and senator kelly ayotte is right there to help.ed trump and party bosses in refusing to consider any nominee ignoring the constitution. newspapers call ayotte's actions appalling, wrong and disappointing. >> delay, delay, delay. >> kelly ayotte, ignoring the constitution, not doing her job. senate majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. senator kelly ayotte hit not just for her association with donald trump which every republican will have to figure out what to do with now. but specifically also now she's having to answer for will now be described as the donald trump plan for the supreme court. the republican plan to keep a seat on the supreme court vacant for more than a year rather than consider president obama's nominee to fill that position. it is a plan that's totally unprecedented in u.s. history. president obama said, today, he hopes cooler heads will prevail and the senate will act on his nominee when he submits one to the senate. but senate republicans aren't really planning on doing that no matter

. >> welcome back to "hardball," that was new hampshire republican sen nor kelly ayotte, last summeraying she wouldn't have to worry about supporting him, because she didn't believe he would be the nominee. high hopes apparently, but as he inches closer, she could be eating her words. she along with four other republicans running for reelection, mark kirk of illinois, rob portman and pat toomey of pennsylvania, nervous about the prospects of losing the senate to the democrats this fall. "the new york times" reported in february that senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell has been preparing them for a trump nomination, assuring them that if they threatened to harm them in the general election, they could run negative ads to create space between him and republican senators seeking reelection. what a line, drop him like a hot rock. any way, according to the colleagues, democratic want to make republican own mr. trump. here is the latest web ad. >> what the hell are we doing? >> i'll support the republican nominee. >> i plan to support the republican nominee. >> i'm going to support the

lot of vulberable senate republicans, kelly ayotte in n.h, toomey in pa, maybe rob portman in ohio. i think if someone like donald trump were at the top of the ttket. it would make life even more difficult for these incumbents."and political experts say many of the 24 g-o-p *senators* who rode the wave of a mid-term gop "win" in 2010; won't t ind it easy *this* time around."this year, they're not going to have the same underlying numbers that helped get them into office and they're going to be facing tremenously higher democratic turnout." as unpredictable as the trump campaign has been, some stratigists can't deny a trump ticket in november could *help* senateincumbents attract blbl-collar swing "reagan democrats". - in states like pennsylvania, ohio and illinois.most polical expertrtagree the g-o-p should *easily* retain its majority in the u-s house. and no matter *which* party controls the senate, john hudak says it'll be a slim majoritya& the next presidede needs to be

i'd like to thank senators grassley, eye up-or-down vote, cantwell for -- ayotte and -- for sponsoring this amendment. i thank the chair and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, all the time is yielded back. the question occurs on the amendment. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change their vote or vote? if not, on this vote the yeas are 94, the nays are zero. one senator responded present. under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is agreed to. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. i ask unanimous consent that the votes following this first vote in the series being 10 minutes in length. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection. under the previous order, there will be two minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote if relation to amendment 3395, offered by the senator from oregon, mr. wyden. mr. w

susan collins, who is a moderate republican, and kelly ayotte of new hampshire. now flake and collins have said they will sit down with the judge, and kelly ayotte is indicating the same. there's orrin hatch of utah who is saying that he's inclined to allow a hearing. it was orrin hatch who recommended the judge for his present position in the d.c. circuit court. now jim inhofe from oklahoma is 80 years old, by the way, and he tweeted out this morning, while i will evaluate the nomination of judge garland, the next president should be the one to fill the vacancy on the supreme court. you can see the republicans pretty much on message that there are one or two who might be prepared to move this along, and we should just have to wait and see. >> yes, we will. john live for us in washington. thank you. >> thanks. >>> the obama administration is demanding the immediate release of an american student being held in north korea. the white house says he's being used as a pawn to pursue a political agenda. the university of virginia student has been sentenced to 15 years

rob portman, kelly ayotte, new hampshire, pat toomey, states that either tend to go blue or could golue. here's mark kirk saying, "why not?" >> it's just man up and cast a vote. the tough thing about these senatorial jobs is you get yes-or-no votes. your whole job is to either say yes or no and explain why. >> senator kirk seems to be saying there that's why we got hired, to dower on job. i'm also told that chuck grassley of iowa also on the ballot is facing heat from democrats and he's starting to complain at a minimum that he's not getting enough cover from his republicans. >> this is the genius of the garland pick. not only is he imminently qualified as a judicial mind, i think that's fact. that's there. viewers can dispute that, but whatever. he's a brilliant legal mind. if you were at the white house and you're thinking, we need to find a guy who ticks off or causes trouble for mark kirk, kelly ayotte, rob portman and what the heck, chuck grassley, you found it because he's the chairman of the judiciary committee. he's up for re-election. iowans will not tolerate this. already t

