>> oh, here we go. >> oh, kyra. what a laugh to start the day. >> happy monday, peeps. happy monday. [ laughter ] >> kyra, have a good show. we start off with presidential politics and the two states that will be critical in choosing the new president. -- the new presidential nominee. mitt romney is considered the heavy favorite. iowa is still up for grabs just 10 weeks before it hosts the nation's first caucuses. gingrich kicking off his day with a town hall. rick santorum holding several meet and greets across the state. both are touting their conservative credentials and seizing on the latest stumbles by herman cain. paul steinhauser has the big picture from washington. shannon travis on the campaign trail in iowa. paul, let's start with you. as romney files to get onto the new hampshire ballot, how strong is his lead? what do you think? >> very strong in the granite state. about 15 minutes from now, he'll be in concord, the state capital, and make it official there by putting his petition in. this is the last week to get on the ballot in new hampshire. romney the overwhelming favorite there. one of the reasons, he used to be governor of neighboring massachusetts. he also owns a home in new hampshire. this is the most recent poll in new hampshire. romney at the top at 38%. cain at 20%. paul at 13%. everybody else in single digits. john sununu, who was the republican party chairman, endorsing romney. and we don't have to worry about the primary going to december. over the weekend, nevada moving its caucus to the 4th of february. here's how it looks in january. iowa on the 3rd. and we think that the new hampshire will go on the 10th, and of course the 4th of february now for nevada. rick perry this week, he's going to unveil his plan for a flat tax. this could ignite a bit of -- i guess we should say stalled momentum. >> i think perry is hoping for a little 9-9-9 magic that herman cain got when his tax plan got out there. tomorrow in iowa, perry will introduce his flat tax on both carp rat rates and on personal income. cain of course with that 9-9-9 plan that he's been touting for so long, and now the new 9-0-9 plan. that 9-9-9 plan, 9% personal income and corporate and sales tax. romney is really calling for basically maintaining the current tax system. he wants to extend the bush era tax cuts and eliminate the death tax and lower corporate tax rates. and one more thing. i'm not sitting on a seat. i'm sitting on a desk so i don't have the problem that ali had this morning. >> the magic chair is what we call it. all right. paul, great to see you. let's get to iowa. and the latest threat to herman cain's latest surge. shannon trafficvis is in davenp. how much did cain hurt himself when he appeared vague on abortion? >> well, it's monday. herman cain hopes this controversy is behind him. but it wasn't quite put to bed. he came to iowa on saturday to try and put this abortion controversy to bed, but not quite. let's just bring our viewers up to date. last week he was on piers morgan and he made some comments that seemed to suggest that while he was personally against abortion, that he might not be against the legal -- making abortion illegal in the country. he came to this iowa faith in freedom event on saturday, and he basically said, you know what? i am against abortion. he's pro-life. and he's against -- he's for overturning roe v. wade. but outside, some people put some mysterious flyers on cars basically saying that herman cain was pro choice. it's a mysterious flyer. we tried to contact who distributed the flyers. but we couldn't get through to anybody. and it seems like one of those political dirty tricks that we've seen so many times before, kyra. >> well, gingrich and santorum are struggling. the polls show they are still struggling in iowa too, right? >> yeah. they are pretty in the polls, although you talk to their campaigns and they say they are rising in the polls. they are basically barn storming the state. i think we have a few graphics to show their travels. santorum has vowed to visit all 99 of iowa's counties, kyra. i don't know what number he is up to so far. but it looks like he's spent 62 days in iowa, according to the des moines register. and he's been here for man any other candidate. gingrich has three events here today. santorum has seven events today. again, they are hoping to appeal to the evangelical christians who come out in numbers here in iowa, and maybe even newt gingrich, some of the economic conservatives with his new contract with america, which proposes an optional flat tax. that seems to be the big popular thing in the republican party, that flat tax, kyra. >> shannon, thanks. we'll have another update in just about an hour. you can get the latest news on our website, cnnpolitics.com. now to overseas. eastern turkey digging out from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. the country's strongest in more than 10 years. diana is right there at the area, at least 55 buildings have collapsed not far from where he is. d dian diana, what about the search for survivors right now? >> reporter: surtthe search for survivors continue as the rescuers continue to go through the rubble. there were two towns that were badly hit. van and ercis where i am. and rescue workers have built a tent city for all of those people who were made homeless when their buildings collapsed and all of people who were too scared to go back to their buildings tonight because there are constant aftershocks and because they are worried that the foundations of their buildings aren't stable enough to withstand it. so here you can see behind me they are gathering up food. stew is being made for them. there is bread, water, hot tea. and temperatures at night here are really very, very cold. so the red crescent has had to bring in blankets, tents with heaters, all of those things because people say we cannot go back to our homes. we don't know when we'll be able to go back to our homes, whether it's a week or a month. winter is coming. the state has to look after us. and this is a very small town. it's a little more than 100,000 people. so literally everybody here knows somebody who is missing or someone who is lost, kyra. >> what about aid? is it going to be able to get in there? is it going to get tougher? and of course people are going to want to help. what can they do? >> well, the red crescent has a donation page on its website. so it is possible to contribute that way. turkey as a government has said it doesn't actually need help from elsewhere, that it can handle the situation on its own. and remember this country is situated