captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. happy friday, everybody. so this debate in sioux city was the last before the iowa caucuses, which are on january 3rd. >> while newt gingrich did face some criticism, surprisingly, none of it came from mitt romney. instead, he saved his harshest words for president obama. we'll have much more on the debate and where the republican race stands right now, straight ahead. an encouraging sign for one of the smallest babies ever born, delivered at 24 weeks and weighed 9.5 ounces and doctors gave her a 1% chance of surviving. now four months later doctors have wonderful news for this family. we'll talk to the parents coming up in just a few moments. and we're going to be hearing a lot from howard stern on the new season of "america's got talent." the outspoken shock jock as some call him decided to join the judge's table and already promises "feelings are going to be hurt." we'll have more on that story as well. >> uh-oh. we begin with presidential politics and last night's political debate. chuck todd is our political director and chief white house correspondent. good morning. >> good morning. most of this week had candidates attacking each other and it turned into the most negative week of the campaign. final debate lacked that same negative energy. instead the front-runners played iowa nice. >> i think governor romney deserves some of the credit. >> governor romney, do you want to respond to that compliment? >> yes, thank you. >> reporter: so went the final debate before the january 3rd iowa caucuses. the two leading candidates, mitt romney and newt gingrich, choosing to avoid any clashes. the only veiled reference to their feud, gingrich poking fun at himself for being zany. >> zany is great. >> reporter: a word first used by romney at "the new york times." >> i get accused of using language too strong so i've been standing here editing. i'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany, and -- >> reporter: but each time romney and gingrich got a question designed to get them to spar with one another, they shifted the focus often to president obama. >> this president doesn't know how the economy works. i believe to create jobs it helps to have created jobs. >> i believe i can debate barack obama and in seven three-hour debates barack obama will not have a leg to stand on. >> reporter: the positive debate is a marked contrast from most of the tv ads airing in iowa. >> gingrich was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. >> it's about serial hypocrisy. >> $10,000 bet? >> not too many caucusgoers in iowa would ever place a $10,000 bet. >> reporter: but gingrich doesn't have a lot of money and his latest ads stay mostly positive. >> others seem to be focused on attacks rather than move the country forward. that's up to them. >> reporter: they didn't come away completely unscathed, getting hit repeatedly by the other candidates. >> he personally as governor issued gay marriage licenses. >> i want to make it very clear, i have been a champion of protecting traditional marriage. >> reporter: michele bachmann and gingrich got into tes the ti exchanges over the former speaker's private sector ties to freddie mac. >> when p speaker had his hand out and was taking $1.6 million to influence senior republicans to keep the scams going. >> sometimes people ought to have facts before they make wild allegations. >> reporter: bachmann, onetime iowa front-runner, now trailing badly was the most aggressive, even tangling with ron paul over the issue of nuclear weapons in iran. >> we ought to sit back and not jump the gun and believe we aren't going to be attacked. >> i believe i've never heard a more dangerous answer for american security than the one we just heard. >> i think this wild goal to have another war in the name of defense is the dangerous thing. >> reporter: but for the most part, the debate was more kumbaya than contentious with a focus on president obama. >> it's president obama we've got to talk about. he's unveiled himself as the president, not the right person to lead this country. >> our only opponent is barack obama, and we need to come out of this process remembering beating him is collectively what we have to do. >> the romney campaign is trying to show they have momentum again. they've nabbed a pretty big endorsement in the early sweep states, south carolina governor nikki haley who had a lot of tea party support in 2010 and the romney campaign hope it transfers to him in that third big primary of the season. matt? >> chuck todd weighing in on this for us. chuck, thank you very much. >> david gregory, moderator of "meet the press" good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. >> it was pretty civil, cordial. they're trying to create a lasting impression in iowa for people to talk about over the next 18 days. are you in agreement with some month who say this was a good night for mitt romney? >> i am. all of the candidates touched on feel-good issues for iowa, conservative voters, social issues getting play last night. romney made the calculation he was not going to attach gingrich because gingrich is a good counter-puncher. he learned that in the last debate, kept his fire trained on president obama, talked about himself more. had to fend off tough questions from moderators but all in all it was a good night. >> as chuck pointed out in his piece, on the one hand they're being civil and friendly but all running ads in iowa and elsewhere that are anything but. >> absolutely. they don't always engage each other as hard on the stage as they do with those tv ads. make no mistake, mitt romney is relying now on some of his rivals like a michele bachmann, rick santorum, ron paul, to take the fight to newt gingrich. there's a lot of folks in the republican establishment taking on newt gingrich, and it's giving room for romney to step back and not take him on frontily, where he doesn't necessarily have all of the goods on the debate stage. >> when you talk about seeming to some of the republican establishment taking on newt gingrich and coming to the rescue of mitt romney, are they taking on gingrich on ideological grounds or electability grounds? >> it's an important point. it's actually both. you see some conservatives actually making the point that gingrich is a much bigger government conservative than people may think, and the glenn becks, the ann coulters, they're taking him on from that point of view. it's true if you look at gingrich's record and his belief that the role of government, something tea party