Depths of the polar vortex. Early today starts now. Thanks for being with us. The battle lines have been drawn between republicans and democrats over who should fill the vacancy left in the Supreme Court after justice antonin scalias death. Republicans are doubling and tripling down, that the nomination should be left to the next president. A belief becoming a battle cry on the campaign trail. I intend to make 2016 a referendum on the u. S. Supreme court. Were not moving forward on a nominee until after the election. The republicans should not allow it to happen. On the other side of the aisle, democrats say that it is president obamas responsibility. For the president , this boils down to something very simple, just doing his job and we expect the senate to do the same. It would be the height of irresponsibility for the Republican Leadership not to have a vote on a nominee from the president. And the white house adds that the president will not announce a nominee until Congress Returns from break next week and that he doesnt plan on making a recess appointment. At least for the time being. Nbcs tracie potts joins us from washington with where the fight goes next. Good morning, tracie. Good morning, everyone. Where it goes next is president obama probably picking a nominee who may or may not get a vote here on capitol hill. You just heard from senator leahy who now says that the president does have a short list and theyve got more names to propose to him. But the question is whether or not any of those potential nominees will ever get a vote here. Its unprecedented. Its pure politics. From capitol hill it is wrong. It is not responsible. To the campaign trail talk about cowardice. Talk about obstructionism. Democrats are pushing back hard at republicans refusal to give president obama Supreme Court nominee a vote. Lets have a hearing. Lets hear from our constituents what they think. And then vote. Not say no vote at all. The people of this country should send a very clear message, that is not the way our constitution works. They point out Anthony Kennedy was won firmed by a Democrat Senate in president reagans final year. The constitution does not include exemptions for election years or for the president s last term in office. Were in an election year, im not going to pretend thats not part of the atmospherics here. The republican candidates insist the replacement for Justice Scalia should not be president obamas choice. The republicans should reject. I think the new president should have that option. The Practical Implications are nil. Its all about politics. They argue even if an obama nominee is confirmed. It could be too late to have any impact this term. Back live now shannon a Washington Post oped came out overnight. It was top democrat harry reid calling this nakedly partisan, thats the way he described it. He says that republicans really are insulting americans as he put it by trying to block this vote. Tracie potts live in d. C. , thank you. Turning now to the race for the white house. Former president george w. Bush is back on the campaign trail. Standing shoulder to shoulder with his little brother. Jeb bush is hoping to cash in on past bush family successes in the palmetto state. Both bush 41 and 43 won South Carolinas primary. But jebs strategy may be too little, too late. Frontrunner donald trump continues to lead the field ahead of saturdays republican primary. Meanwhile, trump is renewing threats to run as a thirdparty candidate for president after being booed in recent debates in which he refers to special interests and donors, trump claims the Republican National committee is defaulting on its pledge to treat him with respect. The rnc, better get its act together because i signed a pledge. But the pledge isnt being honored by them. I signed a pledge, the pledge isnt being honored by the rnc. The rnc does a terrible job, a terrible job. Just remember what i said, remember in this room. I signed a pledge. But its a doubleedged pledge. And as far as im concerned theyre in default of their pledge. Plus the democratic race tightens ahead of the nevada caucus. Nbcs dan sheneman has latest. Jeb bush got help on the campaign trail in South Carolina from his brother. Former president george w. Bush, who had choice words for gop frontrunner donald trump. And in my experience, the strongest person usually isnt the loudest one in the room. For his part, the billionaire dismissed jeb bushs campaign. The candidate i dont think its going to happen. Earlier in the day, at a news conference, trump repeated his attacks aimed at another rival, ted cruz. He doesnt even have the right to serve as president. Or even run as president. He was born in canada. So i will bring that lawsuit, if he doesnt apologize. Senator cruz dismissed trump and suggested the suit was a sign of desperation. This is the most rattled ive ever seen donald today. On the democratic side, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton focused on saturdays caucus in nevada. With hopes to rebound after her loss in New Hampshire to Bernie Sanders who she believes is only concerned with wall street. Im not a singleissue candidate. Because this not a singleissue country. Bernie sanders has brushed off that charge and took his campaign to michigan. He said he met with families affected by the water crisis in flint. Just come