in los angeles, 21 fires and a $61,000 reward. people are scared, authorities are desperate. from the cnn center in atlanta, this is cnn saturday morning. i'm e.d. hill. we start this hour in iowa. it is hard to believe, there are only three days left until the first votes are cast in the republican presidential race. it seems like we've been waiting for a year or so. so, of course, all the candidates are in iowa. try and shake every last hand or are they? paul steinhauser joins us now from des moines. so is mitt romney there? >> he's on his way back, e.d. he's right now in new hampshire. this morning, he was in hampton, new hampshire, a breakfast that e5". remember, new hampshire goes one week after iowa. iowa goes on tuesday. new hampshire goes second in the nation. romney was here yesterday and when he left, he left the keys of the bus in good hands, with chris christie. he endorsed mitt romney. so christie and mitt romney's wife campaigned all day yesterday. romney coming right back here this afternoon to iowa. we've got live pictures right now. gingerich is going to be on the campaign trail today. this is tissue tish's restaurant and bus stop. e.d., we've seen his poll numbers come down. back at the beginning of the month, he was the front-runner in iowa. a lot of that negative advertising has brought his air waves down. the numbers are surging and now he's coming under attack. that's what happens when you rise in the polls. one of those people attacking him is newt gingerich. >> who dares to skip iowa? you mentioned mitt romney is coming back, but i heard family is more important. >> ron paul was here all day yesterday for the last three days nonstop campaigning across the state. but you're right, he's not here today. he's back in texas. and he's going to be spending new year's eve and new year's day with his wife. campaign says ron paul will be right back here monday morning and he will be campaign, his son, senator rand paul of kentucky. one thing about this, it is odd. why wait just two or three days before the caucuses? but you know, you've seen these, e.d. ron paul's supporters here. >> thanks so much for joining us. later this hour, i'll break down the iowa caucuses. be sure to join us. and do you want to hear the candidates? sound bites you can get anywhere. you can flip the channels, get them any place. however, if you really want to hear their positions, how they think, what they've got to say in total, join cnn chief political correspondent candy crowley. she is live in iowa and her show is going to be called the contenders 2012. it comes your way at 2:00 eastern. if you're interested in the political process, this is something you really shouldn't miss. tomorrow night, join anderson cooper at the last minute push for iowa vote. it's countdown to iowa, the final 48 hours. check it out tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. here. international news, a new year perhaps changes for the better. iran says it will not close the strait of hormuz. the country had threatened to stop shipments in the area. iran's navy is conduct exercises in the strait this weekend. now a senior commander says, nope, we didn't, but we will in the next couple days. take a look at these mugshots. these two people will not get parent of the year awards. they're in jail on child abuse charges. what did they do? investigators say they used duct tape to tie up their two kids, even covering the kids' mouth and posted pictures on facebook. the mom says, oh, it was just a joke. the kids thought it was funny. what? the police aren't laughing. they're keeping the pictures under wraps. the kids, who thought it was so funny, a so 10-month-old girl and a 2-year-old boy. they are now with their grandparents and their parents are spending time behind bars. if you have information about a string of suspected arson fires in hollywood, there was another one last night. now law enforcement hopes the rewards will help solve the crime. >> we are dead serious about trying to apprehend the individual or individuals who are responsible for this. we want to get these s.o.b.s before they hurt somebody. >> all of the fires started with cars and trucks on fire. some of those fires spread to nearby houses. arson investigators are looking at 21 fires. an important update for parents with small kids. enfamal, government tests show deaths of the two babies and the infection the of two others may not be linked to any specific brand of formula. some parents in the case surfaced. but another of the cases developed a completely different brand of baby formula. all four babies were infected by a rare deadly bacteria that can multiply in deadly baby formula and water. tests shows they were not related to a common source. verizon customis asking cus, can you hear me now? they have dropped a plan to charge $2 extra if customers paid their bills online or by phone. now the nation's largest cellular company is listening. a rare treat. take a look at this. it is lake -- kania? how do you pronounce that? >> works for me. >> look at that. >> low snowfall making it possible for visitors to travel in skis. amazing. most people have never seen the lake frozen. isn't that pretty? >> it's a beautiful thing to see. when you go to yosemite, you have that incredible, beautiful vall. there's so many incredible sights. what is not to love? >> i've been to a lot of places in america. that's one i haven't gotten to. gorgeous. what's the rest of the country looking like? >> things are very mild in places where we normally see a lot of cold. for example, last year in times square, it was brutal. it's going to be 44 degrees, still chilly, but certainly not at the freezing point. 