Apartment some argue. The issue front and center on the debate stage. Its called delay, delay, delay. I do not believe the president should appoint someone. Will this fight paralyze washington further . What about the key cases in front of the Supreme Court now . Were live with it all. Dangerous and deadly. Another day to stay inside. Bonechilling temperatures affecting up to 90 Million People. The coldest, negative 34 in western new york. The weather responsible for several deaths after a major pileup in pennsylvania. Dylan has your forecast and there is some relief in sight. Cover girls, not one, not t three swimsuit covers. The magazine highlighting beauty in many forms this year, including a plus size cover model. Why s. I. Decided to make history sunday, february 14, 2016. Welcome to today on this sunday morning. Im erica hill. Glad to have you with us. Im craig melvin. A happy valentines day to you. We will get to that dangerous wicked weather in a moment. The big story yesterday afternoon, late word that Justice Antonin Scalia had died. It came as a shock because it was unexpected. That is our top story. Justice scalia was 79. We have full coverage from his legacy on the court to that looming battle now in washington over who will take his seat. We begin this morning with Nbcs Jay Gray in texas outside the ranch where scalia died. Jay, good morning. Reporter good morning, erica. Jurest before sunrise here and we are learning more abou Justice Scalias death here at this resort and ranch. We know that scalia traveled to west texas friday and attended a party here with 40 guests friday evening. When he didnt show up for breakfast the next morning, concerned staff went to his room where they found him local Law Enforcement, u. S. Marshals and fbi agents were all called in. Investigators say there are no signs of foul play here and that scalia likely died of Natural Causes. A devout catholic, authorities ushered in a priest to perform last rites. Then scalias body was moved to alpine nearby and with a Police Escort transported more than 200 miles to a funeral home in el paso. Scalias family is expected to travel to el paso later today. At this point to information about a memorial or f eral service for the Supreme Court justic. Erica . Jay gray for us in texas this morning. Jay, thank you. Justice scalia was a giant on the bench. The most conservative voice of all the justices. And his death has already set up a fight over the next justice. Well get to that in a moment. First, nbcs Pete Williams has a look back at scalias life and legacy. Pete, good morning. The most outspoken conservative. He seemed to be in robust health. So his death as a hugely unexpected blow. He was a justice with a powerful intellect and the Supreme Court lost its most outspoken conservative. Given what a controversial figure he became nominated by ronald reagan, it surprises some that he was confirmed unanimously in 1986. 980. The nations first Italian American justice soon staked out a position as a steadfast conservative against affirmative action and hiring and School Admissions and an opponent of abortion rights. Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and it declared things the nation never intended. Nobody ever thought they had been included in the rights contained in the bill of rights. They said scalia were not governed by the drafters intent. Were governed bylaws. Drafter intended but what the drafter enacted. But he delighted liberals by pushing the court to expand the rights of defendants on trial to confront their accusers in court. Another ruling he inspired said judges should not consider facts in sentencing that werent found by a jury. Among his most notable opinions for the court, the historic ruling that the Second Amendment guarantees a right to own a firearm for selfdefense. The most important gun decision ever. He mitt his future wife on a blind date while in college. Nine children. Two children became lawyers following their father in a profession he relished. I think figuring out the right answer to legal problems. His sudden death after 29 years on the Supreme Court h s stunned the nations legal community. Off the court he was incredibly energetic. In his questionieg from the bench, he was always complet engaged. People in and around the court. So this leaves the court with eight justices, evenly split eye dee logically as it prepares to take up abortion, immigration, obamacare, the future of Public Sector unions. Any time theres a 44 tie, the urts decision essentially doesnt count and the lower courts r tulings left standing. It casts a big shadow over the rest of the Supreme Court term. Pete williams in d. C. For us. Thank you. Weve mentioned a Major Political fight is brewing this morning over who should nominate the next Supreme Court justice. Should it be president obama or s successor . Kelly odonnell has more at the white house. Good morning, erica. From his long weekend in california where the president will host a summit of asian leaders, president obama spoke about the death of Justice Scalia and paid tribute to his life and public service. The president also quietly signaled there will be a confirming a successor to the high court. Although hes in his final year in office, the president says he will not wait. I plan to fulfill my Constitutional Responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. The president made his intentions clear because Top Republicans wary that another Obama Justice would end the conservative majority on the court have already drawn a line. Yosenate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell put out a