leahy: no. host: now they are calling it the biden rule. sen. leahy: yeah, we actually -- they raised that with president obama and vice president biden, and they said read the whole speech. it makes it very clear that if we got past the election, then it raised the question, but he was confirming -- and there was no supreme court nomination at that point -- but he was confirming the republican president's nominees right up through september. it is not dissimilar from when the democrats took back over control of the senate at the end of president reagan's term, and in the presidential election year, we brought onto the floor justice anthony kennedy, and every single democrat voted for justice kennedy. host: let me turn over to john bresnahan. mr. bresnahan: senator leahy, i want to talk about some of the very personal nature of the fight now over the impending supreme court nomination. a number of democrats have gone to the floor, including minority leader harry reid, and personally criticized t

mysterious about leahy. he cringes when you bring up sports. not because he's losing, his basketball team is ranked ninth nationally. his soccer team finished first in the nation. but leahy believes it is education that saves lives. devionne johnson is a sophomore we met in his downtown neighborhood. >> devionne johnson: this neighborhood is gang infested. >> pelley: devionne lives with his grandmother, a mile from st. benedict's and a doorstep from trouble. you know when we drove up here and we got out in the parking lot and, we couldn't help but notice this. nine-millimeter right here in front of your house. >> johnson: yeah. >> pelley: you hear gunfire around here much? >> johnson: yeah. >> pelley: what have you seen? >> johnson: ten years in this neighborhood, i feel like i've seen it all. all it is the same situation, different faces. >> pelley: so how do you stay clear of that? >> johnson: first, you have to realize what type of person you want to be in life. >> pelley: devionne realized what kind of p

leahy: mr. president, as the senator may well recall, he was here when i was chairman of the judiciary committee in 2001, during president bush's administration. the ranking member was senator hatch. we put together an agreement about how the committee would consider supreme court nominees. we wrote the judiciary committee's traditional practice has been to report supreme court nominees to the senate. once the committee has completed consideration. this has been true even in cases where supreme court nominees were opposed by a majority of the judiciary committee. does the senator recall that at that time the republican leader in the senate even read that letter into the record -- senator lott -- to say this is the way the senate should operate? mr. durbin: i do remember that. mr. leahy: thank you. i appreciate that. mr. durbin: mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i come to the floor this morning because of the

sure.r leahy: got to make it different. otherwise the best trained test educated young people are going to leave. the whole country will suffer. history will blame the cuban leaders. i guarantee you it will be a two step forward, one step backwards process. it will still be better. they are allowed to keep in touch, i have met with many of them. at the u.s.ou wish had insisted the prisoners would be released? senator leahy: the big mistake we have made for 50 years is saying to the cubans here is a 20 point list of things you have to do. that is never going to happen. they can say that was you have to close one time obey. that is not going to happen on our site. is it a democracy? of course not. that it is a lot further than it was even a decade ago. anchor: how has president obama's trip gone down with cuban-americans back in the u.s.? there has been protests in little havana in miami. there are also those who think it is time for fresh thinking. >> protest is a way of life for the cuban exiles in little havana. for decade

now it's our turn to do ours. >> i'll be talking to senator leahy in a few moments. nbc's kelly o'donnell following all of this for us. what more do we know about the strategy to get garland confirmed as we see him go into the harry reid's office. >> we will see democrats from the senate and certainly broader in the party outside groups as well keeping up the pressure, day by day, and particularly targeting senate republicans who are up for re-election in tough races, and that will be a key part of the argument against them. if in fact republicans obstruct the garland nomination and don't give him even a hearing and that is certainly where it stands right now. part of what complicates this, merrick garland has been praised by many republicans over time. he is someone who gets the respect of both parties, and in a different time and place might be quite easily confirmed. but that isn't the situation now because of a larger issue. he would be replacing antonin scalia, the conversation, really the heart and soul of the conservative wing of the supreme court, and this op