from a meeting which was one of the more difficult meetings that i have ever attended. Analysts believe the flint water crisis is an issue that resonates with africanamerican voters across the country. Dan sheneman, nbc news. Last night the best of the best in the music world got together for the 58th grammy awards. The show featured some epic performances from the nights biggest winners, including Kendrick Lamar and taylor swift. And also some moving tributes to the late glenn frey and david bowie. So many great performances, but night not without its mishaps, just ask adele whose highly anticipated return was upstaged by a sound problem. Still pretty good but after the show she tweeted that the mics fell on the pea ano strings, so it sounded like it was out of tune. Rihanna was supposed to perform, but had to bow out at the last minute on Doctors Orders due to bronchitis. A massive storm system spread misery from the gulf coast to maine, suspected tornadoes touched down in floridas panhandle and mississippi, destroying more than a dozen homes in century, florida, video captured the moment a woman was pulled from the debris of her tornadodamaged home. Rescuers there formed a human chain to carry her to safety. Mississippi Officials Say storm damage was reported in 20 counties with homes destroyed, trees downed and power outages. And the storm brought four inches of fresh snow to the nations capital. Much of d. C. Was under a winter storm warning with fears of dangerous driving conditions. Stormy weather returns to the west, nbc meteorologist Rafael Miranda has more on that. Major pattern change finally coming to the west. Its been so warm and so dry for so long. That ends tomorrow. Lets track some storminess. This is wednesday morning and you can see the cold fronts moving onshore. Were expecting heavy rain, it arrives through the afternoon on wednesday, rain, gusty winds and significant mountain snows. You can see the rain extending down into southern california. Where youve been enjoying temperatures into the 80s and 90s. Thats going to change as well. For your thursday, another front moves onshore bringing another round of heavy rain. So the stormy pattern lasts for a few days ahead. Its going to be stormy out east today. Watch out for travel delays from boston, new york city and washington, d. C. And this is your last day to enjoy these record temperatures in los angeles, 88 degrees. Near 90 in phoenix. And watch as they drop. 70s tomorrow with showers across california. Especially in San Francisco. 91 in phoenix. And by thursday, down to the 60s in los angeles. He ts a look at your national 50s, lots of clouds, dry in portland, temperatures there in the 60s. So finally cooling down. You have one more day in southern california. 90 in palm springs in february. Amazing. Rafael, thank you. Straight ahead, well tell you which segment of the population is drinking all the wine. Plus would you pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a license plate . Youre watching early today. Ee could protect you from diabetes . What if one situp could prevent Heart Disease . One. Wishful thinking, right . But there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease. 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The with total accumulation of up to three feet. Roads will be shut down indefinitely. And schools are closed. Campbells soups go great with a cold and a nice red. Made for real, real life. One day a rider made a decision. The decision to ride on and save money. He decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. Theres no shame in saving money. Ride on, ride proud. Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. Over 50 people were killed yesterday in air strikes on seven schools and hospitals in syria. One of the hospitals was supported by doctors without borders. Who is accusing russia or syria for the attacks. This has been a period of intensified bombing, particularly in the north of syria. We have condemned that in the strongest terms. This comes days away from a ceasefire between Syrian Government forces and rebels. Thats supposed to go into effect by the weeks end. Today, the eagles of death metal return to paris to continue their show that was interrupted by a terrorist attack on november 13th. For lack of a better way to describe it, my friends died very beautifully with great courage, you know. Im not going to let the bad guys win. In another interview, band front man jesse hughes says the attack strengthened his views on gun control saying until nobody has guns everybody has to have them. Halfway through his weeklong dour of mexico, pope francis celebrated mass with hundreds of thousands of indigenous pilgrims in the Southern State of chiapas. The pontiff blessed a child who was lifted up with his wheelchair to come into contact with pope francis. Can you believe this delaware license plate sold for 325,000 at auction on sunday . Delaware is just one of the few states where lowdigit plates can be bought and sold directly by residents. The plates are considered investments. Id take the cash. Lets get down to business with cnbcs susan lee. Good morning, susan. Good morning, shannon. The markets may start the holiday week with lots of green arrows. Stocks could add to fridays gains boosted by a jump in oil prices. Crude is up again, once again, above 30 