grassley, for the senator from indiana, mr. donnelly. hearing no further debate, all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is agreed to. the question occurs on amendment number

john: what do you think flipped grassley to get a hearing? nina: it does not have to flip grassley. it has to flip mcconnell and that is a harder proposition. i don't think people bump mcconnell unless there is a complete revolution, unless they think this becomes a major electoral issue, and i still have a hard time believing it is ever a major electoral issue. except for the true believers who are already decided anyway. this is a process. the white house did not just release tape of merrick garland talking about being a judge. it also released tape of him at essentially ground zero at the oklahoma city bombing. the president talked about that in his remarks. you could see, when the president was talking, you could see that was the moment when judge garland actually almost lost his composure. he feels very passionately about being somebody to protect victims and convict the guilty. he is a judge, but he was a prosecutor all of his life. they will ride that horse to town, you can be sure of that. ron: there are a couple of republicans we have heard today that have broken with senat

leahy: i will let senator reid and senator grassley speak for themselves. i remember when i was chairman of the judiciary committee, i made a decision of one names -- when names would come up, and wouldn't, and come up for a vote and i make sure they did. that's is not happening now. i cannot imagine if i was chairman, with a republican president, whether it was an election year or not, saying if you nominate someone for the supreme court, we are even going to have a hearing on it. if i did, certainly in vermont, people would say i was being totally irresponsible. i realize that senator mcconnell, who, after all, said his primary goal is that president obama fails, has said no. that is not what the constitution says. mr. bresnahan: you mentioned mcconnell. in the meeting with yourself, president obama, vice president biden, and senator reid, he said to you democrats that you are hypocrites on this, basically, that in this meeting, the only four that had filibustered a supreme court nomination were you four democrats. what is your response? sen. leahy: easy

grassley -- who heads the judiciary committee -- has said he will not consider a nominee until after the presidential election. president obama would like to make the replacement before then. senate majority leader mitch mcconnel will also be there for the partially and mostly snow covered roads in northern and northeastern iowa this morning. snow will continue to lift north and east out of the state through 8 am. the northwestern us has another storms system coming on shore today with strong storms moving across arkansas this morning. temperatures will be very chilly in the upper midwest today as another cold blast sinks south for the start of march. people in the grimes area will forward to. this land along highway 141 is where a new y-m-c-a facility was supposed to go up. knapp properties donated the land a decade ago, but the "y" still rents out space at the grimes community center. now the "y" says it's selling the land, and ditching the project completely. in a statement released yesterday, the company said it will put the money toward other projects already underway -- which c

reporter: grassley is chairman of judiciary committee. republicans, democrats and mitchell,, grassley and the republicans will have the final say on whether garland gets a closer look now. with the many unknowns until november, that could be risky. >> i would rather have a left liberal nominee blake merrick garland rather than senator clinton. >> the failure to do their job and give judge garland for consideration it deserves ties them to a child anyway he can not say no. >> nothing will happen. while several gop lawmakers say they are willing to meet with the chief judge. the chairman of the judiciary says maybe, maybe not. but majority leader mitch mcconnell says he simply won't. lauren nicole, back to you. nicole: thank you very much. back to the latest legal battle with apple. engineers may resist helping law enforcement if they get the iowans support site forcing apple to unlock terror attack. david petraeus speaking on fox business news show. they highlight the tension between privacy and national security. >> to decrypt what someon

now, chairman ted grassley, at least the white house yesterday said that grassley's office had said grassley planned to meet with the nominee in a couple weeks after the senate recess, but grassley this morning made it very clearly that he made no such promise, that when he spoke to garland personally on the phone yesterday he said garland should call him back after the recess is over and check in with him again, and they would decide how to go forward from there. >> woodruff: now a few republican senators have said that they will meet with him. is that right? just handful. >> just handful. about five or six. susan collins of maine, who has been known for a long time to be ad many rat from the very outset she said she thinks the nominee, whomever obama picks, should get a full confirmation process, should get a full confirmation hearing, should get a confirmation vote, so it's no surprise she reiterated this week that she would meet with merrick garland. three senators that are running in battleground states in 2016 said they would go ahead and meet with garland, kelly aidea aidea -- ayotte

grassley chairs the powerful senate committee that holds hearings for nominees. the president plans to nominate someone -- but republicans say they won't vote on it. so what came out of yesterday's get together at the white house? republican position, i added a president as well as from our side that it wasn't a meeting where we were trying to change people's minds. democrats say the president is willing to consider a list of names -- if republicans have one. demonstrators settle in outside the supreme court where today -- justices hear arguments on abortion. today, the court will review a texas case. the focus is whether laws that restrict abortions to promote women's health are truly in the interest back in iowa -- state lawmakers are taking a hard look at a bill more than 90 business leaders sent lawmakers a letter, asking them to debate and pass it. the bill would give the state the authority to create two growing facilities and give medical cannabis oil to people who need it. iowa lawmakers are looking at a bill that could allow 17-year olds to vote in state

