the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org how i wish you were he

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, william brangham. >> brangham: good evening, and thanks for joining us. we begin tonight with politics. since 1952, new hampshire has held its influential, first-in- the-nation presidential primary, and will do so again three days from now. tuesday's ballot features the two democrats and eight republicans still in the running for the white house. new jersey's chris christie is one of three current or former governors reaching for the top tier of the republican pack. >> you got to ask from each of us, who do you believe is going to stand for you? >> brangham: ohio's john kasich is another, as is florida's jeb bush, who has greeted voters with his 90-year-old mother. >> good to meet you. >> brangham: the governors are trying to catch businessman donald trump and senators ted cruz and marco rubio. >> on our worst day, we are a hundred times better than any of the republican ca

the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. anyone who tells you they saw this week coming is likely making it up. this was chris christie just last month. mr. christie: showtime is over, everybody. we are not electing an entertainer in chief. showmanship is fun, but it's not the kind of leadership that will truly change america. gwen: well, apparently that was then. today, christie and donald trump were in full embrace, as the new jersey governor helped the gop frontrunner rebound from a shaky debate performance by delivering a surprise endorsement in texas. mr. christie: he is rewriting the playbook of american politics because he is providing strong leadership not dependent upon the status quo. gwen: trump was his usual, low key self, taking aim mostly at the man who came after him during last night's debate - marco rubio. mr. trump: he's desperate. look, i watched a part of h

the ford foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you. once again, from washington, oderator gwen ifill. gwen:as antonin scalia's body lay in repose at the supreme court today, respects paid by the president and the public, his sudden death immediately threw three branches of government into an uproar. add to that the crazy uncertainty surrounding any number of unsettled issues, legal and political, from immigration and affirmative action to abortion and birth control. joan, exactly how much is hanging in the balance? >> so much. you really have to go very far ack in america to find someone w40es whose death will so change our lives. this really could bring about a major shift in constitutional law. about re that, think politics. it's going to influence the election and if barack obama manages to get a third appointment to the supreme court, think of the legacy he will have. two of them are young, 52 and 56. the new appointee will be of that new generation also. so you have that. and in terms of the constitutional law, so many

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, alison stewart. >> stewart: good evening, and thanks for joining us. we now have the results from two presidential nominating contests in south carolina and nevada. we begin with the republicans in south carolina where businessman donald trump is the projected winners, the early returns show the candidates finishing in the two tiers. trump is in the top tier and marco rubio and ted cruz is in second tier. south carolina officials election officials say there was a strong, possibly record voter turnout for the primary. the state is important for republicans for several reasons, it is the first this the south, a reliably republican state, and except for 2012, the winner of this primary has gone on to be the party's nominee. lisa desjardins. lisa, second primary win, what from the exit polls tells us that donald trump won? >> the largest segment of republicans, republicans ang

good.urishing the common the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs you.on from viewers like thank you! live fromain, washington, moderator gwen ifill. nothing likee is actual voters voting, to jump-start what had already raucous pretty campaign. we learned a couple of things this week. donald trump doesn't handle well. ted cruz had a plan all along, candidates, three in what is now a nine-member republican field, have only a or die. to do but we turn first to the democratic deal. clinton andlary bernie sanders on the stump today. >> i want the people here in state to know what i think you saw in the debate again last night. only one candidate who is prepared to do all aspects of one.ob on day >> sanders, however, at the debate last night argued that more to the choice than that. concede thatully secretary clinton, who was fourtary of state for years, has more experience. that is not arguable. but experience is not the only point. judgment is. >> it was a different kind of debate, with only two contenders stage. and days after a whisker-thin hillary, the glo

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, alison stewart. >> stewart: good evening and thanks for joining us. the 2016 race for the white house is entering a new, faster- paced phase, with roughly 90% of the delegates in the nominating process still up for grabs. after winning yesterday's first- in-the south primary in south carolina and sweeping all 50 republican convention delegates, businessman donald trump is in the lead. trump and his rivals are now focusing on the dozen states holding primaries and caucuses on march 1, known as "super tuesday," when a quarter of the nominating delegates are at stake. next saturday, it will be the the democrats' turn in south carolina, where hillary clinton and bernie sanders will compete in a primary. fresh off her victory in the nevada caucuses yesterday, clinton says she is looking ahead to the states that have yet to vote. >> i'm on my way to texas, bill is on his way to c

