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 anythyng 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 thr valentine

store for the week ahead. plus, is kanye west millions in debt. a monster week at the box office. and what happens when you giving a sea lion a selfie stick? "early today" starts right now. good morning. the stakes are hig 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.

agreeing what we should. >> 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 of ce, 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 id this. let's take a look at some of names that are coming up.

om the d.c. court of appeals. a former u.s. deputy solicitor general who argued more than 20 cases in front of the u.s. supreme court, paul watford apaypointed by president obama to 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 noothe should make this nomination but between retpublicans. ted cruz already has an ad out this morning saying if donald

be trusted to nominate the next supreme court justice for the united states. we'll keep an eye on this as more potential nominees are mentioned, dara as they slug it out andit whethat or not president should actually make the selection in his last days in office. >> there are only five days left and the field is own 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.

foreign policy and how to fight isis and syria. >> it's absolutely ludicrous to suggest that russia could be a positive partner in this. >> jeb is so wrong. >> while donald trump was building a reality tvdeshow, 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 ]

on trump. >> you're the biggest liar. you' fu probably worse than jeb bush. you are the single biggest liar. >> 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. >> that was gabe gutierrez reporting. >>or> a bitter arctic cold air is bringing cold weather. meanwhile weather that's struck midwesterners has eaded 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. itut turned icy quickly.

itll. t this is one of the worst crashes 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. >> we got off a plane yesterday and i nearl ran back into the airport. i had never known cold like that ever. >> reporter: there is good news. forecast s predict a warmup later this week. nbc's rafael is here to tell us when the weather will change. good morning, rafael. th 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

heavy rain overnight into tuesday and even flooding concerns there, but it could end as snow in the interior throughout the day on tuesday. 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 th hyere, 87 in los angeles and tracking storminess a thcross florida. that's a look at the national weather. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. co 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 mos bile could see severe storms this afternoon. so not a great p trae l day for l the folks heading home after

>> no, but a good day to have off and stay home. >> yes. pope francis visited one of the poorest cities in mexico city. he preached his message of equality nd 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 makeoverxiy 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 woyoman tells me today's mass is one of the rare times she can

event. more than 300,000 people filled the dusty fields to hear the pope warn of the temptations of wealth, vanity, and pride, emphatic ly telling them there can be no dialogue with the devil. your evil can fear like a daily reality. francis is asking these eeople, many of them poor and powerless dto 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 f t above the ground. look at this. rescuers actuaily had to use rope to help stranded schoolers propel through a hatch in the bottom of the car to the ground

thankfully nobody was injured. they say a breaking sis is t blame and it could take a few days to fix the problem. marvel's latest movie "flick" has started. "dead pool" earn $135 million. "dead pool" ad been the biggest. also for the biggest february weekend and biggest president's fo yur-day weekend. meanwhile it debuted in third while ben stiller's much hyped "zoolander 2" took in a diersappointed $16.7 million. an accusation of a woman choking spitzer. and get rt rd for a tri e threat with three separate covebs.

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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 h,ospital after cat lle g 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 explosigu device was attached to the bottom of an be avis reni a car in new mexico, yesterday. . >> a mechanic looked up and saw a device on the vehicle. that's what the investigator is

car came from and who dropped it off. bollywood dancers were performing on stage when a fire broke out. around 20,000 spectators had to be evacuated. the cause of t fire is still unknown. washington state police believe they've finally captured the beard-o ban did wearing a sfake 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.

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a fan favorite and kobe finished with ten points on the night. and check this out. 290 points combined for all of he s all-star appearances as he waves good-bye and thanks to he fans. the rest of the game was a scoring fest for the rest of the fans including tubs of alley-oops, three-pointers and those that hit the stratosphere. 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 w ld have thrust him up against taylor. taylor finished 17 under par to mickelson's 16 under. now to nascar's biggest even of the year, the daytona

elliott racing from the poll. he's the son of two-time winner bill elliott and the youngest driver to land a top spot. the race is sunday at 1:00 p.m. just ahead, who will be the big winners at tonight's graemy awards. we'll tell your prbeictions. plus, get excited. game of throne fans. we'll have a sneak peak for this upcoming season. up next. next. to be on top of your mom game...vnailed it! thanks so much. you need a balanced coffee you can drink throughout the day. good girl. mccaf\ coffees brew a smooth blend. for a taste that's not too strong, but never weak. so you can savor every sip knowing you are matriarch supreme. mommy's not a napkin honey. mccaf\. available where you buy groceries. we give you relief from your cold & flu. you give them a case of the giggles. tylenol cold helps relieve your worst cold & flu symptomsin. anu can give them

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-l> now t some enterta ment news. today is growing for the grammy awards. the rapper leads the pack with 11 nominations. taylor swift and the weekend are so 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 maggievemith 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

it's set in black and white of those who died. they're fueling speculation of whose death is next. this month nbc will air a special that features the rekiunion 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 februaryg21stiand i know we're all going

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l'eggo my eggo. leading the news on nbcnews.com, a missile mistakenly sent to cuba in 2013 has been returned to the u.s. they mistakenly sent it to them inas a nato training exercise. though it contains no missiles to therey were concerned cuba would share the technology. kanye west $53 million in debt. he surprised fans, i write this

$53 million in personil debt followed by mark zuckerberg invests $1 billion into kanye west's ideas. zuckerberg has not responded. in "the guardian" a spanish civil servant skips work for yearywithout anyone noticing. he collected a salary for a job he l hadn't shown up for in at least six years. garcia was discovered when his employer tried to award him with a long service medal. they have seized over $89 million of liquid meth an get min. they used gels and art supplies in their attempt to smuggle it in. and a chine se artist is making a name for himself.

lifejackets to symbolize those who drowned in the attempt to reach european shores. 15,000 chilean participants wore the tomato. they provided juicy ammunition. the art of taking a selfie is no longer just for humans. now sea lions are joining in on the fun. milo the sea lion gave visitors a front row seat to the underwater world after trainer mounted a camera on the eud of a gopro poly e. it's since been going viral. i think that's a great way. >> i even seen a cat doing it. >> give him a g ro and a selfie camera. now it's time to look head. president obama will meade with leaders. the group will cover issues including security, trade, and climate change. wh

as the u.s. steps up efforts. janet dickerson is 61. dr. quinn herself actress jane seymour turn 65 today. i'm dara brown. thanks for .

rhaming flames damage several buildings in brooklyn. firefighters spent the night fighting the elements to get it under control. a new investigation involving eliot spitzer. what a woman is accusing him of doing. antonin scalia's body returned home. now it's setting up a battle ina washington. "today in new york" starts now. good morning everyone. monday morning, february 15th. i'm darlene rodriguez. i'm michael gargiulo. chris cimino is here with the forecast. chris, we're trying to get thro iugh how many hours we have left until it warms up again. >> it's a balmy 14 this morning. this is 15 degrees warmer than yesterday morning at this time. mid teens in the city. it's still plenty cold. not a lot of wind. it's down to 2 in sussex. 7 in morristown. 6 in white plains. 2 in poughkeepsie. it is below zero in danbury. out east, westhampton, 7 beftw.