44 degrees. in fact, we could take the map if you will if you want to, get a better gander at it. we're expecting skies to be mostly clear. in terms of precipitation, it's not going to be in the mix for tonight. winds out of the west-northwest at 6 miles per hour. again, above freezing for tonight and early morning for 2012. not a bad way to ring in the new year. we're going to have more in the forecast. many of you are traveling around the country trying to see your loved ones for the holiday. what are you going to expect weatherwise? you and i will be working together tomorrow morning very early. >> absolutely. >> are you staying up? >> you know, i'm going to a game. i'm going to a football game. auburn and virginia. >> i may do that. i may see if i can get some tickets. >> great venue, great place to watch. >> yep. all right. who is going to perform in times square tonight? we will find the answers and head to new york's party central live to times square, next. and it is now 2012 in two more countries. here are the pictures from is he oul, south korea, and tokyo, japan, folks ringing in the new year just moments ago. let's go to vegas. alright, let's do it. let's do it, let's go to vegas. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com. and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling? is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future. no matter where you want to go, one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises. as the year rolls in, thousands of new laws are going >> earlier we talked about some of the contentious ones. çtkf immigration and abortions. a lot of people find some laws more surprising or let's just say unexpected. one of them is about mixing alcohol with cavee. there's a new law in california that's banning beer with caffeine add. the fda has said caffeine and alcohol are -- >> what's that drink at the bar they mix. it's a big thing when you're 22 and it's alcohol and coffee and you get the buzz and hyper. >> they're saying you can't sell beer in which caffeine has been added as another ingredient. >> there goes the fun. no, go ahead. >> in california, we mentioned earlier about cough syrup. this is an over the counter cough medicine that contains dxm will no longer be sold to meyerons in california. there are some young people who have been using it as a recreational drug. in order to try to avoid that, they're making it prescription only for minors now. >> some pharmacies have all that stuff now behind the counters. even if they could have it out, they're keeping it back there. >> and i've got two more to show you. we're looking at west coast laws because a lot of our west coast folks are waking up now. all these take effect tomorrow, january 1st. they're among the thousands of new laws. >> 40,000. >> 40,000. the only 40,000 passed this year, a bunch of them go into effect tomorrow. out of oregon, they're going to required computerized beth liezers for dui convicts. one more that i think is interesting, state colleges are waving tuition for foster children up to age 25. if you're a foster child 25 years or younger, no college tuition and no fees for state colleges and universities. >> good. >> you want to give them a fighting chance, you know? >> well, you do. and if you're in states illegally, there are a lot of benefits states give you. why not at least give it to foster kids who are here? i like that. anything to help the kids who have already had a pretty rough time of it. >> if it works out well for oregon, we'll see maybe other states approving those laws. coming up, we're going to talk about new laws on abortion and one state now requiring that students be greated on gay and lesbian students. time to say good-bye to 2011. do you have any big plans? cnn does. be sure to ring in the new year with anderson cooper and cathy griffin. that starts at 11:00 p.m. tonight. they're live in times square. great entertainment tonight. and if you smoke, you won't get a job, at least from one employer. we'll tell you who it is and how they're screening potential employees. plus, for all you procrastinators out there, there are three simple things you can do today to save yourself money at tax time. we'll have them for you. row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. guinea pig: row...row.took one, 8 months to get the guin: ..row. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayof strange. save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. e u 15% or more on car insurance. we're not sheep. we like to be careful with your money. if you can save money on taxes, more power to you. three simple things you can do. give donations to charities in the mail. go online, make a contribution today. also, clean out the clutter, you know? get rid of it. take it to a donation center and get that tax receipt. if you have extra cash, we all want that, you could pay your january mortgage early. that means you could deduct that extra interest in 2011. you can pay property taxes early and deduct it this year if you have the extra money. you could also stash cash in a 529 college savings plan by the end of the year. for more tips on cutting your tax bill, go to forbes.com. great ideas. severe weather to talk about, also. there's a giant cloud of ash hanging over last rights now. it comes from the cleveland kol vano around the southwest of anchorage. there was an explosion at the volcano this week. the ash went 15,000 feet into the air prompting warnings for airplanes. this morning, though, the threat level has dropped. meteorologist reynolds wolf is here is more on what's happening there and around the country. >> you know what's amazing? we see these things here and they're so incredible. but this is a process that's been going on for 4.6 billion years. as long as the earth has been here, we've had these incredible geologic processes. it is good news. this has begun to die down a little bit. but don't be surprised to see this ramp up or possibly other volcanos along the chain here. that is one that many consider to be the ring of fire. ÷ on it for you. take a look at what we have. i wish i could tell you it's picture perfect across the nation. in minneapolis, the issue early is going to be the wind. by the evening, it's a combination of rain and maybe snow. significant accumulation? iñú÷ over the bridges, look for icy spots. at the airports, you'll have those backups. take a look at this from the snow forming over the northern plains. coupled with that, strong winds. we're talking about winds that will be in the range of hurricane force, certainly something that are going to be tropical storm storm force winds. you can anticipate the fire danger being in effect for especially parts of arkansas and back into missouri. but, again, it's going to be farther north where you'll have tropical storm force winds topping 81 miles per hour. a category 1 hurricane, gets above 74 miles per hour. 73, 74, in that range. some gusts will be stronger than that because of that low moving off to the east and the high following over the northern parts of the rockies. plain and simple, it will be nice where you cross much of central california, the great basin. when you get into texas, maybe some rain, but for much of central texas, including austin and dripping springs, looks like it's going to be comfortable. gotta like that. 6 in atlanta. 58 in the nation's capital. 46 in boston and 43 in -- >> that's balmy for boston. >> it's not bad. it could be a lot worse. it definitely could. hey, something else is going to be kind of bad. not necessarily in terms of weather, but bad for smokers. we're going to talk about this for just a moment. if you smoke, it may be harder for you to get your fix and to get a job in 2012. take a hospital, for example, in danville, pennsylvania, where they announced it will stop hiring smokers. that's right. if you apply for a job there, it will be tough. they plan to start screening job applicants starting february 1st. those that test positive, you'll be offered help to quit. the reaction, as you can expect, has been very, very mixed. >> we're a health care organization. we're trying to make you better. if we have that lifestyle, maybe it -- you to be like that, as well. >> if you smoke, why can't you have a job? that's discriminatory. >> they test for drugs, marijuana, cocaine and all that stuff. tobacco? i don't know. they have the right to use tobacco products and everything. >> take a look at this. i asked this earlier on facebook. what do you think about training job applicants for nicotine? crystal says, i am a nonsmoker. even i think it's a bad idea. here is another one we had. george says, i disagree with this. what you do away from work is your own business. and here is another one, i recently applied for a job here in central texas with a hospital that had a total no smoking policy. they definitely have the right to hire the people they want and if they want nonsmokers, then more power to them. that kaims came from chris will k k wi wilkinson. kind of interesting. as i mentioned, everyone has an opinion. before the morning is out, we're probably going to have a few more of those. >> you bet. putting it into a dangerous new year's eve activity, one mother's crusade could help save lives tonight. we'll tell you about that, next. what goes up must come down. if that object is a bullet, the outcome can become deadly. around new year's eve, we hear of a lot of celebratory gunfire and the damage that it does. george hopes one mother who is doing something right now, a crusade, may help stop the shooting. >> i see the sparks. i see the sparks. >> it's a dangerous tradition that plays out across the country each year with deadly