a barrel as officials from saudi arabia and russia are meeting. The saudis, russia, venezuela and guitar agreeing to freeze production at january levels. Also the words millennials and drinking may bring to mind craft beer or keg parties. But dont forget about wine. A new study showing millennials drank 42 of all wine in the u. S. Last year. More than any other generation. And the average two cases per person. Theyre also shelling out for good wine, paying more than 20 a bottle in the past month. And chinese consumers bought nearly half of the worlds luxury goods last year. They spent nearly 117 billion. And the Chinese Government says 120 million tourists went overseas in 2015. Contributing to 12 of global spending. Back to you. All right, susan, thank you. Just ahead, a Serious Health issue may sideline one of the nbas best. And the u. S. Womens soccer team scored how many goals . Were going to let you know, next on early today. Eless keyboard more than certain family members . Is your success due to a filing system only you understand . Does printing from your tablet to your wireless printer give you a jolt of confidence . If so, you may be gearcentric. Someone who knows that the right office gear helps you do great things. And theres one place that has it all. Office depot officemax. Gear up for great. And feeling good, sort of. N and real, and 500 calories or less. The clean pairings menu. At panera. Food as it should be. At hillshire farm, spice is the spice of life. Thats why our craftsmen season every sausage perfectly. So you can coax out great flavor effortlessly. Hillshire farm. Because its worth doing right. At hillshire farm, theres a reason our slow roasted turkey taste so fresh seconds after carving, we not only seal every slice, we double seal it. The results are something to savor. Hillshire farm. Because its worth doing right. This morning, today takes you behind the scenes at the grammys for musics recordbreaking night. Lets check sports now, shall we . A big health scare for the miami heats chris bosh. The a. P. Is reporting that the forward is dealing with a blood clot in his left calf. Had a similar issue last season. Bosh is expected to meet with doctors thursday to discuss the use of blood thinners and a course of treatment. Then a night to remember for the u. S. Womens National Soccer team as forward crystal dunn put on quite a show. The 23yearold scored five goals as the u. S. Easily defeated puerto rico 100 in an olympic qualifying game. Like a baseball game. The secondranked kansas jayhawks avenged last months loss to oklahoma state. The cowboys got as close as seven points before kansas pulled away for the 9467 blowout. Virginia took its home winning streak to 18 games as they dominated North Carolina state 7353. And heres your a. P. Top ten mens basketball. Villanova remains number one, getting 44 of 65 firstplace votes. Kansas got the other 21 firstplace votes. Followed by oklahoma, iowa, North Carolina and the rest of those there. But march madness, is crazy, you never know. Just ahead, we remember princes late protege, vanity. At the grammys, fashion was as hot as the music. Who killed it on the red carpet . Well show you, next. Ity. Ity. And id like to. Cut. So im gonna take this opportunity to direct. Thank you, well call you. Evening, film noir, smoke, atmosphere. Bob. Youre a young farmhand and e trade is your cow. Milk it. E trade is all about seizing opportunity. Defiance is in our bones. Citracal pearls. Delicious berries and cream. Soft, chewable, calcium plus vitamin d. Only from citracal. 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All right. Now to some Entertainment News this morning, last nights grammys wasnt all about the music. Fashion standouted included lady gaga who returned with a flashy blue number skyhigh heels and an orange wig. Taylor swift showed off her abs in a bright colored skirt and crop top. And Chrissie Teigen had that pregnancy glow enter a whitecaped gown. The red carpet looked fierce with all the celeb fashions. 80s singer vanity, princes former protege has died at the age of 57, no word yet on the cause of death. Best known for her hit, nasty girl. Ever dreamed of being james bond . Now could be your chance. Astonmartin db 10 from the latest bond flick is up for auction. Only deten were made and this o is estimated to sell for 1. 4 million. The car was designed for the bond franchise, will be the only one of the ten to be released for public sale. Sore rafael. Nows your chance. The new video is the official announcement that Star Wars Episode 8 has begun filming. Joining the cast is benecio del toro and laura dern. Jimmy fallons tight pants got him in a little bit of hot water with will ferrell and christina aguilera. A new baby, aint that a bag of beans. Especially since you and i havent spoken that one magical night we shared together nine months ago. Now you listen to me, you fatfaced cobnobeler. I dont know who you are or what butt hole you crawled out of. But this is my woman. And that is our baby. And every night he gets swaddled in the tightest of pants. Bleeding gums . You may think its a result of brushing too hard. Its not. Its a sign of early gum disease. Listerine r can help reverse. Early gum disease in just two weeks. Listerine r . Power to your mouth™ leading the news in the new york times, Lincoln Memorial t