folks will not like to hear. and the electability argument, who can best debate barack obama, the president, on the economy but also electability, high negatives for gingrich and a certain ceiling talking about independent voters. >> just as we put a couple of recent polls up on the screen, we're noticing that lead that newt gingrich had developed over the last several weeks in iowa seems to be shrinking in this poll right here, the rasmussen poll, it's actually gone and mitt romney is in the lead and as we talked about earlier in the week, david, the guy who was there in the middle of these polls continually and has been for a long time, ron paul. >> yeah, and he took it to gingrich again over the freddie mac issue. it goes to the point that gingrich has really high negatives. people dislike gingrich, sometimes voters forgotten why they dislike him. they can be reminded through television ads. paul is running the most negative ads against gingrich in iowa thus far. he'll continue to do that, the super packs, outside groups will super pacs, outside groups will continue to do that on behalf of mitt romney as well. it's driving up the negatives and look at what's happening in the vacuum. there are no big republicans around the country who are stepping up for newt gingrich, and everybody knows him. nikki haley from south carolina, big endorsement for romney today. gingrich is more isolated when it comes to the people standing behind him saying he's the guy. >> who are you having sunday? >> michele bachmann and the near government shutdown with the member of the administration. >> david gregory, see you sunday on "meet the press." thanks. >> thanks, matt. a check of the top stories with natalie morales at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. russian officials have seized radioactive material bound for iran. the custom service at moscow's international airport said that radioactive sodium 22 was found in a tehran-bound passenger's luggage and that tests showed that material could only have been obtained through nuclear operations. an 11th-hour deal has been reached to avoid a government shutdown ahead of today's midnight deadline. congressional negotiators reached a compromise on a $1 trillion spending bill and pushing to renew a payroll tax cut in unemployment benefits. but just in case, senate majority leader harry reid says lawmakers are planning a plan b that supports a two-month extension. two former penn state officials head to a perjury hearing today. gary schultz and tim curley are fighting charges they didn't respond properly to reports that jerry sandusky was molesting young boys. this morning assistant coach mike mcqueary testified he believes he saw sandusky molesting a boy in 2002. he said the boy appeared to be about 10 years old. he said he reported the incident to head coach joe paterno the next day. the army private accused of releasing thousands of classified documents to wikileaks makes his first public appearance today. 23-year-old bradley manning's pretrial hearing opens today. the u.s. military is pushing for manning to be court-martialed and endangering national security. christopher hitchens died after a long battle with esophageal cancer. the passionate and controversial critic and ardent atheist took on political fighees in his vibrant essays. the best selling author of "god is not great" had publicly scoffed his diagnosis would in change his disbelief of religion. he was 62 years old. let's head to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange. good morning, mandy. >> good morning, natalie. u.s. stocks snapped a three-day decline yesterday on showing improvement in the economy. today there is one stock in particular, though, we are following. do you own a blackberry? research in motion delayed the release of a make-or-break overhaul of its devices until later next year and the market is not happy. back to you. >> mandy drury, thanks so much. in case snowboarding doesn't rev your adrenaline enough, how about saltboarding? take a look at this. devin graham headed to the salt flats of utah to capture some adventurous athletes in action, zooming along at 50 miles. the view could not be better. beautiful cinematography. it is 7:12, we turn it back over to matt, al and ann. >> looks like fun. let's try that. >> let's do that, you guys, group project outing. >> i'm going pepper skiing this weekend. let's see what's happening, we've got a lot of wind to talk about down in southern california, santa anas, getting herself together, high pressure to the north, low pressure to the south, in between the windy conditions. to the northeast and new england we're looking at wind advisories there as a big, powerful low-pressure system up in canada causes problems. and as we head across the pond, france, they're calling it hurricane joaquim, wind gusts of up to 83 miles per hour. that's what's going on in the >> and the rain has moved on. temperatures really chilly this morning. we'll stay in the 30s and 40s for 8:00. by lunchtime as you head outside and enjoy the sunshine, still need a jacket. should see low 60s inland. little breezy in the hill tops. if you like today you'll love the weekend forecast. frosty temperatures this morning. dry weather through the middle part of next week. now to washington state where the so-called barefoot bandit is set to appear in court today, and as he prepares to face a judge we're learning new details about the man's troubling past. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. colton harris moore has written a letter to a judge taking full responsibility for his crimes while also blaming his upbringing for his mistakes. when his crime spree came to an end, true to form, the barefoot bandit was arrested without shoes. colton harris-moore suspected of 80 crimes in eight states. the 20-year-old writes of growing up in a broken home. "my thirst for knowledge cries for help, and coming of age was met with inept parents suffering from drugs and alcohol." harris-moore's mother wouldn't talk to nbc news on camera but says she was never an alcoholic and raised her son with good values. but in a psychiatric evaluation, paid for by the defense, dr. richard adler says colton was an abused youth exposed to alcohol prenately, who suffered psychological harm while falling through the cracks. >> those various agencies and institutions that were supposed to assist him simply didn't, time and time again. >> reporter: dubbed the barefoot bandit for leaving footprints behind at his breakins, he stole cars, boats, even airplanes after he taught