. it's monday, february 15th. coming up on "early today," 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 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 weekend but more cold is in store for the week ahead. in debt. a monster week at the box office.

giving a sea lion a selfie stick? "early today" starts right now. good morning. the stakes are high after the death of supreme court justice antonin scalia. it's already reached the point of a justice scalia dissent. 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 supreme court justices it's called delay, delay, delay. >> i don't think the president should move forward and we should let the next president of the united states should decide. >> i'm glad the senate is agreeing what we should. >> those opinions have been met with harsh words on the other

>> 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 in from washington to sort it all out. good morning, tracie. >> good morning. it's possible the president could move on a potential nominee, a replacement pretty quickly. it's taken him about a month in advance the last time he did this. let's take a look at some of names that are coming up. first of all, seb real of them from the d.c. court of appeals. a former u.s. deputy solicitor general who argued more than 20

supreme court, paul watford appointed by president obama to the ninth circuit out of california. nine republicans voted in favor of watford. that could be key. he also clerked previously for justice ginsburg. patricia millen also on the circuit court of appeals. her case got caught up in the filibuster over it. a lot of names out there already. we're seeing some battling back and forth not only between republicans and the president over whether or not he should make this nomination but between republicans. ted cruz already has an ad out this morning saying if donald trump is selected he could not be trusted to nominate the next supreme court justice for the united states.

more potential nominees are mentioned, dara as they slug it out and whether or not president should actually make the selection in his last days in office. >> there are only five days left and the field is down to just six candidates but saturday night's debate was the most venomous debate and there were plenty of fights in both english and spanish. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: after moments of silence for justice scalia came the most contentious debate so far. >> he lies. >> liar, liar, liar. >> reporter: the variation of liar was used at least 13 times. the most used by donald trump. trump slammed by jeb bush over foreign policy and how to fight isis and syria. >> it's absolutely ludicrous to

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 said. >> the world trade center. >> don't go after my mother. >> reporter: marco rubio came after his defense. >> that's what allowed isis to grow and by 2001 be able to strike america. >> reporter: at one point cruz took issue with something rubio took advantage of. >> i don't why he would say that because he doesn't speak spanish. [ speaking spanish ] >> reporter: cruz also pounced on trump. >> you're the biggest liar. bush.

>> donald has the worst pattern. when he speaks to his own record, he speaks liar, liar, liar. >> reporter: john kasich speaks to a different tone. >> i've got to tell you. this is just crazy. this is just nuts. geez, oh, man. reporting. a bitter arctic cold air is bringing cold weather. meanwhile weather that's struck midwesterners has headed east. >> reporter: whether it was the cause of a huge pile june that shut down a major stretch of u.s. highway in minneapolis, at least ten people were taken to the hospital with injuries. >> we know a squall came through and it was zero. it turned icy quickly. it. but this is one of the worst crashes i've ever seen. >> reporter: it was the coldest

northeast and frigid temperatures caused problems for firefighters in new jersey. >> we got off a plane yesterday and i nearly ran back into the airport. i had never known cold like that ever. >> reporter: there is good news. forecasters predict a warmup later this week. nbc's rafael is here to tell us when the weather will change. good morning, rafael. >> good morning. it's going to be a messy day across the east. we have a messy presidents' day developing. freezing rain a possibility for the carolinas and virginia. that snow will transition later on today, tonight, and freezing rain and eventually rain with much milder weather in the northeast. heavy rain overnight into tuesday and even flooding concerns there, but it could end as snow in the interior

a busy travel day and the weather is not big for the east. d.c., new york, philadelphia, chicago is quiet dealing with a beautiful day. temperatures there well into the 80s and tomorrow again, tracking the heavy rain for the big cities of the northeast. look at the temperatures. well into the 50s. 55 for the city. flooding will be a concern there, 87 in los angeles and tracking storminess across florida. that's a look at the national weather. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. it ooh going to be a messy day across the mid-atlantic and northeast with snow, ice, and freezing rain changing over to rain later on tonight. watching out for severe weather across the gulf coast like mobile could see severe storms this afternoon. so not a great travel day for all the folks heading home after the holiday weekend. >> no, but a good day to have off and stay home.

pope francis visited one of the poorest cities in mexico city. he preached his message of equality and hope to more than 300,000 attending mass. nbc's anne thompson has more. >> reporter: pope francis went to the city notorious for poverty and crime. francis rode through the graffiti covered streets given a makeover by criminals more appropriate for the occasion, the pope portrayed in all kinds of was even as a graffiti artist. it has one of the highest murder and disappearance rates in mexico. it's such a dangerous place this woman tells me today's mass is one of the rare times she can bring her children to a public event. more than 300,000 people filled the dusty fields to hear the

wealth, vanity, and pride, emphatically telling them there can be no dialogue with the devil. your evil can fear like a daily reality. 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, mexico. 48 people had to be rescued from a frigid new england ski slope after their tram cars got stuck 40 feet above the ground. look at this. rescuers actually had to use rope to help stranded schoolers propel through a hatch in the bottom of the car to the ground about 40 feet from the mountain. thankfully nobody was injured. they say a breaking sis is to

days to fix the problem. marvel's latest movie "flick" has started. "dead pool" earn $135 million. "dead pool" had been the biggest. also for the biggest february weekend and biggest president's four-day weekend. meanwhile it debuted in third while ben stiller's much hyped "zoolander 2" took in a disappointed $16.7 million. an accusation of a woman choking spitzer. and get rt rd for a triple threat with three separate covers. you're watching "early today." ay." symptoms worsen because your heart isn't pumping well. (water filling room)