consequences. >> over here on this right-hand side, exactly where that bucket is. that's where both of us were sitting, next to each other. >> something natalie peters knows all too well since her son was killed two years ago inside this church at a new year's watch party. >> you can smoke? >> yes, right there. >> it pierced the room. >> that's where it came down. >> yes. i didn't really know what happened and i picked him up because he was bleeding so much. others were saying it was a bullet. >> the victim of celebratory gunfire. a stray bullet struck march kel. his motherp÷qs may never know w fired the fatal shot. but the tragedy has sparked a movement. officials are asking people to take marquel's pledge online. >> has marquel's pledge made a difference in dekalb county when it comes to gunfire? >> well, i think we can make headway and slow it down. we saw a decline in celebratory gunfire from one year to the next as a result of our awareness campaign. >> many other cities are taking similar staits stands. police are using technology called shot spotter, microphones placed in neighborhoods that can capture the sound of gunfire and pinpoint its origin. and in miami, city officials are promoting a campaign called one bullet kills the party to prevent death and injury seen in roent years. >> when you hear the gunshots, when you see someone out there this holiday season, when you see them out there celebrate, gunfire, please, stop, pick up the phone, dial 911. >> other people don't think about it or they don't realize it at the time, you fire a bullet in the air, it can travel great lengths and it must come down somewhere. and in this case, two years ago, it came down through the roof of this church and changeded a family's life forever. >> they took my only child away. >> do you think people realize what they're doing? >> that person probably didn't know what he did, but probably didn't know what happened. >> george howell, cnn, atlanta. >> good luck to that movement. in new york city, police are now beefing up security for tonight's big new year's eve bash. a million people are expected to watch the ball drop tonight in times square. can you sense a heightened police presence this early? >> it's tough to tell. there's certainly a number of plain clothed security officer here. about 10,000 of them have fanned out across the city protecting areas such as the hudson area where ships will be, they can be cruise ships enjoying dinner cruises and as well as several other officers here in the city. but, you know, it's also a party. soqpodz we have people coming down to new york city, there's not going to be alcohol or any kind of backpacks allowed right here in times square. they'll be put in these pens, about 65 of them. once they're inside, they won't be allowed. so no coffee, no bathroom breaks. people have to stick it out and wait until 11:59 when that baló drops. anderson cooper and cathy griffin will be right behind me on that platform there. you can see now people are starting to congregate here. earlier this morning, we had a mix of a number of individuals. there's a sentiment of new year's. you can feel it in times square taking hold. for this reporter, it's taken hold, as well. so happy new year. >> well, now you're ready. thank you very much. >> yeah. it is time to say good-bye to 2011. do you have any big plans? cnn does. ring in the new year with anderson cooper and cathy griffin. you'll see all the action, lady gaga, justin bieber, bieber fever. it's all going on and you can kab catch it from the comfort of your own home. ron paul looking pretty good in iowa. but what would a ron paul win really mean for the republican party? we'll check that out, next. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. you tell us what you want to pay, and we give you a range of coverages to choose from. who is she? that's flobot. she's this new robot we're trying out, mostly for, like, small stuff. wow! look at her go! she's pretty good. she's pretty good. hey, flobot, great job. oops. [ powers down ] uh-oh, flobot is broken. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. call or click today. nyquil tylenol: we are?ylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. it is 30 minutes past the hour. welcome back. i'm e.d. hill. thank you for starting your day with us here at cnn. checking the top stories, iran changing its mind, now saying it won't close the strait of hormuz. iran's navy is conducting exercises this weekend. iranian senior commanders say they will fierp a long range missile in the next few days. iran is proposing a new round of providing members of the security council plus germany. a recent report by the iaea raises concerns iran might be developing nuclear weapons. tehran denies that. and asororitying a strike by 22,000 office cleaners in new york city, workers would get raises of 5.4% over the years. union members still have to ratify the agreement. the latest cnn time magazine orc poll shows mitt romney as the top choice for those likely to take part in tuesday's iowa republican caucuses. ron paul running second with rick santorum in third. a new abc poll shows