himself to fly. he gained a cult following but adler writes, "what was characterized by the media as the swashbuckling adventures of a rakish teenager were in fact the actions of a depressed, suicidal young man." >> he was living in ditches, culverts and port-a-potties from time to time, so that's the other side of it. it wasn't a romantic adventure. >> reporter: marion rathbone was one of the earliest victims. for 25 years her family ran this restaurant near colton's home in washington state until one night changed everything. >> he just took the rug right out from under our feet. >> reporter: authorities say harris-moore stole $18,000 from the restaurant's safe, then was captured on security video a year later trying to burglarize the restaurant a second time. >> when we had to file bankruptcy, we lost everything, not just the business. we lost our homes. >> reporter: for rathbone, the new details about harris' hard past mean nothing. >> i'm sorry he had a rough childhood, but you know what? three-quarters of america would be in jail right now if that was a good excuse for everything. >> reporter: harris-moore has already pled guilty to federal charges in june. today the state begins to close their case. he could get nine years in prison. ann, back to you. >> miguel almaguer, thank you so much. it is 7:16. once again, here's matt. the italian appeals court that overturned the murder conviction of amanda knox is explaining its ruling in a newly released report. nbc's stephanie gosk has details on that.nie gosk has details on that. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. judge claudio helmand blows holes in nearly every aspect of the prosecution's case at time accusing the prosecutor of ridiculous conclusions based on little fact. the judge's report does in writing what his decision last october did in the courtroom, completely exonerates knox in the murder of meredith kercher. amanda knox was overcome with emotion when her guilty verdict and 26-year prison sentence were overturned. she had spent nearly four years in prison. ushered out of the courtroom, out of italy and finally home to seattle, as quickly as her family could get her there. in a report released thursday the italian judge offered a blistering critique of the prosecution. he says there was no evidence that knox and her former boyfriend, raffaele sollecito, murdered meredith kercher in 2007. in a statement, knox's parents write that the report confirms what they knew all along. "the prosecution's theory against her was only that, a theory that had no basis in fact." >> one could not hope for a more clear statement rendered by an appellate court. >> reporter: the pros kugs, the judge writes, could not prove that they were in the house at the time of the murder or that they even knew rudy guede, the third suspect who was found guilty of the crime. the judge continues, "the sudden choice of two young people, to commit evil for evil's sake, without any further reason, seems even more incomprehensible." the more than 140-page report repeatedly criticizes the prosecution, flimsy dna evidence, flawed by sloppy police work, no proof that the alleged murder weapon was ever in the house, knox's interrogation statements were made under duress and she wasn't offered a lawyer. the judge writes "the obsessive interrogation by police went on for hours, both day and night on a young girl who at the time did not speak or understand italian." during the trial the prosecution accused both knox and sollecito of insensitive behavior, criticizing them for buying underwear and kissing in public. it was simple tenderness between two lovers and was also a way of relieving the climate of anxiety and fear that had enveloped them and not, the judge says, a reliable indication of guilt. what the judge doesn't do is provide a theory of what actually happened. the complete details of kercher's death still remain a mystery. the prosecution will appeal to italy's supreme court but only on the appellate process, not the evidence itself. knox and sollecito doesn't have to attend the hearings. >> thank you very much. it's 19 after the hour. here's ann. a california couple has a reason to be happy this holiday season thanks to their tiny daughter who is defying great odds and savannah guthrie is here to explain. >> good morning, it's an amazing story. with the help of modern medicine a premature little girl, thought to be one of the smallest babies to have been born and survived has reached an more than milestone. the images are remarkable, a tiny baby no larger than the palm of one's hand, little melinda starr guido came into this world after only 24 weeks, weighing just 9 1/2 ounces. >> everybody thought she wouldn't make it at all. they doubted her. >> reporter: now 16 weeks later on what should be her due date the parents are marveling their daughter is believed to be the third smallest baby in the world to have lived this long. >> when i had her, they didn't want to help her. i said she was a fighter, to help her to survive and that's what they did. >> reporter: it was difficult from the beginning. ibarra experienced pregnancy complications, forcing her to undergo an emergency caesarian section. >> chances of living was like 1%, so that 1%, we got t it's a miracle. >> reporter: the challenges continued. melinda had surge troy repair an artery and treated for an eye disorder common in preemies. >> she's a fighter, no doubt about that. she's a fighter. >> reporter: melinda is now four pounds and her doctor is encouraged by her progress. >> the smallest baby i've ever had to take care of and we are lucky that the baby is doing well. >> reporter: and as with all premature babies, she will need to be closely monitored. >> most premies have problems with heart, lungs or brain. in this case it looks like things are going well but doctors will warn parents who are taking a premie home, they'll walk very carefully because in most cases there are going to be significant developmental hurdles. >> hello, little girl. >> reporter: for melinda's parents, their focus now is preparing their daughter's homecoming. >> hopefully in three weeks we can take her home. that's what i'm looking forward, spending my time with her, my life with her, just going to be great. >> babies born so prematurely certainly have the odds stacked against them but thankfully looks like melinda is doing very well. >> thanks very much to modern medicine. coming up, what happened to the first attorney who looked into the first allegations to jerry sandusky and then vanished six years ago. but