syria today. it is supposed to observe, and therefore, discourage the government's brutal crackdown on its own people. a crackdown that seems to be in full force despite a promise to the arab league just last week. this is amateur video reportedly from the flash point city of homs. the opposition says 22 people have been killed here today alone. the global intelligence website stratfor is still down after hackers stole thousands of client names. a group called anonymous says it has no brief with stratfor who it considers an unbiased source for information. >> stratfor is in the business of providing geopolitical information the way the sort of state department does about political climate, on a very granular realtime basis. both to the general public in a more broadway an more specifically in their e-mails that people pay for. so in a sense they are in the security business, so that makes them kind of a ripe target for headline purposes, i guess. >> stratfor says it is diligently investigating the breach. it is boxing day in britain, an annual holiday that's one of the biggest shopping days of the year. but, a strike by london's subway drivers is creating a major headache for millions of shoppers. the drivers walked out over a pay dispute. city officials are warning of severe disruption for those seeking bargains in bond's shopping centers. several subway lines shut down completely while a few are running a limited schedule. but, stores in london's tony west end say the strike has not made much after dent in their business. in new york, subways are running normally an shoppers are out in force, either returning christmas presents or taking advantage of the sales. alison kosik is in the thick of it all for us. what's it like right now? >> reporter: well, if you ever wondered why retailers call the week between christmas and new year's the second season, your answer is literally all around me. all these people around me are all window shopping or actually shopping themselves here in the macy's here in new york city. i did a little reconnaissance on my own walking into macy's. i don't think i want to do that again on the day after christmas. there was a sea of people inside this department store. what they're doing is, yes, returning gifts but what they're also doing is buying, because what retailers are doing is they're marking down their emergency, even more than they did before the christmas holiday because they've got a lot of stuff on their hands and lots of consumers are taking advantage of it. >> we just thought that maybe there would be sales but instead i think it is a big return day so lines are crazy. to just get in line and pay. then the fitting rooms are crazy though, too. i don't know. it is just craziness. >> apparently there's big deals so we want to go for the deals. >> reporter: one thing working in retail's favor, the retailer's favor right now is actually the good weather that we're having across the country. you think of what was happening last year around this time, at least up and down east coast. we had blizzard conditions but even then during the week between christmas and new year's last year, retailers in that one week brought in $62 billion. natalie, this week they are expecting to bring in $72 billion. the numbers will start coming in the next few weeks when they're all tallied up. >> truly amazing. a lot of shopping bags walking past you behind you. alison kosik, thanks so much. coming up here, could newt gingrich's past hurt his future? we'll talk more about the court documents casting doubt on gingrich's version of his divorce details. but first, today's rock star. 16-year-old alex newman of new orleans caught the football bug when she was only 8. she is a vocal fan of saints tight end jimmy graham. over christmas she an her back-up singer stella posted a tribute to graham. >> i want to shake hands with jimmy graham, i want to take a double photo in front of the super dome. >> saint jimmy saw the video and became st. mick. in our opinion, you're all rock stars. the presidential race and personal responsibility. newt gingrich is squarely in the center of debate on fidelity an family. his failed marriages have been the subject of veiled attacks by some of his rivals who are now trotting out their wiv on the campaign trail. and in campaign ads. for gingrich's part, he has admitted to making mistakes in the past and says he's different now as the 68-year-old grandfather. but it hasn't ended the questions, especially about his first marriage. joining me now is cnn reporter alan duke who has personally looked into the court records surrounding that first failed marriage. alan, what did you learn? >> well, i started looking at this because i saw a new defense by the gingrich campaign emerge the last few months. i've been covering this for 30 years and that's how long i've been on this story covering newt gingrich an i've never heard them suggest their new defense, an that's that jackie gingrich, his first wife, was the one who wanted a divorce and that newt filed it for them. i decided to go to the carroll county, georgia courthouse to look at the file itself. i had a little bit of trouble finding it. seems a retired clerk stashed it away to protect it. when i finally found it, what i found was actually contradictory information to what newt gingrich's campaign is now saying. in fact, jackie gingrich, 75 years old now, told the court 31 years ago that she did not want the divorce and in fact looking at the document, defendant shows she has adequate and am balance grounds for a divorce but that she does not desire one at this time. this is before georgia adopted no-fault divorce laws and she could, in effect, keep him in the marriage if the judge allowed it. that's what she was trying to do through court papers which indicate that what gingrich is saying now, that he did not -- that it was she that wanted