peter alexander, thank you so much. let's bring in our panel and talk further as we await herman cain taking that podium. we have erin mcpike, joe watkins, former aide to president george h.w. bush. and goldie taylor, host of the "goldie taylor project." goldie, you heard your colleague here on the panel, joe watkins saying that he was talking in a very political sense earlier about what this may come down to and the money that's out there and what may be something that would inspire herman cain to continue, because he's got potentially some red on the books that he wants to bring back into the black so he wouldn't end the presidential candidacy owing money. but that said, it's been suggested it comes down to the discussion with his wife of 43 years. so do you think herman cain woke up today and knew exactly what he was going to do? >> i think he did. but anybody who believes that herman cain either relied on his wife or his donors to tell him whether or not he should be in the race doesn't know herman cain very well. h

peter alexander is in atlanta. peter, another good day to you. any sense yet which way this is going? >> it's a good question right now, alex, if herman cain does announce that he's pulling out of this race, it will be a first time that reporters have seen them with a blues band and barbecue being served here, which is taking place even as we speak. this is a party-like atmosphere. even members of his own campaign say they don't know what's going to happen. he's now elsewhere at a double tree hotel about 15 minutes away. we'll keep you up to date on that, as well. we spoke a short time ago with the head of the georgia press secretary for the cain campaign. he acknowledges they may not find out what herman cain will announce until everybody else does. obviously the biggest headline has been the latest allegation from a 46-year-old georgia woman who said she had a sexual affair for 13 years with cain that cain denies. here's his press secretary responding. >> any time those allegations come out, it's always tough on anybody. it did take away a litt

nbc's peter alexander is in des moines with more. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening. as you noted the frontrunners mitt romney and ron paul are so confident tonight ron paul said he plans to take the weekend off. mitt romney is already campaigning in new hampshire tonight, the next state to vote, trying to shore up his support there. mitt romney continued trying to position himself as the presumptive republican nominee, directing much of his fire at the president. >> do you want more of barack obama? >> no! >> reporter: today turning to popular new jersey governor chris christie to help seal votes who offered a playful jab. >> you don't do what you're supposed to do on tuesday for mitt romney, i will be back jersey-style, people. i will be back. >> reporter: romney deflected a question from nbc's andrea mitchell over whether he would release his tax returns. >> you know, if i become president then i will consider that. it's premature to talk about it at this stage. >> is there a secret? people know you're wealthy.

peter alexander starting us off in iowa. peter, thanks. >>> and from iowa to the hawaiian islands, where president obama is still on his family vacation, and getting some good news about his approval ratings. our white house correspondent kristen welker joins us now from honolulu. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, lester. well, the white house rarely comments on poll numbers because they're so volatile. but one senior administration official admits, these new numbers are good news heading into the new year. taking a look at monday's daily gallop tracking poll numbers. 47% of american as prove of the job the president is doing, and 45% disapprove. that's a five month high and consistent with multiple polls taken in december. now, a new gallop poll number came out today which actually shows a small decline. what's driving this general uptick? likely the president's recent victory in the payroll tax cut fight. the unemployment rate, which finally dipped below 9% for the first time in a long time. and a strong holi

>> peter alexander in our washington bureau tonight. peter, thanks for that. >>> in upstate new york tonight, law enforcement officials said former syracuse university assistant men's basketball coach bernie fine cannot be prosecuted on child abuse accusations because the statute of limitations to bring those charges out ran out long ago. fine was accused by two former ball boys of molestation that allegedly took place back in the 1990s. >>> this was sentencing day today for former illinois governor rod blagojevich. he will be joining a long line of former illinois governors who have gone behind bars. his sentence, 14 years. his demeanor, much different from the time of his initial arrest on corruption charges almost three years ago now. our report tonight from nbc's ron allen in chicago. >> reporter: rod blagojevich left federal court a disgraced man, headed for 14 years in federal prison, convicted of 17 counts of bribery and attempted extortion, including most notoriously trying to cash in as governor by attempting to sell an appoint