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former new york governor eliot spitzer is accused of choking a woman at the la plaza in new york city. the woman reportedly cut her wrists after being choked and was taken to the hospital after calling 911. upon leaving the hospital the woman parentally then boarded a plane back to russia. no charges have been filed. a spokesperson for spitzer has told nbc news there is no truth to the allegation. police are investigating. an explosive device was attached to the bottom of an avis rent a car in new mexico, yesterday. . >> a mechanic looked up and saw a device on the vehicle. that's what the investigator is looking at right now, where that car came from and who dropped it off. bollywood dancers were performing on stage when a fire broke out.

be evacuated. the cause of the fire is still unknown. washington state police believe they've finally captured the beard-o ban did wearing a fake beard, glasses, and nose guard. after surveillance they arrested christian francois on friday. for first time ever "sports illustrated" will have three different covers. graham will be the first plus size mod toll grace the swimsuit cover. and just ahead, leftly blows one at pebble beach and cob by's curtain call at the all-star game. details up next. t. yeah...sorry about that. think about it there must be higher love down in the heart

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his all-star appearances as he waves good-bye and thanks to the fans. the rest of the game was a scoring fest for the rest of the fans including tubs of alley-oops, three-pointers and 196-173. nba resumes play on thursday. next, the beautiful golf courses and pebble beach pro-am. phil mickelson started but missed a five-foot birdie putt that would have thrust him up against taylor. 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 yt chase elliott racing from the poll. he's the son of two-time winner bill elliott and the youngest driver to land a top spot.

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now to some entertainment news.

the rapper leads the pack with 11 nominations. taylor swift and the weekend are also big contenders. both have nine nominations. at last night's awards steven fry brought home a little bit honoring the tradition of the kiss cam. they played to the stars of maggie smith and leonardo dicaprio. he also won big by taking home best actor for a role in " the revenant. >> seven mine. >> that is the latest tease from the sixth season of game of thrones. it's set in black and white of those who died. they're fueling speculation of

this month nbc will air a special that features the reunion of the cast of "friends. "here to commend is rachel from friends. >> oh, my god. this is incredible. it's so a great to see you. >> oh, colin, oh, hi, hi, wow, yeah. yeah. >> rachel, i 've got to say i haven't seen you since the '90s. yeah, yeah, i've been good. i've been good, yeah. >> good. >> the special will air february 21st and i know we're all going to be. >> that was a great.

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>> this is 7 news. now. >> kris: good morning. almost 5:00. 7news "today in new england" begins in just a few minutes. >> sarah: here are some of the stories we're working on. breaking news in worcester. firefighters dealing with three fires overnight. this one was on preston street. the one person inside did make it owl safely and crews say the cold weather made the fire more of a challenge. >> kris: breaking story from overnight, car goes right through a wild ride enter a multiple front yards in seekonk right before crashing into this house. police aren't saying if anyone was hurt or if charges will be filed. >> sarah: police right now searching for clues in the disappearance of a harvard man. zachary mar was last seen early saturday morning outside the bell and hand bar in boston.

jacket. >> kris: some new clues this morning that the "t" might soon be ending their late-night service. what subway drivers have reportedly started noticing with their schedules. >> sarah: all right. it is downright frigid outside. chris, i couldn't even feel my face this morning. >> chris: it's cold outside in the city of boston once again. believe it or not, this is a milder stretch compared to yesterday morning. of course, yesterday in the city of boston, it was the coldest temperatures since 1957. 6 degrees right now in the city. minus 2 in worcester. you factor in a breeze this morning, not as powerful as yesterday,bout 5mph in the city of boston right now. the wind-chill at minus 3. numbing to the face. certainly there. minus 15 in worcester. minus 26 the wind-chill factor out there in jaffrey, new hampshire. take a look at this purple winter weather advisory kicking in at 4:00 p.m. today, goes until 1:00 a.m. we expect light snow and mix to develop very late day, flipping

and then tomorrow it's like gusty wind, especially along the coastline, gusts up to 50mph. that will take over as rain settles in. no precipitation this morning. the morning commute is fine. i'd say by at 5:00 p.m., we begin to see light snow and mix breaking out, but it's still far off to the south of us, and despite all of the cold air that's been in place the last couple day, we are indeed talking about snow going over to rain. ites just a brief period of snow overnight tonight and then flipping over to rain by about midnight. and then we'll watch the mild air surging in as we get into the day tomorrow. just a coaching to an inch boston area. one to two inches in worcester, merrimack valley before the change overnight. some brief ice and then over to rain. we'll take a look at forecast in the next seven day as "today in new england" starts right now. >> sarah: breaking news. flames and freezing temperatures keeping emergency crews busy throughout the night after multiple fires break out in worcester.

taking a toll on the "t." what crews are doing this rning toake sure those tracks aren't freezing up. >> sarah: dozens stranded at a new england ski area when a tram breaks down. left out in the cold and in need of rescue. >> kris: also this morning, justice antonin scalia's death country. who should nominate his successor, and the familiar face being mentioned as a possibility. >> this is 7news "today in new england." >> kris: it is 5:00 on the dot this frigid monday morning. thanks for joining us. i'm kris anderson in for christa this morning. >> sarah: and i'm sarah french. cold weather sticking around this morning, but nothing like the below-zero temperatures we saw yesterday. what are you doing, kris? >> christa: valentine's day was yesterday, right? >> sarah: yesterday was kris's birthday, too. >> chris: happy birthday. a big number? >> kris: really big number. number 40. >> chris: okay. so you turned 29 for like the