we'll get more details on that. >> also if you've been looking, there are pictures that are mind boggling. a cruise ship much, much bigger than the "titanic" on its side. there are reports of six dead now. two americans among the missing and harrowing tales from those who tur vived and the captain has got some explaining to do. he is being asked by authorities there why did you leave that ship? and the first chance for overseas markets to react to the mass downgrade of european nations. will you pay for the mess in europe later this week? will it affect us at all. >> i always wonder, europe, schmeurope. were you watching, golden glo globes. you go to bed at 6:00, don't you? >> i try to. it didn't work out that way. >> if you haven't seen the artist by now, have you seen it. >> i have not seen it. >> are you going to see it? >> if it's not rated pg i'm not going to watch it these days. >> if it's not animation. ricky gervais was not pg at all. >> i hear the fashion was fantastic also. >> julianne moore looked unbelievable. i didn't stay up to watch the whole thing. and then there were five. it's the enthe d of the road fon huntsman. he will urge the party to come together and rally behind romney. he felt he was holding mitt romney back. >> and cnn had this story first. it's what we like to call breaking news, folks. our cnn political reporter peter hamby, who is live in myrtle beach, south carolina, joins us right now on the phone. all right, peter. not even on the phone. you got yourself in front of a camera, too. glad about that at 5:02 in the eastern. i am always jealous when somebody breaks news like this. everyone has picked up on this. i'm never jealous when it's a teammate. how did you do it? >> sources, you no he, been covering the race, this republican race specifically for about four years. you get to know people and you know if they feel like they want to have a story out there, sometimes they call you first. >> foregone conclusion, though. >> i was driving down here to myrtle beach when i got the phone call. >> when can we expect the big announcement? >> big announcement will be 11:00 a.m. here in myrtle beach behind me at the convention cent center. this is the center of the republican universe tonight. every television camera will be able to catch this. was it a foregone conclusion? probably. after jon huntsman's third place finish in new hampshire, it was sort of disappointing for him. he came down here to south carolina without a ton of momentum, almost no money and no staff. he wasn't really catching on. it is surprising he's endorsing mitt romney. the staffs, i can tell you, do not really like each other very much. so it's going to be pretty interesting. jon huntsman has said very negative things about mitt romney, basically that he can't beat obama. democrats are feasting on that. they will later today when this press conference happens. >> oh, lord you and i go back in politics long enough to remember bush/mccain. this sort of thing happens all the time. but what i thought was so weird was the timing. because didn't a nice big fat endorsement come from south carolina's biggest newspaper of all people, for jon huntsman today? >> it absolutely did. yesterday the state newspaper in columbia, the biggest in the state, they endorsed john mccain last time who was the winner, picked him saying he had the right judgment to be president. usually when things like that happen, you might wait a day or two to give you some pad so it doesn't look awkward. today is a big day in south carolina because there's a debate. the timing made sense to do it when the entire press corps was here in myrtle beach. >> peter hamby, live in south carolina, thank you. >> nice break. if that isn't proof enough, keep it on cnn right through november for the best political coverage on television. on thursday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern, it's the southern republican presidential debate right here, live on cnn. don't miss it. >> this saturday, the road to the republican nomination for president stops in south carolina. tune in to cnn saturday night, january 21st at 6:00 p.m. eastern for the most comprehensive primary coverage you can ever find. >> we're going to skip out of politics for a moment to give you more of an update on this incredible story developing over the weekend, a sixth body has now been found aboard that capsized cruise ship off the coast of italy. it's now estimated more than a dozen people have not been accounted for and the search continues. two of those unaccounted for, american citizens. gerald and barbara heil. they are grandparents that hail from minnesota, apparently. this was a retirement trip for them. the american embassy in rome is confirming at this point that this couple has not yet checked in. >> and from the beginning, questions have surrounded the captain's actions. the captain was arrested over the weekend. now his employer says he may even have been responsible. quote, while the investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's master, captain francesco schettino, which resulted in these grave circumstances. >> i don't know if it was detected or not. on the nautical chart it was marked as water, 100 to 150 meters from the rocks. we were 300 meters from the shore more or less. we shouldn't have had this contact. >> what's amazing in this story, not only are the prosecutors in italy considering manslaughter charges against the captain, they've now also got the first officer being detained as well on similar types of charges. it's incredible that what people are saying on board, it was mass chaos, it was every man for himself. >> these are live pictures that we're showing you of the ship. you know, another thing that strikes me, ashley, as rather interesting is that the ship apparently sailed at 7:00 p.m. within 24 hours they are supposed to do these drills. it was schedule for 5:00 p.m. i'm curious why that long wait to schedule a drill that is so vitally important in case of an emergency like this. >> i heard