>> the damage and the cries for help. the claim their government is out to kill them. cnn's nick robertson with an exclusive story. to the rescue. >> what does this now mean for you? >> i will be able to pay my mortgage every month on time. >> go back to the basics. >> solving the mortgage crisis. we find out this hour. that and more right here, right now on cnn. i'm don lemon and we begin with breaking news. a major shake-up in the battle for president. he said he had a ticket to ride after finishing third, but the trip is over for jon huntsman. a senior official told cnn huntsman is dropping out of the race for president and here's a detail you heard first on cnn. he plans to endorse mitt romney. cnn's political reporter broke this news for us and joins us now. when is the official announcement? >> reporter: the official announcement will be tomorrow here in myrtle beach at the sheraton hotel where there is a big gop debate. the official endorsement will be here. he is going to endorse govern nor romney. a campaign official said the reason for this and why they are getting behind governor romney is they believe he is the one true candidate who can fix the economy. jon huntsman is playing in the same lane as governor romney on that moderate establishment side of the primary. this makes a lot of sense. there has been a little bit of friction between the huntsman and romney families. the staffs did not like each other at all. you can see the sort of establishment getting in line behind mitt romney. >> what's interesting is that earlier today, south carolina's largest newspaper, here's what they said. they praised him and called him the essential values candidate e. he has the values that drive candidacy, honor and desensey and now this. >> yeah, it's interesting on the same day the state paper which is the largest newspaper in south carolina endorsed him that he would wait an extra day out of that. the symbolism is important and the republican universe will be here and there will be tons it of cameras to do this. this angle is interesting. after he finished third in the new hampshire primary, a lot of republicans are surprised. he has no support and no television ads. he was camp ud out on the coast where you had moderate voters. he was not really catching on down here. if he wants to run again, it made sense to lay ground work in south carolina to appeal to voters. if he decides to run for president. the entry into the race this year. barack obama's former ambassador to china. this is a kind of wimper to end that big entrance to the campaign. >> the first of the breaking news on cnn. thank you very much for your reporting. i want to go to john king. it's interesting because you are hosting a cnn republican debate in south carolina on thursday. guess who will not be at the podium. this changes things there. >> good evening. the reporting makes it interesting. the calculation looks at the here and now. if jon huntsman is getting 5%, i'm going to call it to mitt romney's left. the establishment, more moderate republicans. you tend to find them along the coast in south carolina with gingrich, santorum, perry to romney's right. maybe ron paul who is a little more characterized. he made a basic calculation. she doing miserable in south carolina and he is not going to win the state. if he wants to run in 2016, this is a chance to with a man he had a tough relationship with and to try to get good will in the party and maybe take a small slice. whatever jon huntsman was going to get in the south carolina primary, it's a good bet that 70 or 80% comes out of mitt romney. by endorsing him now and getting out of the race, governor romney only has to worry about the votes coming out of the right. the calculation that he could possibly embarrass next saturday to get something out of this. as peter notes more than anything else, if he comes back and establishment republicans will say the man did the right thing at the right time. >> we will leave it there for now. thank you very much, john. remember to tune in thursday night. john will be host skpug will hear the candidates. the southern republican leadership conference debate comes your way at 8:00 p.m. eastern. john king will be hosting. tune in. we want to go to the other major story. two americans among the missing after their cruise ship ran aground on the italian coast. workers are working to find them and more than a dozen others who may be trapped in the world of the concordia. the 1500 cab iins and water is t making the search easier. >> they are working in very, very bad conditions. it's cold of course and it's dark. during the day and the night is the same situation. it's always dark. they work with a small light from their helmets. people are working until we are sure that no person is missing and so on. we will keep on working. >> the company that owns the ship points the finger right at the ship's captain for allowing the boat to run aground on an island off the coast. they received a statement that reads in part, while investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications of that there may have been significant human error on the part of the master captain which resulted in these grave consequences. the captain is under arrest and could face charges of hod which oxz are a manslaughter and a band onning ship. the death toll is at 5 after two elderly people were found inside with life vests strapped around their bodies. rescuers pulled out a couple who were trapped for more than 24 hours. the newlyweds on the worst trip of all time. they took a boat out to the ship and gives the closest images yet of the destruction. >> with an open garb rung the length of her port side, the costa concordia looks like it has been gutted. they are lying on the shore dwarfing the town behind it. we were taken on a tour of the wreck by a local driver and shown a reefer he thinks the costa hit, one he swears is on every chart. >> over here this is not on the chart. >> every rock here is on the chart? >> every one. the possibility should be on that one. >> he is planning to dive to see if there traces of paint on the reef from the ship's hull. the ship's captain who could face criminal charges insists he wasn't too close. >> translator: the nautical chart was marked as water. 