say it just -- justice kennedy will be the key boat and ruth bader ginsburg sonia sotomayor and elena kagan are expected to agree with abortion providers that the law in texas is too onerous. >>> this afternoon donald trump and hillary clinton closer to securing the party's presidential nominations. both swept several states last night and we have a report on the state of the race coming out of super tuesday. compusa today is calling the results of super tuesday is super search for donald trump. washington post calls in a hostile takeover of the republican party. trump and ar trump separates himself from the race in the republican nomination winning seven states in total compared to three victories for ted cruz and one for marco rubio. his first win over all. hillary clinton trumped for --

the third supreme court justice thatat president obama has nominated, it was sonia sotomayor and elena kagan, they were both appointed by him it it is unusual for a present to have a say in three of them republicans say thats with less than 10 months left in office >> it was a big night for the front runners with both donald trump and hillary clinton moving closer to their nominations. >> the republican field narrowed to just three candidates has scott mcleanubie send dc with a breakdown. >> marco rubio said that he believed that the winner of the florida primary would go on to become the republican nominee, something he probably wishes he had not said because the winner of florida was donald trump.bad >> two them by that kind of number is incrediblele. >> in florida, and let's not even close, donald trump trouncing his opponents winning en all 99 delegates in forcing campaign . >> the fact that i have come this far isf evidence of how >> but donald trump cannot capture ohio,, governor john kasich won his home state easily but still has the very unlikely path to the nomination. >> are going

on the list in that nomination went to justice elena kagan. he's the oldest nominee in 45 years.say that could be a strategic move by the president. secretary of state john kerry is determined that that's has determined that islamic state has connected genocide that committed genocide in iraq and syria. overdosel medicine sends 160 children to hospital emergency rooms every day according to a new report from safe kids worldwide. 60,000 kids were seen in er's in 2013 after ingesting pain relievers and other drugs that adults had left in their reach. news 24 hours a day powered by our 2400 journalists in more than 150 news bureaus around the world. i'm mark crumpton. david: commodity markets are closing in new york. gold advancing after four straight sessions of losses. the bti touched $40 a barrel in new york for the first time since december. -- wti touched $40 a barrel. u.s. crude output at the lowest levels since 2014 and supplies expanded according to an energy information report released yesterday. let's get more insight on oil. the chilcote spoke with director of the interna

in one nomination, i nominated elena kagan. one hispanic.hin the first african-american president with a number of cabinet members of color, including the entering your journal, i do not think anyone can doubt the president streak read on diversity. mark: i'm wondering, you know iowa pretty well. what do you think would have to happen within iowa politics, public opinion, to cause a senator grassley to change his mind about whether there should be a hearing or not? senator klobuchar: i think that is going to be up to senator grassley. i have worked with him on a number of issues. we have some major bills, delay fwith pharmaceutical companies. i have had a good relationship with him. i would hope that -- i don't know what the numbers show in iowa, but iowa tends to have an open court system. they have had cameras in their supreme court in iowa. the des moines register has been really outspoken on this. you look at nationally, as the president noted in the rose garden, 2/3 of the american people favor going forward with a hearing. senator gras

equally happy elena kagan is there and i don't want to second-guess the president's thinking on this but i have so much confidence in the first two nominees and justices he appointed that i think merrick garland will be just as good as his previous two picks. we have many, many years of vacancies to fill. we will undoubtedly have retirement's coming up very soon and i can only think that if it's a democrat who was elected willovember, that democrat take diversity into account. in fact, make diversity a priority, and democratic party -- as a democratic presidents have done in the past. you -- what do you make of some other comments from senate republicans that they would be willing to take up his nomination in the lame-duck -- session?tion ms. aron: i think if senators are going to play games, they ought to really think twice. they all to think about two things. one, the constitutional task ahead of them that asks them to a fair hearinge and fair consideration. two, each of us wakes up every morning. we have a job to do in we get it done. all we're asking is for the republicans to do