the divorce and that he was just obliging her, that seems to be rewriting history at least according to the court papers. but then i talked to people who were close to the couple at the time, including gerald johnson. he was in their sunday school class at the first baptist church in carrollton. he said he was surprised to hear anybody suggest that jackie gingrich was the one wanting the divorce. >> has the gingrich campaign responded to this find on your part. >> they say the court papers say what they say but that the case is -- that gingrich was simply hiring the lawyer and filing the divorce. but at her request they specifically say it, at her request. it is also something the daughter has repeated, but she was 13 at the time, people who were adults then are laughing at this. people who knew the gingriches at the time. >> all right. alan duke, we appreciate it. we're going to be talking about the relevance of this and how it may play out on the campaign trail a little bit later on but we appreciate it. if you want to read more about alan's reporting and what he has found, check out our website at cnn.com. you can read more about it. coming up at the bottom of the hour in "fair game," we will talk with our political insiders about the effects this will have on the gingrich campaign. so stay with us for that. if you are a poker player, listen up. a new ruling has states eager to bet on internet gambling. how they plan to cash in with your money is next. but first, you may be helpeded to the store today to return all those unwanted christmas gifts for something better? not that you don't appreciate the thought, of course, but you just don't need another polka do the neck tie. likely to be returned -- clothes that don't fit or make you say -- stinky perfume is another. bad toys or games. so today's the day to say lousy gifts, your 15 minutes are up. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ almost anything you can do legally, you can do virtually. that is online. but a federal law that long predates the internet has pretty much forbidden online gambling -- until now. now the justice department is reinterpreting the wire act of 1961 to bar internet sports betting only. so what? well, when it comes to online poker or lotto, all bets may be on. and several states are working on ways to cash in. my next guest may be the world's top authority on gambling and the law which happens to be the name of his website. i. nelson rose has written several books and hundreds of columns, a distinguished senior professor at whittier law school in california. professor rose, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for inviting me. >> no new laws have been passed, no old ones repealed. so how did the landmark change come about? >> well, there was one law. the unlawful internet gambling enforcement act was rammed through congress a couple years ago, actually by conservative republicans designed to outlaw internet gambling, and it may have accidentally legalized it, because it's got an exception for gambling that is 100% within a single state. if it's legal in a state. the department of justice had always said the wire act makes all forms of gambling illegal, and even if the wire just happens to go into another state and come back, it is illegal. and on friday they issued a kind of christmas present to the legal internet gambling community saying, no, no, we don't care if the wire crosses into another state, as long as it is all the better or the operator in one state and we only care about sports betting anyway. >> the feds went after the big three online poker operations. are they now saying they were wrong? >> no. they used a different law. they used the new york state antigambling law to pig gee back and try to make it into a federal crime. it still has to be legal on the state level to be legal under federal law. >> so what is allowed now and what isn't? that's probably what a lot of people are wondering. >> well, this pretty much opens the door to everything, everything at least until -- except sports betting, an even that is under challenge in new jersey in the courts. it means that -- well we've got two jurisdictions already -- nevada and the district of columbia have legalized internet poker and other forms of online gambling. they're just not up and operating yet. but this means now they're legal. they are legal under state law, they're legal under federal law. they can make agreements between the various states. we're about to see a real explosion of internet gambling. this is also a gift to the states to help them balance their budget. so what we're going to find is california, iowa -- iowa will probably be the next state, new jersey will have it on the ballot in november and then every other state, florida and the others, are going to follow, looking at probably starting with internet poker but also other forms. certainly the lotteries aring internet and we're going to have internet casinos and it will start being in trust state and other countries to let anybody play on any site as long as it is legal. >> you mentioned a few states that are prepared to cash in. do you expect to be this onslought of states moving to jump a jump on the others? >> we are in the third wave of legal gambling. this is the third time in american history that gambling has spread everywhere. it took almost 40 years to have 46 of the states have state lotteries. we are going to see -- we've already got district of columbia and nevada. next year probably iowa, california and new jersey. then pretty quickly we'll see a lot of other states. massachusetts, florida, michigan, oregon, washington -- it will still take a decade, but, yeah, we are about to see a lot of states jump on the bandwagon. understand there's so much legal gambling in this country that legalizing one more form -- internet poker -- is no big deal and the slates are absolutely