By colleagues, widely respected. With friends on both sides of the ideological divide. We agree on a whole lot of stuff, we do. Ruth is really bad only on the kneejerk stuff. This morning, the battle already brewing over the chance to tilt the balance of the nations highest court. President obama ready to nominate a replacement, the senates majority leader saying not so fast. And the republican candidates also weighing in overnight at a raucous debate. I think we ought to let the next president of the United States decide. Its called delay, delay, delay. Our Team Coverage as we remember this giant of the court. And good morning, everybody. Americans are waking up to a huge story this morning. The passing of Justice Scalia. Hes being remembered for his brilliant legal mind and fiery George Stephanopoulos joins us this morning. This is such big news, dan. Justice scalia, such a towering figure. A pillar of the conservative moment. His death puts the Supreme Court election. The court divided right down the middle. Replacement . Its a liberal court. If the republicans do, its a conservative court. It affects all levels of government. Its great to have you here in studio. Youre looking at a live picture outside the Supreme Court. Flag are flying at half staff. Our Team Coverage begins are jim avila in shafter, texas. Reporter Justice Scalia this weekend, he came out the to west texas and the open spaces a t a ranch resort owned by a texas billionaire to shoot some quail. He never head it out on the range. This morning, the body of Supreme CourtJustice Antonin Scalia arriving in el paso. Officials telling abc news the 79yearold legal icon died saturday in his sleep from apparent natural causes. He was a larger than life presence on the bench. A brilliant mind. Energetic style. Decisive wit. And colorful opinions. Reporter he was on a hunting trip. He persuaded elena kagan to shoot skeet. He left dinner early and went to his room, feeling ill. When he didnt arrive to breakfast saturday morning, a Person Associated with the ranch he was found in his room, unresponse i have. The catholic die cease of el paso administering his last rites at the ranch. A hearse carrying his pod towards el paso. Condolences pouring in from former president s, current candidates, and government officials. Paul ryan saying i, learned so much from this man. I knew him. I respected him. I looked up to him. We all did. At this point, no autopsy has been performed. In fact, a local justice of the peace pronounced the justice dead over the phone and then came out to the ranch to say there was no foul play involved and turned the body over the federal marshalls. The fbi is also up vest gating. George . Okay, jim. Thank you. Justice scalias opinions are legendary. Sharp, elegant, funny, and sarcastic. He was a hero to conservatives. Terry moran has covered his ten he joins us from mexico city. Good morning, terry. Reporter good morning, george. The Supreme Court had never seen anything like Antonin Scalia. The courts first italianamerican. He was a highvoltage intellectual. Through the force of his intellect. His flair as a writer and his appetite for argument, he made his ideas count in the country. And in the court. And he did it all laughing. He was a happy warrior. Ive been thinking, its just impossible to imagine that great courtroom without him in it. I, Antonin Scalia do solemnly swear. I Antonin Scalia do solemnly swear. Reporter he was a towering icon. He loved his life in the law. I like figuring out the right answer to legal questions, reporter nino scalia, as he was known to friends, served three decades on the Supreme Court. He was a justice who did more than hand down rulings. He wanted to change the law itself and the court. Through his spirited and forceful advocacy of what he called textualism. His strict interpretation of the constitution. He was unafraid to take a stand and seemingly incapable of ly ly fighting back. I and my court owe no apology whatever for bush versus gore. There. Get over it, its so old by now. Reporter it was that brashens that cemented him in the publics mind. A vivid writer, his opinions became famous for their caustic, take no prisoners style. He called the majoritys marriage act case legalistic arglebargle. And called the care act jigry poker. How can the government reporter in cases big and small, his wit lashed out in legal arguments. He loved the get a laugh. You cant refuse your money or your life. But your life or your wifes . I could refuse that one. Reporter in 2015, his comments about affirmative action drew protests. You know, when you take more, the number of blacks really comp tent plax admitted to lesser schools, turns out to be less. Reporter but his friends and his colleagues say behind the combative mind and fiery words was a warm man and a close friend. Forging an unlikely bond with liberal gist Justice Ruth Bader ginsburg. We agree on a whole lot of ruth is really bad only on the kneejerk stuff. [ laughter ] she is reporter Antonin Scalia grew up in queens, new york. Attending Xavier High School in manhattan before georgetown and harvard law school, where he met his wife maureen. Maureen is an extraordinary woman. Without whom i wouldnt be here. Reporter his wife and his family as much a part of his life and legacy as the court and country he served. That seat on the Supreme Court, something he always cherished. Many times dodging questions about stepping down, saying there was only one thing that could make him walk away. I will certainly retire at the time where i perceive that i am not as good as i used to be. Ive lost a step. Reporter for many, he never did. Love him or loathe