earlier in the data ranking day the ranking member of the committee, patrick leahy met with the judge and spoke to reporters after the meeting. >> i know you may have questions but i just had a good meeting with the judge. i've known him for a long time but we had a couple interesting conversations. we are both former prosecutors and i followed him very closely in oklahoma city during a stint of creating legislation in the emergency fund for the communities hit by terrorism which has expanded since then that i watched the professional way that he handled what could have been a real problem. i said what happens now? i know the answer but when you are a judge or a prosecutor, what do you do, and he said you look at each case by itself so i fooled with the government sometimes and against the government. to me, that's why the recommended judges in vermont obviously at a different level. i've always said we'd make a difference coming in. so patrick leahy he or patrick smith coming forward and that's where i want a supreme court justice. so i am pleased with the president's nomination. i t

but pat leahy getting support. we heard richard blumenthal talking about what he feels about moving forward with trying to see something happen with this nomination especially with the hearing and not waiting for any type of lame duck session. coming up after the fall election. so bob, i just wanted to get that in quickly so everybody could know how things are moving forward with judge garland on the hill. but let's get back to your reporting about this. you mentioned that cpac was a part of this meeting. donald trump skipped going to cpac this year. they expected him to come. but talk about who primarily was at this meeting, what elected officials are a part of this strategy. and did they really come up with a clear path that doesn't back fire on them? because so far, all these conservative pacs have spent millions of dollars and it has done nothing to stop him. >> according to attendees, who spoke to him as they came out of the session, at the army and navy club here in washington, the mood was down beat. a sense

. >> [inaudible conversations] earlier in the day the ranking member patrick leahy spoke to reporters after the meeting. >> i assume you may have questions but i just had a good meeting i've known him for a long time that we had a couple interesting conversations were both former prosecutors and i followed them very closely during oklahoma city to the extend of creating legislations for the communities hit by terrorism which has expanded them but i watched the way that he handled what could have been a real problem. so what happens now? i know the answer when you are a judge and you have been a prosecutor what do you do? he said you look at each case by itself so i googled against the government sometimes handed to me that's what i've recommended the judges in vermont obviously a different level. i've also said would it make any difference coming in the greatest patrick leahy from vermont or patrick smith from vermont coming forward and that's the part i want him to supreme court justice. so i am pleased with the president's nomination. i think that what you see is what you get with h

in 2001, as senator leahy has said, senator hatch and senator leahy recognized her lungs and in practice to give nominees fair consideration. a vote in the committee and a vote on the floor and this was done in a joint letter that senator leahy referred to and it was entered into the congressional record for all-time. that was an agreement made in a democratic senate when the republican george w. bush was in the white house. it is this body's job, this committee's job to look carefully at the nominee and give that person a fair hearing and a vote. the effect of this obstruction is likely to leave the court with only eight members over two terms of that court if you think about the timing. what does that mean? added 8000 petitions for review, the court gets a year, this is according to the supreme court's website. the court takes about 80. it chooses those primarily where there's a disagreement among lower courts about important federal issues. over two years, we are talking about 160 cases and 16,000 requests for review that are potentially impact did, not to mention emergency request th

leahy adds there is a grace period of a year after the vermont law goes into effect. iowa senator joni ernst is also at her home of montgomery county where household incomes average in the $40,000 range. she says mandatory labeling could affect all consumers, "if we are to go ahead and implement vermont's law, and as that would affect consumers nationwide to the tune of about 1,052 dollars per household, we're already stretching our incomes pretty thin." ernst says she understands the need to know but there's an impact to consumers and it is challenging for low to moderate income families. final results are still piling in today from a big day of voting. and as expected -- it's a huge sweep for hillary clinton and donald trump. what's all this nonsense about balls? pink balls, blue, yellow, red. it's hard to keep the whole thing straight. and all these so-called deals? well, they come with a lot of deal breakers. like when you leave the city the signal goes weak. u.s. cellular built a network and as for deals? how's $300 back for every line you switch? $300! no ball n

in 2001, as senator leahy said, and senator leahy gave nominees a fair consideration. this was done in a joint letter to. senator leahy referred that was an agreement made and a senate when george w. bush was in the white house. it is this committee's job to nominee,fully at the and give a fair hearing and a vote. the effect of this destruction is likely to leave the court with only eight members. what does that mean? of course the court is not going to deadlock in every case. the potential for deadlock is greatly increased. eighthe court has only members, and the court 5-4iously was divided by conveniently. tie votes do not settle the dispute incurred by the court, and they don't create precedents is for other cases. this means that uncertainty for the law continues. the law varies around the c country, when it could have been settled. saidis why justice kennedy -- president reagan said before accepted,nnedy was with every day that passes, it impairs the justices body. not to scalia decided recuse himself in 2004, saying that if he did, the court proceeds with four ju