desperate for revenue to try to balance their budgets. gambling is seen as a painless tax so this is an easy way for states to raise some money. the only question is who gets the license. the big operators want a federal law because they know they're going to have to compete in 50 states against powerful local gambling operators. >> we appreciate you explaining it to us. i. nelson rose, professor rose, thanks so much. your website if people want more information, gamblingandthelaw.com. thank you so much. before we move on, if you bought a powerball ticket from a truck stop on interstate 20 in georgia six months ago, think about it. did do you that? check the numbers. whoever holds the winner from the drawing on june 29th never collected his or her $77 million jackpot. and the deadline, well, it is today. the winning numbers -- 24, 30, 45, 57 and 59 and powerball 26. the clock is ticking. the christmas weekend wasn't all holiday cheer. a rare string of violence swept across the country, including a bizarre family murder-suicide in texas. on christmas day. we're getting new information about what really happened. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. time for today's crime and consequence. in richmond, virginia, police say a gunman is on the loose after he robbed two people and shot them dead on christmas eve. jamaal clemons is also accused of hijacking a car and taking off without realizing a 2-year-old boy was in the back seat. after an amber alert was issued, police found the get-away car ditched in a nearby sim tear and the boy was found safe. police say the 27-year-old suspect is armed and dangerous. in california, a soldier who came home after being injured in afghanistan was shot by someone at his own welcome home party. 22-year-old christopher sullivan is now paralyzed and in critical condition after friday's shooting. police have identified the suspect and sullivan's family is begging him to turn himself in. we get more on it from affiliate reporter jim nash. >> turn yourself in. he's a good kid. he didn't deserve this. he didn't deserve this at all. >> reporter: an uncle holds the sobbing mother of an injured afghanistan veteran, army specialist christopher sullivan remains on life support in a sarn bern dsan bernadino hospital. he's been recovering from brain damage in a suicide bomber explosion that killed five of his fellow soldiers in afghanistan. friday night at a welcome home party for sullivan in this house, two men began arguing about football. a gun was pulled. sullivan stepped in to stop the fight and was shot twice, once in the neck, paralyzing possibly his entire body. now police are looking for the gunman. >> that was jim nash from ktla. coming up next hour, sullivan's mom talks with cnn about her son and the latest in the investigation. well, more holiday crime to report. a family of seven near dallas just finished opening gifts christmas morning when all of them were shot and killed by one of their own. that according to police in grapevine, texas. they say the suspect was among the dead and was related to the family by marriage. >> can't imagine anybody doing that to their family. i think it just puts people on alert, like to be more aware of who's around them. you never know who lives next to you. >> any day of the year it is very tragic. it is certainly amplified because it is christmas. >> he killed four women, a man, and a teenage boy. they ranged in age from 15 years old to 59. reporter salina hernandez joins us from outside ft. worth, texas, what more do we know? >> reporter: this is a very tragic situation. grapevine police are still trying to piece together the events that unfolded early yesterday morning. they do tell us at this point that they have reason to believe they have a motive, but at this point they are not releasing it. again, we do know that what has been confirmed by grapevine police was that the gunman was dressed in a santa suit an that the family had just completed its traditional christmas celebration. there were unwrapped packages and a tree in the living room area when the gunman, according to police, opened fire on the family members. again just a very horrific situation out in grapevine, outside of ft. worth, texas. >> what more do you know about how he was related to the victims or what his relationship was with the victims? >> well, at this time, grapevine police have identified all the victims but they are waiting the medical examiner to release the names of these individuals as they track down next of kin. now we do know that they are a family. but the extent of their ties at this point is not yet clear. but we do know that they were all related by blood in some fashion. >> such a tragic story. we appreciate your information for us, salina hernandez out of dallas, thank you. new problems right now for newt gingrich. first a big failure in his new home state. now new questions about his personal life. two big questions. can he pull it together before iowa? that's in "fair game" and our discussion is next. but first, our political junkie question of the day. which state passed a law establishing the first official presidential primary? we'll have the answer for you just ahead. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. here you go. driver's license. past five years' tax returns. high school report cards. and i'm gonna need to see a receipt for that watch you're wearing. you know, you really should provide us with a checklist of documents we're gonna need up front. who do you think i am? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide a checklist of the mortgage documents you'll need up front. it helps keep you in the know every step of the way. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. before the break i asked what state passed a law establishing the first official presidential primary? the answer -- oregon. they did it in 1910.