it's monday, february 15th. right now on "first look," in the quiet dark of night the body of supreme court justice antonin scalia returns to virginia. but the political reaction has been anything but quiet. as the presidential candidates weigh in on the next justice. they're also tearing one another apart. >> they lied. >> been telling lies. >> why do you lie? >> liar, liar, liar. millions endured record cold temperatures over the valentine's weekend, but more storms are in store for the week ahead. plus, is kanye west $53 million in personal debt? a monster weekend at the box office for the latest super hero. and what happens when you give a sea lion a selfie stick?

"first look" starts right now. good morning, i'm dara brown. the stakes are high after the death of supreme court justice antonin scalia, and the war of words over who should nominate his replacement has already reached the point of a justice scalia dissent. this as justice scalia's body arrived back with his family in virginia late last night. president obama says he will nominate a new justice although so far there is no timetable for an announcement and the president's republican colleagues don't think it should be his to make at all. >> here's the bottom line, i don't trust barack obama on the appointment of supreme court justices. >> it's called delay, delay, delay. >> i believe that the president should not move forward, and i think that we ought to let the next president of the united states decide. >> and i'm very glad that the senate is agreeing with what i called for, that we should not allow a lame duck president to essentially capture the supreme court in the waning months of his presidency. >> those opinions have been met with harsh words on the other side of the aisle by hillary clinton.

>> it is outrageous that republicans in the senate, and on the campaign trail, have already pledged to block any replacement that president obama nominates. there are 340 days until the next president takes office, so that is plenty of time. >> nbc's tracie potts joins us now from washington, d.c. to help sort this all out. tracie, good morning. >> hey, dara, good morning. so the issue here is that replacing scalia, a conservative, could seriously tilt the balance of this court, and republicans are concerned if it goes more liberal, there's some key cases undecided. >> i plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor. >> the white house says that won't happen this week, while congress is on break. but with flags at half-staff, we're already seeing possible candidates mentioned to replace justice antonin scalia.

>> that's his prerogative. he has every right to do it. >> that's his prerogative. but we don't have to confirm him. and we won't. >> the >> reporter:'s in the middle of its term with more cases to hear and decide between now and july. without conservative scalia, key cases could end up in a tie. >> we will see unlimited abortion on demand throughout this country, partial birth abortion, taxpayer funding, no parental notification. >> we need a conservative person. >> reporter: democrats insist the country should not have to wait nearly a year for the next president to decide. >> we have a president, he was elected, he has the right to nominate another supreme court justice. >> i don't think the public will look kindly on republican actions to try to thwart what he is supposed to be able to do. >> and republicans aren't just battling the president here. they're battling each other. ted cruz is already out with a new ad, dara, against donald trump saying that if elected trump cannot be trusted, as he put it, to select the nation's next supreme court justice.

>> interesting days ahead. tracie potts, thank you so much. there are only five days left until the south carolina republican primaries and the field is is down to just six candidates. with saturday night's debate the most venomous to date and there were plenty of fights in both english and spanish. gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: after a moment of silence for justice scalia, came the most contentious gop debate so far. >> they lied. >> just been telling lies. >> why do you lie? >> liar, liar, liar. >> reporter: the words liar or some variation were used at least 22 times. 13 by donald trump. >> i didn't call anybody a liar. >> you called ted cruz a liar. >> reporter: trump slammed by jeb bush over foreign policy and how to fight isis and syria. >> it is absolutely ludicrous to suggest that russia could be a positive partner in this. >> jeb is so wrong. >> while donald trump was building a reality tv show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us safe. >> the world trade center came

down during your brother's watch. remember that. >> let me finish. >> reporter: marco rubio trying to rebound from his last debate came to bush's defense, blaming 9/11 on bill clinton's decision not to take out osama bin laden. >> that's what allowed al qaeda to grow and continue to prosper. and by 2001, to have the capability to strike america. >> reporter: but the florida senator clashed with ted cruz over immigration at one point cruz took issue with something rubio had said in a spanish language interview. >> first of all i don't know how he knows what i said on univision because he doesn't speak spanish. second of all the other point i would make -- [ speaking spanish ] >> reporter: cruz also bounced on trump for what he called the billionaire's past liberal positions. >> you are -- >> single biggest liar -- you probably are worse than jeb bush. you are the single biggest liar. >> donald has this weird pattern. when you point to his own record, he screams liar, liar, liar. >> reporter: striking a different tone, john kasich. >> i got to tell you, this is just crazy.