leahy, from all over around the country. nancy pelosisi the minority house leader. >> reporter: senator leahy, bernie sanders's juniorr senator from vermont. and dick durbin from illinois. and the arizona senator. reporter: he's a republican, >> reporter: and there's is jackie robinson's widow and her daughter. so sasha, malia, and michelle obama. we're waiting and moments away from air force one arriving here. everyone is talking about the beast, the transvortation for the president, we've talked about that. fascinated. >> reporter: and so are we. we were on our way here at 2:45 or some of the and i have to say that was one of of the most scariest experiences coming over here now a half dozen times for both of us. i have to tell you, coming here, havana has turned int a police state. >> reporter: i don't a ghost town, nobody is out. >> police are everywhere. >> reporter: yes. you won't see a lot of cubans i massive security along the routes that we think the president is going to take t old havana. >> reporter: one of the r

leahy wants a vote on merrick by memorial day. florida senator marco rubio is ready to move on after dropping out of the presidential race this week.. and he says he's leaving politics altogether. butted to he says that frontrunner donald trump could be damaging to the republican party and hopes that he can still be stopped. closing arguments will begin this morning in hulk hogan's trial against the website, gawker. the former a leaked sex tape. on thursday, attorneys for both sides worked with the judge to figure out what evidence will be submitted to deliberations. it was determined the jury will only see the edited version of the sex tape. court starts at and 10 news will be to watch the trial live, download our 10 news app. kicks off at macdill air force base. get ready for the best show on in years. 10news reporter sarah hollenbeck is live at the air force sarah, organizers are making a big push to keep this show around. yes, the future isn't guaranteed for the air show. beyond this weekend, organizers never know if they'll h

we have sponsored a lot of leahy-grassley and grassley-leahy. we try to do that in the best tradition of the senate. he is a man who embodies those traditions and the courtesy of this body and something that is unfortunately sometimes lacking. but those of us who have been here for a while appreciate this. i was upset when it was recommended the next supreme court nominee will not receive any consideration this year. there was no unanimous recommendation. this is our first business meeting to consider anything since the untimely passing of justice scalia. the first member of congress or anybody who said anything publically about justice scalia's passing was the republican leader who said there will be no replacement. a lot of us would have like to at least had the memorial and the burial of the justice before that talk started. the committee hasn't discussed how we will proceed. but the majority can determine what they want to do it is not unanimous in contrast to what thepub -- the republicans say. it was not. that is blatantly false. unanimous

senator grassley: senator leahy. senator leahy: thank you. madam attorney general, i read something the other day where an immigration judge at the justice department said that 3-year-old children can be taught immigration law and represent themselves in court without a lawyer. i assumed at first that was a misprint. and then i thought he actually said it. i have been on this committee for decades. a lawyer for decades. i have never heard such a stupid, stupid, stupid thing from a judge or anybody else as hat. the immigration laws are complex enough, but anyway, to say a 3-year-old child can represent themselves and learn this. now, i understand the statement of the judge was somehow speaking in his personal capacity. i think i would have fired him on the spot. but i know the department pursues immigration issues, including toddlers, who don't have lawyers even though d.o.j. has the authority to make sure these children have lawyers. would you agree, does the justice department agree that a 3-year-old child cannot comprehend immigration law?

now i call on senator leahy. >> thank you very much. i do welcome our nation's top law-enforcement officer by the lynch back to the senate judiciary committee and i commend her for the way she has handled the department of justice. one of the core responsibilities of our committee is to provide oversight of the justice department and that includes holding public hearings of the attorney general so i would note that on matters of ongoing matters the attorney general has eyes been available to answer questions for members of this committee. but the american people deserve the opportunity to evaluate for themselves the work of the department and i look forward to hearing from the attorney general. including a range of subjects that are important to us in vermont. but public hearings are also a chance for the american people to watch us, their elected officials. america should should be able to see their government in action, they should know whether we are acting on their behalf and whether we are keeping their interest, not partisan polit