charles grassley says he is opening to meeting with garland. john: there won't be another fox news calendar in trump says he will unite the party. barbara: the ncaa tournament is off today and raleigh is hosting the first and second round games. john: u.n.c. is among the teams here and they hope for a slam dunk for the local economy. gloria rodriguez is live outside p.n. p.n.c. arena with more. gloria: you were mentioning u. u.n.c. they play tonight against florida gulf coast and it is a big day for local basketball fans but for all basketball basketball fans from around the country will visit the capital city for the first two rounds of the ncaa basketball tournament. p.n.c. arena is hosting games today and saturday. you will see tournament banners downtown and local businesses hope for an economic boost. in 2014 we raleigh last hosted the tournament 17,000 people visited greater raleigh. the executive director of the greater raleigh sports alliance said it generated more than $4 million in direct visitor spending. they are asking restaurants

some republicans say they will not kaeupgchange their minds on a hearing or vote but charles grassley says he is open to meeting with garland. michigan's governor will be on the hot seat when he testifies in washington about his role in the water crisis in flint. according to prepared testimony he blames a failure of government at all levels. and auto makers expected to make a major announcement today that they plan to make automatic equipment on most cars by 2022. it uses cameras, radar and other sensors to see objects and slow or stop a vehicle if the driver doesn't. john: police departments across the area are starting to use body cameras. it is an issue that hit close to home after an officer involved shooter in raleigh. envision enterprise is one of two dozen companies trying to get the contract with the police. he says their camera and software do not just handle the video capture, it stores it as well. that is one of the biggest hurdles for many cities and counties. but the price tag tort pilot program is $5 million over five years. >> a lot of concern that $5 million is dedica

senator grassley, i need about 30 seconds. senator grassley: senator hatch will make a short statement. senator hatch: really just a closing statement. that is i have one last request for you to take back to the department. it's been nearly two years since the department began working on revisions to the ascap and b.m.i. consent decrees and i'd like to ask you to consider this. will you please confirm what your subject matter experts and circle back with an update on when the revisions are expected and will be completed, i'd appreciate that if you will do that. ms. lynch: i will. senator grassley: senator feinstein. senator feinstein: welcome, madam attorney general. it's good to see you again. i want to thank you by thanking you and hopefully you will thank the head of the f.b.i. for the f.b.i.'s strong position on the issue of encryption and a probable cause court order. it is my deep belief that no american company is above the law and that that particular industry should comply. i wanted to ask you a couple of questions. g

grassley: because town halls aren't about senator grassley. they're about hearing from iowans that many a proud to serve -- that i'm proud to serve. they're about hearing about real problems that my constituents have and, of course, then from our end trying to find practical solutions to those problems. and that's what i work on every day, and i suppose all of my colleagues would say that's what they work on every day. on many occasions at my town hall meetings in recent years, iowans have asked me why the senate never gets anything done. both parties probably shoulder some of the blame for this attitude out there at the grass roots. but the reality is that the most obvious, the most glaring, the most unmistakable reason for the senate's recent paralysis is the way that democratic leader reid ran it before he was toppled as majority leader. when the democratic leader was in control of the senate, he was one who decided not to empower his committee chairs to craft and advance bipartisan legislation. he decided not to give all members, republica

senator chuck grassley, of iowa, chairs the judiciary committee, which holds hearings on supreme court nominees. grassley was at a white house meeting, along with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, senate democrats harry reid and patrick leahy and vice president joe biden. republicans say they think the next president should fill the vacancy on the court. it's the first time the leaders have met since justice antonin scalia's death, last month. (matt) still to come on live at five... another feather in the cap of the hard rock hotel. triple-a offers a glowing the hard rock hotel and casino is now the fourth hotel in iowa from triple-a. (sheila) the rating follows an unannouced evaluation from triple-a back in 2015. triple-a described the hard rock hotel as "refined, stylish with upscale physical attributes." hard rock general manager todd moyer says this honor wasn't possible without the hard work, and presence, of the team members. "people feel welcomed, they make others feel welcome. it's about showing people a great experience. memberable experiences, that's our mission stateme

if anyone knows his own mind, it is senator chuck grassley. he has served on the judiciary committee longer than all but four senators in the committee's history. no one is more dedicated to the judiciary committee and to the senate than chuck grassley is. each of us is entitled to our own opinions or positions on issues that come before this body, even controversial ones. each of us can feel as strongly as we want about those issues, but i want to categoryically reject the notion that a difference of opinion means that someone like senator grassley is compromising the integrity or independence of the judiciary committee. that comes very close to impugning his character and that sort of attack is beneath the dignity of this body because everybody in this body knows that chuck grassley is a man of great character, great honesty, great service, hard work, and care for this wonderful country. it's irritating to me to see the personal attacks that have been made. i don't think we should be personally attacking each other. we can find fault with ea