him, and americans did both, he was the kind of man to inspire those scalia must be counted as one of the most important Supreme Court squus tiss in american history. Where is the most sweeping victory and searing defeat in his opinions . You know, probably his biggest victory was on the Second Amendment. He campaigned for years. Wrote the opinion that held that the Second Amendment is the individual right. The right to bear arms. That was in keeping with his notion that the federal limited. Some things are left to states, localities, and citizens. His biggest defeat, without question, abortion. He desperately wanted to overturn roe versus wade. He was never able to. The battle to decide who comes next. President obama says hell make the a successor. The senate says they wont let it happen. The battle lines drawn immediately. Reporter even before because ted cruz put out a statement that staid next president should be the one that replaces scalia before a the Supreme Court officially confirm that scalia was dead. Mitch mcconnell put out a statement saying much the same thing, less than an hour after the court made the statement. These battle lines were drawn immediately. And in the debate last night, with the republican president ial candidates, all six of them agreed, saying that there is no way that barack obama should be allowed to name a replacement for Justice Scalia. This debate has just begun. It has. Lets bring in abc news chief legal analyst dan abrams. Good morning. Good morning. A lot of names being floated as potential nominees as president. These are people that have been confirmed by the United States senate. Theres a short list. A lot of them are court of appeals judges. Theyve gone to the senate. Some people will say, wait a second. This person or that person was confirmed with relatively little opposition. The rules are different. Everything has changed now. Two reasons. Number one, the president ial campaign. Number two youre talking about Justice Scalia. Justice scalias memory for conservatives is so important that this time, anything that happened in the past is not particularly relevant to what is going happen now. Point being, its going to be nearly impossible for president obama to get through the senate almost anyone who has been on his short list. How does the Court Function with only eight justices can they move forward on cases in front of them . Yeah, and there are 4 to 4 decisions. The court often divided 54. Some of the opinions, youll now see 44. The Lower Court Opinion gets effectively confirmed. So whatever the lower court decided previously stands. But, the Supreme Court then is not setting precedent. Meaning you cant cite that opinion in the future to say, a ha, but the Supreme Court previously ruled xx, y, or z. It remains effectively a local decision confirmed without a Supreme Court. The possibility of creating system. Is there a precedent for court having to muddle through down one justice . Yeah. Justices do recuse themselves in certain cases. They say, for example, relatively new to the court. I was involved in the case at a solicitor general or some other way. So i cant be involved. The Supreme Court does sometimes have 4 to 4 rulings. Its rare. The idea that youre talking a decisions by divided court is completely unprecedented. Thank you, dan. Supreme court. Some are calling him the most memory. We want to bring in cokie carolina. Morning. Hi, paula. Good to be with you. First and foremost, how do want to be remembered. He had a legacy of being a constitutional purist. I think that is exactly how he would like to be remembered. As someone who cared desperately about the constitution and followed it to the letter by his lights. And did it with great intellect and some humor and sometimes, scathingly. And, in ways that really could take down the lawyers in the case or his colleagues on the court. Remarkably, given all that, he was incredibly well liked. The last time you saw him was at party. He was singing in good spirits. What was striking to you about him . Well, this fact that he was so blunt. I think that and could be quite angry. I think was something that was unusual to see. And, did make it so it was a court that had to take him into account no matter what was happening. All right, cokie. Thank you. You were up late with the debate last night. We want to thank you for joining us herbally this morning. Paula and cokie, thank you both. Speaking of the debate, that scalia news played a prominent role in the debate overnight. This debate quickly got nasty. Right after the the moment of silence for Justice Scalia. Incredibly feisty. I dont think i have heard the word liar use sod much in a single debate. Lets go to tom llamas for more. Important debate. So much going on last night. That came from donald trump, on the defense all night, some of his biggest battles yet happening last night on the debate stage. It makes you wonder, and know, why South Carolinas primary is so important. That wild gop debate actually started peaceful and respectful. The passing of Antonin Scalia fresh on the minds of the six remaining candidates. All agreeing that president obama shouldnt fill the seat. He would ram down our throat a liberal justice. Were not going give up the u. S. Supreme court for a generation by allowing barack obama to make one more liberal appointee. Reporter then the real fight started. Jeb is so wrong. Jeb is absolutely so reporter donald trump booed loudly by the crowd during an epic clash are jeb bush about the bush family legacy. While donald trump was building a reality tv show, my apparatus to keep us safe. And im proud of what he did. After down reporter and