our coverage begins with nbc's peter alexander outside the cain headquarters in atlanta. peter? >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. today's announcement had a lot of the same political fever that has defined herman cain's unconventional campaign. there was barbecue served, music played, and cain even quoted the animated movie "pokemon". up until the last minute, cain's closest advisers were still in the dark about what decision he would make. it was supposed to be a new beginning, the grand opening of herman cain's georgia state headquarters. but when cain and his wife of 43 years gloria stepped off the campaign bus even his supporters didn't know what he would say. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family. >> reporter: cain acknowledged the painful impact of allegations of sexual harassment and, more recently, claims by an atlanta woman, ginger white, of a 13-year extramarital affair. >> it wasn't a love affair. it was a sexual affair. >> reporter: still, cain remained defiant. >> my wi

chuck todd and peter alexander are in iowa tonight. we begin with peter in mason city. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening to you. one sign that mitt romney's campaign is gaining confidence and looking forward to the opportunity to win here in iowa next week is the fact that today they announced they will host a party after next tuesday night's caucuses and then stay overnight to do tv interviews before heading to new hampshire where romney is heavily favored. before a large crowd in this iowa city that inspired the broadway play "the music man" -- >> i feel like breaking into "76 trombones" but i will not do that right now. >> reporter: -- frontrunner mitt romney focused his closing argument on patriotic values. >> o beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years. >> reporter: but while many iowa republicans are still searching -- >> it's nice to see how they interact with the crowd. are they presidential? >> reporter: caroline erickson said she's leaning toward romney because he can win even though her political heart lies elsewhere. >> even

>> peter alexander in iowa tonight. thanks, peter. if you've been following the polls in iowa for awhile now you've seen a lot of front runners come and go. candidates are up one week, down the next. iowa voters it seems can't seem to coalesce behind one candidate. with just three days to go kelly o'donnell spent some time today with iowans still making up their mind. >> reporter: in this political season, the heart of iowa has not been so easy to win over. >> who wants to try the fudge? >> reporter: shop owner and republican voter kelly sharp is still undecided and underwhelmed. >> you know, you get a little wore out. you get wore out from the negative campaign. you get wore out from this person saying something about that person. >> reporter: in living rooms across iowa, an onslaught of political ads. more than $16 million spent by campaigns. >> you can always tell caucus is close. santorum never had any ads. >> reporter: since mid august iowa voters have had more than 500 chances to see a republican contender in person. >> i've bee

our coverage begins with nbc's peter alexander outside the cain headquarters in atlanta. peter? >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. today's announcement had a lot of the same political fever that has defined herman cain's unconventional campaign. barbecue served, cain quoted the animated movie pokemon. up until the last minute, cain's closest advisers were still in the dark about what decisions he would make. it was supposed to be a new beginning, the grand opening of herman cain's georgia state headquarte headquarters. but when cain and his wife of 43 years stepped off the campaign bus even his supporters didn't know what he would say. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family. >> reporter: cain acknowledged the painful impact of allegations of sexual harassment, and more recently claims by an atlanta woman, ginger white, of a 13-year extramarital affair. >> it wasn't a love affair. it was a sexual affair. >> reporter: still, cain remained defiant. >> my wife, my family and i, we know th

his conversation with chuck todd is coming up, but we begin with peter alexander in clinton, iowa where the candidates are picking up the pace racing the clock and each other. peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. while this new poll shows just how volatile the gop field still is, ron paul has steadily remained at or near the top through the course of this political campaign, and again today he was the target of nearly every other candidate looking to erode his supports. their messages by now well-honed. the republican presidential pd candidates today scam belled to make their closing pitches to the tens of thousands of undecided iowans. >> it's an absolutely gorgeous, brilliant, sparkling day here in creston, iowa. >> reporter: seven candidates, more than 30 scheduled stops statewide. front-runner romney largely ignored his republican rivals today, instead directing his strongest attacks at the president. >> make sure we send president obama to his hometown where he can go back and learn what it's like to work in the private sector. >> reporter: the romney campaign is enjoyi