senator leahy. senator leahy: thank you, mr. chairman. through everything i disagree with your accounting of the past. we have been here too long and we have been friends for too long. one thing we talk about with it is joe biden or anyone else, and election-year nominee, the last year of president reagan's term -- in the last year of president , the democrats senate.rge in charge of the he was going to be leaving the presidency, and we voted on a supreme court nominee of president reagan's. talking about bipartisanship, every single democrat voted for president reagan's nominee in a presidential election year. i am sorry that you feel that somehow this attention is directed at you and this is about you. it is not. it is about the constitution, which is a lot more important than you, me, or anyone else in this room. the president has a constitutional obligation to nominate when there is a vacancy in the supreme court. -- ise a constitutional this not working? is that better? ok. mentioned earlier, we talk about what happens in presidentia

he met with patrick leahy and democratic leader harry reed. leahy says the court would be better off with kpwarld as a justice but republicans won't pwuplg for their decision to strength is an addiction. you can never get enough of.. now it's time.. to bring that strength to your tooth enamel. new colgate enamel health mineral repair toothpaste. it strengthens weakened enamel 4x better by replenishing it with vital minerals. so smile.. with strength. with new colgate enamel health barbara: welcome back. north korea has fired a medium range missile into the sea. that is one story making headlines. this days after kim skropbg unordered tests. it is another violation of u.n. resolutions. an official says the pentagon confirmed it was fired from a mobile launcher. electrician in los angeles plunges to his death from a sky creper. he was not supposed to be above the third floor but he was 53 floors up. good first day for the local teams in the stau u.n.c. getting coast and 83-67. they take on providence tomorrow in raleigh. duke gets a tough matchu

leahy says the court would be better off with garland as a justice. but republicans have made it clear they won't budge from the refusal to consider a president barbara: welcome back. north korea has fired a medium range ballistics missile into the sea. the lawful is days after their leader ordered weapons test and fore vials of u. inspect resolutions. the pentagon confirmed it was fired from a poebl launch earn. plunged to his death after falling from a sky scraper. he was not supposed to be above the third floor but he was 53 floors up. it was his second day on the job. two people face charges in connection with a double murder in johnston county the gerald paul jr. is charged with murder and kara wilson in the death of matthew jones and jessica pyatte. they were found dead with gunshot wounds the john: the college opportunity who went on ap but nothing to indicate he was directed by them. the family of a woman found dead a judge ordered the f.b.i. to allow sap tkra brand's family to review a report of the texas rangers investigation into her death

garland met patrick leahy from vermont and harry reid. leahy said it is the most important vote politicians have to make along with going to war. >> this is too important. they shouldn't talk to him by phone. they should do what we have always done. >> reporter: he was referring to mitch mcconnell who spoke only by phone to garland on wednesday, telling him he has no plans to schedule a hearing. on the senate floor mcconnell noted how the nomination could change the supreme court for a generation. >> we just disagree in this instance and as a result we lonlicily act as a check and balance. >> reporter: mcconnell's opposite number met with garland. afterwards reid said americans were begging republicans to do their job. >> my job is to study the qualifications of these people going on this court behind me. it's an awesome responsibility they have, and i think all of us agree that we should take a look at the record as we are begging the republicans to do. >> reporter: the white house is pushing its man as hard as it can, releasing this vid

senator leahy. chairman. i will not go through everything i disagree with your accounting of the past. we have been here too long and we have been friends for too long. one thing when we talk about with it is joe biden or anyone else, and election-year nominees, the last year of president reagan's term -- in the last year of president reagan's term, the democrats were in charge of the senate. it was a presidential election year. he was going to be leaving the presidency, and we voted on a supreme court nominee of president reagan's. talking about bipartisanship, every single democrat voted for president reagan's nominee in a presidential election year. i am sorry that you feel that somehow this attention is directed at you and this is about you. it is not. it is about the constitution, which is a lot more important than you or me or anyone else in this room. the president has a constitutional obligation to nominate when there is a vacancy in the supreme court. we have a constitutional -- is this not working?

