jonathan karl, thank you for your help tonight.oing to return now to regular programming, which for some of you is "world news tonight." there will be much more on this tomorrow on "good morning america," as well as "this week" and "world news tonight" as well tomorrow. thank you so much for joining us. good night. >> this has been a special report from abc news. >>> and welcome back. we resume with "world news tonight." with pope francis' historic trip to mexico. his first full day on the ground. tens of thousands chieering him along the way. a face to face meeting with mexico's president. the pope preaching against corruption. at his meeting with the bishops, urging humility, saying the mexican people don't need more princes. >>> back here at home, police hit by gunfire once again. this time in baton rouge, louisiana. two police officers wounded in a shootout after a two-mile chase with an armed suspect. it's the latest in a flurry of attacks on law enforcement across the country in recent days. both officers and the suspect were

. >>> let's go straight to senior white house correspondent jonathan karl. jonathan, this news is so fresh, but now there is a vacancy in the supreme court. >> reporter: a vacancy of the conservative icon of the supreme court. scalia was really the hero to conservatives on the court. with that vacancy, the question is, will a republican-controlled senate allow president obama to replace scalia and we have an answer to that, at least from the republican leader of the senate, mitch mcconnell, is already out with a statement, saying that the american people should speak in the next election, that the next president should be the one that names the replacement to justice scalia, so, we'll see what happens. i expect we'll hear from the president tonight, and we'll see if he intends to go forward with a nomination. but i can tell you, it will be a with a republican-controlled senate. it would be one thing if he was replacing one of the liberals on the court. but you're talking about replacing the conservative cornerstone of the supreme court. >> now, jon, you know,

let's go back to abc's jonathan karl. how is this playing out in the republican debate that's just started? >> reporter: well, already, all six remaining republican presidential candidates have said that no, that president obama should not nominate, the senate should not confirm a replacement for justice scalia, that that decision should be left for the next president. and i think you're gouge to see this play out throughout the presidential campaign, both in the primaries and in the general election. republicans now no longer are talking about an abstraction, they are talking about something very specific. the next president not just nominating future supreme court justices, but nominating a replacement to their conservative hero on the court. >> all right, jonathan karl for us tonight. jon, thank you. let's go back to terry moran in mexico city. terry, you knew justice scalia's presence on the court very well. talk to us tonight about his legacy. >> reporter: well, tom, justice scalia is literally because of the force o

here's abc's jonathan karl. it will be in the great hall of the supreme court where antonin scalia's body will lie in repose friday -- a public viewing -- not far from that chair, now cloaked in black, he used for his 30 years as a justice. today in california, president obama paid tribute to scalia as supreme court giant - but also made it clear he's ready for the fight to replace him: "i intend to nominate somebody, senate. i expect them to hold hearings. i expect there to be a vote." but republicans remain dug in - insisting the next president should name scalia's replacement. the president today pointed out there is precedent for the senate confirming a justice during a president's final year in office. president reagans nominee, anthony kennedy was confirmed in february 1988. but kennedy's case is an unusual one. the vacancy came the previous year - in july 1987 when justice lewis powell resigned. reagan first nominated robert bork, who the senate rejected after a long, bitter debate. reagan then nominated

jonathan karl, here with me tonight. we're just hoping you could give us a lay of the land, where will folks be standing? >> i expect two debates tomorrow night. here with donald trump and ted cruz. they've been locked in a blood feud, this is the first time they've gone face-to-face since cruz beat trump in iowa. the second debates, featuring marco rubio versus everybody else. especially the governors, jeb bush, john kasich, and chris christie. they want to emerge from this alternative to the outsiders, and the only way they can do that, knock down rubio. >> thank you. >>> super bowl weekend is here, and so is the weekend before the big republican debate. join us tomorrow, 8:00 p.m. eastern, on abc. >>> and to taiwan, a powerful 6.4 earthquake. hitting at night as many slept. rescue workers pulling a woman from debris. the search for survivors coming in. at least five strong aftershocks felt already. >>> back to the storm hitting, and the new one we're tracking for the weekend. whiteout conditions on i-95 outside boston

let's go to jonathan karl tonight. jon, the stakes are high for senator rubio. >> reporter: they sure are. he came into this with all of momentum out of iowa. it was a third place finish but stronger than expected. he was the fastest rising candidate in new hampshire and he ran in a buzz saw in the form of chris christie at the abc news debate. we will see where he ends up. they were hoping for a strong second place finish. that looks highly unlikely now. and jeb bush, he will be back in second, third or fourth after the the ind of the night, it counts as a come back for jeb bush. he have was once the front-runner. he had fallen far back in the polls. he came out of our debate stronger and looks like he has all the momentum to keep fighting in south carolina. the important thing, you have four candidates aside from trump who have the reason and the resources to fight on in south carolina. that means the ante-trump vote will remain divided. that is music to donald trump's ears. >> certainly is. we a2008 hear from trumpb