elena kagan. david: elena kagan score up and down gay marriage, but found gay marriage in the constitution. >> general did i was another one. we can go down the road of history. david: is there single issue that divided this court, nation, gun control, obamacare, unions, regulations, abortion. a single issue divided court on which judge garland would vote against the liberals? >> i don't -- we can point to the second amendment being number one, if you look so quickly at opinions right now. but again, i think we have to give the man a chance. olive branch what we're hearing today. some of the more moderate republicans are saying we're not saying we would actually vote yea or nay for him but we will at least meet with him. we'll have a conversation with him. david: we heard yesterday about him being a moderate, i don't think holds up when you look at his positions on any of these contentious issues. he votes with the liberal minority. >> not even getting there at this point. what i'm getting to here

and again when the president considered elena kagan, he was left at the altar, both times. the president liked him in the previous two sessions. that's the impression that we've gotten. i just think that this was the time. he's the right man for the job, meaning that politically he's the best fit. he never really questioned whether he'd be a good judge or not. >> let's talk about precedent, peter. petes -- tell us about the president, what it is the republicans are doing. it's never happened before. >> not like this. certainly been instances where one part has on nomineesstalled of the other president's party, in an election year. but nothing like this, where they've basically tried to hold out for an entire year, not in anyway.imes 19th century stuff we could go into. >> or not. >> or not. is in fact unprecedented in that sense. this is what merrick garland was intended for. president did consider him in '09 and '10. in case of emergency, break glass candidate. the president didn't need an because heandidate, had a democratic senate. he went with kagan, who would be daring

when president obama picked elena kagan, and sonia sotoma r sotomayor, his name was also in the runninge president has given considerable attention to this choice. he has consulted legal experts and reached out to every member of the senate, according to the statement issued by president obama. and all members of the senate judiciary committee are going to be in the rose garden this morning. >> and merrick has been on the d.c. circuit court for some 19 years, so he will have a long record to pick through. how likely is it that the republicans in the senate will be able to block the appointment? >> he has a reputation as a conservative, and has a reputation for being tough regarding criminal justice. we know that there is going to be the most terrible fight break out now. the republicans have made it absolutely clear they won't accept a nomination from this president. there won't be any confirmation hearings. they want to leave it to the next president, assuming that he is a republican in their eyes to make the pick, and they don't want to allow president obama to make this choice, becau

sam: an upcoming decision on affirmative action would not end in a split because justice elena kagan is recused. that leaves only seven judges, and the most likely scenario is the four conservative justices establish a new precedent banning affirmative action. finally, the affordable care act and birth control drugs, yet another aca case before the court. actually, seven cases all rolled into one, challenging the ability of religious nonprofits like schools or hospitals to not only opt out of contraceptive coverage, but also prevent third parties from offering the same coverage to affected women. in this instance, a tie would force all seven cases back to the lower courts, where the decisions have been mixed. pratheepan: you might be left with a patchwork of, you know, in some circuits this is the rule, and other circuits this is the rule. sam: gulasekaram says this inconsistent application of the law could prove troublesome. pratheepan: but this is--this is some of the difficulties that occur when you have a vacancy come up and there's the possibility of not filling that vacancy for

lain that kagan seems to have one as well -- elena kagan. and if you look at the justices' financial disclosure reports and see where they're traveling, who they're speaking to, you get a really interesting sense of sort of what's motivating these folks, you know? maybe it leaves you with questions about why are they traveling to some places versus others. but the bottom line is, you know, we've seen that evolution with justices. i think we've also seen that with solicitors general. they sort of take on a following as well. and the thing about don verrilli is, you know, he was a -- as you suggested -- a pretty well known, respected advocate before he got to the solicitor general's office. and i remember listening to the arguments in the affordable care act case and the arizona immigration case and thinking to myself, this guy is not doing well at all. i mean, i think most people who listened to those oral arguments thought that he got his tail kicked by the justices. and i remember, you know, turning off the oral arguments and thinking to my