senator leahy, thanks for being here. we appreciate it. >> happy to be. >> you just left a meeting with judge garland. republicans say they will not hold hearings. so what is the democratic game plan here, sir? >> i don't think it's a game plan. we're saying the constitution requires the president nominate somebody. he fulfilled the constitution. they talk about advise and consent, which we've done for -- ever since there's been a judiciary committee. but democrats are saying we should do our job. we did when there were republican presidents as well as democratic presidents. we're not afraid to do our job. i think if we take a few less recesses around here and actually do what we're paid to do and vote up or vote down. >> but do you see any sign that republicans are going to give on this point and hold hearings? have you had conversations with republican colleagues that lead you to believe that if you keep up this campaign they might actually blink? >> i don't think it's so much a campaign or blinking. i know there's a nu

and from patrick leahy from vermont, he says for more than 40 years the senate has held confirmation votes on supreme court nominees on average, 70 days after the former nomination the senate should afford chief justice garland with a fair hearing in april and nomination by may 25th. in those two things, the graphic that we put on screen from patrick leahy and the coat from mitch mcconnell you can see how the battle lines are being drawn. we shall see. >> what a year it has been so far. well, coming up this term, the high court basis several landmark decisions including cases on affirmative action, minimum gas station and abortion. earlier we spoke with boston college law professor who said its hard to gain how garland will go if he's confirmed to the supreme court. >> even if we can read his paper trail on the court of appeals, and it is a moderate paper trail, it is unknown how he'll vote on the supreme court. there are justice who is join the court and then see the change of reviews over time. byron white appointed by president kennedy became more confidentiality over the years he

senator leahy: republican president's nominee. mr. salmon: northbound northbound > the debate over the f.b.i. continued on capitol hill today at a hearing, bob goodlatte asked the f.b.i. director about a decision about a federal magistrate judge that sided with apple. we'll show you that exchange and see all of the hearing at -span.org. mr. goodlatte: in its brief dem the california case. mrs. watson coleman: this is about data at rests. they take acts of congress. what does it mean giving changing circumstances. there will be lots of lawyers and paid for work and courts have an understanding. mr. goodlatte: if the f.b.i. is successful in requiring apple to unlock this phone, that won't be a one-time request, correct? mrs. watson coleman: the issue of locked phones will not. r. goodlatte: will set a precedent and law enforcement agencies to seek assistance. mrs. watson coleman: any decision of a court is potentially useful which is a precedent is. having talked to experts. how particular this technique will be. but sure, other courts,

inaudible conversations] earlier in the data ranking day the ranking member of the committee, patrick leahy met with the judge and spoke to reporters after the meeting. >> i know you may have questions but i just had a good meeting with the judge. i've known him for a long time but we had a couple interesting conversations. we are both former prosecutors

leahy adds there is a grace vermont law goes into effect. iowa senator joni ernst is also on the ag committee.. she says she looks back at her home of montgomery county.. where household incomes average in the forty thousand dollar range.. she says mandatory labeling could affect all consumers. "if we are to go ahead and implement vermont's law, and as that would affect consumers nationwide to the tune of about 1,052 dollars per household, we're already stretching our incomes pretty thin." ernst says she understands the need to know but there's an impact to consumers and it is challenging for low to moderate income families. ernst says she understands the need to know but there's an impact to consumers and it is challenging for low to moderate income families. low to moderate income families. and that's all i have for the agribusiness report.. i'll see you again tomorrow. we put stories up every day.. check out who-tv dot com.. with 40 megs of internet speed from centurylink, a family of four can all be online at the same time, streaming, ga

leahy said the judge won't be commenting on the political fight. >> he's not going to go out before the press like i am. where he gets his chance to tell his side of the story is at a hearing, and that's what he ought to have. >> woodruff: a spokesman for senate majority leader mitch mcconnell called the visits a "stunt" orchestrated by the white house. we'll take a closer look at the nomination politics in the senate, later in the program. in the presidential race, house speaker paul ryan tried again to shut down speculation that he might agree to be the republican nominee, instead of donald trump, if there's a contested convention. he said anyone who's saying otherwise should "knock it off." but at a weekly briefing, ryan also criticized trump for warning his supporters might riot if he's denied the nomination. >> nobody should say such things in my opinion, because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable. >> woodruff: the republican frontrunner also drew fire from moscow. a spokesman for russian president vladimir putin charged an online ad for trump reflects a "demonizat