his conversation with chuck todd is coming up, but we begin with peter alexander in clinton, iowa where the candidates are picking up the pace racing the clock and each other. peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. while it this new poll shows how shawl tile the gop field is, ron paul is at or near the top through the course of this political campaign, and again today he was the target of nearly every other candidate looking to he erode his supports. their messages by "wild live"-oened. the republican presidential candidates scrambled to making the closing pitches to the tens of thousands undecided iowans. >> it's a gorgeous, brilliant, sparkling day in creston, iowa. >> seven candidates, more than 30 scheduled stops statewide. mitt romney largely ignored his republican rivals today extending his strongest attacks at the president. >> make sure we send president obama to his hometown. >> reporter: the romney campaign is enjoying a growing wave of support here. >> what an extraordinary turnout. >> reporter: the discontent and anger over the economy has taken up residence in iow

peter alexander is in des moines with more. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening. as you noted the frontrunners mitt romney and ron paul are so confident tonight ron paul said he plans to take weekend off. mitt romney is already campaigning in new hampshire tonight, the next state to vote, trying to shore up his support there. mitt romney continued trying to position himself as the presumptive republican nominee, directing much of his fire at the president. >> do you want more of barack obama? >> no! >> reporter: today turning to popular new jersey governor chris christie to help seal votes who offered a playful jab. >> you don't know what you're supposed to do on tuesday for mitt romney, i will be back jersey-style, people. i will be back. >> reporter: romney deflected a question from nbc's andrea mitchell over whether or not he would release his tax returns. >> when i become president i will consider that. it's premature to talk about it at this stage. >> is there a secret? people know you're wealthy. >> i understand. >> there's nothing to hide. >> i agree. >> re

>> peter alexander in our washington bureau tonight. peter, thanks for that. >>> in up state new york tonight law enforcement officials said former syracuse university assistant men's basketball coach bernie fine cannot be prosecuted on child abuse accusations because the statute of limitations to bring those charges out ran out long ago. fine was accused by two former ball boys of molestation that allegedly took place back in the 1990s. this was sentencing day today for former illinois governor rod blagojevich. he will be joining a long line of former illinois governors who have gone behind bars. his sentence, 14 years. his demeanor, much different from the time of his initial arrest on corruption charges almost three years ago now. our report tonight from nbc's ron allen in chicago. >> reporter: rod blagojevich left federal court a disgraced man, headed for 14 years in federal prison, convicted of 17 counts of bribery and attempted extortion, including most notoriously attempting to sell an appointment to president obama's old senate

chuck todd and peter alexander are in iowa tonight. we begin with peter in mason city. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening to you. one sign that mitt romney's campaign is gaining confidence and looking forward to the opportunity to win here in iowa next week is the fact that today they announced they will host a party after tuesday night's caucuses and then stay overnight to do tv interviews before heading to new hampshire where romney is heavily favored. before a large crowd in this iowa city that inspired the broadway play "the music man". >> i feel like breaking into "76 trombones" but i will not do that right now. >> reporter: frontrunner mitt romney focused his closing argument on patriotic values. >> o beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years. >> reporter: but while many iowa republicans are still searching -- >> it's nice to see how they interact with the crowd. are they presidential. >> reporter: caroline erickson said she's leaning toward romney because he can win even though her political heart lies elsewhere. >> even though i

his conversation with chuck todd is coming up, but we begin with peter alexander in clinton, iowa where the candidates are picking up the pace racing the clock and each other. peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. while this new polls shows just how volatile the gop field still is, ron paul has steadily remained at or near the top through the course of this political campaign, and again today he was the target of nearly every other candidate looking to erode his supports. their messages by now well-honed. the republican presidential candidates scrambled to making the closing pitches to the tens of thousands undecided iowans. >> it's an absolutely gorgeous, brilliant, sparkling day here in creston, iowa. >> reporter: seven candidates, more than 30 scheduled stops statewide. mitt romney largely ignored his republican rivals today instead directing his strongest attacks at the president. >> make sure we send president obama to his hometown where he can learn what it's like to work in the private sector. >> reporter: the romney campaign is enjoying a growing wave of support here

