They include a notorious democratic governor, a former championship sports team owner, and a former new York City Police commissioner. All of this happens against a backdrop of judicial intrigue and raised eyebrows involving the president , his tweets and comments, and his attorney general. John roberts starts us off tonight from the north lawn. Good evening, President Trump greased some skids for a controversial clemency grant to date sending out football legends to get the ball rolling with a fairly innocuous pardon. Then dropping the big one, Rod Blagojevich. The release from prison of the former illinois governor was a long time coming, his supporters have been advocating for a pardon since President Trump took office. In the end, he stopped short of a full pardon, instead commuting his sentence. He served eight years in ja jail, long time to go, many people disagree with the sentence, hes a democrat, not a republican. He was tried twice and convicted once on charges mostly stemming from his attempts to sell the senate seat once occupied by president obama. Got this thing and its [bleep] golden. He was said to be on defense but decided to go ahead with it. I met him a couple of times he was on the apprentice years ago, he seemed like a very nice person. He also pardon the former new York City Police commissioner bernard kerrick, financier michael milken, and former San Francisco 49ers owner eddie debartolo. I take my hat off to donald trump for what he did, like i said, its all about being here for eddie today. On his way to the west coast, President Trump also responded on camera to the first time it to attorney general bill barrs public rebuke to his tweets about the roger stone case. Making it impossible for me to do my job. The president today acknowledged he has a point. I do make his job harder, i agree with that i think thats true. Hes a straight shooter, just so you understand, i chose not to be involved. Im allowed to be totally involved. I am the chief Law Enforcement officer of the country. The judge in the stone case found no reason to delay his scheduled sentencing on thursday despite a petition from stones attorney for a new trial. The association representing hundred federal judges called an emergency meeting to discuss what it sees as interference by the president and political appointees in the doj in the administration of justice. Perhaps with that in mind when asked about the possibility of pardons for stone, paul manafort, and michael flynn, the president demurred. Im not thinking about that, theres a process that people are going through. I think roger stone has been treated unfairly, i think general flynn has been treated unfairly, i think a lot of people have been treated unfairly. President trump appeared unfazed by attorney general William Barrs public rebuke. The president also said today he knows who anonymous is, although when asked he wouldnt give a name. Bret thanks. Its a safe bet that former new york city mayor Mike Bloomberg is brushing up on his debating skills tonight, the billionaire who has not appeared on any ballot yet or participated in any debate this primary season has qualified for tomorrows democratic president ial debate ahead of saturdays nevada caucuses. Peter doocy reports tonight from las vegas, that development is renewing complaints about how bloomberg is gaining traction. The candidate with the biggest crowd is calling out the candidate with the biggest bank account. Today we say with mayor mayor bloomberg, we are a democracy, not an oligarchy, you want going to buy this election. 17,000 people in Washington State award at Bernie Sanders attack on Michael Bloomberg which he can do in person because the billionaire qualified for his first debate. In polls, sanders is leading in bloombergs head of joe biden. A monmouth poll found bloomberg and sanders tied for first ahead of joe biden who is fading as limburg advertises himself and not joe biden as Barack Obamas former righthand man. Biden is looking for help keeping up with ads like that telling donors at denver mayor bloomberg says the Health Care Bill was a disaster, its a lousy bill but he has 60 billion to explain matt. Bloombergs focus is on a new 0. 1 tax on all Financial Transactions to find other parts of his platform but sanders is trying to keep his attention on bloombergs time at city hall. You have a record in new york city that included racist policies like stop and frisk. Bloomberg has pledged to bankroll whoever the democratic nominee is but ernie wouldnt cash that check. With the Sanders Campaign take bloombergs money . Bernie sanders has more individual contributions. Is that at no . That is a no. President trump offered the crooked dnc is working to take the nomination away from bernie again. Watch what happens to the superdelegates in a raid convention. That sounds like sanders agrees with the president , kind of. The democratic establishment is getting nervous. You know what . They should be getting nervous. As he rallied in las vegas a few minutes ago a new nbc wall street journal poll came out that puts him up double digits over all the rest the democrats and they are arguing about birdie online. The president accused bloomberg of a payoff, cash for Campaign Endorsements and bloomberg shot back asking why do you want to run against bernie so badly . To which the president clarified i would rather run against you. Bret another prominent doctor at the forefront of fighting the coronavirus outbreak in china has died. Fatalities on the mainland are now approaching 2,000. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has the latest. Coronavirus fears have prompted russia to temporarily ban entry to all chinese nationals beginning thursday. China announced the death of hospital director continues to bear 91 of covid9 cases worldwide. It doesnt mean that it will not increase. For us this is a window of opportunity that we shouldnt squander. The World Health Organization plans to ship personal objective equipment to 120 countries, 69 countries in africa and the americas will have the ability to do their own testing for covid19. Many of these countries have been sending samples, waiting several days for results. More than 500 people have tested positive for the coronavirus among the diamond princess cruise ship which is approaching its end of a quarantine. Officials hope to begin the process for those who tested negative. Americans tested positive in cambodia after traveling to malaysia, showing how difficult it is for screeners to detect every infected person entering a country including the u. S. The cdc is doing surveillance by in five cities taking a look at people who present with flulike symptoms but are negative for the flu to see if they might in fact be positive for the coronavirus. As more than 300 americans evacuated, to begin 14 day quarantines in the u. S. , dozens of earlier travelers finish their quarantines today and are being released from two military bases. If although most of covid19 cases are mild, chinese authorities estimate 2 are fatal making this virus 20 times more lethal than influenza. Bret the financial fallout from the virus is hitting wall street. The dow is down for the third day in a row losing 166, the s p 500 dropped ten, the nasdaq was up to another record close. Lets get a look at the economic effect, susan li of the Fox Business Network joins us from new york. Apples Warning Signals that global businesses under threat from the coronavirus, americas Largest Company a stock market heavyweight in one of the worlds most widely held stocks took down Global Stock Markets along with it. Apple says the coronavirus has close down factories and kept consumers away in china and that is why it wont make any sales as expected. Representing a fifth of all of apple sales but the white house warns coronavirus will have an effect at some point. We dont see apple as the norm which you would begin to expect from china is portions of the supply chain across different sectors, you might experience bottlenecks that could lead to slowdowns. More than 175 companies have so far warned that coronavirus would hurt sales and profits in the first few months of this year, industries from technology, entertainment, food, travel, clothing, the likes of nike, mcdonalds, disney, and delta are just some of the names joining apple and tempering down expectations but the outbreak could also cause a shift in the global economy. You have sars, the african swine virus, now you have this. Its another risk factor that people need to take into account. I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to north america. Most expected a temporary impact with the u. S. Government projecting 4 to 8 billion hit, as sars and other health epidemics, steep and quick recovery is expected to follow. Bret Justice DepartmentOfficials Say they are making an effort to coordinate its various investigations regarding ukraine, assistant attorney general stephen boyd tells jerry nadler in a letter that news reports and members of congress have significantly distorted the publics understanding of the situation. The letter reiterates the departments position that attorney general william barr has not discussed matters related to ukraine with president ial attorney rudy giuliani. There are questions tonight about whether a meeting between a democrat u. S. Senator and irans foreign minister may have broken the law or misrepresented American Foreign policy. Rich edson is here with details. President trump is among those asking whether senator chris murphy violated a rarely used 19th century federal law by meeting with irani foreign minister in germany, the logan act prohibits unauthorized americans from conducting diplomacy on behalf of the united states. Senator murphy met with the irani ends is that a fact was mack i just saw that on the way over. Is there anything i should no . That sounds like to be a violation of the logan act. Mike pompeo added he hopes u. S. Senators meeting with the Iranian Foreign minister reinforced americas Foreign Policy and not their own. In a post on medium, senator murphy wrote i cannot conduct of diplomacy on behalf of the whole of the u. S. Government and i dont percent to be in a position to do so. But if trump isnt going to talk to iran, someone should. A lack of dialogue leaves nations guessing about their enemys intentions and guessing wrong could lead to catastrophic stakes. He urged him to control proxies, willis american hostages, and end the blockade in yemen. He notes that other members of congress have met with him and an aid to the senator said he notified the u. S. Embassy in germany he was pursuing a meeting. He said he told ukraines efforts, President Trump is also accused former secretary of state john kerry of violating the logan act for meeting with iranian officials after he left office in 2015 months before the u. S. Agreed to the nuclear deal, 47 republican senators sent a letter to irans leaders pointing out that an International Agreement without Senate Approval could be undone by a subsequent administration. The Obama White House accused those republicans of undermining the administrations Foreign Policy. Bret the Trump Administration is imposing sanctions on a russian state controlled oil company for helping venezuelas curtain embargo. Senior administration