as you just heard from senator leahy and sevnator leahy has th right to say what he is going do. and tomorrow, if you want to hear a full-blown debate, i think we will have one in our committee tomorrow while we are also considering three or four judges and maybe a piece of legislation as well. so i would respond just very shortly to what senator leahy said because whether it's today or tomorrow or weather for the next seven or eight months, this is a very important debate that we ought to have about the constitution and about not only who's going to be a replacement for justice scalia, but about the role of the supreme court. because i get people coming to my town meeting saying, how come you don't impeach those supreme court justices. they don't realize that where the jury impeaches but they say they are making law instead of interpreting law, so you ought to get rid of them. so at the grass roots of america, there's a real feeling, what is the supreme court doing what the constitution requires. so i'll respond to one thing that senator leahy said and that's about the caucus of

leahy: mr. president, as the senator may well recall, he was here when i was chairman of the judiciary committee in 2001, during president bush's administration. the ranking member was senator hatch. we put together an agreement about how the committee would consider supreme court nominees. we wrote the judiciary committee's traditional practice

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 recesses both last year and this year. cancel a couple of them. we have enough, cancel a couple of them. dot j do the job. we are paid every single day whether we are here or not. especially somebody as noncontroversial as the chief judge. no question this couldn't in a normal course be done by memorial day. >> if they want to talk about the schedule, because congress had such a stand still in midst after presidential election, they don't really have a lot to do on their schedule. the skeps mitch mcconnell made a note of angering

he met with patrick leahy the ranking member of the senate judiciary committee. some have expressed an openness to meet with garland. senator lindsey graham endorsed senator ted cruz for president. in february senator graham wasn't supportive. >> if you kill ted cruz on the floor of the senate and the trial was in the senate nobody could convict you. [laughter] mark: he says rallying around ted cruz may be the only way to stop donald trump. blocked the cabinet. he says he was an attempt to hide him from a corruption

leahy: mr. president, i have listened to my good -- what my good friend from iowa said about the standards that he is afraid that an obama nominee would utilize. i would note in the dozens and dozens of cases, probably hundreds that obama nominees have voted on, my friend from iowa did not mention a single case where they applied anything but the law, and i suspect that would be the standard by anybody the president would nominate. now, on another matter, to set the record straight, contrary to the remarks of the senate majority leader yesterday, vermont has not recently passed a g.e. food habeas elg law. i -- food labeling law. i mention that because i'm old-fashioned enough to like to have things clear and accurate in this chamber. it was in may, 2014, nearly two years ago that after two years of debate, more than 50 committee hearings featuring testimony from more than 130 representatives on all sides of the issue, the vermont legislature and vermont's governor signed into law a disclosure re

leahy adds there is a grace period of a year after the vermont law goes into effect. iowa senator joni ernst is also on the ag committee.. she says she looks back at her home of montgomery county.. where household incomes average in the forty thousand dollar range.. she says mandatory labeling could affect all consumers. "ifife are to go aheaeaand implement vermont's law, and as that would affect consumers nationwide to the tune of about 1,052 dollars per household, we're already stretching our incomes pretty thin." ernst says she understands the need to know but there's an impact to consumers and it is challenging for low to moderate i iome families. ---- this time of year.. the lack in a bearish to big crops coming out of south america. "really pathetic again, lack of fresh news domestically. nothing big on is still trereing lower." "we are right on top of our lows in corn. right now, the key is going to be how are we going to close out in here even yet today. maybe even yet this week. i mean punch through new lows to the move or not going to be sitting right on top

he met with patrick leahy and harry reed. leahy says the court would be better off with garland as a justice. but republicans made it kehr they won't budge from their refusal to consider a replacement for ability antonin scalia john: a look at damage in texas barbara: at 6:45 an the bigger the burrito, the bigger the fun. dunkin's new grandde burrito -- a breakfast burrito packed with big southwest flavor. go grande with veggie or sausage today. america runs on dunkin'. mmm... i can't believe it has 40% fewer calories than butter. i can't believe it's made with real, simple ingredients. i can't believe... we're on a whale. [whale] i can't believe they talked me into this. i can't believe my role isnsn bigger. real, simple ingredients. unbelievable taste. oh it's real! this afternoon at dunkin', save when you sip. get a free donut or turbo shot when you buy any beverage between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. america runs on dunkin'. was rushed to the hospital in miami. he reportedly suffered head trauma. his sister says he underwent surge