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, this is pbs newshour weekend. >> stewart: good evening and thanks for joining us. presidential candidates are rallying supporters to turn out at tomorrow's iowa caucuses, the 6first votes that count in the 2016 race. the final "des moines register" poll, released last night, shows the first choice of likely republican caucus-goers is: donald trump, 28% ted cruz, 23% marco rubio, 15% ben carson, 10% rand paul, 5% and chris christie, 3%. jeb bush, john kasich, carly fiorina are at 2%, along with the past two caucus winners, rick santorum and mike huckabee. on the democrats side, hillary clinton is the first choice of 45% of likely caucus-goers, and bernie sanders is favored by 42%. martin o'malley is at 3%. today, the candidates made their final appeals to iowa voters. in his first time on the ballot, businessman donald trump is as confident as he is brash. >> we have to get

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, william brangham. >> brangham: good evening and thanks for joining us. the body of supreme court justice antonin scalia is expected to be flown home to virginia over the next 48 hours following his sudden death yesterday in texas. to honor scalia, president obama ordered american flags to fly half-staff today at the supreme court in washington and at federal buildings around the nation. like so many other political leaders, president obama has offered his condolences to scalia's family. but he's also promising to fill the vacancy on the high court. in an early sign of a possible bitter confirmation battle ahead, the senate republican majority leader and republicans running for president all say the scalia vacancy should be filled only by the next president. when scalia died yesterday of natural causes at age 79, he had been on the supreme court for 30 years. from the moment

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, megan thompson. >> thompson: good evening and thanks for joining us. a day after agreeing to reach a cease-fire in syria within a week, world leaders met today to end the five-year civil war that has fueled europe's migrant crisis and may have cost half a million lives. diplomats from the united states, russia, turkey, saudi arabia, and iran are among those attending an annual security conference in munich, germany. secretary of state john kerry criticized russia for bombing raids during the past four months backing syrian president bashar al-assad, who the u.s. wants removed from power. >> the vast majority, in our opinion, of russia's attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups. and to adhere to the agreement that has been made, we think it is critical that russia's targeting change. >> thompson: russian foreign minister sergey lavrov is skeptical of a cease-fi

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thanks for joining us. campaign 2016 is in the fly-by phase before primaries and caucuses in a dozen states two days from now, including seven southern states. today, democrat hillary clinton campaigned in tennessee and arkansas, while her lone rival, vermont senator bernie sanders, was in minnesota, colorado, and oklahoma. the republicans-- businessman donald trump, florida senator marco rubio, texas senator ted cruz, ohio governor john kasich, and doctor ben carson-- campaigned across the south from georgia to oklahoma, and up north in massachusetts. former secretary of state clinton is riding momentum from last night's landslide win in south carolina. she won 73.5% of the vote to 26% for sanders, and captured 39 of the 53 delegates. clinton has 544 total delegates, including 453 superdelegates, those party officials who

additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, william brangham. >> brangham: good evening and thanks for joining us. voters in new hampshire are getting their last looks at the candidates on the ballot in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. candidates still running have spent a total 444 days on the ground in new hampshire, according to manchester t.v. station wmur, while the candidates and super-pacs supporting them have spent a combined $84 million in the state alone, according to "the new york times." that's a lot of time and money to win over the roughly 500,000 primary voters who're likely to vote. and last night, seven republican candidates shared the debate stage. leading in pre-primary polls, businessman donald trump stood center stage. >> we're going to win with trump. we're going to win. we don't win anymore. our country doesn't win anymore. >> brangham: the republicans expressed their near-united o

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support for frontliis provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information is available at macfound.org. additional support is provided by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust, supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, at fordfoundation.org. the wyncote foundation. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler, and additional support from laura debonis and chris and lisa kaneb. (baseball commentary playing) >> i found out about fanduel when i was in high school. i had played fantasy football for years and whatnot. i never played daily fantasy. now i play probably 450, 500 different games a day. a typical morning, it's pretty much just me hanging out, poring o

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: the first two presidential contests of the year are in the books, and on both sides, it still looks wide open. tuesday's stunning results shook up the field again, and left a couple of names by the wayside. the rest moved on, hoping clarity will come soon. a day after new hampshire, the republican field hit the ground running in south carolina, battleground for their next primary, february 20th. fresh off last night's big win, donald trump planned a rally in the palmetto state tonight. and, on nbc's "today show", he announced he'll release his tax returns "over the next few months". >> they're going to be surprised by how little i pay. i fight like hell to not have to pay a lot of taxes. and you know what, every politician probably does. i watched others where they say "oh, i want to pay taxes" and i fight like hell not to pay taxes. i hate how government spends my money. >> sreenivasan: meanwhile,

