Suggesting republicans are full of bluster, but they, not democrats, hold the power to control the process. Our justice correspondent Pete Williams begins our coverage. Reporter the body of Antonin Scalia arrived overnight, the casket draped in an American Flag flown from texas where he died in his sleep at a private guest ranch. The judge, when i found him saturday morning, was in complete repose. Reporter on the court scalia was one of the most influential conservatives in more than a generation and his criticism could be stinging, even for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, his ideological opposite and traveling xansions. She said sunday were best buddies. How is it that youre able to zing somebody, your friend Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the next day go to the opera . Because the next day she will be zinging me. Reporter among possibilities to succeed him, esvein vasan and jane kelly and merrick garlanded a patricia millett. Court is evenly split between conservatives and liberals without Antonini Scalia so some of the big cases could end in 44 ties. On immigration a tie would block president obama from enforcing his plan to allow up to 5 Million People here illegally to stay on on abortion a tie would restrict restrictions on abortion in texas to remain in force or in the case of a force the court could choose to withhold its decision and order the case to be reargued when theres a ninth justice. The justices have the ability to take a case when theres a tie and put it on a shelf and come back it a year later, conceivably even two years late sneer in modern times the longest stretch the Supreme Court has gone a year, and that was nearly 50 years ago. The justices are now in their midwinter break and will be back on the bench a year ago today. No matter who it is the president picks the republican leader in the senate and many of the leading gop candidates say no one should get a vote and the seat should remain empty until the next president nominates a that could leave this battle raging for well over a year as nbcs Andrea Mitchell reports. Reporter the battle over the Supreme Court instantly redefining the president ial race. Republicans on the trail today. I intend to make 2016 a referendum on the u. S. Supreme court. Were not moving forward on a nominee until after the election. The republicans should not allow it to happen. Reporter political wars exploded within hours of Antonin Scalias death. Playing to the republican base, Senate LeaderMitch Mcconnell vowing to block any obama nominee. Saying the next president should fill the vacancy. President obama i plan to fulfill my Constitutional Responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. Reporter democrats today arguing there is plenty of time to confirm a nominee. I think we ought to talk about this, the constitution of the united states. Reporter and no excuse to leave the court gridlocked, potentially for another year. It would be the height of irresponsibility for the Republican Leadership not to have a vote on a nominee from the president. Reporter so who will the president choose . The smart political bet, a moderate federal judge supported in the past by republicans, much harder for them to reject. So far most republicans up for reelection in swing states seem to be following their leader, but depending on whom the president picks could it backfire . Even helping democrats retake the senate. Still in the president ial race its a rallying cry for republicans, especially ted cruz, a former Supreme Court clerk. Were not going to give up the u. S. Generation by allowing barack obama to make one more liberal appointee. Reporter and senator leahy told nbc that president obama already has his list. In fact, the president is likely to consult republicans as well as democrats to see if any potential nominee has a chance of getting a vote despite the pressure from Republican Leaders to block any action. Lester. Andrea mitchell, thank you. As the fight over the court plays out on the campaign trail there are also new fights exploding within the Republican Party as donald trump launches multiple attacks, threatening to once again sue ted cruz and taking aim at george w. Bush over 9 11, right as the former president hits the campaign trail in support of his brother. We get the latest from nbcs peter alexander. Reporter hes back. Former president george w. Bush on the campaign trail, this time for jeb in South Carolina. Thank you for your hard work for jeb. Thank you for what youre going to do which is to vote for in the great state of South Carolina. Reporter 43 aiming to make his younger brother 45 rise to the white house, appearing together for the First Time Since jeb announced. Thanks to brother for giving us something to do today, something important. Im proud of his candidacy, and im really proud to have been invited. Reporter but on this president s day donald trump