ayotte saying she would be open to a meeting. kirk saying he would be open to a meeting.nell, though, however, chris. he had a conversation on the phone with garland, and he said that all i'm going to do is talk to you on the phone. good luck with your nomination, but i will not have a meeting with you. saying it was nothing more than a political exercise. so mcconnell slamming the door, figuratively, in garland's face. so interesting to see how it moves forward. but you remember well, bjork for all the animosity democrats had towards him, he got a hearing and a vote on the floor. it went down, but he did get both of those. >> can you tell how much of a dog and pony show the white house will put on with judge garland. are they going to take him to all the sunday shows? all the legal departments -- law schools around the country. how long an effort and big and national an effort are they going to take to put the pressure on the republican senate? >> well, they said he would like to have a confirmation vote by may 25th. so ostensibly, i think between now and then, you'll se

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kelly & kate: this message. jean: republican leaders are not backing off from their plan to block any supreme court nominee from president obama, even after their oval office meeting. mitch mcconnell and chuck mcgrassley met with the president and vice president democrats. it's the first time they've met in person since justice antonin josh: 12 states, one u.s. territory, 1,015 delegates. a lot of number, but it's what's at stake right now as millions cast their ballots on this super tuesday. that includes the home states of candidates ted cruz and bernie sanders who got to head to the polls themselves today. let's begin with a look at the democratic side of things where 865 delegates are at stake tonight. as sally kidd records, this is expected to be a big night for hillary clinton. report josh, hillary clinton is hoping to rack up a significant number of delegate tonight, while bernie sanders is banking on a handful of state where he might be able to pull off an upset. hillary clinton making a last minute stop

right now, senators jeanne shaheen ang kelly ayotte are speaking on senate floor. they are calling for a vote to provide emergency funding to first responders and treatment providers. >> in february alone, there were 14 suspected opioid over dose deaths just in one city in my state. that is a record high in manchester. sean: the $600 million in funding would include money for for an anti-heroin task force and funds for substance abuse prevention and treatment. new this noon a manchester man , under arrest after police found him passed out in the mcdonalds drive through on south willow street . sleeping behind the wheel of a vehicle with the engine running. investigators say he failed a field sobriety test and also had marijuana on him. he' s charged with operating under the influence and possession of a controlled drug. coming up, a dream cruise turns into a nightmare. why it' s having to return to t the first a supreme court justice' s question is making headlines. why the ordinary inquiry is creating so much buzz. plus, in today' s grow it green how you can brigh

senator ayotte joins us from capitol hill. it's great to have youback on the program . what an interesting exchange. you say not having a clear long-term detention plan is actually making us less safe today. why is that? it's making us less safe because if you think about the intelligence we have to gather to capture and kill bin laden, that took years to develop so when we capture as we have recently our special forces, someone who apparently has a background in understanding the chemical weapons program of isis, if we don't keep that individual in a long-term interrogation we are missing opportunities do know what they know about the network, to also put pieces together as we capture other people and this administration has had absolutely no plan. yes, they killed people with drones but when they captured individuals for example the connections of bin laden's son-in-law, they kept him on the ship for 60 days then shipped him to court in new york city. then he was given his miranda rights and told him you have the right to remain silent. how does that help us gather in

very, very grateful for senator ayotte. senator fisher and senator schatz in working, in leading really some of the innovation work we're doing about the internet of things. really very excited about the fact that we are now looking at making sure we're focused on unlicensed. in fact, i definitely wanted to follow up, which i don't think i'm going to have about, you know, the progress of testing the five gigahertz section. but just while we're there, i just really want to jump into the issue of lifeline because it's something that i think is extraordinarily important and i'd like to be able to submit for the record without objection from the chairman when he comes back is a letter that was signed by a broadband group of broadband providers, public interest groups, really public/private groups talking about the urgencies of the digital divide in our country, and it's amazing to see it signed by everybody from comcast and at&t to the national hispanic media collision. it's pretty extraordinary. so just to stick with this for