nbc's peter alexander has the details for us. peter, good morning. >> lester, good morning to you. this weekend was supposed to mark a new beginning for herman cain, scheduled at the grand opening of his georgia state headquarters right here in atlanta. instead, cain, as we saw, pulled out of the race, but he did it with much of the same political theater that has defined an unconventional campaign. music blaired, barbecue was served, ask cain even concluded his confession by quoting the animated movie "pokemon." >> reporter: with herman cain promising to endorse one of his former gop competitors soon, the rest of the republican field quickly expressed its gratitude for what the novice politician brought to the 2012 race. >> he was always good-humored and always optimistic, and we'll miss him on the campaign trail. >> reporter: saturday afternoon when cain and his wife of 43 years, gloria, stepped off the campaign bus in atlanta, even cain's strongest supporters didn't know what he would say. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions, the con

. >> peter alexander is in des moines today and he joins me by phone. hi there, peter. >> hi there, milissa. how are you? >> i'm great. you're on the road with the romney campaign this morning. how is he doing and what is he up to in his first full day in iowa this week? >> career kr we're criss-crossing the state today. they think they're really within striking distance of winning in iowa right now. we were at a breakfast meet and greet in a small quad cities community and i spoke to a woman there who said she was still debating between mitt romney and newt gingrich as her candidate, but she said her primary focus was finding a candidate she thought could beat the incumbent president. she and the others gathered there believed mitt romney is just that person. right now it's very clear that the candidate himself has been trying to position himself above that slugfest fray. they're confident that the benefit and the difference between this go around inç 2011-2012 versus four years ago is the that the conservative vote will be heavily fractured, split t

. >> nbc's peter alexander is live for us in des moines. now, nothing makes up for time spent on the ground, peter but romney is blanketing the state, dom and i were talking about it between him and the super pac, lots of ads, are you seeing them out there? >> we are, absolutely. there have been a record number of ads, not just by romney, chris but overall, more than $10 million spent in the month of december alone by all of these candidates, blastering the air waves. what is important to note about mitt romney, four years ago, he really attacked this state, 77 days he spent post the straw poll, getting out and glad handing with everybody across this area. th time around, spent ten days here so far, next convenient in calf.port, iowa, later this evening, in new hampshire for two events today the significance there is obvious, he doesn't believe he needs meet and greet individuals, accomplish the same goal perhaps more feicktively over the airwaves in time around. chris? >> the polk county republican party chairman, polk county, des moines,

>> peter alexander on the ground. thank you very much. >> let's bring in mark murray. the campaign in iowa, we've seen and heard over the past day or so, it's getting increasingly nasty. newt gingrich promised to stay positive seems to be getting more and more negative by the day. >> it's the physics of politics, when you see yourself in a corner, your numbers are starting to slip, you end up going negative. newt gingrich has had this distinction where negativity for him is talking about the facts that he says if it is fact based, it really isn't growing negative. craig, you are right. we have six days to go before the iowa caucuses, this is the final sprint. and that would bed time which the knives would be out on all corners. we've seen romney going after gingri gingrich, gingrich go after paul. it's become a rumble in the hawkeye state. >> ron paul has launched a new ad? iowa as well. let's take a look at a 35 second ad. take a look. >> consistent, incorruptible, guided by faith and principle. ron paul, the one we've been looking for. >> clearly not so vailed attack

>> peter alexander, 700 more to go. no doubt. appreciate that. let's go to andrew rafferty with the rurnlging rick santorum campaign. we were showing the numbers a second ago. a name recognition problem despite his canvassing the state. he is up here, but that's a challenge for him. is it because he has not had a lot of tv ads? [ no audio ] . he can't get on the air or can't get radio ads and mailers. all the candidates who have more financial backing are making iowa voters familiar. the silver lining is that he has a strong base. he has the people who like him are strong in canvassing forums. that will translate likely to them coming out on caucus night despite bad weather and gold and the x factors that can influence the final results. >> let's talk about the tea party vote. it is fairly fractured according to the information we have from the poll. nobody busting over 15 to 20%. that's in play at the moment. is santorum doing anything to court that vote? >> right nowy we have what he calls the social conservative caucus. you want to throw him i

