intensified. the army shelling its own people as the arab world steps in to try to end the slaughter of civilians. and an all-out brawl at the mall. police with guns drawn, shoppers scrambling for exits. chaos after christmas on this american morning. captions by vitac www.vitac.com good morning. it s tuesday, december 27th. this is american morning. i m alina cho along with ali velshi. good morning. good morning to you. we re so glad you re with us today. there s a lot going on. let s get right to it. starting in iowa. it s the place to be this morning. five top republicans plan to visits hawkeye state today. not going for the corn. seven day rees main until the iowa caucuses. the first in the nation, a nomination is up for grabs. cnn political director mark preston is live in des moines this morning. mark, the week begins with newt gingrich trying to distance himself once again, not from someone else, but from his own past. reporter: yeah. from his own p