i hope that senator grassley and the entire u.s. senate will consider whoever president obama nominates in a timely fashion. that's their constitutional responsibility. but a week ago, justice scalia passed away and there were, you know, offers of condolences as is very appropriate when a supreme court justice dies, and but unfortunately, less than 24 hours had gone by after the death of justice scalia, less than 24 hours had gone by before senator grassley put out a public statement stating that the president shouldn't nominate anyone and this should wait until after the presidential election. basically saying that the president shouldn't fulfill his constitutional duties to fill a seat on the supreme court. in less than a day, senator grassley injected politics into the supreme court nominating process, less than a day after we think that that is completely irresponsible on his part. it's his role to give advice and consent to the nomination of the president. that's directly from article ii of the constitution. so we hope that sen

this would b a historic obstruction by senator grassley and the rest of the u.s. senate. we arm the -- we inform and arm folks with the best information we have and encourage them to take action on it. >> ron: so describe for me your ideal supreme court nominee, given ven your philosophical -- i guess we can call it a bias. i have a bias, yououave a bias, everyone has one. give me me your ideal candidate for the next supreme court nominee. this court has been somewhat conservative with justice roberts and justice scalia, but also has been liberal as well as an article in the "new york times" pointed out. in fact, let's see, in 2005, i believe it said, the "new york times" found that this has been one of theheost liberal courts since 1969. kind of surprised me given the makeup of the current court, but now one of the conservatives is gone, so the roberts court will have a totally different look. what is your ideal nominee? >> matt: well, i'm not an attorney, not a legal expert of any kind, b bt i would -- >> ron: but you're an american. >> matt: i am. i trust the president

grassley said that's based on history. sen. grassley: in the last 18 months of bush, democrats were gonna make sure bush was not supreme court. cynthia: today grassley said after giving it more thought, he implied he wouldn't rule out holding hearings on an obama nominee but would only say. sen. grassley: i will take it a step at a time. he hasn't nominated anyone yet. cynthia: the constitution states the president can nominate with the advice and consent of the senate. matt sinovac who questioned grassley about the process was not pleased with his comments. matt sinovac: he kept repeating one step at a time, but didn't say yes or no vote. he tried to be very vague and play political with this nomination process. eric: president obama challenged republicans tuesday to offer any plausible rationale for refusing to consider a supreme court candidate and vowed to nominate an outstanding legal mind. elizabeth: the man looking to unseat senator grassley disagrees with him when it comes to the selection process for the next supreme c

thanks to senator charles grassley... supreme court nominating process the grassley--reid feud goes back to 2013 when reid got some senate rules changed and was able to confirm dozens of mostly liberal judges while he was still senate majority leade in the senate. still to come on the k-w-w-l news at it looks like a firework explodes in this guy's pocket -- find out what really exploded... you might have one on you... and... an iowa high school makes some big changes to their bathrooms to be more inclusive to all students and staff members. --------- --------- bringing a death toll from bad weather to five. severe weather hits throughout the east and the south == take a look at this drone video over pensacola, florida... you can see damage to several buildings with debris scattered all over the ground. the tornado tore up a two mile path - hittings homes, cars and trees. at last report, at least 70 homes and 24 apartments were severely damaged. a man's e- cigarette explodes while it's in his pocket.... stop what you're do

people here learned grassley's answers won't step past that. mos "my question is will you continue to obstruct the president's nomination and at what point in the president's term does the constitution expire." s/ sen. chuck grassley/ (r) iowa "i don't set the agenda of the united states senate. question: in your committee?" "i will take it a step at a time. the president hasn't nominated anybody yet." if he does, grassley's washington power's on display. judiciary committee... and that committee's the first step in hearings for a supreme court nominee. as chair, it's grassley's call whether to hold those hearings... but he doesn't think the lame duck president should put him in that position. s/ sen. chuck grassley/ (r) iowa "i think i'm pretty clear that this should carry over to the next election but on the other hand i think take it a step at a time." after the town hall, we pushed to know that next step now. reporter off camera: "you're not ready at this point to say it doesn't matter who the name is, we're not going to take it. why are yo

