what have you been hearing from the candidates on the death of zcalia? >> reporter: first of all, like all of america, i express sympathy about the death of him. before we get to the reaction of the candidates, we want to talk about some political implications. we heard from a member of the senate judiciary committee, lindsay graham, a former presidential candidate himself, who says that it will be unlikely that president obama will be allowed to fill the vacancy. here is what senator graham had to say earlier this evening. >> it makes us all concentrate on what it means to pick judges, how important it is to have somebody replace him with a like mind. donald trump is not a conservative, so i don't trust him to pick a judge. everybody else on the stage would pick somebody in the same mould, i think. everybody running other than donald trump i would have confidence would pick a supreme court justice that i would be happy to vote for. >> reporter: that's lindsay graham talking about the impact of the judicial vacancy on those who are running for office and

and the republicans gear up for a political fight over who will succeed the supreme court justice zcalia. tributes are paid to the justice at the presidential debate. donald trump says it's a terrible blow to conservatism >>> welcome. you're watching al jazeera coming to you live from our headquarters here in doha. i have the world news here. also ahead. diplomatic disagreement about whether a pause in syria's civil war will work as turkey now targets kurdish fighters. plus >> reporter: faking his message-- taking his messages to the masses. pope francis is hoping to see the hard lives that millions of people are living in here in mexico >>> our top story today is one of the u.s. supreme court's most conservative members justice scalia has died at the age of 79. his death has the potential to shift the balance of power within the supreme court should the president mag to appoint a more liberal justice. >> reporter: as the flag dropped to half staff over the u.s. supreme court, the death of justice scalia could set-off a battle between the white house and the congress. >> he was a larger

in his opinion zcalia wrote that the ruling was at odds not only with the constitution but the principles upon which hour nation was built. he-- our nation was built. he said we should call this law zcodistk care. born in new jersey parents, he attended high school in new york city. in 1953 he encold in university. after graduation he went to study at harvard law school. he was tagged as a supreme court justice years before he was appointed. once on the court he became a champion of ideology. he was obviously tied by the left. he is most famous of his vote which handed the presidential to george w bush. he always remained unapologetic in his role in that case telling critics it was the right thing to do. as a popular speaker he agreed to be proceed filed by 60 minutes. >> he is a polarizing figure who invites protesters and picketors. i'm surprised at how many people really hate you. these are some things wech been told. he is-- we've been told. he is evil, an neanderthal. they're threatened by what you represent and what you believe it. >> these are people that don't understand what my i

george w bush and among the five members who voted in favor of declaring president george w bush was zcalia >>> thank you for that. justice scalia sharply worded opinions have influenced a generation of conservative republicans and some of his world view is expected to be reflected in the latest presidential debate ahead of the polls next week. double-stranded and ted cruz are the front runners. what should we be looking out for in this bait? >> reporter:-- debate >> reporter: the death of scalia is the buzz that everyone is talking about. we shall expect questions on the topic early on in the debate. ted cruz has been one of those who has been talking about the power of the supreme court. he was very angry when the decision was made over the affordable care act, obamacare, that it could go forward. then on same sex marriage he accused the court of being activists rather than justice. he has tweeted that he is sad to hear the death of the justice, but he would like to see the next president of the united states be the one to appoint someone to the supreme court. he is the man who believes h

and the republicans gear up for a political fight over who will succeed the supreme court justice zcalias are paid to the justice at the presidential debate. donald trump says it's a terrible blow to conservatism.