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: thousands of people-- among them, president and mrs. obama-- paid final respects today to supreme court justice antonin scalia. he died last saturday at the age of 79, and lay in repose today at the building where he had worked since 1986. hari sreenivasan has our report. >> sreenivasan: it was a day of solemn scenes at the land's highest court. starting with the flag-covered casket being carried past men and women who clerked for scalia during his 30 years as a justice. the procession moved into the great hall, passing the eight remaining justices, and the casket was placed on a funeral bier first used after president lincoln's assassination. then, a private ceremony, with the justice's widow and children looking on, as his son, reverend paul scalia, read "the lord's prayer:" >> our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as is it is in heaven. >> sr

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: confirmation today that the u.s. and russia have agreed on at least a pause in the syrian war. the formal announcement came from washington and moscow, but it left unclear just how extensive the cease-fire might be. meanwhile syria's president bashar al-assad called a parliamentary election for april 13. we'll have a full report later in the program. >> ifill: in the day's other news, authorities in michigan say the man accused in the kalamazoo killings has admitted he did it. jason dalton faced a judge via video link from jail today. he was denied bail, and did not enter a plea. police say dalton killed six people at random in three separate locations saturday night around kalamazoo. the local prosecutor said today he's acknowledged his role, but given no reason. >> i've described this previously as intentional, as deliberate, as cold. this was not a, just a, momentary lapse. this was not just a crime

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: it is primary eve in what is, for now, the center of the political universe: new hampshire. political director lisa desjardins is in new hampshire. she kicks off our coverage of the candidates' high-stakes sprint to the finish. >> good to see you guys! >> reporter: they were in manchester, chatting with diners. >> let me, let me tell you, sir... >> reporter: ...and in plaistow, taking questions from veterans. republicans and democrats, favorites and long-shots: nearly all the candidates were going all out, seeking out undecideds and trying to turn their rivals' supporters into their own. for republican marco rubio, that meant shaking off criticism that he came off as "canned" in saturday night's debate and pressing his message at a town hall in nashua. >> people keep the press, anyway, oh, "why do you keep saying the same thing about obama trying to change america?" i'm gonna keep saying that a million t

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: president obama vowed today to nominate someone "indisputably" qualified to replace the late supreme court justice antonin scalia. senate republicans are insisting he forego a nomination fight in this election year. but after a southeast asian summit in california, mr. obama said he means to do his job, and senators should do theirs. >> there are a lot of republican senators who are gonna be under a lot of pressure from various special interests and various constituencies and many of their voters to not let any nominee go through no matter who in nominate. but that's not how the system's supposed to work. that's not how our democracy's supposed to work. justice scalia will lie in repose in the great hall friday. the funeral will be saturday. from the gulf coast in new england, from the gulf coast to new england, a winter storm system whipped up trouble overnight. millions along the eastern seaboard f

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: turkey's capital city is alive with fear and anger tonight, after a car bomb killed at least 28 people and wounded 61. we have a report on the blast in central ankara, from juliet bremner of independent television news. >> reporter: moments after an explosion was heard across the turkish capital, flames leapt into the night sky. the bomb had hit a convoy of military buses which had been taking soldiers home from their barracks. in the chaos, immediately after the attack, the governor said that he believed the bomb had been left in a car, and first reports said 18 people had died and anther 45 were injured. it was rush hour. commuters tried to help move a parked car that was blocking the emergency services-- unable to access the vehicle, they smashed the window and drove it away. the buses were targeted close to the turkish parliament. the prime minister, president, and security minster were in the middle

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the democratic presidential rivals moved on from milwaukee today, fresh off their pbs newshour debate. but the arguments they had on-stage, continued at long distance. >> as i pointed out last night, he has called the president weak, a disappointment -- >> woodruff: hillary clinton returned to south carolina this afternoon and to a line of attack she used in last night's debate, that bernie sanders has distanced himself from president obama: >> and it is a-- the kind of criticism that we've heard from senator sanders about our president i expect from republicans. i do not expect from someone running for the democratic nomination to succeed president obama. >> that is... ( applause ) madam secretary, that is a low blow. but you know what? last i heard we lived in a democratic society. last i heard, a united states senator had the right to disagree with the president, including a president who has done s