. >> reporter: leahy was talking about mitch mcconnell, who spoke only by phone to garland on wednesday, saying that he has no plans to schedule a hearing. how garland's nomination could fundamentally change the court for a decade. >> the president does not, and we disagree in this instance, and as a result, we logically act as a check and balance. >> reporter: mcconnell's opposite in the senate, harry reid, met with garland, though a photo on was brief. they are begging americans to do want job, and say that garland is the impeccable choice that obama says that he is. >> my job is to study these people on the court behind me. it's an awesome responsibility that we have, and all of us should take a look at the record as we're begging the republicans to do. >> reporter: the white house is pushing its man as hard as he can. releasing this video montage on the website and announcing a twitter page to lambaste the republican stunernness. saying that he's the candidate. >> the president put forth a person that the republicans themselves said would do a great job on the court. he's described

the meeting which lasted less than an hour and featured mitch mcconnell, democratic senator, patrick leahy and vice president joe biden. it's the first time they met since justice antonin scalia's death. . and the republicans reiterated their stance that they won't take up a president obama nomination this year. afterwards, the two senate leaders expressed their view. >> if the shoe was on the other foot, the democrats the majority would be confirming a republican president's nomination in the last year of his term. of course not. their constitutional duty and do their job and at this stage they decided not to do that. they're going to wait and see what president trump will do, i guess. . >> senator reed added after an impass, they spend the rest of the time talking about basketball. >>> nbc's meteorologist bill karins is here with our wednesday forecast. >> we had severe storms yesterday. alabama got hit. some of the worst damage near birmingham. the only problem spots are northern new england. we have a wintry mess. some freezing rain, others sleet. the white is all snow and we have snow

on the hill, president the supreme for court began me senate minority leader harry reid and patrick leahy, the ranking member on the judiciary committee. republicans are backing garland's nomination --blocking garland's nomination. >> he is leading his troops over the cliff. republican say with less than a year in obama's term, the next president should be the one to choose the nominee. garland is the chief judge of the federal appeals court in washington. -- details on a consumer alert involving popular brands of canned tuna. more possible snowflakes on the way. forecast coming up. ♪ ♪ kimberly: unfathomable, that is how the prince george's county fire chief is describing actions putting firefighters at risk. somebody is intentionally destroying firefighters gear. brad: firefighting is a dangerous job. this video taken just this week in montgomery county. >> whoa! brad: a burning town house collapses, eight firefighters have to be helped from the rubble. they are safe with minor injuries things in large part to their protective gear. that's why tonight prince george's county firefigh

one day after his nomination, merrick garland was meeting and greeting those in whose fate lies leahy said it's the most important vote that they have to make along with going to war. >> leahy was referring to mitch mcconnell who spoke only by phone to garland on wednesday, telling him he has no plans to schedule a hearing. on the senate floor they noted how garland's nomination could change the direction of the court for a generation, and republicans and democrats simply disagree on that. >> the republicans think the people deserve a vote voice in this critical decision, the president does not. so we disagree in this instance and we logically act as a check and balance. >> harry reid met as a nominee. afterwards reed said that americans were begging republicans to do their job, and can see that garland really is the impeccable choice obama said he is. >> my job is to study the qualification of these people going into the court behind me. it's an awesome responsibility and all of us agree we should take a look at the record as we're begging the republicans to do. >> the white house is

thursday, judge merrick garland met with some senate democrats on capitol hill including senator patrick leahy vermont. this photo of was taken before judge garland met with senator majority leader harry reid. also on thursday, senate democrats held a press conference on the steps of the supreme court denouncing republicans for fusing to hold a confirmation hearing for supreme court nominee judge merrick garland. this is 20 minutes. >> after speaking at the center for american progress, senator reid returned to capitol hill where he and other democrats met with president obama's nominee to the supreme court. merrick garland. democrats denounced republicans for refusing to hold a hearing on the nominee. they spoke for about 20 minutes. senator reid: merrick garland is a fineman in every way. his character is impeccable. his record of public service is unsurpassed and his time on the bench has been really very, very exemplary. all we're asking is for the republicans to do their job. now, mitch mcconnell set out and did it publicly his number one goal is to make sure president obama was not reele