ayotte: mr. president, i would very much like to -- i would very much like to thank the senator from rhode island for the work that we were able to do together on this important piece of legislation for his leadership and really his passion for this issue that's devastating my state, the heroin and opiate epidemic that's facing all of us, and i thank him for really a thoughtful approach in bringing people together around this, and i am so glad we are debating this on the senate floor today. but, mr. president, i come to the senate floor today to discuss with great sadness, i want to honor the life of two of our outstanding law enforcement officers from new hampshire that were taken from us far too soon. one is new hampshire state police lieutenant jimmy garretty, a u.s. army veteran and outstanding public servant, and the other is prince william county police officer ashley guindon of merrimack, new hampshire. she is a merrimack native, a marine corps veteran who was killed in the line of duty in

collins, kelly ayotte, others.those meaningful that they are not falling in lockstep kind his posture right now? nina: kelly ayotte is in a very tough reelection race. susan collins from the beginning was one of one or two republicans who said you ought to meet with someone who is not nominated. she did not make any pledges about a hearing or no hearing. so far for connell has been able to keep his troops in line almost unanimously on the question of having a hearing as reason is the reason that ron speaks about. if you have a hearing and the nominee does well, then why not have a vote? that is what they do not want to have. you can see mcconnell's point of view but the optics of it are not great. you can tell that in all the opinion polls. i do not think there is any public opinion poll that -- in which people think this is a great position. even a substantial number of republicans think this is not a great position to be opposing a hearing. three do not think the who would meet with him are the last three. this i

very grateful for senator ayotte. very grateful to senator fisher and senator schatz in leading some of the innovation work we're doing about the internet of things. really very excited about the fact that we are now looking at making sure we're focused on unlicensed. in fact, i definitely wanted to follow up, which i don't think we're going to have time, about the progress of testing the five gigaherz section. but just while we're there i just really want to jump into the issue of lifeline because it's something that i think is extraordinarily important and i'd like to be able to submit for the record without objection from the chairman when he comes back is a letter that was signed by broadband group of bod band providers, public interest groups, really public-private groups talking about the urgencies of the digital divide in our country. and it's amazing to see it signed by everybody from comcast and at&t to the national hiss payne media coalition. it's pretty extraordinary. so just to stick with this for a second

the legislation before us today, senators portman, ayotte, toomey and others have been involved with, is an important step forward, mr. president, in helping to address something that has become a crisis in this country and which is impacting in a harmful and negative way way too many families, way too many individuals and ruining the hopes and aspirations of too many young people and children across this country. let's pass this legislation. let's get the house to pass a similar piece of legislation, and let's get something on the president's desk that can be signed into law that will bring the relief that is needed. mr. president, i yield the floor. i have six unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i would ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call

i just talked to kelly ayotte, a new hampshire senator also in a tough race, she says she's willing to meet with judge garland, but does not think the process should go forward. so you're hearing a bit of division within the republican ranks, but for the most part by and large they are united behind the position to not move forward with the confirmation process. they're going to take it to voters and hope republicans reward them with a senate republican majority that could prevent a liberal justice from being confirmed, ashleigh. >> it's always interesting to see each party tossing in the positive words about the gnome near. listen, it's the same with the biden rule, they're tossing the biden rule in. republicans are saying it's biden him self-getting so close to a convention srcht the right thing to do. i'm paraphrasing. i want to read more of the statement. at the president obama is doing a disselfto the voter with an attempt to tip the balance of the court can a liberal justice in the 11th hour of his presidency. we will not stand by idly while president obama attempts to installed

mark kirk from illinois, and kelly ayotte from new hampshire both facing democratic challenges in veryocratic states have said they are prepared to met. and orrin hatch from utah, he said that he is open to the possibility of a hearing, richelle. >> okay. maybe that's a tad bit of progress. we'll have to keep an eye on it. john terrett live for us in washington. senator ted cruz is a former supreme court clerk and is mocking his republican presidential challengers for dropping out of next week's debate. donald trump was the first to back out. he said there have been too many debates. that prompted john saysic to pull out too. fox news said it can't hold a debate with only one participant so it has been canceled. >>> there is still no clear winner in missouri. donald trump and hillary clinton hold slim leads, but absentee ballots are still being counted. whoever comes in second can demand a recount. >>> clinton today holds rallies in nashville and atlanta. while sanders is looking towards arizona. sanders has been telling supporters he stands a good chance of winning many of the up comi

jeff blake, susan collins, and kelly ayotte from new hampshire.eff and susan says they will sit down with judge garland. kelly has said the same thing. she is in a tough reelection battle in a very democratic-lanes state. and orrin hatch says he is open to a hearing. and jim inhoff tweeted this >>> so there are chinks of light, and that's why the white house are putting out those videos and that sort of thing in the hopes that they will break the republicans down. >> two female senators in there. i'll just going to say women get things done. john terrett. women get things done. thank you. >> thank you. >>> the obama administration is demanding the immediate release of an american student being held in north korea. the white house says he is being used as a pawn. the university of washington student has been sentenced to 15 years hard labor for stealing a propaganda banner from a hotel as a souvenir. >>> in brazil, lawmakers there have started impeachment proceedings against the president. she has been widely criticized for appointing former presid