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: milwaukee is the center of the democratic political universe tonight. the candidates meet for a pbs newshour presidential debate, and how they perform on stage could influence the next key contests. our political director lisa desjardins is in milwaukee. >> reporter: that's right. newshour staff is finishing up the rehearsals on our debate stage for what is expected to be a powerful and maybe even pivotal debate between bernie sanders and hillary clinton, but the democrats do not have a monopoly on intensity and today republicans were fighting for votes in their next primary state, south korea. >> this is our youngest, dominic. say hello, dominic. >> hello. >> reporter: all across the palmetto state, the hopefuls are making tracks, and taking their best shots. former florida governor jeb bush marked his 63rd birthday by stumping with south carolina senator lindsay graham and going after frontrunn

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: they're still counting the actual votes in new hampshire, but the races have been called. on the democratic side, the associated press projects vermont senator bernie sanders easily defeated hillary clinton in this first primary of 2016. she had won by a whisker in iowa. among the republicans: donald trump scored big, with john kasich a surprising second. jeb bush, ted cruz-- the g.o.p. winner in iowa, and marco rubio are fighting for third place. political director lisa desjardins is in new hampshire, where she watched the candidates and voters today. >> reporter: the campaign buses rolled across the granite state one last time, and candidates made one last push to sway possible supporters. but many of those voters admitted they were last-minute deciders: >> i just got out of my car and said, "oh my god who am i going to vote for? who am i going to vote for?" >> reporter: for others, it was more

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the months of campaigning and the endless tv ads have all come to a close today in new hampshire. this primary day means voters finally have to decide who wins, and the losers have to decide whether to go on. political director lisa desjardins is in new hampshire, where she watched the day's events. >> reporter: the campaign buses rolled across the granite state one last time, and candidates made one last push to sway possible supporters. but many of those voters admitted they were last-minute deciders: >> i just got out of my car and said, "oh my god who am i going to vote for? who am i going to vote for?" >> reporter: for others, it was more excitement than angst in their first experience with the "first in the nation" primary. >> hey, we got a first time voter! >> i don't know, i just felt that it's time for me to become an american citizen. it's my right. so i'm doing it. >> reporter: what a s

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: from president obama today, came a fresh appeal to "close a chapter" at guantanamo. from republicans, came an outright refusal. it all focused on a fight at least as long as he's been president. >> for many years, it's been clear that the detention facility at guantanamo bay does not advance our national security. it undermines it. >> ifill: for the president, it may be his final chance to keep a 2008 campaign promise: shutting down the military prison at guantanamo. >> it's counterproductive to our fight against terrorists because they use it as propaganda in their efforts to recruit. it drains military resources, with nearly $450 million spent last year alone to keep it running, and more than $200 million in additional costs needed to keep it open going forward for less than 100 detainees. >> ifill: at its peak in 2003, guantanamo held 680 detainees. today, 91 prisoners remain at the detention faci

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: it may be unprecedented, and it lit up the presidential campaign today: a sitting pope crossed verbal swords with a candidate for president of the united states, just ahead of a crucial primary. political director lisa desjardins has our report. >> reporter: this is not your typical presidential critic ... and definitely not your typical criticism. >> reporter: on his flight home from mexico, pope francis directly addressed donald trump. the republican frontrunner has advocated building a wall along the length of the u.s.-mexican border. and last week, he said the pope's trip to the u.s.- mexico border was a political ploy encouraged by mexico. >> ( translated ): and am i a pawn? well maybe. i'll leave that to your judgment. told reporters he is not >> reporter: the pope pointedly told reporters he is not recommending how anyone votes. in south carolina, the candidate wasted no time in issuing his

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: it's the final weekend before the new hampshire primary and the eyes of the political world are focused on the granite state. candidates are dashing across the state to win over as many votes as possible. political director lisa desjardins, who is in manchester, reports that when the two remaining democrats took center stage together, they heated up a cold new england night. >> reporter: four days before the balloting, the democratic race is now about defining, and definitions. >> well, let me start by saying that senator sanders and i share some very big progressive goals. >> reporter: "progressive"-- that was hillary clinton's key word from minute one, even as bernie sanders tried to tie her to a different word: "moderate." >> it is what she said, and all that i said was, there's nothing wrong with being a moderate. but, you can't be a moderate and you can't be a progressive. >> reporter: sanders att

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the republican presidential race took another unexpected plot twist today-- with donald trump collecting a major endorsement from a former rival. it came just days before the all-important "super tuesday" contests. >> i am proud to be here to endorse donald trump for president of the united states. >> woodruff: in a single stroke, new jersey governor chris christie put donald trump back on the offensive after his rivals scored points in last night's debate. >> we don't need another washington politician in the white house, do we? do we need another first term u.s. senator in the white house? we need a first class president and we're going to have it in donald trump. >> woodruff: the republican frontrunner then took his turn, blasting both of the senators still in the race: first, marco rubio: >> let's talk about our lightweight senator from florida who's losing big in polls. >> woodruff: and then, ted