we are live in des moines with nbc's peter alexander. peter, good morning to you. who is leading the pack this morning? >> reporter: the front-runners, neck and neck. mitt romney and ron paul. mitt romney is not in iowa, he's in new hampshire looking ahead to the next state to vote. ron paul has a strong base of libber tain tearan support and he hopes that will be consistent through the caucus day here, just 72 hours away now. the one conservative who appears to be gaining new strength in the field is rick santorum. rick santorum has been receiving new support. finally, there was one unique emotional moment at a forum for mothers late yesterday where newt gingerich spoke in an emotional moment about his late mother and spoke about her mental health challenges, as well. one of the issue so keep an eye on is weather. the temperatures are supposed to be balmy as we head into may provide a good turnout for that day, as well. >> peter, thanks so much. >>> the crossroads of the world are filling up with people eager to celebrating new year's. we are live with aditi roy.

we are live in des moines with nbc's peter alexander. peter, good morning to you. who is leading the pack this morning? >> reporter: the front-runners, neck and neck. mitt romney and ron paul. mitt romney is not in iowa, he's in new hampshire looking ahead to the next state to vote. ron paul has a strong base of libber tain tearan support and he hopes that will be consistent through the caucus day here, just 72 hours away now. the one conservative who appears to be gaining new strength in the field is rick santorum. rick santorum has been receiving new support. finally, there was one unique emotional moment at a forum for mothers late yesterday where newt gingerich spoke in an emotional moment about his late mother and spoke about her mental health challenges, as well. one of the issue so keep an eye on is weather. the temperatures are supposed to be balmy as we head into tuesday. that may provide a good turnout for that day, as well. >> peter, thanks so much. >>> the crossroads of the world are filling up with people eager to celebrating new year's. we are live wi

nbc's peter alexander is live for us in des moines. peter, hello there. i assume you're going to be at most of these 22 events. you're in the place to be. obviously, 22 events is a whopping number. this is the final push. what's your sense from out there on where things stand today? >> reporter: yeah, it's exactly right. 22 at least events today. we'd like to say we're going to hit all of them. clearly, that's not possible. michele bachmann alone is trying to hit all 99 counties in this state. only rick santorum has done that so far. she only has two more days left in which she thinks she's going to be able to accomplish this. the conservatives in this state have traditionally done very well in the caucuses here because only a small population shows up on caucus day. the weather should be good here, which may indicate a more moderate showing in terms of the people that come to the caucuses on that day. but today really you cannot miss these candidates. even if they were gone for the christmas holiday, the advertising buys here have been really impressive.

peter alexander order this news. >>> also today, in upstate new york, the d.a. said he cannot prosecute the former syracuse basketball coach bernie fine for alleged sexual abuse charges because the statute of limitations has expired but he said the claim by alleged sex abuse victims are credible to him. he could still face charges stemming from an ongoing federal probe. of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis... of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora. oh, no i'm an only child. and nick, you shouldn't even be here, you can do everything from the golf course. good? good. [ male announcer ] on at&t, blackberry® torch moves at the speed of 4g. ♪ ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take

have a blessed day. >> peter alexander reporting. let's take a look at the stories we are going to be to be following on news4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us with a preview of things to come. >> coming up this afternoon on "news4 at 4:00," billy bush joins us live with all of the hollywood headlines on this monday. plus, outrage today after a virginia woman faked for years she had cancer. on "news4 at 5:00" this afternoon, the secret behind your favorite holiday treats. the experts open their kitchens to liz crenshaw for the tricks of the trade. i love that segment. joining us for "news4 at 4:00" this afternoon. barbara. >> i like that, too. thank you, patted. >>> it is time now for a final check on your forecast. here is tom. >> good morning for a very cold start, things are warming up a little bit. it is not warm by any means. there is the high cloud cover drifting over us right now. live view from the sky watcher camera looking into virginia from upper north west. temperatures right now, approach the noon hour, are in th

