>> good morning, good morning to all of you. good and bad news this morning for the gop front-runner newt gingrich. with less than thee weeks until the iowa caucuses his political director in the state stepped down after calling mormonism a cult. two gop candidates, mitt romney and jon huntsman are mormons. gingrich is already working with a bare bones staff in this state and meantime, gingrich opened a commanding lead nationally over mitt romney, but head-to-head with the president, well, that's another story. cnn political director paul steinhauser -- got your title wrong, paul. >> it's all good. >> you're the best guy at cnn. paul steinhauser, and you're here on this "american morning." okay. let's talk about these polls. >> reporter: yeah. starpt with t staff with the numbers. brand new from nbc "wall street journal" numbers. the battle for the republican nomination. newt gingrich way ahead. 17 points ahead of mitt romney, the former massachusetts governor. everybody else in the poll, people likely to vote in the primary, single digits. a pew poll had the same numbers. next poll. tricky. hypotheticals between obama. this indicates the president ahead by 11 points over newt gingrich but basically dead even with mitt romney. looks like gingrich, according to the poll, sailing in the battle for the nomination but would have trouble next year in the general election. we've seen it in our own polling and others. troubling numbers for newt gingrich at least looking ahead to 2012. carol? >> back to gingrich's political director in iowa. for the moment, he's stepping down. why? tell us why. >> reporter: yeah, because yesterday morning, newt gingrich put out an e-mail to campaign staffers and surrogates who go on television and talk about. we're not going negative, going on the attack and staying positive. that's the way we're going to win this. well, problem. reporting yesterday in iowa indicated that the man you mentioned, craig bergman, before he joined the campaign earlier this week in a focus group, as you said, called mormonism a cult and two of the candidates, huntsman and romney, are mormon. he agreed to step away from his role. made a statement prior to becoming an employee inconsistent with newt's to run a problem and solutions orientation program. spokesman for the campaign. we saw gingrich and romney going at it the last couple of days. gingrich will stay positive now, he says. he wants his staffers to do the same. >> picked up an endorsement today. tell us about it. >> some are snickering. christine o'donnell. flash back, rerack to 2010. remember. she was the former "witch" who ran for the senate delaware. knocked out opponents in the primaries but did not win in the general election. lost to the democrat in the senate run. now an endorsement of romney. does it really matter? she does have support among the tea party movement. he needs it when it comes to tea party supporters and a dig when it comes to newt gingrich saying, america needs a pra president that is not a washington insider. i think she's referring to newt gingrich. >> i was just chatting with her in the "newsroom." she's going to be here, too. paul steinhauser, stick around for that. the former senate candidate christine oh doi'donnell will js live. and under attack, newt gingrich's personal life popping up, how this will impact iowa conservatives with dr. richard land, and news reporter mckay coppins will join us. and out as moderator of the gop debate scheduled for later this month. what did you tweet? trump fired himself. only two republican candidates, newt gingrich and rick santorum were committed anyway. how did the donald spin this one? being moderator may have been a conflict of interests. here she on a radio show. >> they were concerned i would run and didn't want me hosts a debate where iened up running against them. the chances of my running aren't that great, other than if they pick the wrong candidate. if the economy continues to be bad and if the republicans pick the wrong candidate which is a possibility, i would very seriously think about running. >> trump had flirted running for president earlier in the year and was a gop runsma ning mate a very short time. and politics as usual on capitol hill. the house pass add republican plan to extend the payroll tax cut, it's virtually dead on arrival of a democratic controlled senate, and the president isn't going to sign it, because it speeds up the process for government approval of the keystone oil pipeline. here's house majority leader eric cantor with the gop perspective. >> harry reid has in his lap a bill that will stave off tax increases for everyone that has a job in this country, and will make sure that we get back on the path to job creation. it's time for the rhetoric that has come from senate democrats as well as the white house to start matching reality. >> so here's the reality. democrats are not budging, and the white house wants the payroll tax cut extension and an new spending plan passed quickly without all the politics. >> what the president is not willing to do is leave town or allow congress to leave town without ensuring that 160 million americans do not see their taxes go up next year. >> congress has until friday to pass a new federal budget or we face a possible -- yeah -- we face a possible government shutdown -- again. this morning we're learning more about deadly attack in belgium. it happened at packed christmas market in the city of liege yesterday. police say the attacker launched three grenades and gunned down holiday shoppers from a nearby roof. nic robertson is live there. nic, what's the number of the latest victims in this case? >> reporter: 124 people according to prosecutor were taken to hospital for treatment. some of those with serious injuries and some of them also with psychological trauma. five people including the attacker died in the attack, and the police also saying they found the body of the attacker's cleaner at his house in a shed that he used for growing cannabis, large quantities of cannabis he used to sell, that body found overnight. if you look down over my shoulder