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: the political drama over the u.s. supreme court vacancy took a new twist today. the republican governor of nevada, brian sandoval, withdrew his name from consideration. sandoval said in a statement: "the notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling." but he gave no reason for his decision. senate republicans say they will not consider any nominee from president obama. nevertheless, the white house says the president will meet with senate leaders next week. battered communities across southeastern virginia began cleaning up today, after tornadoes struck wednesday evening. the storms killed four people and injured dozens more. three of the dead were in the small town of waverly, about 40 miles southeast of richmond. governor terry mcauliffe declared a state of emergency and toured the area today. >> i was just amazed at the length and the width of this

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: president obama today insisted he will send a resistant senate a supreme court nominee. senate republican leaders are insisting they'll hold no hearings or vote-- and will, instead, wait until a new president takes office next year. but in a oval office meeting with the king of jordan, the president said he's going to his job, and senators should do theirs. >> i recognize the politics are hard for them, because the easier thing to do is to give in to the most extreme voices within their party and stand pat and do nothing. but that's not our job. our job is to fulfill our constitutional duties. >> ifill: meanwhile, it was widely reported the white house is vetting republican governor brian sandoval of nevada as a possible nominee. he confirmed he's discussed it with the state's two senators: minority leader harry reid and republican dean heller. we'll delve into all of the court fight, later in the progra

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: it's been another day of hard campaigning, and hard words, in new hampshire, where primary day is just five days off. as democrats prepared to debate tonight, the top republican contenders took new shots at each other. political director lisa desjardins reports. >> cruz fired off a broadside. >> donald trump is very rattled right now. you know, he said, "how stupid could the people of iowa >> donald trump is very rattled right now. told the entire world he was gonna win iowa and he didn't win. his reaction was very angry. he said: "how stupid are the people of iowa." next, he's going to say "how stupid are the people of new hampshire." while in exeter, trump suggested again that cruz's win in iowa was tainted. >> we'll find out what happened. there was something very strange that happened there. >> reporter: in the meantime, the so-called establishment candidates kept their fire trained on one anothe

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingby contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: it was no-holds-barred on the presidential campaign today, underscoring the all- important races tomorrow, on super tuesday. and as tensions flared, the republican race was thrown into uproar again. this is donald trump, barreling toward tomorrow's big voting day, with the wind at his back in almost all 13 of the super tuesday states. today, in southwestern virginia, the republican frontrunner boasted his campaign is on a nonstop roll. >> republicans have a hard time. because structurally, you have to win pennsylvania, you have to win ohio, you have to-- you know, you have, like a map, in particular six states. and you lose one, it's over. the democratic ride is a much easier ride. if i pick up new york, or if i pick up michigan, it's over folks, it's over. >> ifill: but his speech was interrupted today by protesters representing the black lives matter movement. >> get 'em out! folks, you're going to hear

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: it's finally here. caucus night in iowa. people will gather at sites all over the state to cast the first actual votes of the 2016 presidential election year. it comes after endless months of campaigning and more than $200 million spent on ads. the potential payoff? 44 delegates for democrats, 30 for republicans, and bragging rights. judy and the newshour team are on the ground in the hawkeye state. judy? >> woodruff: so, gwen, the candidates we're watching on this final day are calculation another precious commodity, momentum. and, so, the focus in these final hours for them is on making sure anybody who is leaning or committed shows up when and where they're needed. >> thank you so much. thanks for all your help. >> woodruff: most candidates were on the ground here in iowa one last time today, making one last pitch to voters who may not have made up their minds. and urging those already on their side t

the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastingd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the presidential political wars are escalating, as the new hampshire primary draws another day closer. democrats traded charges today over who's more progressive, and two republicans quit the field, as their rivals wrangled over the outcome in iowa. >> it's honestly, really, really dishonest. >> woodruff: donald trump leads >> woodruff: donald trump was one of two republicans who kept their fire trained on ted cruz for something that happened on caucus night. in a string of tweet today, trump said, "ted cruz didn't win iowa. he stole it." he charged cruz supporters with spreading rumors as the caucuses knot under way, that another rival, ben carson, was dropping he called it fraud and insisted: "either a new election should take place, or the cruz results nullified." a cruz spokesman denied the campaign officially sanctioned the rumors, but he said the texas senator has apologized to carson. >> senato