republicans -- including senator grassley -- who chairs the committee that considers court appointments -- want that decision to be up to the next president. the senate majority and minority leaders will also be at today's meeting. we've been told they'll also talk about the drug problem in this country. senator grassley's office says more than 47- thousand americans died from overdoses in 2014 -- an all-time high. his office says that's more deaths than from car crashes or gun violence. new this morning... new records say a university of iowa public safety director did not cooperate with other officers. they say david visin refused to pull over -- driving with his stepson in june. officers were looking for his stepson after his truck was involved in a hit and run crash. instead of stopping, he allegely dropped his stepson off at a gas station. he says he didn't know anything testimony continues this morning in the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife. alex fazzino is on trial. his wife --emily -- was found dead in their home in boone four years ago. the defense --which claims h

they would not take orders from some republican leader or donald trump, and now senator grassley just capitulate on it, and whatever o'connell wants, that is what i will do. fernando: this is your final year here. what is a pending, major item in your agenda you would like to see past? sen. reid: i would, first of all, like to see some degree of order. i would hope we could do funding of the government without a lot of fanfare. i hope something on comprehensive immigration reform. i've spent more time on copper has immigration reform that anything else. fernando: thank you for inviting us here today. i appreciate it. senator reid has long been a proponent for immigration reform. next month, the supreme court will hear arguments in a case challenging the president's executive actions on the issue. the ruling could come down in june, just weeks before the presidential conventions. announcer: coming up, could clinton's candidacy be hacked by her e-mail controversy? >> hillary clinton is not going to go down with a -- without a fight. announcer and, stealing union : members back from trum

deciding who will replace the late supremecourt justice antonin scalia, who died last month.so far, grassley and other republicans have vowed to block any nominee, saying the next president should choose.obama is expected to try to take time tw try to negotiate with the senators. apple receivededa big win in its fight against the f-b-i. f-b-i.a federal judge has ruled that investigators *cannot force the company to unlock an phone owned by a york.that comes after another judge ruled it must comply with the feds, to unlock the i-phone that was used by san bernardino attacker syed farook.apple says creating that software would invade the prpracy of applelecustumers. attorney's in new york are investigating cases involving 175 apple products, with encryptions similar to syed farook's i-phone. right now, the man who could be the next leader of the university of iowa police department is accused of interfering with a criminal investigation. investigation.the case involves interim public safety director david (vih-sin) visin. the incident happened in june when visin allegedly tried to cover for hi

they would not take orders from some republican leader or donald trump, and now senator grassley just capitulate on it, and whatever o' connell wants, that is what i will do. fernando: this is your final year here. what is a pending, major item in your agenda you would like to see past? sen. reid: i would, first of all, like to see some degree of order. i would hope we could do funding of the government without a lot of fanfare. i hope something on reform. i' ve spent more time on copper has immigration reform that anything else. fernando: thank you for inviting us here today. i appreciate it. senator reid has long been a proponent for immigration reform. next month, the supreme court will hear arguments in a case challenging the president' s executive actions on the issue. the ruling could come down in june, just weeks before the presidential conventions. announcer: coming up, could >> hillary clinton is not going fight. announcer and, stealing union s most powerful player deliver the vote? mrs. clinton: thank you all so much. fernando: democratic candidate hillary clinton, under scr

senator grassley released this statement after the meeting. in the six years since obama has appointed two justices, the american people's disapproval of the supreme court jumped from 28 percent disapproval in 2009 to 50 percent disapproval in 2015 dog owners in one community are on egde after numerous large dogs have gone missing. the owners believe they've been kidnapped. kwwl's shirley descorbeth is live from the t-h media newsroom shirley....this is happening just over the border in grant, county wisconsin. you went there today... that's right. dog owners who live in cuba city aren't taking this lightly. i spoke to one couple who are taking extra precautions after hearing of the dog nappings. take a look at this sign... it reads -- attention dog napper, my other dog, is a glock! the sign is posted right in front of the married couple's home. their dog is this large yellow labrador -- a beloved member of their family. his owners say they recently saw a suspicious car driving back and forth -- possibly related to the reported dog thefts. and

they would not take orders from some republican leader or donald trump, and now senator grassley just capitulate on it, and connell wants, that is what i will do. fernando: this is your final year here. what is a pending, major item in see past? sen. reid: i would, first of all, like to see some degree of order. of the government without a lot of fanfare. i hope something on comprehensive immigration reform. i' ve spent more time on copper has immigration reform that anything else. fernando: thank you for inviting us here today. i appreciate it. senator reid has long been a proponent for immigration reform. next month, the supreme court challenging the president' s executive actions on the issue. the ruling could come down in june, just weeks before the presidential conventions. announcer: coming up, could clinton' her e-mail controversy? >> hillary clinton is not going fight. announcer and, stealing union s most powerful player deliver the vote? mrs. clinton: thank you all so much. fernando: democratic candidate hillary clinton, under scrutiny for her e-mail controversy as secretary