100 to 150 meters from the rocks. we were about 300 meters from the shore. we shouldn't have had this contact. >> the officials disagree, suggesting the ship came too close as the crew wanted to wave to friends ashore. >> we know the ship was close to the island. >> too close to the island? >> yes. >> as the frantic search for survivors go on behind me, a picture emerges of the chaos on board as panic spreads through the passengers desperately trying to scramble ashore. >> the ship's owner, carnival corporation said they are trying to figure out what led to the accident. this was what it was like in the dark cold chaos as passengers fled the costa concordia in life jackets, battling against gravity to get out. >> translator: the life boats were not upside down, they were slant and that made it hard to get on because of that. >> these photos were taken by more than passengers amanda and brandon as they tried to escape. >> we were one of the last ones, pretty much the chaos happened for everyone to get on the life boats first. we more or less didn't get there early enough. it was so crowd and no room for us. we ended up waiting the last maybe few people. we were holding on to the railing and trying not to fall. >> korean honeymooners were rescued after more than 24 hours trapped aboard. >> translator: at first we were very scared and as time went by our few grew and grew. we lived with the hope to survive this ugly thing and with the strength of being near the one you love. we did not get hurt. >> even though the search and rescue is not over, already it's clear this accident will result in litigation and criminal prosecutions. the death toll remains uncertain with passengers still missing. now everyone is wondering how on earth this massive ship came so close to this treacherous shore and how many more bodies will be recovered from the wreck of the costa concordia. >> coming up on cnn, more on breaking news. jon huntsman dropping out of the race and cnn confirms that. millions of americans are struggling to hold on to their homes. meet a man working to change that. one family at a time. e drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. there few things scarier of people losing your home. many of those facing foreclosure who tried working with the lenders got nowhere. in atlanta, one man is changing the game and helping change the lives of countless families. we have the report tonight. >> he's an unlikely rock star. he's the man everyone here wants to meet. a crusader who is a fierce advocate for struggling homeowners. >> thank you, thank you. >> thank you! >> thank you. >> the greatest thing in this country. >> bruce marx is doing what people thought was near impossible. he is saving their homes from foreclosure. >> how many people here have tried and failed to work with your lender? that's about 100%. >> he is doing it with the legally binding support of banks and lenders getting them to modify existing loans. >> what are built this country afterworld war 2? no down payment mortgages from the va that were full underwriting that people could determine what they could afford. we have to go back to basic underwriting. these mortgages were structured to fail. interest only and negative. a home ownership deception scheme. you have to go back to the basics. >> thousands waited long hours over several days armed with bank statements, income tax returns and hope. >> everyone here has a story. many are victims of predatory lending and lost a job or others are facing foreclosure. the one thing they have in common and is they all want to pay to stay in their homes. after her mortgage payments doubled to $1200, she came hoping to negotiate a 30-year fixed 3.75 rate, the average modified mortgage here. >> a lot of pressure and stress out. it's just i can't sleep. >> marx's army of workers from the neighborhood assistance corporation of america processed the paperwork, sending completed packages electronically to 500 lenders less than 50 feet away. >> for they are paying a $2,000 mortgage payment and they can only afford $1300, the bank has to do the restructuring to get to that $1300 mortgage payment and bring it down to as low as 2% or reduce the principal. it's one mortgage product. no down payment and the bank pays all of the closing costs and fees and 1% below markets. today's rate is 3.75%. you don't need perfect credit. >> what is in it for the banks? >> homeowner sustainability. >> some people say the banks are giving loans to people who can afford. what happened? why wasn't that the case before? >> we don't claim perfection and we can't harp on what happened in the past. what we are doing is putting our best food forward. >> dear they just get a loan? >> the reality is it's good business. banks make less on foreclosures. the reality for this homeowner, she was able to modify her mortgage from 5.5 to 3.75, lowering her payments by $170 a month down to $480. >> what are does this now mean for you? >> well, i will be able to pay my mortgage every month on time. it means a great deal to me. >> a great deal to bruce marx. >> an ex-activist who is doing what nobody else is able to do. get lenders to the table and fix the mortgage mess. >> thanks a lot. thank you. >> cnn, asulanta. >> jon huntsman may be dropping out tomorrow, but it won't stop the talk of the republicans going after each other. is it possible the attacks are helping? we will discuss after a quick break. as we reported to you first at the top of the hour, presidential hopeful jon huntsman will dropout of the race on monday and endorse mitt romney. romney's rivals are blanketing the state in search of votes. newt gingrich started at the cathedral of praise church. rick santorum who picked up the backing of top leaders this weekend visited the same church on saturday. santorum and rick perry attended a faith and freedom prayer breakfast in myrtle beach. we expect democrats to go after republicans, but what about when republicans go after each other. backing romney and gingrich, they are blasting the airwavings with negative ads. rick perry has gone after romney over his career. i asked if these attacks are helping president obama. >> what i think newt and rick perry have done is deliver a massive gift to mitt romney with a ribbon tide around