nbc's peter alexander has been following this every step of the way and he joins us now. and peter, as i understand it, they were originally a toll of eight accusers. this is now increased to ten. there is even mention of an 11th, is that right? >> reporter: yeah. we are learning now from this new grand jury presentment of victims numbers 9 and 10 but in conversations during my time at penn state, we spoke to the attorney for one young man who says that his client is referred to by authorities as victim number 11. and that is be referring to more additional victims. these alleged victims have come forward to nbc news and other media outlets, as well as to authorities to tell their stories saying they found new courage to come forward after the arrest of jaierry sandusky. they were outraged, their words. they have been outraged by sandusky's continued denials. this video is from annul of hours ago. there you see the 67-year-old former coach. he is walking out in what is as an insult to the penn state communicate. a penn state track suit, as you will see when he turns the f

we start with peter alexander on the ground in mason city, iowa. it seems like madness out there. what's the latest? >> reporter: that's right. you were speaking about those ads. $12.5 million in ads have been spent through the entirety of this campaign so far. a new one today from rick perry, who's attacking his conservative rival, the now emergent rick santorum, just coming out a short time ago as well. we are here in mason city. this is the town that inspired the broadway musical, "the music man." mitt romney with another large crowd today. and the consistent theme of the visits he's had along the stump throughout the last several days has been family values. his wife, ann romney speaking at every stop about the 42 years the two of them have been married. and patriotic values. really trying to be above the fray to position himself as the front-runner here. he has 25% of the republican vote right now, according to this latest poll from cnn. significant because that's the percentage he had just four years ago, where he was badly defeated by mike huckabee. the difference this time

chuck todd and peter alexander are in iowa tonight. we begin with peter in mason city. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening to you. one sign that mitt romney's campaign is gaining confidence and looking forward to the opportunity to win here in iowa next week is today they announced they will host a party after tuesday night's caucuses and stay overnight to do tv interviews before heading to new hampshire where romney is heavily favored. before a large crowd in this iowa city that inspired the broadway play "the music man". >> i feel like breaking into "76 trombones" but i will not do that now. >> reporter: frontrunner mitt romney focused his closing argument on patriotic values. >> o beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years. >> reporter: while many iowa republicans are still searching -- >> see how they interact with the crowd. >> reporter: carlin erickson is leading toward romney because he can win though her political heart lies elsewhere. >> even though i love michele bachmann and would like to see her maybe be vice president or whate

peter alexander starts us off from des moines. >> reporter: with just one precious week to go before the iowa caulk uses, airwaves are flooded with new ads. what voters decide to do next tuesday remains largely unpredictable. the republican presidential candidates returned in force for the christmas holiday today. all together scheduling 20 stops in iowa. with ron paul showing consistent support and mitt romney investing heavily here, the real battle may be to determine which republican emerges as the proven choice. stumping today with controversial arizona sheriff, joe arpaio. iowans have been indecisive this year. >> none of these candy zaidates talking about, america's best days are in front of us, and i'm going to lead us to america's best days. it's harder to get enthusiastic. >> since the summer, seven different republicans have led statewide polls, making americans hopeful. spending $10 million on ads this month alone. most of it has been to attack newt gingrich, whose support now appears to be fading. another sign of trouble for the former house speaker, conflicting stories a

nbc's peter alexander has been covering this story for us, is with us from our d.c. newsroom. peter, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you. jerry sandusky appeared briefly in court this afternoon where a judge ordered him held on $250,000 cash bail. if he can meet those conditions he can get out of jail but he'll have to wear an electronic monitor. wearing hand cuffs and a penn state track suit jerry sandusky was arrested on the new charges at his home today bringing the number of boys he's accused of assaulting to ten. the two latest charges say sandusky abused two boys between the ages of 10 and 12. prosecutors say one series of assaults started 14 years ago. in court documents a grand jury accuses him of assaulting one of the boys in the basement of sandusky's home. it says the victim claimed, quote, he screamed for help knowing that sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him. prosecutors say the other boy claims he was assaulted during wrestling sessions at sandusky's house and at an outdoor swimming pool on the penn state campus. sandusky has