judiciary committee chair chuck grassley has said he will refuse to hold confirmation hearings until the next president -- until the next president takes office. democrats appear to be launching a campaign to force grassley to reconsider this position by threatening his re-election in iowa later this year. on thursday, news spread across washington that former iowa lieutenant governor patty judge will challenge grassley in the iowa senate race. this comes only one day after news leaked that the white house is considering nominating prominent iowa jurist jane kelly, whom grassley has publicly endorsed in 2013 during her confirmation to the united states court of appeals for the eighth circuit. the justice department has asked the fbi to evaluate whether oil giant exxon mobil broke federal laws by lying to investors and the public about climate change. the move comes in response to a request from california congressmen ted lieu and mark desaulnier, who have sought a investigation of exxon mobil following exposes by inside climate news and the los angeles times revealing exxon knew that

grassley is the chairman of the senate judiciary committee. why he won't hold hearings for any supreme court candidate president obama nominates. steve: warren county voters decide on possibly raising the county sales tax one% tomorrow. -- 1% tomorrow. the money from the local option sales tax would go toward city improvements and public safety. the greater des moines ymca says its closing its grimes program center april 30. the center opened in 2008. the ymca hoped to build a new the present time. current grimes members have the next two months to transition to another ymca. tournament is underway from iowa's sports leader, this is kcci 8 sports. two more games still to come -- the girls state best alternate got underway tonight. andy: scott reister has her coverage. reporter: i am thinking about dying my hair blue. reporter: the mustangs came in with blue hair. this team is looking for their second straight state championship. class one a quarterfinals. in the second quarter, abby with a strong move inside. third quarter, maggie. in the end,

iowa senator charles grassley is mcconnell. republicans have argued the decision should be left to the next president. this picture was just sent in moments ago. senator grassley's meeting just ended and steve karlin is meeting with the senator for an interview. look for exclusive live coverage from stephen washington tonight on kcci at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00. it may be the first of march, but mother nature delivered a little reminder that winter isn't over yet. snow north of the metro caused problems for drivers. here in des moines things were not nearly as bad for the morning commute. this is a look at road conditions from around 8:30 this morning. you can see a lot of partially and totally snow covered roads, especially to the northeast. but things are continuing to improve. let's check in with frank. i understand the more snow for the rest of the day but it is bitterly cold. waves, we are willing down. the bulk of the moisture was to the north of the metro. just cloudy skies over the state and it is very chilly. you wrap up

iowa senator chuck grassley doubled down today on his position of not considering a supreme court nominee until the next president takes office. today, he joined senate majority leader mitch mcconnell at a meeting with presididt obama at the white house. the understanding from both the president and from our side that it wasn't a meeting where we were trying to change people's minds ... " grassley is the chair of the senate judiciary committee. he and other republicans ve said they will not hold hearings s any nominee while president obama is in office. they want the american people to have a say in the next supreme court justice. but democrats argue the people had that say when they elected barack obama, and it's the senate's constitutiona l responsibility to consider a nominee to replace the late justice antonin scalia. the iowa city council still hasn't decided whether to move forward with a controversial piece of artwork. right now, the council is discussing a plan to contribute 50-thousand dollars ... to help spur fundraising efforts for "the lens." the 30-feet tall sculpture would g

senator grassley wants to wait until after a new president is selected to consider a nominee. senator harry reid wants the senate to do its job now. both sides say they have the constitution on their side. nevada "we have that nasty little constitution that says they are obligated to hold hearings, they're obligated to vote that's what it saysgrassley from tonslite 05:25-05:41 we have the role of advice and consent. so that consent can be voting for the nominee, it can be voting against the nominee, or particular point and we're inclined to do the latter. that stance will again be put to the test. senator reid says president obama is closer to selecting his nominee for the supreme court. the director of the university of iowa's department of public safety is accused of interfering with a drunk-driving investigation... the incident happened in june but this was just now made public... channel 13's mike dasilva joins us.... mike.. this started out with an investigating into the director's step son... that's right...this all started when a johnson county sheriff's deputy heard ra

i think the one thing -- you know, senator grassley previously today indicated he mused outloud about whether or not somebody was listening in on his phone call with chief judge garland. i can assure you that, of course, is not true. it was a one-on-one phone call. but, you know, i would hope that despite political differences that chairman grassley will fulfill his responsibility and be able to work with the prowse to at least begin the process of scheduling a meeting with chief judge garland. >>> michigan governor rick snyder and environmental protection agency administrator gina mccarthy testified today about contaminated drinking water in flint, michigan. you can watch that house oversight and government reform committee hearing tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >>> this week, to mark st. patrick's day, president obama, vice president joe biden, and house speaker paul ryan joined irish prime minister kenney at a reception on capitol hill. this is 30 minutes. i want to welcome everyone to the capitol today. i've before going to this luncheon for many years and it's an honor to hos

