget is expected to include $260 billion in cuts over the next five years. i'm veronica de la cruz. let's get you back to "hardball." >>> what an incredible

nbc's veronica de la cruz reports. >> my reaction is i'm still trying to concept the exact that blood was found. of my daughter's. that's my reaction, okay? >> reporter: police say they aren't sure whose blood it is they found in the basement of justin dipietro's house, father of missing 20 yield ayla reynolds, or how long it's been there. they are still convinced there was foul play in ayla's disappearance and they're not getting the whole story from the three adults who were there when she went missing, including dipietro, his girlfriend and his sister. >> that someone came in that back door, snuck in her bedroom, took her, vanished in the middle of the night, and none of those three adults heard or saw anything. that's very frustrating. we think they know more than they're telling us. >> reporter: both of the missing girl's parents attended a vigil on saturday. after six weeks of searching and finding no trace of ayla police don't have any immediate plans to keep looking. >> we're no closing to finding ayla today than they were on december 17th. >> reporter: while a mother continue

. >>> i'm veronica de la cruz.for the captain of the shipwrecked "kooft concordia" says the man is deeply shaken by the incident. prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges against the captain, including manslaughter and abandoning ship. 11 people are confirmed dead. 21 are miss, including an american couple from minnesota. the tsa is apologizing for violating procedure in its searches of two elderly women at jfk's airport. the women say they were humiliated when screeners demanded to see medical devices worn under their clothing agents will get a refresher course on how to handle passengers with medical conditions. >>> internet signs are banning together in protest of anti-piracy legislation in congress. the companies say the measures will harm the technology industry and restrict free speech online. i'm veronica de la cruz. let's get you back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." one of the biggest stories for monday night's big debate was newt gingrich's exchanges about race with debate moderator

. >>> i'm veronica de la cruz in for tamron hall. the "news nation" is following numbers showing mitt romney with a 20-point lead over newt gingrich. 47% of those asked who would vote for romney. 27% said they would vote for gingrich. the poll shows romney has a lead over gingrich. patricia thanks for joining us. >> you're welcome. >> your paper released a poll of its own showing romney with an 11-point lead over gingrich. do the numbers signal that romney is definitely headed for a win in florida? >> romney appears to be if safe bet. we had polls show a margin of five points to one of 20 points. they all seem to differ on what the margin will be, but they say it looks like romney will be the winner tomorrow. >> early voting has started. already 600,000 people casting their ballots. what does this tell you about the election this time around? >> well, the republicans are saying that it shows a lot of excitement and enthusiasm from their base to vote now and more importantly in november. voters in florida are very pragmatic. they will