president obama considered him for supreme court openings before but chose elena kagan and sonja soto mayor before choosing him. there is no question garland is well respected but that may be a moot point. judge merrick garland is scheduled to meet with democratic senators. nomination in a rose garden ceremony. >> at a time when politics are so polarized, this is precisely the time we should play it straight and treat the process of appointing a supreme court justice with the seriousness and care it deserves. >> reporter: garland has served as the chief judge of the us court of appeals for the dc circuit. yesterday he was overcome with emotion. >> this is the greatest honor of my life other than my wife agreeing to marry me 28 years ago. >> reporter: the harvard graduate quit private practice and took a pay cut to become a federal prosecutor. he helped prosecute timothy mcveigh and terry nichols who carried out the oklahoma city bombing. democrats and republicans have praised him for his evenhandedness. orrin hatch called him a consensus nominee. but here there is little consensus. se

for been extremely grateful the additions of elena kagan and selling us of the mayor.tomayor.said the --k: coming up ♪ , an nbcining us now political analyst and the founder of the foreign-policy initiative. neither of you are here as surrogates today. you are here as friends. why would you start with republicans? it's so less interesting. john: i will start with you. she would rather vote for hillary clinton in donald trump. you book for donald trump? -- would you but for donald trump? >>+++ republican in the general election. john: who would that be? >> i'm not going to throw out names. john: i asked this question -- is this right now and next essential crisis for the republican party? >> you have a guy who is leading the polls right now against a fragmented field who just said last night that the chinese government's treatment of the modelnry in china is a for how we should deal with the republican people. best the american people. -- deal with the american people. is keeping the region in check. over half the tweets he read tweets from his fans are from white supre

and liberal justice, elena kagan asked why limiting abortion rather than riskier procedures. there are many others that are higher risk. colonoscopies, and lipo surfaces and you could go on and on, and you say that's okay, we get to set higher standards for abortion. and i want to know why that is. responded, legislatures react to concern. the pivotal is bound to be justice kennedy, but with the court one member short, after justice scalia's steak last month, it could be split 4-4. and the texas law would be upheld. if the law stays in effect, the effect could be felt across texas. the state would be left with only ten abortion clinics, and others in the u.s. could be upheld as well. >> justice kennedy seems more to me that more than ever, all eyes are on justice kennedy, and any idea how he might come down on is this? >> tony, he gave very little indication of how he might vote. and everybody was listening to the questions that he was asking. to have the supreme court return the case to a lower court so more evidence could be gathered as to how this law in texas is going to

that nomination went to justice elena kagan. at 63, garland is the oldest nominee in years. some court watchers say that could be a strategic move by the president. the possibility of a shorter term may make him more acceptable. canadian prime minister justin trudeau says some of his country's provinces are tapped out due to spending on health care and other items. in an exclusive interview with bloomberg news editor in chief john mikel freight, prime minister trudeau says the answer is middle-class investment. p.m. trudeau: how do you improve growth rates? do you cut the economy or invest economy? we think you invest in the economy, put money in the pockets of the middle class, and ,reate opportunities to grow and that means through investment, that means we are in an approach that i'm confident we'll give us the better growth that will create more government revenue and get us through this phase. trudeau is minister set to deliver his budget on tuesday, his first since ending stephen harper's nearly 10 years of conservative rule in last year's election. the global heatwave

i've been extremely grateful for the additions of elena kagan and sonia sotomayor.ing up -- ♪ john: joining us now, former congressman gerald ford, jr., also an nbc political analyst and dan senor, the founder of the foreign-policy initiative. neither of you are here as surrogates today. you are here as friends. you are here as friends. we will start with republicans. >> why would you start with republicans? it's so less interesting. john: i will start with you. christie said she would rather vote for hillary clinton than donald trump. would you vote for donald trump? >> i'm not voting for donald trump. i'm confident marco rubio will be the nominee. i think there will be a another republican in the general election. john: who would that be? >> i'm not going to throw out names. john: i asked this question -- is this right now an existential crisis for the republican party? >> you have a guy who is leading the polls right now against a fragmented field who just said last night that the chinese government's treatment of the citizenry in china is a model for how we shou