good morning, peter alexander. set the scene for us. >> reporter: good morning. you can hear the music is going. herman cain is scheduled to make the major announcement. in a campaign unpredictable like this one, nothing is final until he said so. but a source close to the cain cam main he wants to protect his family for many fallout from the allegations he's facing. >> late friday night herman cain returned home to face his wife gloria for the first time since his latest scandal became public. >> i'm real sassy because of all of this media firestorm stuff. why? because my wich and family comes first. >> this just days after atlanta businesswoman ginger white came forward claiming she and the godfather pizza ceo had a 1-year affair. >> my wife did not know about it. that was the revelation and surprise. my wife find out when she went public with it. while cain described her as a long time friendship. the unemployed mother of two claims it was more than that. it was a sexual affair. >> this latest controversy is heavily damaged cain's standing in the polls. cain's

alexander starts us off tonight. >> reporter: with just one precious week to go before the iowa caulk uses, airwaves are flooded with new ads. what iowa voters decide to do here next tuesday remains largely unpredictable. the republican presidential candidates returned in force for the christmas holiday today. all together scheduling more than 20 stops in iowa, with ron paul showing consistent support, and mitt romney investing heavily here, the real battle may be to determine which republican emerges as the proven choice. >> we need someone who is a proven fighter. >> reporter: michele bachmann, rick perry or -- stumping today with controversial arizona sheriff, joe arpaio. iowans have been indecisive this year. >> none of these candidates are talking about, america's best days are in front of us, and i'm going to lead us to america's best days. it's harder to get enthusiastic. >> since the summer, seven different republicans have led statewide polls, making candidates hopeful, and explaining the 10 milli$10 mill spending on ads this month alone. most of it has been to attack newt gi

let's go live right now to des moines and peter alexander. peter, for many of the candidates, this morning is just the start of what's is sure to be a whirlwind weekend, if you will. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. to give you a sense where the confidence is right now, it's with ron paul and mitt romney. ron paul now back in texas to, his family. and mitt romney is already in the next state to vote. he's made it very clear that he expects to be the nominee. more than 1200 miles away in new hampshire, mitt romney was already focusing on the next primary state friday night. >> i want you to bring friends to the voting booth. i want it loud and clear message. >> reporter: earlier romney's message was reinforced by popular new jersey governor chris christie who offered iowa voters this playful jab. >> you don't do what you're supposed to do on tuesday for mitt romney, i will be back, jersey style, people. i will be back! >> reporter: romney deflected a question from andrea mitchell over whether he would release his tax returns. >> you know, if i

. >> peter alexander is on the ground in denotwithstanding, iowa. what are you hearing? >> reporter: craig melvin, good morning to you. first they'll have 22 new opportunities alone to meet and greet. they took a break for the holiday, but that ended quickly. michele bachmann, who has not received the support of the tea party express, not an official endorse muppet, but will be making ten different stops alone. it's a good way to put it, that the road has been paved with money, more than $10 million being spend in radio and television ads by the candidates and by their super pacs. one of the biggest discrepancies exists between how much the romney campaign and its super pac has spent versus newt gingrich outspent 8:1 by the romney campaign, but i think a lot of people in this state, as you speak to iowans are looking for that purity in a candidate. think like ron paul's -- they like the conservative policies and belief system of rick santorum and michele bachmann. and romney hiship who has only spent ten days on the ground. four years ago he spend 77 dates here. it remai

. >> that was peter alexander reporting. a judge will decide on january 13th if rick perry's name can appear on virginia's ballot. he tried to file a emergency motion to stop the state from printing the ballots without his name, but a judge denied that. >>> gingrich met the requirement for 10,000 signatures, and some of them were improperly excluded. he is acting independently, and gingrich has not yet joined a suit. they believe a campaign worker turned in false signatures forcing them to be kept off the ballot. >>> and nancy pelosi's daughter says her mother is ready to give up her political career. she said she would retire right now if the donor she has didn't want her to say so badly, but the california lawmaker's aides are saying it's not true. >>> here is veronica. you are looking good, always, but the whether is looking good, too. >> well, certainly for the weekend. some folks may be complaining about the walls, and that's today. we do have more clouds with us. high clouds, mostly, and it's a little chill krae out th