republicans -- including senator grassley -- who chairs the committee that considers court appointments -- want that decision to be up to the next president. the senate majority and minority leaders will also be at talk about the drug problem in this country. senator grassley's office says more than 47- thousand americans died from overdoses in 2014 -- an all-time high. his office says that's more deaths than from car crashes or gun violence. new this morning... new records say a university of iowa public safety director did not cooperate with other officers. they say david visin refused to pull over -- driving with his stepson in june. officers were looking for his stepson after his truck was involved in a hit and run crash. instead of stopping, he allegely station. he says he didn't know anything about the crash at the time... and didn't stop because he's testimony continues this morning in the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife. alex fazzino is on trial. his wife --emily -- was found dead in their home in boone four years ago. the defense --which claims her death was an acc

of iowa, what are the realistic chances chuck grassley -- that judge garland it's a hearing at this point? >> very slim. the entire nomination process is being shaped by the republican presidential race where you have seen voters have an uprising against the establishment. this is another case where they are being put to the test whether they will cave in to the president or stand up against him. it seems like based on the republican presidential nomination that republicans have the incentive to stand their ground. that is what mitch mcconnell said he would do a few minutes ago. thank you so much. by our journalists. thank you so much. back to you in london. mark: thank you my much. coming up over this. exploring what this would mean ahead of the bank of england policy decision. all eyes are on the bed today. will janet yellen change the outlook for interest rate or will she stay the course? we will take you live to westminster. more budget reaction from chose, chairman of the office of budget responsibility. ♪ mark: live from london and new york. i am mark barton. you are watchin

he's firmly on senator grassley and mcconnell's side of not moving forward. i've learned that the judicial crisis network, a conservative outside group will be launching a $2 million ad buy in the coming weeks. they have already gone on air to give cover to blue state senators in tough re-election races in saying that -- praising them for standing firm against the president and also criticizing the nominee. so you're going to see certainly a two-front war for republicans. on one front, the republican senators will say, we should not move forward with anyone whatsoever. let's not even debate the qualifications. and then on the outside, you're going to see some attacks about the merits of that nominee. that's the way the republicans can push back against what will be a very furious democratic response against those senators who are up for re-election because democrats believe that is the one way they can get this dynamic to change if those senators are up for re-election and begin to cave, technically chuck grassley of iowa. right now republicans are not showin

>> do we know when that meeting will happen with chuck grassley? >> we do not. we just know he spoke with him by phone and publicly said i will meet with him. but it is different than any other supreme court battle we have seen. >> ari, thanks so much. from new york. let's flip over to washington. president obama's court pick is meeting with democrats today. merrick garland just wrapped up a meeting in fact on capitol hill with senator patrick deahy, ranking member, as ari just said, ranking member of the senate judiciary committee. let's break in luke russert on that. what did we learn from pat leahy? >> if this was a normal process, he would come here and this would be the first step. you meet the member of the party of the president who is relevant on the judiciary committee. in this case, senator leahy of vermont. they had a very positive meeting. senator leahy said he with like to see a confirmation vote done by may 25th. mitch mcconnell will not allow that to happen. and take a listen to lachey's comments on the meeting. >> an unprecedented number of reces

. >> chuck grassley do? he is up. he has to think about a general election now. >> he does have to worry about a general election but you don't want to hurt all your base. so i think grassley will stay put. this is a base election for both sides. and i don't think garland will bring out those activists in any way, shape or form on either side. that's probably a good thing. some people care about process, not many voters. they care more about bigger issues. this is not going to be about the supreme court. this is about economics and what are you going to do for me personally and have you been a good senator. one of the thing is that hurt rubio is he spent so much time campaigning and not enough time being a senator which hurt him back in the missed state. >> i don't know about the missed votes hurt him, you're not doing the job we hired you to do, you're moving too fast in the age of obama. if there's no barak obama, i'm not sure that story line would hurt him. republicans believe barak obama moved up the chain way too

chuck grassley... is the chairman of the senate judiciary committee... and has pledged to block the president from filling the vacancy. and grassley has praised the judge in the past.. calling her a woman of high next up.. from the it reads... "texas trooper who arrested sandra bland officially fired." as you likely remember.. sandra bland was the black woman who was arrested.. and then later found dead in her jail cell. that led to numerous protests. trooper brian encina was indicted in the case.. on perjury charges... accused of lying about the arrest and the confrontation. so he was offically fired this week... after being on paid desk duty. he can appeal the decision. your final headline comes from "fox news." it reads-- "flight attendant accused of starting fire on american airlines plane." the suspect came forward this week-- a month after this all took place. the flight was on february first... out of dallas. the f-b-i says... a flight attendant was using a lighter to set bathroom paper-towels on fire. but then-- he reportedly put the fire out him