here, you can see the bus shelters, the windows blown out, the scene of the attack yesterday. crowds gathered around. a lot of journalists and camera crews but in the middle there, flowers laid in tribute. i talked to one lady here who was a witness to the attack yesterday. she was still shaking. she had her young children with her and said she was absolutely horrified, shocked at what she had seen. she said for her, in this quiet city here, known for its trang quilt tranquility, this felt like for her, the 9/11 in liege. shocking, people here deeply traumatiz traumatized, christine. >> what are prosecutors saying about the attacker? >> reporter: he has a criminal record. he spent 40 months in jail on charges of cultivating and selling cannabis. of racketeering with weapons. also told to report to the police station here just hours indeed after he perpetrated his attack on questions of sexual harassment and possible rape, but the prosecutors saying and the police haven't discovered yet any kind of suicide note from him. they are saying he committed suicide at the end of the attack by shooting himself. then say they have no indication what sent this hardened criminal, he spent time in jail, into a ruthless psychopathic killer. no one has that answer. >> that kind of violence is so, so rare in those cities in belgium. thank you so much, nic robertson. jerry sandusky lawyer says the disgraced former penn state coach is ready for the fight of his life. sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday and also waived a scheduled arraignment date in january clearing the way for a jury trial. sandusky faces more than 50 counts related to allegations of sexual molestation revealed in a grand jury report last month. prosecutors were prepared to put some accuse ers on the stand yesterday. and an attorney for sandusky's, one of the alleged victims. his client set to testify yet. we'll get his reaction to sandusky waiving his preliminary hearing. two men who say syracuse's former coach bernie fine molested them, and filing a suit against jim boeheim. alleged victim mike lang says the comments made him sick to his stomach and s morgan says he wants to encourage others to step up. and calling for a full nationwide ban on cell phones and electronics devices while behind the wheel, and it applies to hands-free devices, too. the recommendation came after several investigation caused texting to the cause of deadly accidents. 3,000 people died in distraction-related crashes last year. and speaking with debbie hersman. is this going too far? chairman of thene ntsb. and the u.s. postal service, delaying shutting down processing centers until the middle of may. gives congress more time to help the agency avoid bankruptcy. the postal service is expected to lose more thanes $14 billion next year. it's a long time coming, but finally after almost four years, a crackdown on those annoying, loud commercials. the federal communications commission will require broadcasters to maintain a constant volume level for programs and commercials. the new rule takes effect next december. it take as year? oh. >> i'm so excited, too. >> giving programmers time to smooth the differences in the audio levels. the agency received almost 6,000 complaints since -- not counting all of us have screamed at our television. >> stopped to watch the needle, make sure it's in the right place? >> apparently take as whole year to smooth out the differences. >> uh-huh. all righty then. still to come, former mf global ceo jon corzine under fire on capitol hill. lawmakers demanding to know what happened to more than a billion dollars in customer money from this bankrupt brokerage firm. and testifying he was unaware ever the phone hacking scandal that erupted. a new e-mail suggests otherwise. details ahead. almost named the sexiest man alive. but nick nolte is more well known for that shot. sad it keeps popping up. he's setting the record straight about this very unimportant photo. it's 12 minutes past the hour. hello, how can i deliver world-class service for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. how do you know which ones to follow? the equity summary score consolidates the ratings of up to 10 independent research providers into a single score that's weighted based on how accurate they've been in the past. i'm howard spielberg of fidelity investments. the equity summary score is one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. get 200 free trades today and explore your next investing idea. ah, chilly outside this morning. wasn't it? >> and still dark. >> still dark. a live look at new york city this morning. it's 15 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "american morning." police are investigating a possible serial killer near new york city, and we're waiting for the results of forensic tests to determine if remains discovered yesterday on long island are those are shannon guilford. >> a young woman whose disappearance led to the unexpected discovery of more than a dozen bodies on long island. the search for her is what uncovered what could very well be a serial killer in the new york area. >> it began with her in the spring of 2010 and now this long later we're finally, maybe, finally, seeing what has happened to her. the announcement that cops found what they say they believe ever the remains of shannon guilford comes one year after police acknowledge they may have a serial killer on their hands. she went missing more than a year and a half ago. her purse, jeans and other personal items were found last week in oak beach. that's when police redoubled search efforts and yesterday morning in thick muck in bramble, police discovered the new remains. >> we have this day at approximately 9:14 a.m. located a set of skeletal remains we believe at this time to belong to the missing shannon gilbert. the body was found approximately one quarter mile northeast of where her personal belongings were located last week. >> the exhaustive search for gilbert eventually led to the discovery of ten bodies along that barren part of long island. to date, not all identified and all with