something fascinating as well. when you think about how terrible the circumstance is, also remember there were 4,000 plus people on board. so if you think of an airline disaster, this is multiples of 20, take 20 aircraft and crash them and try to evacuate that many people. as bad a story as this is, if you look at the pictures, it could be so much worse. >> we have dan rivers live on the phone right now in giglio, italy, i think it is. we're talking about the details behind this, the chaos. what can you tell us? actually specifically about that issue of having to have this drill within 24 hours and it being scheduled so late. >> reporter: i'm having real trouble hearing you guys, i'm afraid. let me tell you what the situation is here right now. the search and rescue teams have been going all through the night, divers trying to search for survivors in more than 2,000 cabins inside this enormous liner that is still lying on its side here. we are told that there are still 16 people missing, including two u.s. citizens. so far, six bodies have been found. a sixth body was found overnight. and the fire commanders we've been talking to overnight have been telling us they plan to continue searching the ship until they have concerns that there are no more bodies or survivors inside. and that clearly could take them quite a long time. it's effectively like a sort of sky scraper lying on its side, it's enormous, bigger than the town in which it is in front of. it's a massive task. overnight they had about 120 people searching. and that will continue in shifts of four hours that they're rotating today. until they're certain that they have got everyone out. >> just think how ominous this would be. dan rivers, thanks so much. i know you're having trouble hearing us. we'll try to check in with you later. imagine the divers going into the hull and swimming through the blackened ship and trying to find survivors through cabins, passageways. awful. >> i wonder how you survive in the cold waters also. all right. u.s. markets closed today. it's the mlk holiday for some people, not for us. >> downgrades of nine euro zone countries on friday. alison kosik. >> you're meeting people for the first time on the air live. >> it's nice to meet you. i saw you in make-up but i didn't get a chance to talk to you. >> for the u.s. we saw the reaction on friday. we did see the dow plunge 160 points during the day. by the time the closing bell rang we only had modest losses. standard & poors which downgraded the nine euro zone countries had put the euro zone on notice that this was going to happen. everybody expected. we didn't see the market reaction. in fact, overnight, the european markets hardly seeing any reaction there as well. asian markets are down more than 1% each. overall not seeing a huge reaction. you think about what happens in august in the u.s. we lost our top-tier credit rating, aaa. we went to aa plus. we saw the dow plunge 600 points but the markets have recovered and we didn't see a huge reaction in the bond markets, even to this day, that ten-year note is still under 2%. >> i was absolutely astounded watching ali velshi talking about how ten years ago, i think it was the s&p downgraded japan as well. it didn't really make a difference. >> what's interesting we're kind of all on the same playing field, aren't we? >> aa is the best. >> it seems to be the case. at this point, where are they going to put their money, where's the safest place to put their money? at this point they are putting it into u.s. treasuries. they are also putting their money back into equities, although very slowly. because the volume is slow still. even with aa plus for the u.s., we're still the safest bet. >> what about bank earnings. >> jp morgan chase came in as a big disappointment. jp morgan shares plunged 2.35% friday. it was worrisome. this week we'll get the whole litany of all the big banks, morgan stanley, wells fargo, goldman sachs. they're all going to be reporting. you'll see u.s. investors focusing more on the bank earnings and on the housing reports coming out more so than the european downgrade. >> housing reports? >> yes. >> i'm waiting for that. >> me, too. >> alison kosik, you're adorable. >> oh, thanks. >> thank you. >> thank you. it is 12 minutes paragraph the hour. northwest was slammed with snow. did you know? and a messy week ahead in the northeast. rob marciano joining us with the latest. nice to see you. >> good morning, guys. chilly up there. winter finally arriving after being m.i.a. these are actual temperatures, though. in new york city, 16 degrees. boston, currently 10. with the wind there it's feeling more like zero. actual temperature in albany 3. the actual temperature without the wind chill is 2. that's where the cold air is. we have cold air down to the south. not quite enough to make too much of a mess. rain heading across parts of the midsouth, heading towards atlanta, knoxville eventually. a weak weather system that makes its way throughout the day today. another weak weather system coming down across parts of canada and a decent weather system coming across the pacific northwest where they've had issues. chicago, showers and wind. if you're traveling through that city, you'll have issues. most the day, including st. louis and dallas and denver should be below the hour mark. pacific northwest, snow yesterday. check it out in seattle, low-hand accumulating on the roadways. that's a rare event. a couple inches in seattle proper. accumulating snows throughout the week. so that's rare enough as it is as was our mild start to the winter across the northeast. at least it's good to see that things are getting a little bit more winter-like. >> those pictures. you don't want people to get into chaos. >> that's really seattle? honestly? >> yes. >> they'll get accumulating snow a couple times a year. obviously chaos ensues and the city shuts down. that traffic looks to be rolling along fairly well. >> it makes me harkin back to my days in canada growing up. pictures were like