huh? this is just nuts, okay? geez oh, man. >> that was nbc's gabe gutierrez reporting. a blast of bitter cold arctic air is bringing record low temperatures to the northeast for a second straight day. meanwhile, a winter storm that's been causing a travel mess for midwesterner is headed east. nbc's dan schenemen has more. >> reporter: it was a snowy valentine's day in indiana. weather was the cause of a huge pileup that shut down a major stretch of highway near indianapolis. at least ten people were taken to hospitals with injuries. >> we know that a squall came through here and the visibility was almost zero, and it just turned -- it just turned icy very quickly. so it is what it is. we deal with this, but in 32 years this is probably one of the worst crashes that i've ever seen. >> reporter: it was the coldest valentine's day on record in the northeast. and frigid temperatures caused problems for firefighters in new jersey. in new york, the icy air almost scared off a tourist from london. >> we got off the plane yesterday, and i nearly ran back into the airport.

i have never known cold like that, ever. >> reporter: there is good news. forecasters predict a warm-up later in the week. dan schenemen, nbc news. well, nbc meteorologist raphael miranda is here to tell us what the weather is going to be like today. raphael, good morning. >> going to be wild. the extreme cold is backing off. that's the good news. but now we're tracking our next winter storm moving into the northeast, so no break here. as we're tracking snow out there this morning. you can see winter storm warnings in effect for the appalachians and portions of virginia, and winter weather advisories in effect for today and tonight for the major cities from washington, d.c. through philadelphia, new york city, and up into boston. not a whole lot of snow this time. we're talking about generally one to three inches. but it's north and west of those major cities, significant ice possible later on today and tonight. and that could even affect your tuesday morning travel. it's going to be a tough travel day after the holiday weekend, again, snow and ice across the northeast. watching out for severe weather from the gulf coast states, new orleans you could see some severe weather later on today.

still beautiful out west. looking great in los angeles. temperatures there in the 80s, lots of sunshine. and for tomorrow that snow and ice turns into heavy rain for the northeast. but look at that temperature swing, mid 50s from boston to new york city, and it's still toasty in the 80s in the southwest. can you believe what's going on in california? >> and i'm looking at that, it's like we have all seasons in one day. >> there you go. >> across the nation. pretty amazing. raphael, thank you so much for that. pope francis visited one of mexico's poorest and most dangerous cities yesterday as part of the six-day tour of the country. he preached his message of equality and hope to the more than 300,000 attending mass, adding there shouldn't be a need to mourn those, quote, destroyed at the hands of the dealers of death. nbc's anne thompson has more. >> reporter: pope francis went to the poorest, the city notorious for its crime. francis rode through the graffiti covered streets given a makeover by reformed criminals. more appropriate for the

occasion. the pope portrayed in all kinds of ways, even as a graffiti artist home to 1.6 million people, they have one of the highest murder and disappearance rates of women in mexico. it's such a dangerous place, raina vasquez tells me today's mass is one of the rare times she can bring her children to a public event. under a strong sun, more than 300,000 people filled a dusty no dialogue with the devil. evil can feel like a daily reality. for this nation, which polls show has little confidence in its government, francis is asking these people, many of them poor and powerless, to join the front lines of making mexico a land of opportunity. for a moment, one of its most dangerous cities was a better place. anne thompson, nbc news,

ecatapec, mexico. >> 38 people had to be rescued from a frigid new england ski slope after their tram cars got stuck about 40 feet above the ground. look at this. rescuers actually had to use rope to help the stranded skiers rappel down through a hatch in the bottom of the cars, to the ground about 40 feet below at new hampshire's cannon mountain. they were then helped down the mountain by a snow cat. thankfully, no one was injured during the rescue. cannon mountain says a breaking system is to blame and it could take a few days to fix the problem marvel's latest superhero flick has already shattered several box office records this presidents' day weekend. the r-rated dead pool starring ryan reynolds earned an estimated $135 million in its opening weekend. that's twice what analysts expected. "dead pool" had the biggest opening ever for an r-rated film while also shattering records for the biggest february weekend, and the biggest presidents' day four-day weekend. meanwhile, this weekend's romantic comedy "how to be single" debuted in third with