it. it gave mitt romney a voice. he positioned himself as the defender of capitalism and people like me who can muster simply marginal enthusiasm can amount enthusiasm for free markets. another thing this does is threatens to exhaust that line of attack before it gets to obama. they see it as a dress rehearsal? this is going to be played out. >> listen. not that there hasn't been a lot of fun that has been made of these campaigns in their own volition, but time for comic relief. leave it to stephen colbert to take the ads to the extreme. here's one that was released. >> as head of bain capital he carved them up and got rid of what he couldn't use. if mitt romney believes -- >> corporations are people, my friend. >> then mitt romney is a serial killer. he's mitt the ripper. >> is he showing the absurdity with sat ire or what do you think? is he making a mockery of the system? >> he's doing what he's always done is making a mockery of the entire system. this is absolutely ridiculous the level of drama that the super pacs are trying to build up on both sides. there is no way in which you can control how the message is delivered and make sure the information being shared is accurate. i love the fact that he is poking fun not at any particular party, butt process in which the election is happening. i thought it was hilarious. >> listen to david axel rod, campaign adviser to president obama. he told candy crowley he is worried the super pacs will go after obama in the fall. >> the other thing that worriys me with the super pacs with governor romney and others, there will be a ton of money aimed -- >> democratic too? are. >> not nearly of the scale on the republican side. they are talking upwards of a half billion in negative ads from interest group who is don't disclose and raise unlimited amounts of money. that is a very, very concerning thing. >> legit worry? >> that is complete and utter spin. president obama is the warren buffett of fund-raising and he attracts money and accumulates. he will be the $750 million. she throwing dinners atnd money all over the process. >> jon hundred dollarsman gets out on monday and endorses mitt romney. six days until the primary. stay with us for the most complete coverage. could snow add time to your drive on monday? we will check in for answers for you. may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] entune mobile technology. ♪ stronger! ♪ stand a little taller [ male announcer ] stay seamlessly connected to your smart phone. available on the reinvented 2012 camry. from toyota. ♪ and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. >> other stories as well from the white house. what need to know. we begin with the president's plans for the week. >> this week president obama will continue making his economic pushas he rakes in cash to fuel his reelection campaign. on thursday he will attend a high dollar event at the home of spike lee. 40 people are expected to attend described as an intimate fund-raiser. $38,500 per person. before heading out of town, president obama will welcome the world series champion st. louis cardinals to the white house. he will honor them for the big victory last year. >> i'm barbara starr at the pentagon. leon panetta will put the finishing touches on the new defense budget the billions in cuts, reductions in personnel and some of the most significant trimming in decades. now that the wars in iraq and afghanistan are either wrapped up or wrapping up. the world stage is still intruding. tensions with iran remain sky high. we learned that the iranians harassed two u.s. ships in recent days in the persian gulf. tensions in pakistan remain high. the u.s. is watching that country 24-7 as there concerns about a military coo with that ally that has nuclear weapons. >> wall street gearing up for a slew of corporate earnings of particular interest, the big banks. we will hear from citigroup, bank of america and morgan stanley. the home sales figures and two key readings on inflation. the market will be closed on monday for martin luther king day and reopens on tuesday. we will track it all for ow cnn money. >> here's what we are watching this week. we are right there on the red carpet for the golden globes and i will have the wrap up of the winners and the shockers and of course the fashion. also the lovely jessica alba and the legendary dave navarro stopped by this week. exclusively week nights eastern and pacific on hln. >> what are will monday's weather bring as you head into work. wet and icy roads? jacky is in the severe weather center with tomorrow's commute tonight. >> a holiday tomorrow so a lot of people are not going in. we will talk about the day part and the week ahead. we have big changes and it's all about the west tomorrow. our jet stream pattern has changed. look at the moisture moving into los angeles and in seattle today, you have been dealing with snow. take a look at the video out of seattle. two inches that caused a lot of problems on the roadways. this is the first measurable snowfall you have been dealing with. snow will remain in the forecast tomorrow and a big storm heading your way on wednesday. we will show you the jet stream across the west kept at bay as the jet stream has been up to the north. it's taken a visit here across the pacific northwest and throughout the week it will meander up and down. the storm track within the jet stream and we will see heavy snow. all of the mountain chaps by this time next weekend should have snowfall. a snow and ice change for a lot of people. a little wet. that will be the weather story. city number five is salt lake city looking for snow in that area. city number four is indianapolis with rain showers. chicago is coming in at number three with rain and blustery conditions for the afternoon. number two is portland with snow and rain and number is seattle. dealing with the snow showers. >> thank you very much. next, a cnn exclusive. a syrian town is under siege as protests grow. after the break, we take you to the battle ground in a story you will only see on cnn. t the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. so, you're looking for help great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. with your mortgage, worried about foreclosure. we can help you keep your house.