in a rare move, defense. The World Trade Center came down because bill clinton didnt kill Osama Bin Laden when he had the chance. Reporter trump tangling with ted cruz, accusing him of running robocalls telling voters that the frontrunner wouldnt be on the ballot. Thats matter of principle. Youre the single biggest liar. Youre probably worse than jeb bush. This guy lied. Let me tell you. He lied about ben carson when he took votes away from ben carson in iowa. And he just continues. Reporter dr. Ben carson, refusing to join in on the exchanges . Is that really what you want . What we just saw . I dont think so. Predicting who will gain. I think were fixing to lose the election to Hillary Clinton if we dont stop this. Reporter now South Carolinas republican primary is next saturday. This next week may be the most important for jeb bush. Hell get help from president george w. Bush tomorrow on the trail. Hell likely face opposition from trump. Jeb bush and donald trump didnt shake hands yesterday. Last night, donald trump really for the first time in a debate, getting it from jeb bush and all sides. Rubio. Night. A lot of conservative writers think last night republicans were trying to take trump out. He was getting it from the audience, too. The gloves came off and for more, we want to bring in matt dowd for his take. Matt, first of all, as we just said, things got extremely ugly. There was a whole lot of are the attacks helping the candidates . Or doing damage to the gop brand . Demolition derby is entertaining to watch. But after the derby is over, every car is damaged. I think republicans are fast approaching a time of how personal and how visceral and how much namecalling there is that this is not going to do anybody any good in the course of this. They all may survive. But every time, it wont be a benefit going into a general election. And mat, South Carolina has the history of picking the nominee. Last time was the exception. Trump taking a chance last night by going after the bush family. InSouth Carolina. Which is, you know, that family is loved in that state. Well, as you know, george w. Bush won the state after losing badly in New Hampshire in 2000. That was his comeback. It put him back on the path to win the general election. Theyre wellloved there. Donald trump attacked george w. Lindsey graham, a u. S. Senator from South Carolina. He got booed by the audience. If donald trump wins South Carolina after all that, i think its very difficult to stop him. If hes able to win South Carolina in the midst of all that. Right. But this is a guy who has shown every and over again that the normal rules of politics dont apply to him. That said, is there anybody you think came out well last night . Jeb bush . Marco rubio . Kasich . Well, i think, to me, i had two sort of folks that i thought were winners in the course of it. I think john kasich did. He sort of tried to stay out of the fight. Stay above it all. And i think hes got an lift from his second place finish in New Hampshire. I thought he did well. I thought marco rubio, after his last awful debate performance, where he got taked by chris christie, i thought he did well. I thought jeb did fine. If i were picking two people i thought won, it would be john kasich and marco rubio. We want to remind you george has a big show this morning on this week request guests marco rubio and john kasich. And on the democratic side texas big winner in the New Hampshire primary, bernie sanders. Great to have you in studio. A huge story. Everybody wanted to come on overnight. Donald trump is going to join us. Ted cruz is going to join us. This issuey so huge. All the candidates want to weigh in. Thank you, george. Have great show. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. Sure. We want to turn to the dangerous cold in much of america. And Indra Petersons is on the story from a frigid central park. Good morning to you. Good morning, you know, since i cover weather a lot, i like to think im tougher than you guys. But when its this cold, its game over. Outright dangerous. Degrees. The actual low. Not that cold since 1994. Binghamton, the actual temperature, 18 below. Coldest ever. Very cold temperatures here. Lets look at how many of you are affected. Northeast. Were talking 20 below in new york city with the wind chill. Vollmar. Heres the current air temperature. 9 below zero in boston. A new record set this morning. 1957. When you factor in the wind it feels more like 41 below zero in worcester. The wind chill will be with us all day long. Feeling like below zero in boston with a lot of sunshine. Big changes coming though. Temperatures on the way up. A chance for snow on monday night turning to rain on tuesday. The takeaway . Stay indoors today. By tomorrow, things should quickly recover. Coming up on gma, bus on fire. The middle schooler sent rushing when they saw these flames. What happened next . A scary situation. On a happier note, the nbas allstar game stips off tonight. Well hear from steph curry about whether he thinks hes the best player in the game. Guess what his answer was . Im going the guess he didnt state it. This cold valentines day, we have the best rom com rentals for you and your sweetheart. You had me from hello. Oh, thank you. Soup and sandwich and somewhere to go, and clean and real and nowhere to be, and warmth and looking good, and sandwich and soup and inside jokes, and dan is back good, clean food pairs well with anything. The clean pairings menu. At panera. Food as it should be. With advil, you ll ask what backache . What sore wrist . What headache . What bad shoulder . Advil makes pain a distant memory. Nothing works faster strong