on fault lines which crisscross it. in 1999, there was a huge earthquake in which 17,000 people were killed. so turkey is no stranger to this kind of seismic activity. and although the numbers are horrific, there are at this stage a little over 200 people dead, turkey says it can cope with it on its own. but it does thank other governments for their offers of help, and actually there are teams -- we are very near the iranian border here. there were teams helping with the search and rescue from israel who came just to see what they could do. aid is coming through. it's slow to come through. the tent times on the first night aren't really available. people were sleeping in cars. they were very, very cold on the streets. but tonight should be a better situation for people who don't have homes to go to, kyra. >> diana, thank you. we'll follow the story along there with you. and the state department is reporting this morning that there have been credible threats now against the u.s. ambassador in syria. ambassador robert ford has been pulled out of the country now and is back in washington. our max foster is joining us from london. so explain the situation and what do we know, max. >> back in the u.s. over the weekend. and we are getting some information from the state department about what's going on here. and we heard from mark toller from the state department, the spokesperson there, talking about robert ford saying that he had received credible threats against his personal safety in syria. and it got to the point where this has become too difficult. he has got, i think it's fair to say, ambassador ford, a very good reputation, not just in u.s. political circles but also with anti-government protesters in syria. he has been outspoken about his support for their right to demonstrate in syria. but also he's been very -- he has spoken out against the government crackdown on those protests, which hasn't made him popular with pro government protesters. so we have the situation, for example, last month where he was meeting a prominent opposition figure in syria. and pro government protesters burst into that meeting and completely disrupted it. we don't know how much government support there is behind this, but people are assuming there is some. he's been withdrawn from the country. he is back in the u.s. but the embassy, kyra, has stayed open. it only reopened earlier this year after years of no diplomatic relations. but it is still open. but obviously, the tension between the u.s. and syria right now is at a high. >> well, yeah. and max, after we saw in libya and what happened to gadhafi and the anti-demonstrations that picked up after that, and the talk about, ok, is this leader next, now we're getting these threats toward the ambassador in that -- to that country. so are other americans being threatened as well? and is this becoming a bigger concern? >> well, there are republicans who didn't want an ambassador going back into syria because they didn't want to be seen to be supporting it in any way. and it is under the state department rules still seen as a state sponsor of terrorism. but at the same time, it's a crucial player in that region. so a lot of democrats and other people around the world want to see a u.s. presence there, because they say let's deal with them anyway. let's try and find out what is their thinking. so it's seen as a crucial role. but when it comes to personal threats against the ambassador, they have to pull him out. but diplomatic relations haven't been completely ceased, because the embassy is still open. but it is a concern. a lot of these regimes are difficult to deal with. the question is, do you try and deal with them and make things better or not? >> all right, max. thanks. coming up, we're talking to a man who has been advising the rebels in libya. now that gadhafi is gone, he feels more comfortable talking about it. so we're going to ask him how they build a new country after 42 years under a dictator. and remember how hot and dry texas has been? it's almost seemed mother nature was trying to make up for it in one night. so, how was school today ? i have to be a tree in the school play. good. you like trees. well, i like climbing them, but i've never been one. good point. ( captain ) this is your captain speaking. annie gets to be the princess. oh... but she has to kiss a boy. and he's dressed up like a big green frog ! ewww. ( announcer ) fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself nonstop. american airlines. quick look at stories from across the country. this week is getting off to a soggy start in north texas. a storm with strong wind, rain, and hail slammed the dallas area overnight. some gusts hit 70 miles per hour. about 16,000 customers lost their power and crews have been cleaning debris out of that road. former louisiana prison inmate eating his first shrimp po boy as a free man. dna testing exonerated henry james of rape about 30 years after he went to prison. he could get up to a quarter million dollars as payback for his years behind bars now. >> i can't undo what's been done. all i can do now is just put it behind me and take the rest of my life i have and try to move forward and think positive. and mourners pay their respects to dan wheldon a week after he was killed in a wreck in an indycar race. indycar is investigating that crash and hopes to have some results in the next few weeks. libya started its first full week as a liberated nation, but there are a lot of questions this morning. it's still not clear if moammar gadhafi's fatal head wound came in the cross fire or from close range. we're going to talk more with cnn's dan rivers. gadhafi's body still on public display there. dan, what are you hearing? >> reporter: exactly that. we are hearing that his body has been placed back on public display after the autopsy yesterday. we spoke to the chief pathologist yesterday, and he wouldn't give details but did tell us that gadhafi died from a gunshot wound to the head. we have no details on whether that was at close range or hit in the cross fire as the transitional government are maintaining. but it's quite a lot of surprise that they have then chosen to put the body back on public show at this cold storage facility on the edge of town, rather than burying it or handing it over to gadhafi's tribe as they said they were going to do. you know, clearly, they have an issue with quite the mechanics of how they are going to do this in secret if that's what they're going to do. there are still long lines of people queueing up to see him. >> dan rivers. as you head to misrat awe'll