leland: you have applauded senators mcconnell and grassley. another person you applauded lately is donald trump. >> yes. leland: you recently endorsed him as president. interestingly enough though back last year he endorsed jeb bush for president. >> i did. leland: they are two very different men. we have 30 seconds. explain the big flip. >> you know, i was a career prosecutor. i guess you could call me part of the establishment now because i've been attorney general for five years. i had never run for office. i have always chosen the person that i support based on, not what i see in the paper, not what i read but the person i know. i know jeb bush. i have known jeb bush and his family for 15 years. i know his heart. i know what a great man he is and i know donald trump. and donald, i see how he interacts with his family. i see the, his employees love him. i know donald. and i believe that donald trump will be president for two reasons. he is going to get to 1237 here is why we have to have him. we can't have contested convention. two reasons.

republicans -- including senator grassley -- who chairs the committee that considers court decision to be up to the next president. the senate majority and minority leaders will also be at talk about the drug problem in this country. senator grassley's office says more than 47- thousand americans died from overdoses in 2014 -- an all-time high. his office says that's more deaths than from car crashes or gun violence. the family of late supreme court justice scalia will hold a memorial in his honor today. it will be at the mayflower hotel in washington d-c. scalia died on february 13-th in texas. multiple supreme court justices are expected to give remarks at the service. after ten years of silence...justice clarence thomas asks questions during supreme court oral arguments. he asked ten questions to a justice department attorney... who was defending a law dealing with domestic violence cases. in years past, thomas has offered several reasons for not asking questions from the bench....noting, for example, lawyers usually only have 30 minutes to present their cases. two men remain missin

he's demanding answers from investigators. >> we're prepared to be respond to senator grassley's letter that he sent. however, that doesn't change the fact of the thorough investigation that was done over the years and again these are hard things for families to come to grips with and that is totally understandable. >> senator grassley has given the police officer and fbi until march 18 toth respond to his questions about the case. we'll keep you posted on any new developments. >>> a study that links your risk of lung cancer with certain foods on your plate. researchers at the university of ate carbs with a high glycemic index have 49% higher risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer. those foods include white bread, rice and potatoes. and popcorn. smokers who ate the carbs had a 31% increased risk. more research is necessary to cause what might be behind that link. >>> this year the nation marks the 225th anniversary of the bill of rights. the name given to the first ten amendments to the u.s. constitution. in honor of the occasion the national archives has a new exhibit highlighting th

. >> reporter: that's chuck grassley from iowa. democrats say that the nominee should get a vetting process, even if they are not confirmed, they should at least have hearings, and we heard diane feinstein point out that there have been 14 justices confirmed in presidential election years. >> so i am appealing to the better angels of your nature. when there is a nominee, do as we have done in the past. give the nominee careful consideration. meet with the nominee. ask the nominee questions. hold a hearing, and then hold a vote, both here and on the floor. vote no if you want. but let's have the fair process that is our tradition. that's our job, and we should do it. >> reporter: senator feinstein says that in 100 years, no nominee has been denied at least a looking into. democrats and republicans totally divided on this issue, richelle. >> the president actually spoke about this, this morning. what did he have to say? >> reporter: yeah, he is siding with democrats, no surprise there. the president urging republicans to take a look

top among them, judiciary chair chuck grassley. nbc news has confirmed at least eight republican senators have said they're open to at least meeting with garland, though some say that may not be productive. senator grassley was quoted yesterday as saying if i can meet with a dictator in uganda, i can meet with a decent person in america. but still, several republicans are holding steadfast. utah's orrin hatch who has praised garland in past yesterday said he still supports his party's blockade. >> we have taken the position that the correct thing to do, the right thing to do, it's a principled position, is to put this on the next president, whoever that may be. it may be hillary clinton. so, you know, that's pretty reasonable approach. >>> there was plenty of finger pointing into the water crisis in flint, michigan. governor snyder said that the water was safe, this while the head of the epa, gina mccarthy accused the state of providing unreliable information. but ultimately conceded that the agency did not respond quickly enough.

i'm also told that chuck grassley of iowa also on the ballot is facing heat from democrats and he's starting to complain at a minimum that he's not getting enough cover from his republicans. >> this is the genius of the garland pick. not only is he imminently qualified as a judicial mind, i think that's fact. that's there. viewers can dispute that, but whatever. he's a brilliant legal mind. if you were at the white house and you're thinking, we need to find a guy who ticks off or causes trouble for mark kirk, kelly ayotte, rob portman and what the heck, chuck grassley, you found it because he's the chairman of the judiciary committee. he's up for re-election. iowans will not tolerate this. already there's been an editorial page -- essays about this saying just hold a hearing. you know who else probably wants a hearing? ted cruz. he's a member of the judiciary committee. what better than to go back to washington and quiz the guy that he'd like to block and earn some free air time in the process? so i suspect there will at least be a hearing. whether he gets a vote before the election, though,