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: and we approved story we brought you last night at 6:00. jennifer: puddle dock pond will be open again starting on friday. that's because an anonymous donor has stepped forward and offered to pay for the repairs to the rain sock the community can enjoy it for one final weekend. police are investigating after it appears someone opened a valve and let the refrigerant leak out. so it will now open again on friday at 9:00 a.m. mike: and it is great news, we take to you new found lake where there's still ice out there, but of course we've seen near the shore some melting in reason days with temperatures above the norm. started to see a cooldown and here we are now on march 1st. so what can we expect this month at least on average. you know the story about it being well above over the past few months, with a record high for december, january and february in terms of temperature. 38 the average high for the first. by the end of the month the average up to 50. and there's a look

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: and we approved phil: emirates has taken over as having the world' s longest flight. emirates bumped qantas out of that spot monday with its 8819-mile nonstop route between dubai in the united arab emirates and auckland, new zealand. the previous record holder was a qantas' non-stop flight between dallas-fort worth and sydney, australia. nasa wants to bring the ultimate in speed flying to the general public. take a look at this. this is a preliminary design of the supersonic jet. nasa has granted a $20 million contract to lockheed martin to develop a passenger jet that can fly faster than the speed of sound. the space agency says the plan is intended to make flying safer, greener and quieter. heather: his launch was nearly one year ago. the mission brought astronaut scott kelly to space. tonight, he will make his return to earth. kelly' s 340-day mission beats than 100 days. nasa hopes the research will bring them closer to a manned mission to mars. abc' s lauren lyster

ayotte: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank senator portman and i want to thank senator mccaskill for their strong, strong leadership on such an important issue, because enforcing the subpoena, the resolution that we have before us to enforce the subpoena of the permanent subcommittee on investigations which they are, the chair and ranking member on is critical because as you've heard today, i was attorney general of new hampshire. i had the opportunity to work with the internet crimes against children task force, the national center for missing and exploited children reports suspected child trafficking reports that it receives from the public, 171% involve backpage.com -- 71% involve a.b.m. what is the resolution before us today about? both senators portman and mccaskill and the committee they lead has asked legitimate questions and asked for documents from backpage.com about, we've seen, heard horrific stories of things that have happened that have been reported in a recent report that i know that senator port

we're going to be making a case to senator ayotte and others about the priority they should place on their constitutional uties. i think most of their constituents believe that their constitutional duties should come ahead of any more narrow political considerations they may have. reporter: do you know judge jane kelly? have you ever heard of her or met her? mr. earnest: i've read some public reports about her but i've not met her in person. reporter: you have seen her here by chance? [laughter] mr. earnest: that's clever. reporter: yeah? mr. earnest: nothing on that. reporter: can you say with any certainty that anyone who might be -- [inaudible] -- we're going to run through this every day. you have seen anyone that you can think of who might be a candidate for the supreme court, a potential nominee? nside this building? mr. earnest: even if i had, i don't think i would say so from here. reporter: does that mean, yes, you have? mr. earnest: it means if i have, i wouldn't say to from here. reporter: fair enough. on gtmo, do you have any nnouncements to make about potential detainee

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: and we approved ed: we're showing you a live look at nasa control because scott kelly is just minutes from touching down back on planet earth. he's not going to land here. but he's going to land in kazakhstan. this is video of him. he and his russian roommate checked out after spending a year in orbit. they are slated to touchdown at 11:25. tonight, kelly tweeted about his outer space adventure and even he is back on -- h-o-m-e back on terra firma. >> i got the thing with the gorilla. >> that was very good. a lot of things go over my head but that one -- hey. quick save right there. bruins finally getting things right at home at the garden. p new england's energy comes from a pool of energy producers. r eversource buys it at a set market price and delivers it to you. but that pool is shrinking, causing energy supply rates to go up and down. so we're working with partners across the region to increase our natural gas supply and bring in affordable, clean hydropower from c