. >> reporter: but rubio brushing it all off in an interview with our jonathan karl. >> are you ready for the onslaught? >> i think that's a good sign. i mean, it shows that our campaign is growing and that others are growing desperate. it's fine. we'll be okay. >> and tom llamas with us live from a cruz event. you heard rubio saying he's brushing off attacks and bracing for incoming fire, due to his new strength in the polls? >> yes, i just got off the phone with the rubio campaign. they are expecting a lot incoming tomorrow night. but they said rubio will stick to his message, that he gives republicans the best chance in november. david? >> tom, thanks. >>> meantime on the democratic four days until the new hampshire caucus. tonight, an eye-opening new national poll, showing clinton ahead of sanders by just two points. cecilia vega, one-on-one with clinton. asking do these numbers worry her? >> reporter: the crowds so big for bernie sanders today, they couldn't all fit inside. >> in the midst of a snowstorm, you can't get all the people into a room. that's momentum. >> reporter: and

jonathan karl, abc news, des moines. >>> should be an interesting night on tuesday.ing on now to what will be a busy week for the poster child for pharmaceutical industry greed. talking about martin shkreli who is in court today as part of the securities fraud case against him. then it's a congressional hearing tomorrow on drug price hikes at which he plans to plead the fifth. shkreli became famous last year when he hiked the price of a life saving drug by 4,000%. gloating that it was almost all for profit. >>> searchers in the rocky mountains north of santa fe, new mexico still haven't found a man who went missing weeks ago while searching for a treasure chest. art dealer and author forrest fenn says he hid the chest in 2010. he says there's been $1 million and $3 million worth of gems rare coins and jewelry inside. fenn says when it comes to searching for the chest, he just wants people to enjoy the journey. >> i want to get the kids out of e game room and away from their little texting machines and out in the sunshine and the mountains and the trees. we're not doi

we get more from abc's jonathan karl. >> reporter: taunting his rivals, donald trump is declaring, if they can't beat him here in south carolina, they going to give it up. we're going to run the table, and we will make america great again. that i can tell you, okay? >> reporter: trump's campaign says it's so confident, it's only going to run positive tv ads. >> he wants to make america great and that's what i want, too. >> reporter: there's one candidate trump still can't resist attacking. > i'll be honest, the last thing we need is another bush. that i can tell you. >> reporter: we traveled to florence, south carolina to meet up with governor bush. as he went into the venus restaurant, he seemed irritated by the mere mention of trump's name. >> will you be able to stop donald trump here? >> i hope so. >> reporter: why does he keep hitting you? >> he must be worried. >> reporter: inside he hit back. >> do you want an entertainer in chief, someone who will say whatever he wants to make it all about him? insult people, divide people? basically just talk trash on his way to the republica

abc's jonathan karl in south carolina tonight, where trump now says there is something you will not see from him. >> reporter: taunting his rivals, donald trump is declaring if they can't beat him here in south carolina, they won't beat him anywhere. >> we win here, we're going to run the table. if we win here, after winning so big in new hampshire, all of these characters are going to give it up. we're going to run the table and we will make america great again. that i can tell you, okay? >> reporter: trump campaign so confident, says it is only going to run positive tv ads. >> he wants to make america great. candidate trump still can't resist attacking. >> you have a guy like bush, who has this big fund -- it's terrible. i'll be honest. the last thing we need is another bush. that i can tell you. >> reporter: we traveled to florence, south carolina, to meet up with governor bush, as he went into the venus restaurant, he seemed irritated by the mere mention of trump's name. are you going to be able to stop donald trump here. >> i hope so. >> reporter: inside, he hit back. >> do you wan

jonathan karl, here with me tonight. up on stage where the republicans will be standing tomorrow night. we're just hoping you could give us a lay of the land, where will folks be standing? >> david, i expect we'll see two debates tomorrow night. the first will be right here at center stage with donald trump and ted cruz. they've been locked in a blood feud here in new hampshire, this is the first time they've gone face-to-face since cruz beat trump in iowa. the second debate, right here, featuring marco rubio. zooming to second place in new hampshire. i expect this will be rubio versus everybody else. especially the governors, jeb bush, john kasich, and chris christie. they all want to emerge from this debate as the primary alternative to the outsiders, trump and cruz. and the only way they can do that, is to knock down rubio. posters for the real thing tomorrow night. jon, thank you. >>> super bowl weekend is here, and so is the battle, the weekend before the big republican debate. i hope you'll join martha raddatz and