similar numbers. in iowa, it's all about the expectations game. the winner will be the one who does the best job exceeding those expectations. joining me now, lenny mccall sister in chicago and here with me in the studio filling in for maria cardona this week is atlanta journal constitution editorialal examine political blogger, jay bookman. let me start with you, t.j. for mostly i think the preview to this whole thing, we've been watching poll after poll and it keeps changing. first it's romney, then it's newt gingerich, no, it's ron paul. why do you think the voters flip-flop around so much? >> i think they're -- well, mitt romney is the front-runner. people aren't comfortable with him yet. it will be interesting to see how long that takes. but i think what's really interesting is the fact that, you're right, it's gone back and forth. but if you were to have looked at the field six months ago and said, what is the likely outcome? you would probably have guessed an outcome similar to what is being produced now. with all of the ups and downs, it's playing out as it would have. >> many people say ron paul is not electable. lenny, what impact does he have on this race? >> he dictated the conversation. think about it, he is one of the two grandfathers of the tea party movement. the other would be an an tag insist, which he would be barack obama. he is able to dictate what this platform is going to look like for the republicans in 2012. fiscal responsibility, the federal reserve, these are not things that were in the national lixecon now. when he's able to impact how candidates talk, what the message is going to be, that's the impact he's going to have and it's going to be that much more if he comes in first or second place on tuesday. >> okay. let me ask you about the process here. we go through the primaries and i'm a texas resident. by the time it gets to me, basically, it doesn't matter what i vote because it's already been done. >> reasonable. >> does it still make sense -- excuse me, iowa, excuse me, new hampshire, but does it make sense for states like that to be first. >> whittling out the candidates ahead of states like florida, ohio, michigan? >> i think it does because, again, it's part of the process. there will be fewer candidates coming out of iowa than went in. but the ones who drop out will be those who should drop out. the system will work. iowa will not decide who the nominee is. iowa will help decide who the nominee should be and those people will fall away and a week later we'll have new hampshire and more people will fall away. so the weaker candidates, so to speak, are being called. that's the process that we're seeing today. >> that is very interesting. you're saying, no, what's more important is who the losers are, who is taking out of this field. do you think has republicans around the country are watching this? they are changing their mind about the candidates? we frequently see one person win, such as george bush in iowa or ronald reagan back here in new hampshire. >> i think they are changing their mine. either they're being very judicious, with they're either judiciously selecting their pl presidential candidate or they're looking scattered. this will be something that tuesday and the next couple of contests will dictate. if the republicans are being judicious in picking a candidate, they're going to pick someone who is highly qualified to go against barack obama on the debate, campaign trail and having the discipline it's going to take to beat this incumbent. at the same time, if we continue to see this yo-yoing effect going back and forth, it's going to look as though the republican field is more interested in beating the president than they if that's the case, the independent voter will stay home or slide back into the obama camp in time for the fall. it will be interesting to see what tuesday and the republicans do to shape their message into something that they can rally people again. >> jay, do you think after iowa and new hampshire, a lot of candidates are playing for second place? there was a report out today that michele bachmann had been holding off on criticizing mitt room knee because they wanted to be number two. >> i think a lot of the candidates are in a position where they have to make that calculation. >> they never admit it. >> no. but they know they're not going to get the brass@ b ring, so they're playing for second. second is not a bad thing to have in politics. >> that's right. but frequently leads to first down the line. stay with us here on cnn for the race to the presidency at 2:00 p.m. eastern today and tomorrow. contenders. it is your chance to hear the candidate necessary their own words. tuesday night, cnn's special alive america's choice coverage of the iowa caucuses begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. now, you may have seen the rodeo riding monkey. you may have even heard about pocket ticking monkeys. but have you ever heard of a tweeting monkey? there is one. we'll explain. san francisco's zoo curator joins me now with more details about a missing monkey there and they would like to get him