. >> if you're kelly ayotte in new hampshire and you can talk about whoever is running for reelectionent out to vote for trump? and who make the core of the party. >> but if you're kelly ayotte and support the republican nominee but you're happy to have ben sasse or mitt romney or paul ryan at the top of an independent ticket because that pulls out some republicans who won't vote for trump but who will vote for kelly ayotte or other republican senators and congressman. in '92 ross perot ran as an independent, killed us in the first bush white house but republicans did okay in the senate and house races. why any because perot voters went republican most of them down ballot. so you could make a down ballot case -- >> so if you're kelly ayotte, you would like to have a conservative and donald trump? >> otherwise people like me in new hampshire, if there are any, just stay home and don't vote for kelly ayotte. so you could make that case but i agree with jim, it will be a haul to get people to -- it's tough to persuade people -- i voted republican every presidential election in my adult l

. >> so pull that ayotte quote and the one we have access to, alex.oans by cue pick and georgetown law professor jonathan turley. i guess, jonathan, if you look at this nominee, what is offensive? what potentially could republicans have a problem with? is there anything? >> no, i don't think there seriously is a problem in terms of his -- he's certainly a moderate. i don't think a democratic president could move any further to the right. there are a few issues, however, that would be a concern. one is that he voted to reconsider the case that became "heller." and "heller" is the case where the supreme court said there is an individual right to bear arms under the second amendment. he heller is gospel for conservatives and he's viewed as a non-believer and that's a big ticket item for these members. the nra could score that vote. they could put pressure on both republicans and democrats and that is one wedge issue that could come up. but, of course, that's not going to come up if we don't have hearings. >> it's interesting, you'd think that could be po

and the problem is the problem with the kind that the court noted, i think, in the ayotte case, for a court trying to apply that, the court's got to go in and decide which collection of the many, many requirements there ought to stand and which shouldn't, and it's it's going to be invading -- justice alito: well, it's all -- general verrilli: the state's regulatory problems. justice alito: it's work, but maybe the district court should have done that work. i mean, i read through this, and i was surprised. i read through these regulations. i was surprised by how many are completely innocuous. and many of them have nothing to do they have to do with basic safety. they don't even have anything to do, in particular, with abortion. so the entrances to the clinic have to be at grade level. you have to have an elevator. the the corridors have to be wide enough so that you could bring in a stretcher if somebody has to be taken to the hospital. and and things of that nature -- i don't know why things couldn't have been severed out, if there were some that were -- general verrilli: i i think so

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: we're about to show you an incredibly low fare. like all our fares, you get two free bags because what's the point of an incredibly low fare if you're just going to stack our sale fares have nothing up their sleeves. book them now at southwest.com low fares. nothing to hide. that's transfarency. >>> an act of kindness this super tuesday. >> this is a nice picture. look at this sweet moment. a police officer helping a 95- year-old woman walk home from someone saw it happening, took i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is? waterfall? no, me tarzan, king of jungle. why don't you want to just ask somebody? if you're a couple, you fight over directions. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. oh ohhhhh it's what you do. i do everything on the internet. but, it's kind of slow. my friends say i

so senator whitehouse, ayotte, klobuchar and others, we held a series of summits huer in washington. we -- here in washington. we brought people in. here in washington alone we had five of these conferences in 2014 and in 2015. we brought experts in from around the country but we also relied on expertise from the administration. in april of 2014 we held a forum on criminal justice and how it's affected by this issue and treatments. one of the things this legislation does is encourage -- it was an excellent forum, featured michael botticelli, a very effective director of the office of national drug control policy. he's kaild the drug czar. this is -- he's called the drug czar. this is within the white house. michael botticelli came as a representative of the white house but so did a representative of the drug enforcement agency and gave us great input. inalin july of 2014, we held anr forum, how women are impacted by this epidemic. we talked earlier about the issue of pregnant women being addicted and their babies. this forum featured michael baht botticelli. in 2014 in december at th

kelly ayotte, ignoring the constitution and not doing her job.ost: what is your reporting on this? guest: it's interesting. -- the the sort of presidential race is spilling into the supreme court race which is spilling into senate races. you saw this line, as soon as , senator a vacancy harry reid, the minority leader, immediately, as soon as republican said we will not have a vote or even consider someone to replace korea, harry reid -- replace scalia, harry relieved -- harry reid released saying they are waiting on president trump. they are playing on the concerns that the independent and democratic voters have on donald trump and time that to the supreme court. if merrick garland were confirmed, you have a 5-4 court, more liberal majority on the court. his view is as pretty moderate, but you would have five people who were appointed by democrats. and that's why we are seeing so much advertising early on. the judicial crisis network has spent more than $4 million on advertising to target vulnerable thetors and to strengthen spine of republican