so maybe grassley has changed his tune. but as you heard before, he says times have changed as well. >>amanda: despite all this the nominate somebody. and there are a lot of names surfacing on the possible short list of picks. let's take a look. those include the current u.s. atatrney general lorettataynch, homeland security y cretary jeh johnson, california's attornrn general kamala harris, and two sitting senators, amy klobuchar from minnesota or orrin hatch from utah. other names surfacing a handful of sitting judges from districts all across the country including one name that some iowans might know, jane kelly. she's a circuit judge for the 8th circuit court of appeals, a former public defender in cedar rapids, and a harvard law school classmate of president obama. even though senator grassley has said he doesn't think anybody should be confirmed until the next president is in place, kelly is someone you'd think he may be more open to considering, right? well, grassley a aually championed herer nomination to the federa

if he does, grassley's washington power's on display. he chairs the powerful senate judiciary committee... and that committee's the first step in hearings for a supreme court nominee. as chair, it's grassley's call whether to hold those hearings... but he doesn't think the lame duck president should put him in that position. sen. chuck grassley/ (r) iowa "i think i'm pretty clear that this should carry over to the next election but on the other hand i think take it a step at a a me." to kw that next step now. reporter off camera: "you're not ready at this point to say it doesn't matter who the name is, we're not going to take it. why are you holding back?" sen. chuck grassley/ (r) iowa "i'm not holding i'm taking it one step at a time. i'm saying we're taking it one step at a time." >> warmrm weather is headed o o way. pretty soon. ben's back with details after this... it's still cloudy in spencer, where the current << gets back on track! today will once again be cloudy and cool with highghin patchy fog, although some of you sun which wi

but senator grassley has surrendered every pretense of independence. he let the majorit -- so partist that the senior senator from iowa won't respond to a personal invitation from the president inviting him to the white house to discuss the vacancy p. think about that. the president of the united states calls a very senior senator here and doesn't even repond to the president. this is a sad day for one of the proudest committees in the united states senate. so i ask, is this the legacy that he wants? is this how he wants his committee work remembered, as a chairman who refused his duty and instead allowed the republican leader to ride roughshod over the jurisdiction of the committee chairman. the strengths of the judiciary committee in senate have been legendary. no majority/minority leader could tell a chair what to do with his committee. that was off-balance. but it doesn't appear so now. in abdicating his responsibility, the senate has always held republicans -- has always upheld -- never in the history of the cou, has the senate ever refused to do

if he does, grassley's washington power's on display. he chairs the powerful senate judiciary committee... and that committee's the first step in hearings for a supreme court nominee. as chair, it's grassley's call whether to hold those hearings... but he doesn't think the lame duck president should put him in that position. s/ "i think i'm pretty clear that this should carry over to the next think take it a step at a time." to know that next step now. reporter off camera: "you're not ready at this point to say it doesn't matter who the name is, we're not holding back?" s/ sen. chuck grassley/ (r) iowa "i'm not holding i'm taking it one step at a time. i'm saying we're taking it one step at a time." >> after our little taste of spring on friday, the mild weather has not let up too terribly much. temperatures were just a little cooler for our saturday afternoon, but the lots of sunshine is still being felt making it feel quite nice outside. a front is expected to move through in the overnight hours tonight. not much moisture is associated

jack: they say back in 2008 grassley argued this issue the exact opposite way as now. this is when one of president george bush's judicial nominees was being held up by a then- democratic majority. here's what he said then. "the reality is that the senate has never stopped confirming judicial nominees during the last few months of a president's term," jack/2ram: so if senator grassley has his way and the delayed this time -- what would that mean? stephanie: well, the remaining members of the supreme court will continue to hear their cases, but they may reach some ties because there are 8 members now. that would result in the judgment of the lower court being upheld. however it's possible the court could re- order arguments once a new justice is named, in the case of a tie. jack: we want to know your thoughts on this-- is it the right move for the senate to delay for a new president. stephanie: with us on facebook and your thoughts. send us an email to: "news at we are iowa dot com" or call us in the newsroom: 1- 800-858-5555 we'd love to hear what you think about this