$18.8 million while ben stiller's much hyped zoolander 2 took in a disappointing $15.7 million. well, accusations of choking a woman involving a former new york's eliot spitzer. plus sports illustrated answer to the winter doldrum. three separate covers. you're watching "first look." ♪ every auto insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. ♪

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former new york governor eliot spitzer is being accused of choking a woman at the plaza hotel in new york city say law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. the woman reportedly cut her wrists after being choked and was taken to the hospital after calling 911. upon leaving the hospital the woman apparently then boarded a plane back to russia. no charges have been filed. a spokesperson for spitzer has told nbc news that there is no truth to the allegation. police are investigating. an explosive device was found attached to the bottom of an avis rental car in albuquerque, new mexico yesterday. the vehicle was rented at another location but was dropped

off at the albuquerque airport. >> mechanic looked up, saw a device on the vehicle. that's what the investigator is doing right now. trying to figure out where that car came from and who dropped it off. for the first time ever sports illustrated swimsuit edition will have three different covers. graham will be the first plus-size model to grace the swimsuit cover. and now sports. it was kobe bryant's 18th and final nba all-star appearance. the five-time lakers champion enjoying every minute on the court with the best of the best. a fan favorite throughout the game for the cheering fans. kobe finished with ten points on the night, and check this out, 290 points combined for all of his all-star appearances, as he waved good-bye and thanks to the fans. well the rest of the game was a scoring fest for the fans, including tons of alley-oops. three-pointer and much more. with a final score that reached the stratosphere as west beat

east. get ready for it, 196-173. nba resumes play on thursday. next, one of the world's most beautiful golf courses, and to the pebble beach pro-am. phil mickelson started the day with a two-stroke lead but on the 18th hole, lefty missed a five-foot birdie putt that would have thrust him into a playoff with vaughn taylor ranked 447th in the world. taylor finished 17 under par to mickelson's 16 under. now to nascar's biggest event of the year the daytona 500 will have 20-year-old chase elliot starting the race from the pole. elliot is the son of two-time daytona 500 winner bill elliot and the youngest driver to land the top spot. the race is sunday at 1:00 p.m. a nasty battle among democrats for a florida senate seat, and even bill clinton has nice things to say about antonin scalia. "scrambled politics" is up next. vo: know you have a dedicated advisor and team who understand where you come from. we didn't really have anything, you know. but, we made do. vo: know you can craft an investment plan

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liked justice scalia, because he never pretended to be anything he wasn't. he was very straightforward about what he believed. justice ruth bader ginsburg had the most touching of distributes for her ideological opponent. from our years together at the d.c. circuit court, we were best buddies. it was my great fortune to have known him as a working colleague and treasured friend. the race to fill republican presidential candidate marco rubio's senate seat in florida is getting nasty. it is dominated in a fight between two congressmen. representative allen grayson currently under a house ethics investigation over his handling of hedge funds is feuding with primary opponent patrick murray. murphy called the hedge funds unethical and called on him to resign if allegations are true. grayson responded with a fund-raising e-mail calling murphy muck-loving and sewage spilling and describing him as a lk spittle pillock.

we had to look it up, too. it means a fawning subordinate who is a stupid person. and john oliver had this for senate republicans. >> two senate republicans, i say this, if you really loved antonin scalia, you wouldn't honor his memory by desecrating the thing he loved the most. think of scalia like a brita filter or a child's hamster. why don't you honor his entire reason for being by swiftly and efficiently replacing him? >> and that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." msnbc political reporter jane timm joins us now. i know we're still laughing from that. because it would be a surprise if they could replace him that quickly, right? >> absolutely. >> okay. so let's talk about this. the sudden death of his -- scalia has ignited a firestorm. and this is going to be a big one, because will president obama be able to appoint a successor? or is it going to be delayed because of the republican strategy? >> absolutely. i mean, senate republicans are going to do everything they can to stop it with the hope that