statement saying the American People should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. This vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. Senate democrats pushed back that republicans should not attempt to obstruct the process and leave the court with an open seat. Top democrat harry reid says the accepted a nominee right away. Failing to fill the vacancy would be a shameful advocation of an essential constitutional responsibility. The political wins are clearly drawn and the fight will play out on the campaign trail and here in washington with republicans having 54 seats in the senate, more than democrats and giving them the power to really control this process going forward. Erica . Kelly odonnell at the white house this morning. Thank you. Ron clan clerked in the white house. Full disclosure here this morning. You were working with the Clinton Campaign this election cycle cycle. We want to make sure folks knew that. You spent years clerking at the high court in d. C. His conservative legacy is wellknown and established. What was he like as a person . I never agree with Justice Scalia on almost anything. He was an incredibly warm person. He loved the back and forth of when i ran into him, we would have a Public Exchange about bush v oore. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy as a family man and beloved mentor to a generation of Supreme Court clerks who worked for him. And for whom he was a key influence in their lives. We mentioned this. Many people would forget, given how divisive his decisions could be, he was unanimously confirmed. This is going to be a little bit different this time around to fill his seat. But when president obama goes into this process, if he in fact nominates someone as he said he will, whats your advice . Youve helped other president s do this . What republicans are proposing an unprecedented threebranch gridlock. They say the senate should confirm someone and the Supreme Court should remain deadlocked for two terms. Thats never happened before, thats not what should happen w. The president should and will fulfill his obligation to make a judgment on that persons merits and qualificdtions. Should the president be looking for Something Else . A person who, maybe a merritt garland, a person who is easier to get through the senate. What i know about president obama, having worked with him on the a couple of nominations, he takes this seriously. He taught constitutional law at the university of chicago. He is a constitutional scholar himself. He will pick the person who he thinks will be the best justice for the Supreme Court and the senate should do its job. They have the right to vote up down, reject the nomination. It is their responsibility to do that job to give the person a fair hearing, let the person make their case and then to judge that person bas ohe case they make. Ron clain, thanks for coming on a sunday morning. Thanks for having me. Antonin scalias death and who should nominate the nextd justice was the first topic in the Republican Debate. Discussion for the sparks to st. Art flying in what was easily a rowdy debate. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez is in South Carolina this morning with more gabe, good morning. Morning. The future of the Supreme Court is now front and center in the president ial election. This debate quickly got perm and turned into an all out praul in a state known for rough and tumble politics. On a less crowded stage, the ninth Republican Debate started with rare agreement. I do not believe the president should appoint someone. Several candidates wanting to block president obamas nominee to the Supreme Court. Its called delay, delay, delay. But then, things got ugly. Why do you lie . This is a man who insults his way ted cruz has been telling lies. Frontrunner donald trump blasting jeb bush upon foreign policy. World trade center came down during your brothers reign. Let me finish. While donald trump was brother was building a Security Apparatus to keep us safe. Marco rubio hoping to rebound from his last debate came to bushs defense. Slamming trump. I thank god all the time that it was george w. Bush in the white house on 9 11 and not al gore. The florida senator clashed with ted cruz over immigration, at one point cruz took issue with something rubio said in a Spanish Language interview. First of all i dont know how he knows what i said on univision because he doesnt speak spanish. Cruz also pounced on trump for what he called the billionaires past liberal positions on abortion and social issues. As a matter of principle. The biggest liar, you probably are worse than jeb bush. You are the single biggest liar. Hes a nasty guy. Donald has a weird pattern. When you point to his record, he screams liar, liar, liar. Striking a different tone, i got to tell you, this is just crazy. This is just nuts, okay. Oh, man. While most on the stage fought each other, dr. Ben carson fought for attention. So many people have said to me, you need to scream and jump up and down like everybody else. Is that really what you want . What we just saw. I dont think so. Gop primary here isnt just six days is in six days. We expect Justice Scalias death to become an issue. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are slamming the republicans plans to hald up a nominee. Erica . Gabe gutierrez, thank you. Chuck todd is moderator of meet the press. Andrea mitch sell in d. C. Good morning to both of you. Good morning. Je chuck, let me start with you. This race changed ,vernight. What does the death of Justice Scalia do this this election moving forward . Font front and center. This has been something that the candidate have been talking to base voters about. This eleetion more than anything else could determine the balance of the Supreme Court going forward. Its one of the older Supreme Courts that weve had in some time. Thats why this prediction has been made. Now with scalias death, it only reinforces that notion with voters. But it is going to throw washington into a tizzy. I think it could shut down the senate, essentially for the year if things go as badly as it could between what the president wants to do, what the Senate Republicans want to do. So i think its going to end up elevating the issue of the Supreme Court into a top five issue for the rest of the year. As it elevates that issue, drea, you could imagine that the candidate might have had a short list. In terms of president obama, does he have a short list of nominees at the ready . Absolutely. Every president has a short list. This iu the eventuality that but that people have to prepare for. Ev y white house counsel, everyone prepared a list. He has to make a decision, is he going to propose someone who would be more in his line of thinking or at this time as a lame duck, is he going to propose someone so centrist and universally respected that that person, he or she could be viable for confirmation if there were not a block of Mitch Mcconnell and chuck grsly, who within an hour of the untimely death saying they would not confirm anyone. The only thing the candidates agreed on is that president obama should not nominate nip for the high court. It was down right nasty at times, chuck. Who were the winners and who were the losers . It was nasty. Look, i think jeb bush and marco rubio came out on top as compared to everybody else. I think they were the most jeb bush had some of the better back and forths with trump so that also should garner him a little extra attention. What donald trump said about george w. Bush and 9 11 and george w. Bush about iraq is risky down there in South Carolina, craig. George w. Bush is popular there. Ill be curious to see how trump is faring in the polls in the next couple of days to see if this has an impact. Very quickly to followup on what andrea said. Keep an eye on merrick garland. Hes a judge in the d. C. Circuit. He has been the president s backup plan for some time. He has always been identified as the judge he would nominate if dealing with a republican senate. If the president goes down that road, that tells you he wants to get somebody cop firmed well all be watching. Big thanks to both of you. You can catch chuck on meet the press. He will be talking with marco that bitter blast of freezing cold air continues to impact tens of millions of people had this morning. The good news, it should soon be over. But the bad news, theyre going to have to make it through today before you see that relief. Dylan has more on that. Good morning, guys. Were breaking records all over and all across the northeast. Came in with an arctic front that moved through yesterday that caused a pileup back through parts of eastern pennsylvania. This was out near harrisburg. Three people were killed in this 50car yo pileup. A front moved through, dropped visibility instantly and made things difficult and dangerous on the road. That is that arctic front dragging down this cold air from canada. Temperatures ill warm up from here on out. Today as cold as its going to get. Watertown at 29 degrees below zeto. Bottomed out at 37 below. That breaks the record. New york city, minus 1. That breaks the record. Bo on, we broke a record of minus 9. Were really crushing the records. As early as tuesday, with the next storm system moving in, its not going to be snowstorm for the northeast. Temperatures will warm into the 50s. Well see rain by tuesday. Wow. Thank you. Weird winter. Very strange. A strong earthquake has jolted the new zealand city of christchurch. 5. 7 quake was caught on cameras as it shook cars and homes. It also collapsed cliffs along the coast. No serious damage or injuries were reported. The front man for the eagles of death metal is now speaking out about the terrorist attack at the bataclan theater in paris. This as the band in app interview, jesse hughes describes racing from the stage only to meet a gunman face to face. The door shut behind me. I was trying to back up very sneaky. But he noticed me. I just waited for the shot to hit me. When he went to pull his rifle down, the barrel of his gun hit the door frame. The musician also offering an emotional tribute to those caught in the theater that night. I didnt see anyone doing anything cowardly. I saw people doing some of the most beautiful things that a person can do. For lack of a better way to describe it, my friend died very beautifully. The band began the new tour in stockholm last night. Three month to the de in the paris attacks. Dylan is back. Out west, warmer weather. The flip side of this situation we have in the northeast. Weve got temperatures that will get into the 80s in the southwest. This huge ridge in the jet stream is allowing temperatures to warm up. 85 in l. A. Today. 15 degrees above average. Las vegas up to 77. Portland, 56. Thats actually 5 degrees above average. We have snow developing. Well see snow through st. Louis into chicago and eventually into the northeast. We could see a couple of inches much you want to stay safe on the road today back through the midwest. Thats a look at the forecast. Dangerous cold and windchill values this morning. It feels as cold as 35 below. North and west of town. Stay inside. It does get better this afternoon. Less windy and windchills above zero. Overnigh