al: let me ask you this, you also supported elena kagan, so is ideology ever a factor that should bed? i mean, what else? rada: i think it is one of these aspects, but one of the disparaging things that we have every couple of years is that service tos give lip the subprime of merit and qualifications but neither party is willing to accept the qualified people from the other party. we saw this when judge alito was up in 2005. aswas just as qualified judge garland is today. he was one of the leading judges ,n the country by temperament etc., but there were 25 democrats who would not give him the vote. fightrtain here that the here is political and everyone is appealing to the base of their perspective parties -- their respective parties. there are a lot of people in this country who go to work every day who tell their children that merit really matters in this country. we really strive to recognize people who have merit. he were confirmed, would that move the court to the center or centerleft kumal and with that replace your old boss, justice kennedy, as the swing vote? trada: perhaps

equally happy elena kagan is there and i don't want to second-guess the president's thinking on thisbut i have so much confidence in the first two nominees and justices he appointed that i think merrick garland will be just as good as his previous two picks. we have many, many years of vacancies to fill. we will undoubtedly have retirement's coming up very soon and i can only think that if it's a democrat who was elected in november, that democrat will take diversity into account. in fact, make diversity a priority, as democratic presidents have done in the past. ms. kim: what do you make of some other comments from senate republicans that they would be willing to take up his nomination in the lame-duck session? ms. aron: i think if senators are going to play games, they ought to really think twice. they all to think about two things. one, the constitutional task ahead of them that asks them to give the nominee a fair hearing and fair consideration. two, each of us wakes up every morning. we have a job to do in we get it done. all we're asking is for the republicans to do the same. i

equally happy elena kagan is there and i don't want to second-guess the president's thinking on this but i have so much confidence in the first two nominees and justices he appointed that i think merrick garland will be just as good as his previous two picks. we have many, many years of vacancies to fill. we will undoubtedly have retirement's coming up very soon and i can only think that if it's a democrat who was elected in november, that democrat will take diversity into account. in fact, make diversity a priority, as democratic presidents have done in the past. ms. kim: what do you make of some other comments from senate republicans that they would be willing to take up his nomination in the lame-duck session? ms. aron: i think if senators are going to play games, they ought to really think twice. they all to ink about two things. one, the constitutional task ahead of them that asks them to give the nominee a fair hearing and fair considerati. two, each of us wakes up every morning. we have a job to do in we get it done. all we're asking is for the republicans to do the same. i th

sonia sotomayor and more than we saw for elena kagan. why this difference? >> some of is it that we have access to tools we didn't have frankly early on in the presidency. we have been more effective at using things like facebook. scott: the instagram and facebook accounts followed by millions. there is a new twitter handle. driving the useers to a highly produced even emotional video introducing garland. >> my father would be very proud. scott: why the global blast when only those on the hill have final say? perhaps because it is about using the links to lure in voters and hoping they will convince congress to confirm. the white house admits it has never been this aggressive in using social media and other platforms to push supreme court nominee. the president plans to pressure congress in other ways, too. >> the other thing that is important, scott. we don't believe that people should be using politics as an excuse not to do their job. >> those they blame use once said a president should wait when campaign season is underway. >> why is it different now tha

al: let me ask you this, you also supported elena kagan, so is ideology ever a factor that should be obviously you consider competence, but what else? mr. estrada: i think it is one of these aspects, but one of the disparaging things that we have every couple of years is that both parties give lip service to to the supremacy of merit and qualifications. but neither party is willing to accept the qualified people from the other party. we saw this when judge alito was up in 2005. he was just as qualified as judge garland is today. he was one of the leading judges in the country by temperament, experience but there were 25 , democrats who would not give him the vote. i find it not necessarily constructive. appealing to the political base of the respective parties. that is appropriate, but i think even within the political considerations, there are a lot of those in this country that watch every day who tell their children that merit really matters in this country. they really want to strive for a society in which we come to recognize people that have merit. al: would you acknowledge tha