they can retake the white house and put somebody who more resembles scalia's politics on the bench. but the democrats are going to be doing the exact same thing, trying to get someone in on the option they lose the white house. everyone is going to be fighting here. but i think it does up the gridlock in washington and people on the trail, they really don't like that. they're tired of it, and this makes an opening for someone like kasich to say, you know what? let's talk about getting things done. let's talk about making progress instead of leaving one-third of our government hamstrung by a split bench. >> you said a lot of ifs. if, if, if on that. we'll see what happens there. now the court is pretty much balanced. there are eight justices sitting. so what is that going to do to the pending cases now in the supreme court? >> i mean they can delay them until they have a full bench. but for the most part if it's on a partisan issue and they're split those rulings don't go anywhere. the lower court standing -- the lower court's ruling will stand. for partisan issues this is a very problematic thing. there's affirmative action, executive actions on immigration up for a hearing later this

year. own votes scalia has already cast will have to be reargued because he has past. >> what about the environment? the cases pending on that? >> i mean, this is everything sort of up there. unless they can come to an agreement with five, someone splitting and going with the other side, this is going to be up in the air. there's not much they can do. >> so another case of gridlock. boy. now let's move on to south carolina because we know this vote is coming up on saturday with the republican primaries. what's going to happen? >> i mean i think we've learned not to make predictions in this race. but i think you're going to see people like jeb bush really push hard to come out of this as a viable candidate. the bushes are very popular in south carolina and he has been sort of straggling behind. you're going to see him try and push up there. and i think this is a strong place for ted cruz to continue momentum he had in iowa. there's a lot of evangelical voters in south carolina. >> and jeb bush pulling out george w. bush to help him there. >> yes. >> interesting strategy there. jane timm thank you so much for that. appreciate it. >> great to be here. well, just ahead an office worker plays hooky for six years, and no one notices.

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leading the news on nbc.com, missile mistakenly sent to cuba in 2014 returned to u.s. the cuba has returned the u.s. dummy missile reportedly sent to them in a navy training exercise. though it did not contain exploce ifs, u.s. officials were concerned cuba would share the technology. kanye west is $53 million in debt? the rapper posts surprising tweets and mentions mark zuckerberg. he surprised fans when posting

on twitter i write this to you my brothers while still $53 million in personal debt, followed by mark zuckerberg invest $1 billion into kanye west ideas. zuckerberg has not responded. and in the guardian, long lunch spanish civil servant skips work for six years without anyone noticing. the spanish court fined worker joaquin garcia $30,000 for collecting a salary for a job he hadn't shown up for for at least six years. he was discovered when his employer decided to give him a long service medal. sea lions are joining in the fun at long beach, california. milo the sea lion gave visitors a front row seat to his underwater world after a trainer mounted a gopro camera to the end of an old pro. the video selfie was posted online thursday and has since been going viral. i think that's adorable. >> that is. those sea lions they've been hanging out in restaurants in california, too. they're really -- >> but i like the view of having

a sea lion. i know if i put that on my dog, the dog would eat the stick. >> oh, no. well i'm dara brown and this is "first look" on msnbc. don't forget to like us on facebook and "way too early" that starts right now. and justice scalia's passing, i think, really changes the entire contours of this race. the time for the circus, and the reality show, is over. this is a serious choice. and we are talking about losing our basic liberties if we get this wrong. a high stakes battle is emerging after the death of supreme court justice an thannen scalia. president obama vows to nominate a replacement, but republicans are set to stonewall. plus the gloves come off in south carolina, as the republican presidential field gets their hands dirty in the ugliest debate yet. and pope francis gives a tough love message after holding mass in one of mexico's most crime-ridden areas. it's 5:30 on the east coast,

2:30 out west and this is "way too early." good morning, it's monday, february 15th, i'm sam stein. the body of justice antonin scalia is returning to virginia this morning. a plane landed late last night at dulles international airport. now the influential conservative jurist was discovered dead over the weekend while on retreat in west texas with about 30 other people. he would have been 80 next month. reaction has poured in from all over the world, including from his fellow justices. though they differed ideologi l ideologically, scalia and ruth bader ginsburg were close friends. ginsburg said in a statement they had been, quote, best buddies since their days on the d.c. circuit court and she recalled the opera