and ayotte said that women should not be punished, i'm glad that mr. trump retracted the troubling comments. >>> in is the food and the drug -- this is the food and the drug eased access to the abortion pill. they can use it with fewer visits to the doctor. it affects ohio, north dakota and texas whose laws adhere to the older protocol for the abortion inducing drug that was approved in 2000. >>> the other big headline from the town hall with trump had to do with nuclear weapons. take a look at this exchange. >> they hear a guy running for president of the united states, using nuclear weapons. >> why do we make them? >> because it's -- >> i would be the last one to use the nuclear weapon, sort of the end of the the world. >> can you tell the middle east we're not going to use the nuclear weapon? >> i won't take it off the table. >> you might use it in europe? >> no, i don't think. so. >> well, change it. >> i'm not taking the cards off the table. >> well, this comes as -- after trump told "the new york times" he would use nuclear weapons only as a quot

i also want to thank senator ayotte, senator klobuchar and 42 bipartisan cosponsors for their support of this legislation. it is comprehensive, evidence-based and will make a difference. not only does it have a lot of support here in the united states senate -- and i hope we'll see that again in the final vote on this -- but it also has support in the house of representatives. there is a companion bill -- at one time it was identical to our legislation -- also called care remarks the comprehensive addiction and recovery act -- but it is very similar to the house companion bill. over 80 cosponsors of that legislation on the house side as well. if we pass it here in the senate, we have a very good chance of passing it in the house, getting it to the president for his signature so it can begin to make a difference in our communities. the reason we're here today talking about this again is so many people are suffering. there are 23 million americans, it is said -- 23 million americans who are in recovery for addiction. think about that. we're doing this for them, to ensure that they can h

senator kelly ayotte has the republican address.ks about the prescription opioid abuse problem facing new hampshire and other communities in the u.s.. pres. obama: hello everybody. one of the things that makes america so strong is our spirit of innovation. our drive to invent and tackle our greatest challenges. tois how we won the race invent the lightbulb and the internet. it is why i keep models of american inventions like the telegraph in the oval office. it is the daily reminder of a genius embedded in our dna, the way we have always shaped the future through our ideas and discovery. that's truer than ever today with a constant screw of new apps, tools and data still changing the way that we live from paying our bills to developing smarter ways to combat climate change. that's why next week will travel sxsw ann texas to visit annual gathering of some of our coders,ative thinkers, and entrepreneurs from across the country. while there i will ask everyone for ideas and technologies helped update our government and democracy to be

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: >> no one covers new hampshire like we do. now, wmur news 9 daybreak. erin: good morning. beautiful sunrise over the seacoast on this first day of march. we are waking up to some cooler temperatures out there and a whole lot of wind overnight knocked out power to several thousand. sean: they are working to restore that as we speak. state police are investigating a crash on route 108 in kensington that left two people dead. manchester during february, the highest number of suspected drug overdose that to happen in one month. portsmouth police are investigating possible vandalism that forced the skating rink to close for the season at strawbery banke. erin: strong winds knocked out power to over 11,000 customers overnight. that number is now down to about 4000. conval high school has a two hour delay. josh: how did you not hear the wind? erin: i did not hear it at all. i must have been super tired. [laughter] josh: i heard it and i think a lot of other people did, too. the

ayotte: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: mr.resident, i rise today to urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the comprehensive addiction and recovery act. this is a bill that we have been working on for three years. both senator portman, senator whitehouse, senator klobuchar, i want to thank them for their partnership and leadership on this bill. this is something that the four of us got together on because we saw in our own states the public health epidemic that was happening with our constituents, individuals struggling with addiction, people who were addicted to prescription drugs and overusing and misusing prescription drugs, and then the price of heroin on our streets so low and people going to heroin and also a combination of heroin and a deadly drug called fentanyl. so i very much want to thank senators portman, whitehouse and klobuchar for the work that we've been doing together over the last several years on this bill and to see this bill come to the senate floor. this is a very important piece of legislation that

senator ayotte correctly called this a life or death issue and talked about what she has been doing to address it. she also talked about important legislation the senate is considering that would help address the problem. i was proud to see the senate vote yesterday to advance the comprehensive addiction and recovery act. it's bipartisan legislation that colleagues in both parties like the junior senator from new hampshire, our colleague from minnesota and of course the lead sponsors from ohio and rhode island have worked hard to advance. i want to especially thank the lead republican sponsor of this bill, the junior senator from ohio, senator portman, for all the work he's done on this critical legislation. the same is true for the senior senator from iowa, senator grassley, who worked to move this bill quickly through the committee that he chairs. and let's not forget the senators in both parties who worked with the bill managers to process the kind of amendments both sides agree would make a good bill even better. because of the dedicated leadership of senators from both sides of th