those being sonia sotomayor in 2009 and elena kagan in 2010.is a very delicate balance to select a nominee but coming up, we will talk about the nominees, some have bay area ties. and which one may appeal to both sides of the aisle. >> i am anxious to learn about that. >>> residents of san jose will have a chance to weigh in on how the city should regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. allie rasmus is on live with us now. what is on the agenda tonight? >> reporter: the topics all have one thing in common, how should the city regulate the medical marijuana industry given that the industry and state laws about it they be changing. especially if there's a referendum later this year to legalize recreational marijuana. some council members have said it is a good idea for the city to get ahead of the state regulations. tonight, the council will ask for public input. in medical marijuana meeting is scheduled for 630 tonight at city hall. they are talking about specific things when it comes to regulating the industry and dispensaries in the future. t

about safety the way olive garden cares about portion control, not at all. [ laughter ] as justice elena kagan pointed e are many procedures that are much higher risk. colonoscopies, liposuctions, we could go on and on. and of course the reason regulated like abortions is that all men [ bleep ]." [ laughter ] by the other two female justices in hammering away at texas' argument that texas is doing this for the benefit of women.yor pointed out that one of the undue burdens in the is law this. currently, for a nonsurgical man can take two prescribed pills at home. but if the law stands, she has to travel 200 miles or pay for a hotel to get those two days of treatment. do something you can do at home. imagine the outrage if you told men they had to go to albany to masturbate?a counselor 24 hours ahead of time. who are you going to fantasize about? oh, from the progressive ads? [ laughter ]nd, it was justice ruth bader ginsburg who, when the lawyers representing texas continued to claim that the regulations were pro-women's hase and pointed out that, quote, "a woman has the fundamental right to ma

he was on the shortlist the last couple times with sonja soda mayor and elena kagan being named the lasttwo spots. they have a friendship and relationship but his nomination, in a bit of a tough spot, well respected and liked on both sides of the aisle, you have to ask whether the president thinks he has a chance to ascend to the highest court. if so he might have gone with a younger pic like sri srinivasan. >> we are waiting for the president to emerge from the rose garden inflaming the battle between the white house and senate republicans and is sure to heat up the campaign trail. let's go to an attorney and supreme court analyst who spent two decades covering the high court. give us your assessment of judge garland. >> reporter: he is a highly regarded nominee. orin hatch, leader of the senate republicans said a long time ago, republicans couldn't do any better. if mister obama is putting republicans on the spot with his nomination he will succeed. bill: is that what he is trying to do? >> reporter: i am sure he will say there is a constitutional duty to hold hearings. whether it is i

records but appear to be more middle of the road than president obama's two prior appointees, justice elena kagan and justice sonia sotomayor. melissa: what do you make of that? >> i make of that that the president is trying to find a way to tease away enough pubs from the mitch mcconnell inspired solidarity that we will not vote up or down. now, i don't know that that will work under the senate rules because under the senate rules, rules adopted when harry reid was majority leader and the democrats ran the senate, the majority leader, not the majority party, the majority leader decides what comes to the floor for a vote. so it doesn't matter how many republicans the president may pry away by variety of political techniques. if mitch mcconnell doesn't want this nominee to be voted on this nominee will not be voted on. melissa: interesting. judge napolitano. thank you very much. always a pleasure. >> thank you. david: in some other news russian president vladmir putin has begun partially withdrawing some warplanes and troops from syria today. putin spokesperson saying this afternoon, decision was