that in july. >> nostalgia. >> thanks, rob. >> thanks. it is now 14 minutes past 5:00 in the east. time to get you caught up on top stories if you're getting ared to get out the door. south carolina, end of the line, my friends, for jon huntsman. cnn breaking that news that the former utah governor will announce today, i'm done, bye-bye. i'm out of the republican presidential race. mr. huntsman placed third in the new hampshire primaries after skipping iowa altogether. the polls had him way back, like way back. in south carolina. now he's expected to put his support behind mitt romney. >> and a sixth body has been found on board the italian cruise ship "costa concordia." the cruise ship company says there may have been significant signs of human error on the part of the ship's captain who has been arrested in italy. they are looking at manslaughter charges there. >> if you're a mini cooper fan, about 90,000 of these itty-bitty babies are being recalled because of a possible fire hazard. federal officials are saying apparently it's a faulty circuit board on certain 2006 to 2011 models. that covers a bunch. 2006 to 2011. call your dealer, folks. >> that's a cute little car. >> they're adorable. >> still to come on "early start," congress makes history. it's setting an all-time record in 2011. try to guess what it is. >> it's not 9 kind of record you want to set. >> that's what you call dubious, right? something real dubious. if you didn't stay up late because you're up early with us, george clooney gracing the red carpets at the golden globes. you know what, i'm not sure if the headline is george clooney as much as it is ricky gervais. they took a chance on him again. how did it go? you're watching "early start." hey, aren't you supposed to be following that fidelity green line? well, yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could it be try-- oh, i left my 401(k) at my old job. and i left a jacket on the back of my door. but i think the line's talking about my 401(k). leave a 401(k) behind? roll it over with a company that's helping more people reach retirement than anyone else. call or come in for a free portfolio review today. c'mon, michael! get in the game! 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[ laughs ] hey! like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. good morning, d.c. how are you on this fine morning? >> a little cold. >> 27 degrees. later it will be sunny and 44. >> that's such a pretty picture, isn't it? >> beautiful. >> 20 minutes past 5:00 in the morning. got some papers from mississippi as well as washington, d.c. let's take you to mississippi. it's been a story that's been in the side of haley barbour. the new governor of mississippi is none too pleased with what outgoing haley barbour did about those pardons. he wants to make it a whole lot tougher in his state to do what his predecessor did, pardon convicts. it's not take the power away completely but to mitigate it somewhat, lessen some of the ability to just, you know, rubber stamp these dangerous criminals. they also want to look at that program where those criminals are allowed to work in the mansion. >> yes. i just don't understand that. i think that's really where you have to say, hey, somebody should earn to be in here and there should be rehabilitation involved, although we don't know. we haven't really looked at the program closely. >> i'm all about that rehabilitation but for hardened killers, that's tough to swallow. >> how about absolute futility. all of 2011 congress passed a gran total of 80 bills. >> 80? that's it. >> it's an all-time record for lack of production. they've been keeping these records since 1947. they accomplished less than 2011 than any other year in history. it's the all-time worst year for the sthat. the house had the tenth least productive session ever. harry reid says the senate works on consensus, we volcano been able to get that, the republicans, obstructionism on steroids. that is what he says. >> good on you, harry reid, however, i think president obama will have a field day with this one. he's going to run on the do nothing congress. that is going to be his big opponent. congress stinks. >> they spent a lot of time in working overtime. >> overtime fighting? good for them. >> it's kind of weird. >> let's switch gears to the weird fun stuff. hollywood's biggest party, other than oscars. the 69th golden globe awards handed out last night as well as 20,000 drinks, we're told. the big winner? >> the artist. >> "the artist." it was a black and white silent film by french filmmakers, french actors. man is this a good movie if you want to see something that makes you smile. three awards including best musical or comedy. ricky gervais was back again as host. pulling the punches, everybody was fair game. have a listen. >> the golden globes are to the oscars what kim kardashian is to kate middleton. what? a bit louder. a bit trashier. a bit drumpger. and more easily bought. >> ooh. >> i just have to mention, jane fonda looked amazing. >> she's stunning. >> gorgeous. she was on piers morgan and looked like she was 12. >> unbelievable. >> george clooney, best dramatic actor, meryl streep, we both saw this, best dramatic actress in "the iron lady." she was amazing. >> can you smell oscar. >> michelle williams, best actress in comedy. "modern family" best comedy series. "homeland" for best drama series. >> dvr, girl. >> you dvr and then when do you watch? >> that's the problem. on the weekends. still to come, why wasn't the crew of the ship that crashed off the coast of italy prepared for that? we're trying to get you some answers, folks. so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! jon huntsman about to become history in the 2012 presidential race and about to back mitt romney. >> you are watching "early start." good morning to you. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. a minnesota couple among more than a dozen people who are still missing from a sunkle cruise ship off the coast of italy. friends and re