i always use kelly ayotte as a perfect example. would you rather that donald trump at the top of the ticket or ted cruz? if you're kelly ayotte, would you rather have donald trump at the top of the ticket or a candidate named marco rubio that still is saying there is not an exception for abortion even in rape, incest or the life of the mother. that's not a rhetorical question. >> you would rather that john kasich. >> well, but that's -- maybe that will happen. but i wouldn't put my money on it right now. if you're looking, though, at the choice between trump and the two people right now that are going up against trump, this argument is an argument that is truly borne out of washington. not -- i guarantee you they were saying the same thing about ronald reagan at this point in 1976 and 1980. >> the difference is there are leading figures in the republican party who will never accept donald trump as the nominee. that wasn't the case. reagan brought the party together in a big way. >> let's see. >> look, you are already starting to he

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: sean: the future has arrived at a small college in california where there is now a self driving shuttle offering rides to and from campus. erin: the electric prototype a preprogrammed loop. a button to make it go. designers say it is perfect for campus settings. so long as it is not in a crowd. [laughter] sean: out of the way. lazy students. erin: does it have a horn? [laughter] astronaut scott kelly is back on begins. erin: he touched down overnight. emerged. he said he feels great. testing is underway to see how his body was affected by his 340 days in space. researchers will compare his results to his twin brother, who year. his brother mark kelly tweeting out scott kelly is back at home. he has been off planet for a year. sean: he is a true alien. imagine the first thing he wants to do, maybe a hamburger after eating space rations. a state championship celebration. the team did not actually win the game. erin: fighting the dress code. parents at one school just want

and i want to also acknowledge senator portman and senator ayotte for their responsiveness to this urgent problem and for their dedication to advancing the bipartisan bill that is before us now. remember although this is an authorization bill, congress has already appropriated $400 million, funds that are still available today for opioid-specific programs. we'll have more opportunities for funding through the next appropriations process, but it's important we act on this legislation right now. cara will bring us closer to ending a national epidemic. it will help lift communities like those in kentucky out of the throes of prescription opioid and heroin addiction. it will help save lives. i look forward to joining my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation. mr. reid: as senators, we pride ourselves in making sure that we vote when we are required to vote, and we're always very aware of when the votes occur and what happens on votes. i missed a vote yesterday at 4:00. my staff has told me that the clerks here are concerned because they did something wro

kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: and we approved this message. you wouldn't waste money buying a snow blower in miami. so why waste your money on overpriced lunches? instead - for just six dollars at subway you can get a different subway footlong each month for just six dollars. the featured footlong for march is the delicious steak & cheese. announcer: no one covers new hampshire like we do. now, wmur news 9 daybreak. sean: the tale of two states. we have rain and clouds up north. snow. erin: a number of school delays, those are scrolling at the bottom of your screen. as new hampshire continues to deal with a major drug crisis. a new organization is aiming to help people, caring for children whose parents struggle with addiction. a new wmur-granite state poll shows that the majority of those surveyed support the idea of and the results from super tuesday are now in. democrat hillary clinton and republican donald trump won the most contests. sean: some folks waking up to snowfall. kevin: the next two to four hours, this will move. the heaviest wi

kelly ayotte saying, one of the purposes of guantanamo is to keep enemy combatants from returning to the battlefield. donald trump added his thoughts to the controversy. a detainee released from gitmo has killed an american. when will our so-called leaders ever learn. >> white house officials pushed back. >> no one has been released from gitmo on president obama's watch has been implicated on violence against americans. >> not released on this president's watch, but on a previous president's watch. this comes as fill del castro lectured president obama days after his visit to havana. he ridiculed the president's suggestion that now is the time to bury the hatchet. he went on to add, we don't need the empire to give us any presence. >> i asked josh ernest if the president had extended a reciprocal invitation to the white house. he said no, and seemed to downplay the notion that it might happen before the president leaves office. as for gitmo, 91 detainees remain, 34 of whom have been cleared for transfer. >> kevin, thank you. >> tonight a fox news exclusive. we were invited to ride al