twice before the president has looked at him and then decided to nominate sonya society maya and elena kagan. that's one of the reasons he was so emotional today. this on/off switch has been turned off twice before. he was looking at his friends, family, people he served in government with and it was obviously quite emotional. >> and tom, you know the court so well. you've argued before the court. among the justices whom i know republican as well as democratic, they always speak of merrick garland with such high regard, including i should say some of the most conservative members of the court. >> oh, there's no question that they know him well, either from their earlier service in government or from his service on the court of appeals. he's an incredibly well-known figure in washington legal circles, admired from the left and the right. so if you were to ask the justices of the supreme court who they would be really pleased to see would certainly be him at the top of the list because the justices have a real interest in trying to make the appointment process less political if at all possible

is a white man and that's been a departure from president obama nominees of women in the past, elena kagan and sonya society major. he is also 63. one of the older justices to be nominated to the supreme court. you have to go back to lewis powell to find someone who was older at age 64. >> ron allen is at us at the white house. the president will head to the hill tomorrow to start meetings with senators. what's the white house strategy to get him confirmed? >> reporter: craig, we just got off a conference call who tried to walk us a bit through the president's thinking and the process that he went through over the past number of weeks. and they have emphasized that there was a lot of what they call outreach and engagement. they emphasized that the president contacted the office of every member of the senate, every member of the senate judiciary committee will consider this nomination if it gets that far, there has been extensive outreaches to groups, veteran groups, unions, civil right groups, youth groups, former republican officials you name it. again, trying to make the point that this

history with president obama's nominees, you have had a lot of republicans vote for sotomayor, for elena kagan because they have believed that it is a president's obligation and it is their opportunity to put somebody on the supreme court. that's what the constitution says. but those very senators who have voted "yes" for some obama nominees, they are still saying that in this partisan atmosphere, with less than a year left in office, it's just not the right time for him. >> of course, republicans are quick to point out that when president obama was in the u.s. senate, he voted against john roberts and he voted to filibuster samuel alito. douglas brinkley, let me bring you in. obviously a lot of back and forth about whether nominees in an election year, there's been a hearing. there's never been a situation like this one, though. >> there hasn't been. yes, president obama checked the box and nominated merrick garland but, no, we are not going to be able to get a hearing between this spring in the middle of this volcanic election cycle. republicans would rather wait it out until at least novemb

and then two more changes with justice soanya sotomayor in 2009 and elena kagan in 2010. and in some ways, and 2010, citizens united has replaced bush legal or as a rallying cry politically at least. -- bush v gore as a rallying cry politically at least. just when i think people have stopped thinking about it or stopped asking about it, i will give a speech somewhere, as in last summer in connecticut, where the first question is -- what about that bush legal or? -- bush the gore? but we are here to look at both sides, not just what happened back then, but how the ruling has reverberated through the years. i will start with my immediate left. judith brown diana's -- judith brown-dianis. we also have richard hasen. if we google bush v gore, i think your name comes up second. along with justice scalia saying, please, get over it. we also have pamela karlan. like judith, she has been in the trenches. most recently as an assistant attorney general in the civil rights division. and kurt levey who filled in. we really appreciate you coming. you are probably the person who will m

. >> reporter: in 2010 when justice picked elena kagan, confirmed. changed. >> a whale of difference being on any circuit court of appeals and being a nominee for the supreme court of the united states. >> reporter: today, president obama will join a conference build support for merrick. the bet is putting pressure on senators may change some minds. >> margaret, thank you very much. >>> closer look at the nominee. and why the president chose garland to replace the late justice antonin scalia. jan crawford is at the supreme court. >> reporter: the president is really gone with someone he sees as a reasonable pick, a compromise pick. certainly not the home run that some of the liberal groups would of wanted. garland is a moderate, a centrist. he is no liberal flame-thrower. i think you'll see the white house make the argument the president is not going as far left as some of the groups on the left would of wanted. now the republicans time to compromise a little bit by all accounts, judge garland is deeply experienced, he is respected, he's a chief judge at the d.c.-based federal appeal