is trying to crash the party, attacking w. Today over 9 11. The World Trade Center came down during his reign so its like, you know, he was the top. Reporter and for invading iraq. You had him on the Aircraft Carrier saying all sorts of wonderful things. The war was essentially over, guess what, not over. Reporter punctuating the fiery debate. George bush made a mistake. We can make mistakes that. One was a bite. We never should have been in iraq. Im sick and tired of him going after my family. Reporter will trumps attacks against the bushes backfire . George h. W. Bush and george w. Bush both carried South Carolina jeb is betting his brother, the former commander in chief, can still bring in voters. Here the military community is a key constituent, generating more than 150,000 jobs and nearly 20 billion for the states economy. Today trump is again threatening to sue ted cruz, calling him unstable and the biggest liar hes ever come across. He doesnt even have the right to serve of as president or even run as president. He was born in canada, so i will bring that lawsuit if he doesnt apologize. Reporter cruz brushing off the threat saying trump has lost it. This is the most rattled ive ever seen donald, his press Conference Today where he stood and vented. I guess the only planks one can have is that his poll numbers in South Carolina must be plummeting. Reporter and tonights crowd by far the biggest that jeb bush has seen all campaign season. Earlier today his brother reflecting on his past president ial primaries says he prefers to focus on the wins than the losses, a Glass Half Full man. Family will find out if the theres still reason for optimism. Lester. Peter, thank you. An unexpected battleground has opened up in the democratic race between Hillary Clinton and bernie sanders. With just five days to go until the nevada caucus eds clinton is hitting the trail hard for months many believed she would win the state, but now as our Kristen Welker reports, thats a big question mark. Reporter after losing new hampshire, second clinton is trying to come back with a win in nevada. I hope youll come out and caucus on saturday. Reporter today she again tried to paint senator sanders as a candidate solei focused on wall street. I am not a singleissue candidate because this is not a singleissue country. Reporter sanders has dismissed that criticism, and today before a raucous crowd of 9,000 in michigan said hed met with the families impact by the flint water crisis. Ive just come from a meeting which was one of the more difficult meetings that i have ever reporter Clinton Campaign answering, releasing a video touting an endorsement from a group of flint ministers praising her for highlighting the problem. They need to fix flint. Reporter its an issue that resonates with africanamericans, including in states like nevada where in 2012 roughly 15 of voters were black and another 15 hispanic. Nbc news political analyst john rosten says its hard to get accurate polling, but he believes clinton has a slim lead. The Clinton Campaign has to be worried about the whole millen yell effect, young voters deciding to register on saturday to support bernie sanders. Reporter nevada was supposed to be part of clintons firewall and now thats in play, voters in reno understanding the divide. Weve got a big uprising. Reporter what are you planning for this weekend . Hillary clinton. Reporter why . I want to see a woman handle the office. Reporter secretary clinton was initially planning to campaign in florida. Husbanding there so she could focus on courting voters here. Meanwhile late tonight her Campaign Officials announced they are opening an office in flint, michigan. Lester. Kristen, thank you. Tonight a massive storm is moving across a huge part of the country. Its being felt from the gulf coast all the way up to maine. Snow and ice in the north and tornadoes ripping off roofs in the south. A huge mess all from the same weather system. Nbcs Kristen Dahlgren has details. President s day brought a fresh coat of snow to the Nations Capital as a colossal storm system spread misery from the south to the midwest and northeast today. This twister was spotted in alabama. In louisiana this afternoon another tornado touched down damaging a pizza hut and injuring two. Shaking. I seen it like coming at me. It was scarey. In mississippi a high school nearly crushed when a twister toppled this will tree, and mother in kentucky where even snow applause couldnt stay on slick roads. Major highways finally did reopen after two massive pileups in pennsylvania and indiana this weekend. Its been 30 years. Probably one of the worst crashes that ive ever seen. The east still hasnt thawed out after record low temperatures. On sunday boston hit minus 9. Watertown, new york, saw 37 below and new york city was the coldest its been in 100 years. Ive never known cold like that, ever . A warmup is expected. By tomorrow were