back. . if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪ two nasa satellites are set to orbit the moon, the first one as early as today. reynolds wolf is here with the details. ra is this mission all about? >> they're going to find out more about the moon. what's inside the moon. it's a pretty neat thing. done. video. this is going to be a series of two different satellites they're sending around the moon. the objective is to get a better understanding of how gravity works on different parts of the moon. it will give us a better idea of what the moon is made of, how it formed. that will in turn will give us a better idea how ow planet was formed. the amazing thing, too, it takes a -- when you think about let's say the apollo missions, we had astronauts going to to the moon. these guys, thth these satellites up there took roughly three weeks. still an amazing thing. nasa is bringing in some cool information. there's a lot going on. this mission, by the way, is going to run. it begins tomorrow on new year's. and it moves on all the way through june. so it's going to be very, very cool to see who gets some amazing information out of this. that's the latest we've got. e.d., coming up soon, we're going to talk more about weather, what's happening on our planet. what's happening very soon. travelwise, what you can expect for the new year. i know on twitter you've been following this whole monkey that's missing in san francisco. >> it's captivated. >> twitter is down, shut down. >> the monkey did it. >> i don't know if it was a monkey, but a lot of people clearly are tweeting right now. there you go. twitter is over capacity. i don't know if it's the whole squirrel monkey thing or not, but he is sending funny messages. his name is banana sam. someone is tracking this monkey through twitter tweeting things like, dwoet, arrived at fisherman's warf. people still wear fanny packs? and heading back to something called the rainforest cafe. sounds promising. how did the zoo first discover that banana sam was gone? >> during a normal, routine morning check, keepers came in yesterday and discovered two large holes cut in the outdoor enclosure, the mesh enclosure. we quickly patched it up and did an immediate head count and discovered, of course, that banana sam was missing. >> u, i look at the video and think, oh, he is so cute. i understand understand that monkeys are dangerous. if someone does spot this monkey, what's your advice sfp. >> to give it either to the san francisco police department a call or the san francisco zoo. if the animal is in a safe, secure place, we'll be able to come retrieve it. or if it's in a carrier or something, they couldo bring it back to the zoo. they're cute little animals, but primates do not make good pets. they can bite and inflict injury. >> it looks like whoever has done this is having a field day with it. did you see this twitter account? >> i did see the twitter account. x so i . >> someone went to a lot of work, though. apparently they were able to evade the surveillance video, as well? >> they were. it's a large facility, so it's hard to have eyes at every corner. we do have security that patrols zoo grounds throughout the evening. this definitely was planned. >> and were there other monkeys in this with this monkey or does it appear from the hole that was cut that someone went in there and specifically targeted this one? >> there's actually 18 monkeys -- well, 17 now -- in this enclosure. it's hard to see how many were out in that particular location. but the one hole that they cut is definitely large enough that a small person would have climbed through. i assume they probably just grabbed whatever monkey was sort of the easiest for them to get. >> do they have a special diet? so whoever has this monkey, will they be needing to go some place to buy -- i don't know what it's called, monkey food? >> they do. they basically do eat a monkey chow. much like a dog or cat food, but it's formulated for the primate. so, yeah, it's pretty specialized. that's one of the reasons we need to get him back here. social animal. he's older, on medication and he needs to come back. >ueiawlúq&b whoever took him is listening. careen, thank you very much. >> thank you. primaries, caucuses, what's the difference? and why is this iowa and then new hampshire? why do they get to go first, always? we'll check that out, next. you, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪ sir, can you hear me? two, three. just hold the bag. we need a portable x-ray, please! [ nurse ] i'm a nurse. i believe in the power of science and medicine. but i'm also human. and i believe in stacking the deck. [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. [oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. the first contest in the republican presidential race is just three days away. the iowa caucuses, followed by the new hampshire primary. so what is the difference between a caucus and a primary? cnn national correspondent john king explains. >> every four years, we have to pick a president. we have to pick a nominee based on the system we have. i think there's great value in it. the