so far democrats have formally agreed to meet with him, including harry reid and patrick leahy. democrats are highlighting their meetings to push for a though republicans say neither will happen. do you think that could be changed? >> i hope it will be changed. because i cannot imagine any senator standing up and saying, i'm not going to do any duty. >> reporter: eight republicans are open at least to meeting with garland, though some say that may not be productive. >> i'm not going to change my position, because it's based on the principle of this nominee having the possibility of reshaping the court for generations. i think it's best to allow the american that. >> reporter: no commitment yet from other republicans who voted 19 years ago to done firm garland as an appeals court judge. orrin hatch first raised the possibility after the presidential election, but no longer, now in line with his party. >> the right thing to do is put this over to the next president. >> reporter: the real concern, antonin scalia's death leaves the supreme court ideologically split, to the left. eve

garland will meet with harry reid and senator leahy later today. lisa: the battle for the republican nomination continues. establishment figures with the gop are discussing ways to stop donald trump from being the nominee. a key republican senator is throwing backing behind ohio governor john kasich. will see a brokered convention this summer, however, on the republican candidate ben carson, who backs trump, says it nor in wrong option. >> there is no question there will be turmoil if the establishment tries to sort the will of the people. recognizing -- tries to stop the will of the people. recognizing millions of new people have come into the of donald trump. lisa: trump himself suggested there would be ryan' s. senator ted cruz, who is second in delegates, also opposes a brokered convention. ring sinatra jr, the son of the legendary singer, has died. he was going to perform last night at the peabody auditorium in daytona beach, but the show was canceled with an announcement this singer had become ill. it was later confirmed he died from cardiac

merrick garland met with several top democratic senators including patrick leahy of vermont and the court would be justice. no gop senators met with him. republican leaders are refusing to hold confirmation hearings. they want the next president to nominate the next supreme court justice. >>> it is a big day for senior medical students across the country and right here in tampa. today is match day. that's the day they'll find out where they are going to spend the next three to seven years of their lives. it's called match day because the students are matched one a hospital or medical facility to do their residencies. the students will open sealed envelopes and tell where you they will receive the specialized post-graduate training. >>> spring officially begins on sunday. with the change of seasons, you might be looking for a little home improvement. >> we'll let you learn what projects are available. >> the tampa home show is at the florida state fairgrounds. to give you an idea of what you'll find there, we'll be live at the home show. >>> the best thing about the home show this weekend,

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, it was interesting. today is the 51st anniversary of bloody sunday, a horrible, horrible abuse of american citizens that occurred in alabama -- selma, alabama. i mention that because under section 5 of the voting rights arctic the felg federal governmt has the authority to examine and prevent racially discriminatory voting practices from going into effect before those changes disenfranchise voter jurisdictions. unfortunately, almost every single democrat and republican in the house and senate voted for the voting rights act. in the house, by a one-vote march jirntion they drove a stake through the voting rights act striking down the coverage formula for its preclearance provisions in section 5. governors and state legislatures have exploited shelby county by enacting sweeping voter suppression laws, including in the state of alabama, which not only enacted a photo identification law, but then they ma

than an hour and featured mitch mcconnell, democratic senator, patrick leahy and vice president joe biden. it's the first time they met since justice antonin scalia's death. . and the republicans reiterated their stance that they won't take up a president obama nomination this year. afterwards, the two senate leaders expressed their drastically different points of view. >> if the shoe was on the other foot, the democrats the majority would be confirming a republican president's nomination in the last year of his term. of course not. >> we just want them to fulfill their constitutional duty and do their job and at this stage they decided not to do that. they're going to wait and see what president trump will do, i guess. . >> senator reed added after an the time talking about basketball. >>> nbc's meteorologist bill karins is here with our wednesday forecast. yesterday. alabama got hit. some of the worst damage near birmingham. the only problem spots are northern new england. we have a wintry mess. some freezing rain, others sleet. the white is all snow and we have snow in western and clev