Officials Say any one of the world doing business with their trading unit could be sanctioned. Up next, is this the end for the boy scouts of america . First heres what some affiliates around the country are covering tonight. Box 40 in jackson, mississippi, were authorities are warning hundreds of residents not to return home after devastating flooding monday until they get the all clear. As the high water receives, officials expect to find damage roads and problems with water and sewage pipes, more heavy rain is expected throughout the south. Fox five in new york as a jury deliberations begin in the Sexual Assault trial of hollywood producer harvey weinstein. The panel is weighing accusations that he raped a woman and in a manhattan hotel. This is a live look at boston, the big story there, massachusetts democratic representative David Naegele is facing charges of misusing Campaign Funds. The fbi says he was arrested this morning at his home. Prosecutors allege he was an extensive gambler who used Campaign Funds to cover golf club dues, and flowers for his girlfriend. Thats a live look outside the beltway, well be right back. howling wind vo everyone in your family is different. Someone is streaming sports, someone is video chatting her friends. laughter vo so verizon has plans to mix and match starting at 35. And now, get a verizon stream tv on us to watch shows and movies in 4k. The network more people rely on, gives you more. howling wind howling wind [ fastpaced drumming ] bret tonight one of this countrys most venerable institutions is seeking bankruptcy protection. Its a significant milestone in what has been a spectacular fall from grace for the boy scouts of america, correspondent laura ingle shows estimate from new york. Its something that never leaves you, its a posttraumatic stress. Adult victims of alleged sexual abuse when they were boy scouts reliving their past and reacting to the news after decades of accusations, lawsuits, and settlements, the boy scouts of america filed for bankruptcy protection today. This isnt an isolated incident, its nationwide that it needs to stop. The chapter 11 petition lays out a plan to create a Victims Compensation trust while also allowing funding to continue its programs. The National Chair of the organization jim turley released an open letter to all current and former scouts which reads in part on behalf of myself and the entire scouting community, i am sorry. I am devastated that there were times in the past when we failed the very children we were supposed to protect. Incoming chairman of the dsa National CommunicationsCommittee Scott armstrong spoke with us by phone today for this message to parents of current scouts. The boy scouts of america now sets the gold standards in youth protection, i think we are the safest organization for a child to participate in. It would halt hundreds of current lawsuits giving the bsa time to restructure to handle legal costs and payouts and also give former boy scouts who claim they were victimized time to come forward and pursue claims. If attorney nick decarlo says he hopes the bankruptcy filing will encourage others to come forwa forward. Now is the time to hold the boy scouts of america accountable. Its important to note that local councils on filing for bankruptcy, they are legally separate and distinct. Bret will nevada experience the caucus chaos we saw an iowa . First, beyond our borders in israeli courts as the corruption trial of Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu will begin march 17th. He is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, excused from accepting lavish gifts from billionaire friends in exchange for more positive media coverage. Afghanistans president has won a second term, Ashraf Ghanis victory was announced more than four months after polls closed. He captured 50. 6 of the votes in september balloting. His opponent refused to recognize the vote, declaring himself the winner. The taliban also rejected his win raising questions over a u. S. Peace plan that calls for a reduction in violence followed by a more permanent agreement expected to be signed later this month. Irelands coast guard is warning the public to stay away from a large cargo ship that washed up on the coast of county cork after a storm. The 253foot vessel had been drifting for more than a year, the coast guard says the ten member crew abandoned the ship in september of 2018. Some of the other stories from beyond our borders tonight, well be right back. And its not the trailer right next to us . This guy . You dont believe me . Hop in. Good lookin pickup, i will say that. Oh wow. Silverado offers an Optional Technology package with up to 15 different views including one enhanced view that makes your trailer appear invisible. Wow. Thats pretty sweet. Thats cool. Oooohh thats awesome. Whered the trailer go . I love it. Its magic. Woi felt completely helpless. Hed online. My entire career and business were in jeopardy. I called reputation defender. Vo take control of your online reputation. Get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender. Com. Find out your online reputation today and let the experts help you repair it. Woman they were able to restore my good name. Vo visit reputationdefender. Com or call 18778668555. You spend less and get way more. , so you can bring your vision to lif. For small prices, you can build big dreams. Spend less. Get way more. Shop everything home at wayfair toda. For bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. Bret we are still two weeks away from super tuesday 114 states hold primary elections, texas is one of those and voting there is already underway tonight.