ties to the sex industry, and police say that even though gilbert's body, or suspected body, was found near those other remain, until the autopsy is completed, they'll continue to believe that gilbert's death was an accidental drowning. not part of that serial killer's streak. now, gilbert's mother, she's not convinced. >> well, this sick bastard, until she caught, they are going to find more bodies out here in these woods. >> the last person who apparently had seen gilbert alive told cnn earlier this year, he, too, was doubtful she was murdered. the case continues. all the other victims were found wrapped in burlap. that doesn't seem to be what was found here. at least they haven't said that. >> can't think of a gentle way to put it, there's not much left of her body. would there be a way to determine cause of death? >> i can't tell you. they're saying flat out, there are skeletal remains. not a lot to work with. cause of death might be a little more difficult in this case as it was with the others. >> the theory of investigators, she was running, screaming from someone's home. people heard her running and screaming. she disappears in a very barren, very bruschi arhbrushy area and drowned? >> spring time. very marshy, you have pockets of low-lying water, and even deeper pools out there. sort of sits on the strip of land in between, you know, two bodies of water. she wasn't a swimmer. so this is the theory that police say they're operating with right now. >> and it was dark. >> exactly. middle of the night. >> chris knowles, thanks so much. show me the money. that demanned directed over and over at mf global ceo, former ceo, jon corzine. on capitol hill flanked by two former colleagues from his bankrupt brokerage firm. the senate agriculture committee is trying to get to the bottom of more than a billion dollars of missing customers funds from the former new jersey governor's company. they didn't get far. >> cfo, where's the money? >> senator, unfortunately, i do not know where the money is. >> where's the money? >> senator, as i said in my statement, i do not know where the money is. >> it's clear that something was amiss, and that needs to be discovered, what that was. >> corzine insists he never directed anyone at mf global to misuse customer funds, but those claims didn't fly with a minnesota hog farmer who says he lost $200,000 with corzine's company. >> a lot of people, moms and pops out there, probably have their whole life savings tied up here and lost. it's important to realize this effects a lot more people across the whole country. >> corzine isn't done yet. he faces another hearing thursday. this time the house financial services committee will be trying to find the money. >> something was amiss. >> not what you want to hear from your ceo. >> rob marciano, in the extreme weather center. where is the money? >> i don't know. i've lost a million here. totals racking up out west. the snow in flagstaff, arizona. right near the grandi canyon piling up in spots. traffic, no doubt about it. this intense winter storm is beginning to inject into the plains and will cause problems for some other people. some of the snow totals, two feet in forest lakes. there's flagstaff at 15 inches and spots in utah see you a foot or more of snow. colorado seeing more in the way of snow. to a lesser extent. and dallas down through houghton,houghtoauft austin seeing damaging winds and large hail later in the day. that energy, moisture ahead of the main piece bringing rain. some of it heavy. chicago, especially westward towards milwaukee and streaming into detroit as well. lower great lakes, and east coast, not shabby. temperatures on the mild side. traveling today to chicago and dallas, at the airports, an issue. ali comes back one day and flies the coop? >> he's delicate. a delicate -- >> a delicate talent. i've known that for a while. >> i don't even know how to respond to that. >> thank you, rob. >> all right, see ya. just ahead on "american morning," hess hez militants. 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"minding your business" this morning. the federal reserve holding off on any new steps to boost the economy, and that announcement yesterday leaving stocks lower. the dow dropped about 70 points in the last hour to close down 66 points. stock futures trading pretty flat so far this morning. turns out the housing bust was even worse than the housing industry told us it was. the national association of realtors reports the number of existing homes sold over the past five years is less than they estimated. that's because some properties were listed more than once, and in some cases new home sales were also counted. the industry will give its revised figures one week from today. again, the housing bust, worst than the national home retailers first admitted. more jobs two words we'd all like to hear. according to the federation of new businesses the number of companies planning to hire new workers is at its highest level in 38 months. but number is well below prerecession levels is shows improvements. chrysler, the once troubled automaker is trurning things around. the company's ceo tells the "wall street journal" right now they're on track to make $3 billion in profit because of rising u.s. sales. and southwest airlines inking a record $19 billion deal to buy 208 boeing 737s jets. the largest aircraft order every placed an the first to include boeing's more fuel-efficient model. "american morning" will be right back after the break. ♪ it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink she tried to shake up washington in 2010. who does christine o'donnell think should lead the nation in 2012? she is here to make her endorsement live on this "american morning." and welcome back. it is about 31 minutes past the hour. time for the morning's top stories. newt gingrich's political director in iowa is out after calling mormonism a cult. two gop candidates, mitt romney and jon huntsman, are mormons. gingrich is already working with a lean staff in iowa. this, as new national poll shows he's blowing away romney but who weak numbers against president