the exclusive interview with grassley just ahead. good morning. thanks so much for joining us bright and early. elizabeth: it's 4:30 on wednesday, march 2. making little improvements you'd metinka: less what -- making little improvements. metinka: we picked up snow yesterday. now we are getting arctic air. that is the actual tap here in des moines. it is still seven. we'reitting at -- we may have crossed out there. by the afternoon, clouds moving back in. for a high today of 43. eric: first in commitment 2016 news. super tuesday numbers are in. hillary clinton has a total of 7 states, alabama, arkansas, georgia, tennessee, texas, virginia and massachusetts. bernie sanders has 4. colorado, oklahoma, vermont and minnesota. elizabeth: on the republican side a big night for donald trump. trump has won 7 states so far. marco rubio has just one state minnesota. and iowa caucus winner ted cruz won 3 states. we have team 8 super tuesday coverage. aixa diaz and sally kidd following both sides of the race in washington, d.c. we begin with aixa and the repub

. >>> chuck grassley has become a bigger target for democrats in the fight to fill the supreme court vacancy. former iowa lieutenant governor patty judge told "the des moines register" knee is now considering running against grassley this fall. during an interview with the advocate, caitlyn jenner said she likes ted cruz as a conservative and constitutionalist, but not on transgender issues offering her services as ambassador. jenner said let's say he goes on to become president and i have all my girls on a transissues board to advise him on making decisions when it comes to transissues. isn't that a good idea? no word on the offer from the cruz campaign. >>> and dr. ben carson's campaign winds down, jimmy kimmel read a story to help ease it to rest. >> in ben carson's bedroom, there is a phone and a red balloon. and ben and jesus jumping over the moon. good night, lion, good night crab, good night friend he tried to stab. good night tree, good night stump. good night america because here comes trump. >> that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." in washington i'm joined now

there are seven senate republicans, including the senate judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley up for re-election. he is now saying he is willing to sit down with garland, but they will reiterate they will not consider him as a nominee or any nominee for that matter right now. the white house believes there is a chance that some vulnerable republicans could be won over and public pressure will be strong. the white house is using twitter and special hash tags. the president had a special phone call with progressives. he urged them to get out and get their voices heard and work on this to show that garland should have a fair shot. it is strange. on the one hand, republicans are saying i don't know why we're talking about this. we made it clear we are not holding hearings. the white house expressing confidence the nominee will ultimately be confirmed. it will boil down to what do republicans see as their least damaging option. to consider this consensus nominee or wait and see if there is a democratic president and who they would bring forward. is it better to be seen as not obstr

interestingly, grassley is already firing back. wait a second, you look at the "the new york times" today that suggests the fbi investigation of clinton's e-mail is coming to a head. grassley said she should be focused on talking to the foobi and changing the tone of her campaign rather than coming after him. >> there's actually a lot of new information and in a pretty in-depth "washington post" piece today on how the whole blackberry problem started, ed. >> yeah, they talked about the beginning of the obama situation. what they call as mahogany row, the seventh floor, the secretary's office in the state department in washington. it's supposed to be a secure area. there have been years before the obama administration, they had basically gotten a listening device in there. they were concerned about clinton using that blackberry. saying, quote, our review rearm fifths our belief that the vulnerabilities and risks associated with the use of blackberrys in mahogany row considerably outweigh the convenience their use can add. any unqual

but in a speech on the senate floor in 2013, senator grassley highly praised the long time public defender from his home state and she was confirmed unanimously to her current position as a federal appellate judge. the white house has not commented on any reports of potential nominees. >>> now to a new twist in the $75 million lawsuit brought by sportscaster erin andrews after a stalker secretly taped her naked in her hotel room. there are new allegations that an executive of the company that opened the hotel who just testified in the case was seen in public tuesday watching that stalker's video with friends while they commented on it. nbc's morgan radford bring us the details. >> reporter: run arriving at the courthouse for day six of testimony. but there would be a delay. and a bombshell. >> do you have any comment? >> reporter: neal peskind had testified on monday. >> so the owner was the franchisee? >> correct. >> reporter: he and two friends were at a restaurant where the video was played openly from a cell phone. a waitress said that peskind and his friends were making fun of andrews