talk to you along that journey. meanwhile, mike newton has been serving as a legal adviser to the rebels in libya and helped iraq with its post saddam justice system and helped build the case against milosevic in kosovo. you have been conculting with them in secret. >> the libyan leaders reached out in a quiet way to a number of experts and organizations and took a number of very concrete, constructive steps to comply with the rule of law. and so that's not stuff you advertise. you just do it. >> tell me what kind of advice you actually have been giving them and how did you communicate and how often? >> they had a number of specific questions regarding the precise regulations, what we would call the laws and customs of war, for conducting hostilities lawfully. and my hope is that exact same spirit now translates into the post conflict reconstruction. what is the law, how do we build a libya that protects human rights for all tribes, all people, all regions of the country, and how do we demonstrate that. what do we do to demonstrate good faith to the international community. and i hope that spirit very strongly carries through, and is very strongly demonstrated in practice. >> like we said, they have been reaching out to you for advice. did they tell you the truth about gadhafi's death? do they believe that they know for sure? >> at this point, nobody really knows. that's why there have been calls are investigations and documentation. but at this point, i think they are really focused on really two time frames. one, there's a short-term time frame to demonstrate very concrete, tangible progress to the libyan people that says, this is not the old secret state of secret police and no freedom of speech and no freedom of press. and then the longer term process of constitution building and consensus building and institution building to build a libya that protects the rights of every libyan is just now beginning. and so i think they're focused forward. >> on that note about protecting rights and focusing forward, libya's transitional leader says that islama sharia law will be, quote, unquote, the basic source of all law, but insists that libyans are moderate muslims. so what does this mean? i mean, your first reaction, we know sharia law, is that women will not be treated equally. >> that's a good question, kyra. and what it hints at is that an ultimate solution to a long-term, lasting, stable societal peace built on the widespread respect for human rights has to be built from the ground up. my hope is that in president obama's statements the other day that he publicly committed to the united states taking the lead. and i hope that we provide very lean, very tailored, very focused assistance so that those promises -- you know, the libyans made a lot of sacrifices to build a better libya. and in fact, now it's time to deliver on those promises. i hope they have very short-term, concrete projects all across libya for all tribes, things like water relief, rebuilding assistance, things that very quickly demonstrate this is not gadhafi's libya anymore. now cooperate with us while we build a better libya for the long-term future. >> i hope we can talk more as you continue to advise the rebels. mike newton, thanks so much. >> thank you, kyra. coming up, janet jackson chooses court over concerts. and the rest of your showbiz headlines. and prince harry enjoying the nightlife in the states, of course. what happened when he crossed paths with a california waitress and a little bit of booze? [ sam ] my first ride lasted just 30 seconds. another reminder of what i couldn't do. ♪ the accident could have been my excuse to quit. i made it my reason to go even harder. ♪ [ male announcer ] helping people achieve without limits. at the hartford it's what we do... and why we're the founding partner of the u.s. paralympic team. show your support at facebook.com/thehartford. let's get to your showbiz headlines. janet jackson ditched her concert tour for the conrad murray trial she postponed several trials in australia to be with her family in l.a. the manslaughter trial could wrap up this week. john mayer has undergone surgery for a vocal chord issue. the singer says he's held off, hoping for an ezer fix, but didn't find one. now he can't talk at all for at least a month. he says he needs to recover from the operation. and will ferrell has been awarded the mark twain prize for american humor. such a big honor, as you can see, he couldn't handle it. the actor comedian promptly dropped the award, busting twain's head into two pieces. he said he was humbled by the prize and picked up all the pieces. most brits like to give the queen a wave when she passes by in her chauffeured limo, but one australian decided to greet her in a different manner. max foster has the revealing details. >> very good, kyra. very good. i have seen lots of strange reactions when people meet the queen, but i think this is the strangest one. apparently, it was very spontaneous. a young guy, 22, liam warringer, was in australia. and apparently the queen waved at him, and his natural reaction was to drop his pants, allegedly. this is a legal process now. he dropped his pants and mooned at her. i'm not sure what she thinks of it. no word from the palace on that. but he has been charged with creating a public nuisance and willful exposure. he will appear in court on friday. he can't say much more than that. and i think we shouldn't even be laughing. someone is taking it very seriously. >> how did the queen react? do we know? >> she would have just looked the other way gracefully and ignored it completely. apparently he was running down the road next to her car. i don't think she could have missed it. and i was going to miss this part of the story out, but i'll mention it just because it's in all the papers. it's not my exclusive. but he had the australian flag in the cheeks of his bare backside. that's sort of what the local papers are talking about. and they are trying to give it a political edge, because he's linked with the occupy movement. >> or just a very patriotic aussie. >> absolutely. >> prince harry, there for a little bit of combat training in the states but it looks like the party prince couldn't stay away from a cute little cocktail waitress and a couple of bottles of booze. surprise, surprise. >> this is the party prince. although tabloid newspapers are desperate to get anything on him partying. san diego seems to be where he is going out when he is out there, and this is the headline from the sun. harry, cocktail waitress spend night together in 80 pound hotel room. and then you read