caucus process is crazy. and it's fun. and in some ways, it's democracy as basic as you can get it. the rick perry people organized over there. the mitt romney people over there, the ron paul group, the gingerich group, so on and so forth. you go into your corner and there's a captain appointed and the captain says, there are 200 people in the room. i have 40, you have 20, he has 12, he has 2. you have to meet a certain threshold or else you don't count. what you will see in a caucus is people trading. i'll see people on the phone calking to people at the next caucus trading back and forth. at the statewide office, we're short, can you get me a trade? until you get to a point where everybody is organized and you have to then dify up the votevv. in a primary, you go and drop your ballot in. iowa and new hampshire established their tradition as the first caucus state and the first voter state. there's no reason to believe that will change. iowa and new hampshire are not like most of america. that's a fair statement in the sense that they are overwhelmingly white. how does a state in the northeast where independence can vote, why should innocents get to influence the influence or the democratic primaries? that's not fair. but if you look at the participation, there is some value in candidates having to go to town halls and take questions from everyday americans over the course of weeks and weeks and months and months. and that's part of the tradition, too. officially, the idea of all these races is to get enough delegates to have leverage at the national convention and at the national convention, simple math. you have enough delegates, you win the nomination. just in modern times, it hasn't worked that way. never in our lifetime have we been at a convention where we didn't know who the nominee was going to be. you get to the point where somebody starts winning and it becomes clear who the nominee is and by the time you get to the convention, that deal is done. >> thank you, john king. be sure to stay with us and hear the candidates in their own words, not just the sound bites. join cnn's chief political correspondent candy crowley life in iowa for the contenders 2012. it comes your way at 2:00 p.m. eastern. and stand by for your close-up. why were some iowa football players a little camera shy last night? that is just ahead in sports. it's been a weird morning, hasn't it? >> we're on tv now. >> i know we're on tv, but we've been talking about weird kind of things. who needs the mayan calendar, banana sam and the tweeting monkey. it's close at hand. >> you know what i say today, especially? the real sports action is not the political primary season. it is today. it has been the bowl season, which has been wonderful so far. >> that is very, very true. we're going to talk all about those bowls, especially the auburn tigers. we're going to talk about some ultimate fighting. to be more specific, we're going to talk about brock lesnar. this guy tried out for the minnesota vikings. my point is that his various job is he needs to try something else. he got beaten up last night. he lost about 30 seconds after the start during his big ultimate fighting championship fight last night. afterwards, he decided to tie him up. he decided to step away from the ring. he retires. the guy who beat him, alistair was fighting in his very first ufc bout. he was a huge face, a big draw. but now things look pretty bad. he's stepping down. wow, that looked painful, didn't it? some football we saw last night, this was a horrendous game. if you happened to be an iowa state fan, it was not good at all. iowa and the oklahoma sooners. this was the inside bowl in tempe, arizona. arizona jumped out to a ten-point lead and held on as iowa tried to make a come back. this was a tony down season for both teams. oklahoma had a loss to texas tech but, you know, to get away if the "w" is not a bad thing and, again, one of many great things today. auburn placed here in atlanta, the eagles. the virginia fans are all in center mass, but auburn fans should be there, too. quite a great game today. >> sure. huge crowds are lining up to see the harry potter movie. but other movies, not too much. why 2011 was a bad year at the box office. with your mortgage, want to avoid foreclosure. candy? um-- well, you know, you're in luck. we're experts in this sort of thing, mortgage rigamarole, whatnot. why don't we get a contract? who wants a contract? [honks horn] [circus music plays] here you go, pete. thanks, betty. betty: we're out of toner. announcer: if you're facing foreclosure, talk to the right people. speak with hud-approved housing counselors free of charge at... 20 is 1, not a good one at the box office. attendance hitting a 16-year low. it costs so much to go. is that surprising? about 1.28 billion people went to movies. it's the lowest number since 1995. some films like tom crew's mission impossible did draw a crowd. not a lot of the others, though. the former cbs news producer who tried to extort millions from david letterman has a job. he's now working for investigation discoveries on the case with paula zahn. he servedfo