. >>> ahead of the speech urging republican lawmakers to hold hearings on the nominee, chuck grassley told politico quote, with all of the troubles she's getting on e-mail and the fbi's going to question her, i would imagine she'd want to change the tone of her campaign. as expected, clinton returned fire in wisconsin saying this about the republican senator from iowa. >> senator chuck grassley, the head of the judiciary committee, could hold a hearing tomorrow if he wanted. but he says we should wait for a new president because and i quote, the american people shouldn't be denied a voice. well, as one of the more than 65 million americans who voted to re-elect barack obama, i'd say my voice is being ignored right now because of their obstructionism. >>> last night, president obama chose the dias of one of the most prestigious places of journalism. while speaking at the toner awards dinner, he called on the fourth estate to hold themselves to the higher standard and while taking some responsibility for the divisive culture in american politics, he called on american companies to inves

chuck grassley and john cornyn. and they said it would be a mistake to consider garland during the lame duck session after the elections. grassley called it intellectually dishonest since the republican party line all along has been to let the people decide in the upcoming election. other republican sources i've spoken to have said garland has the best chance of getting through in a lame duck if a democrat is elected president so we'll certainly have to see what happens here. >> pamela brown, we'll be watching. >>> announcing that nomination, president obama talked about garland's work at the justice department where he oversaw the federal spbs to the oklahoma city bombing. in the aftermath of the devastation that left 168 people dead, including many children, the president noted how garland worked side by side with first responders and served a community that was in obvious, horrible pain. >> merrick also made a concerted effort to reach out to the victims and their families. updating them frequently on the case's

my ultimate point is chairman grassley understands the stakes are significant, he has a constitutional responsibility and the recent precedent, modern history of the supreme court, is clear. hopefully he will be willing to abide by it. >> considering fidel castro lived through 11 presidents from eisenhower to barack obama, even for historical purposes might the president meet with the leader of cuba? >> it is not likely to end up on the schedule but we are working -- if it changes we will let you know. we will let you get started on your weekend. >> we start a weekend after that? >> i don't know what goes on back there. >> on behalf of my colleagues we really don't. >> hopefully we will soon get started on your weekend. on monday the president will host a meeting at the white house just referenced, with financial regulators, received an update on implementing wall street reform, eight years after the worst financial crisis since the great depression participants will discuss severance to continue to implement the strongest consumer financial protections in history that afforded million

when senator grassley says well, we called together the republicans on judiciary committee, some were reluctant to sign the letter say we're not going to neat with these people, tells me a lot are having second thoughts. >> i saw a number of reactions today of disappointment. people feeling that judge garland who is acclaimed and respected and obviously has tremendous experience, is a judge whose both judicial philosophy particularly on criminal defense is perhaps not as in line with what liberals would like to see and who is at the older end of the scale in which presidents tend to make these nominations. is this essentially a compromise before the negotiations start? >> no. i think what the president set out to do is to look through the potential nominees and find the person, the most solid candidate he could find, so it became difficult, if not impossible, for republicans to argue he wasn't qualified or ready for the job. and merrick garland, he found that person. now those who are hoping that we're going to have a person very liberal or very this or very that, you know, that isn't

chuck grassley and john cornyn. and they said it would be a mistake to consider garland during the lame duck session after the elections. grassley called it intellectually dishonest since the republican party line all along has been to let the people decide in the upcoming election. other republican sources i've spoken to have said garland has the best chance of getting through in a lame duck if a democrat is elected president so we'll certainly have to see what happens here. >> pamela brown, we'll be watching. >>> announcing that nomination, president obama talked about garland's work at the justice department where he oversaw the federal response to the oklahoma city bombing. in the aftermath of the devastation that left 168 people dead, including many children, the president noted how garland worked side by side with first responders and served a community that was in obvious, horrible pain. >> merrick also made a concerted effort to reach out to the victims and their families. updating them frequently on the cas

i don't think this does anything to pressure grassley to do it. they need a hearing, and grassley needs to feel it is a political imperative for him to hold a hearing. >> point out that although we love joe biden, the argument he made about what he said in the past was not compelling on its own. >> as we say in delaware, nice try. >> yeah, right. >> didn't quite work. >>> coming up, what do wisconsin and new york have in common, the upcoming contests we're watching very closely. the look at the political calendar, coming up after this word from our sponsors. allergies distracting you? when your symptoms start... doctors recommend taking ...non-drowsy claritin every day of your allergy season. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy 24 hour relief... for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day. live claritin clear. i am benedict arnold, the infamous traitor. and i know a thing or two about trading. so i trade with e*trade, where true traders trade on a trademarked trade platform that has all the... get off the computer traitor!

thinking is it will become particularly hard for senator grassley to defend that stance about holding this vacancy open on the supreme court no matter who the nominee is. the thinking is that will become particularly hard for him to defend if the nominee is someone he praises as qualified to be a federal judge. i bring this up not only because it's news, and it's an interesting story about what might happen on the supreme court, i also bring it up to show, to prove to you that there are some aspects of what's going on in the news right now that are kind of normal. where even on very important matters political figures are taking interesting and explicable political action designed to elicit political responses from their political opponents and we can game out how it might work or how it might not work. i've just proved to you, i've at least just shown you, in some aspects of our nation, politics even at the extreme end of politics where we're, like, keeping supreme court vacancies open for a year, politics in some normal, understandable level proceeds in our country right now which i