looking at temperatures that are anywhere from 5 to almost 20 degrees above average. Lots of rain. Airport delays. We go from frost to flooding. Reporter an upcoming thaw that may bring everything but relief relief. Kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. We turn overseas now where dozens of civilians including children have been reported in air strikes in syria. A school were hit. Nbcs keir simmons has gotten rare access inside syria, and as he reports this all comes the same week that a tentative ceasefire is supposed to take effect. Reporter a desperate search for survivors. At least 3 hospitals and a school hit. Wards wrecked. An estimated 50 dead, the u. N. Says. Babies had to be rescued. This video from opposition activists of a newborn in the arms of a firefighter. We dont know the babys name or who the mother is. We have seen many children, and i have seen many, many women, they were injured and they were dead. Reporter hospitals were a deliberate target. Doctors without borders claim, accusing russia or syria. To be today a doctor or a nurse in in the area controlled by the opposition, its equal to being a criminal. Reporter 700 Health Care Workers have been injured or killed in the syrian 112 medical facilities were hit in 2015. Seaterian ambassador to russia claim u. S. Strikes destroyed one hospital today, an acquisition the u. S. Led coalition denied. Just days ago a partial ceasefire was anoujsed by secretary of state john kerry and u. S. Allies meeting in germany. This has been a period of intensified bombing, particularly in the north of syria. We have condemned that in the strongest terms. Reporter today syrian president Bashar Al Assad says he believes the ceasefire will be difficult to implement. Just days from the deadline for a cessation in hostilities announced by secretary kerry last week, and there is little sign the fighting will end. Keir simmons, nbc news, damascus. Thousand flocked to see pope francis today at a stadium in mexicos poorest state. He met with families at the event which followed an enorm openair mass that he presided over earlier. And a moving moment Childrens Hospital when a teenage patient sang ava maria for him earning a kiss from the pope and bringing those around him to tears. Still ahead here tonight, another new warning about common heartburn medications. Why the millions of americans who take them could be at risk of memory loss. Also, the dangerous midair incident that shook up one of the pilots aboard an guys, its just the two of you. The setting is just right. Theres something in the air. But heres the thing about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas for pulmonary hypertension your Blood Pressure could drop to an unsafe level. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you ask your doctor. About viagra. Available in single packs. Tired of working for peanuts . Well what if i told you that peanuts can work for you . Thats right. Im talking full time delivery of 7 grams of protein and 6 essential nutrients. Ever see a peanut take a day off . I dont think so. Harness the hardworking power of the peanut. I take pictures of sunrises. Its my job and its also my passion. But with my back pain i couldnt sleep. So i couldnt get up in time. Then i found aleve pm. Aleve pm is the only one to combine a sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. And now. Im back. Were back now about the prescription meds that so many people take to treat heartbeat and ascid reflux. 15 million americans take them to block stomach acid and researchers suggested last week that the medications may be linked to kids Kidney Disease and bone fractures. Now another concern being raised, that there is a link to dementia. Nbcs tom costello has the information you should hear. Reporter 34yearold tara had acid reflux so bad it made her job as a speech therapist nearly impossible. I actually got vocal fold ulcers and vocal fold nodules from it. Reporter she found relief in a medication to block stomach acid, a proton pump inhibitor, among the most common members nexium, prilosec and prevacid but the drugs have been recently been linked to an increased risk of kidney damage. 75 of those who took regularly had a 75 risk of dementia, 4u7 4 boston and women taking the medication for at least 18 months were most at risk. I mean, being 34 years old, even if dementia wouldnt hit me for another 40 or 50 years, it definitely concerns me that that that that could be part of my future. Reporter the sigh effects may occur, say doctors, because we actually need stomach acid to digest our food, ward off infection and to absorb essential nutrients. Today two of the drugmakers told nbc news the medicines are generally safe and effective when used in accordance with the label and to avoid drug interactions, but many doctors are concerned too many patients stay on the drug too long. If you have heartburn that is mild and its mob to come off the drugs its probably fwoest do so at this point. Reporter before todays study tara decided to stop taking all aci reflex medication. Instead, shes changed her diet. The result, no more side effect from the meds. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. When we come barks you wont believe who ray id like to see more of the old lady. Id like to see her go back to her more you know social side. vo pro plan bright mind promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. ray it was shocking. Shes much more aware. jan she loves the food. ray she wants to learn things. The difference has been incredible. vo purina pro plan bright mind. Nutrition that performs. This just got interesting. Why pause to take a pill . Or stop to find a bathroom . Cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in Blood Pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid longterm injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis and a 200 savings card you owned your car for four years, you named it brad. You loved brad. And then you totaled him. You two had been through everything together. 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With 13,000 financial advisors, a laser aimed into the cockpit of a flight from london to new york forced the flight to turn around. One of the pilots aboard the Virgin Atlantic flight yesterday was reportedly struck in the eye and felt sick afterwards. The plane with 252 passengers and 15 crew landed safely back at heathrow. Investigators are working to find the source of a laser. Such incidents are troubling but it turns out 2015 was one of the safest years for airlines. Four commercial planes did crash, 1 in over 3. 1 million flights but the not factored metrojet crashes because they said it was deliberate. An early grammy winner stealing the spotlight on this president s day. Jimmy carter snagged a second emmy in the spoken word for the recording of his book. The 91yearold former president beat out other nominees including amy poehler, hedy smith and dick cavet. When life gives them snow, these brot the microsoft cloud allows us to access information from anywhere. 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See your ra finally tonight, we were talking a moment ago about another winter blast hilgt millions of americans, but the brothers were about to meet dont see the snow as a nuisancech they see it as an inspiration, to make something amazing for a good cause. As our Kevin Tibbles explains, their creations, like each snowflake, are one of a kind. Reporter from the depths of the frigid vortex that is a minnesota winter comes the giant snow octopus, and its taken over the barts family front yard. A lot of kids driving by and the parents will drive by and they will be in the back seat and they reporter for five years the brothers have been turning the fluffy white stuff many of us dread into wintry works of art, always with a watery theme because they love to fish. When were not ice fishing were out here working on the sculpture. Reporter dont you ever get cold . Never. Reporter these hardy boys have created everything from a puffer fish and walrus to a sea turtle and a shark, although this years octopus is the most ambitious yet. 500 hours to complete, 150 tons of snow, and a tentacle that winds over mom and dads front steps. Its really, really, really, really, really, really, really cool. Reporter folks come from miles around for a peek and a pic. This is a group of Exchange Students all the way from china. Its wonderful. Its marvelous. Reporter how many legs does an octopus have . One, two, three, four, five. Reporter six, seven, eight. Six, seven, eight. Reporter many visitors leave donations and so far 8,000 to help provide clean Drinking Water in hait. You dont make life memories playing video games. Reporter nobody. Make them doing stuff like that,. Reporter thats something parents everywhere could wrap their arms around. Three, two, one. Reporter Kevin Tibbles, nbc news, new brighton, minnesota. So much fun. Thats going to do it for us on a monday night. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, thank you for night. Tonight the grammy countdown is the awards just minutes away. We are the rehearsal. Its like more real and its obviously the real thing. And what we uncovered from this weekends prepart. How long have you been friends . Were breaking down performers, predicting the winners and what youll see on stage with adele. Youll see songs from her new album. Taylor and calvin show up together. I dont understand how you cannot fan girl about that. And we go behind the scenes of tayl latest music video. And who will b tonights style standout . As we look back at lady gagas fashion transformation. You arrived in like an egg. My egg rental was available. This is entertainment tonight. Kevin frazier will be along in just a few minutes Music History will be made tonight inside the staples center