if you're kelly ayotte in new hampshire, you have to worry about how she's being portrayed. >> when you ever see an unnamed statement from fox news, you know it's roger ailes. he attacked trump in a way that you've never seen a news >> saying trump has a sick obsession. it's interesting that trump keeps picking these fights with journalism on the right. the gender politics there, to this point hillary clinton has tried very hard to turn herself into a sort of feminist identity candidate. she's leaned into the woman thing and it hasn't worked. >> that hasn't worked. >> maybe it will. >> if trump is her opponent in the general election, that turns the tables and makes the gender politics really intense. >> hillary clinton ran against the feminist ideal in 2008 because she was growingtrying to be commander in chief. donald trump specifically uses a woman's appearance to attack them, with rosieo'donnell, or carly fiorina. he is stoking a certain base and that is a core part of his message. hillary clinton is in an excellent position to counter that in the general election. >> it goes back t

i think that senator ayotte makes a good case for her re-election.overnor hassan has been the governor for a couple terms. the governor in new hampshire is what is called a weak governor. they do not have a lot of power. so governor hassan hasn't been table to do a lot of things plus or minus, but she's certainly hoping that the democrats hold sway in november and that that top of the ticket down will help her. but i don't know. i should probably endorse governor hassan to ensure senator ayotte's re-election. i hadn't thought of that. >> let me ask you about donald trump. winning seven states yesterday, capturing the imagination of key parts of the republican electorate. where does this lead the republican party in the next few weeks? >> interesting observation. i saw one today that said of the states that only republican registered voters can vote in the primary, trump has only carried 1 of 4 states. i think a lot of people are t h turning out for trump who haven't paid much attention to politics -- or republican politics, of late. i think trump has

senator ayotte: thank you. ensuring we are country ofa vibrant immigrants and i respectfully disagree on the risk factor as i you are saying on a strategy from isis as far as prevent the flow of refugees. thanks for your work and all who serve underneath you. we all travel so much and very appreciative of those who serve underneath you because they do very important work for our nation. >> thank you, secretary for being with us today. i certainly appreciate the work you and your employees have done as well. i've think you provide such a valuable service for all of us. i would like to take a minute to discuss an issue in iowa that is affecting many of our levee districts across the missouri river as it relates to accreditation. accreditation and certification of river levee is desirable for community. it ultimately affects the affordability of their flood insurance rates. understand the fema involvement is to accept certification provided by a arty seeking accreditation on levy, on a flood insurance rate map as

nina: kelly ayotte is in a very tough reelection race.an collins was from the beginning one or two republicans who thought you ought to meet with someone who was nominated. she did not make any pledges about a hearing or no hearing. so far, mcconnell has been able to keep his troops in line almost unanimously on the question of the hearing. if you have a hearing and the nominee does well, then why not nina: so, you can see mcdonald's want to view, but the object of it are not great. you can tell that on all the public opinion polls. i don't think there are any public opinion polls in which people think this is a great position, even a substantial number of republicans think this isn't a great position to be opposing a hearing. john: one quick. >> i cannot think the three who said they are the last three, i think this is like water in a basin of wall. it will keep growing and growing. republicans need judge garland. it will be surprising bunch of good news. john: you may predictions last time, and we will see whether they come true or not.

nina: kelly ayotte is in a very tough reelection race.an collins was from the beginning one or two republicans who thought you ought to meet with someone who was nominated. she did not make any pledges about a hearing or no hearing. so far, mcconnell has been able to keep his troops in line almost unanimously on the question of the hearing. the reason is the reason ron speaks about. if you have a hearing and the nominee does well, then why not have a vote? and that is what they really do not want to have. mcconnell's point of view. the optics of it are not great and you can tell that in the opinion polls. i don't think there is any public opinion poll in which people think this is a great position, even a substantial number of republicans think this is not a great position to be opposing a hearing. >> i think this is like water through your basement wall. it will be a surprising bunch of good news in a couple days. >> you made predictions last time. we will get to see whether they come true. ron klain. thank you for being here. >> coming

senator kelly ayotte is there to help. she joined trump and party bosses in refusing to consider any nominee ignoring the constitution. newspapers call the action appalling, wrong and disappointing. >> delay, delay, delay. >> ignoring the constitution, not doing her job. senate majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> hit not just for her association with donald trump which every republican will have to figure out what to do with now. now she's having to answer for will be described as the donald trump plan for the supreme court. the republican plan to keep a seat on the supreme court vacant for more than a year than consider president obama's nominee to fill that position. it is plan that's totally unprecedented this u.s. history. president obama said, today, he hopes cooler heads will prevail and the senate will act on his nominee when he submitted one to the senate. senate republicans aren't planning on doing that. that's such a radical decision it will be hard to defend. that's the case being