in cedar rapids -- grassley's fellow iowa senator joni ernst weighed in too. "the president will come forward with a nomination and we don't know when that's going to be. once that comes forward, it'll have to go through the judiciary committee so a step at a timeis the best way to approach this and we do hope that the presidnet will nominate someone who will

grassley said that's based on history. administration, the democrats were going to make sure he did not appoint anybody to the suprcourt. cynthia: today grassley said , after giving it more thought, he implied he wouldn't rule out holding hearings on an obama nominee, but would only say -- senator grassley i will take it : a step at a time. he hasn't nominated anyone yet. cynthia: the constitution states the president can nominate with the advice and consent of the senate. matt sinovac, who questioned grassley about the process, was not pleased with his answers. the kept repeating that we will take it one step at a time, but he tried to be very vague and continued to play political games with this nomination process. cynthia: president obama today challenged republicans to offer any plausible rationale for refusing to consider a supreme court candidate, and he vowed to nominate an outstanding legal mind. stacey: the man looking to unseat senator grassley comes to the selection process for the next supreme court justice. st

(senator chuck grassley) feelings about miss. kelly but that's if i said anything just about her then we'd get back to the individual and this isn't about that individual this is about the process and it's about people voice in the process. " despite the opposition, president obama say he intends to do his job, which includes appointing supreme court justices, until his term is up next year. " (jenna) fred, it's going to be much warmer the next few days, right? (fred) that is correct, jenna! 2 line super: fred hexom fhexom@kcautv.c om (fred) the port neal welding company skycam hd from the ho chunk centre in sioux city shows a breeze. 37 was the high today and 30 the low. let's head over to storm lake for the skycam hd in eastern siouxland. highs over western iowa were mainly in southeastern south dakota ranged from the 30s to the 50s today. 36 is our sioux city temperature. local temperatures are mainly in the 30s. winds are southeast at 5 to 15 miles per hour. visibility is slightly reduced across many parts of siouxland, espec

hear why iowa senator chuck grassley is right in the middle of it. it's been an overcast cloudy day after our morning mix move through the state. more than three- tenths of an inch of rain fell in des moines this morning. it will be dry tonight, but patchy fog may develop. temperatures will drop from the mid 30s this evening to the upper 20s later tonight. the constitution is pretty clear about what's supposed to happen now. the constitution is pretty clear about what's supposed to happen and the president says what's supposed to happen is in his hands. in a press conference this afternoon, he reiterated his plans to choose a replacement for supreme court justice antonin scalia... some republicans say since obama leaves office next year, the next president should pick the replacement. this makes iowa's senator chuck grassley a prominent figure in the debate. so, political director dave price traveled to marengo to find out 20:55...i want to respond to all your questions in this marengo public library basement...where there were more people than chair

we'll hear from iowa senator chuck grassley... who is continuing to speak out against president obama ... hear why ... after the break ... scott: we'll have... abc9 news this morning... with ... lukas voss... and meteorologist scott larson.. this is abc9 news this some cloudy skies on this thursday morning. visibility is low in northern and eastern siouxland with some light fog which has spread through the region. temperatures are in the 30s throughout the area and most spots are above freezing. the planner displays highs getting into the lower 50s. the stormcast hd shows than normal temperatures. today's high is 52 with mostly cloudy skies. tonight's low is 39 and it'll be mostly clear and comfortable. tomorrow's high is 61 with sunshine. it'll be warm and windy. here's a glance at your full 7 day forecast. lukas scott: low in northern and eastern siouxland with some light fog which has spread temperatures are in the 30s throughoutthe area and most spots are above freezing. the the lower 50s. the stormcast hd shows a very quiet p

senator grassley responded he'd take the nomination process , quote, "one step at a time." <"the senate has the right to consent or not consent so we'll be following the constitution"> elias: also attending the meetings, members of the activist group why courts matter...who say the senator is playing the issue two different ways. they point to 2008, when he argued the exact opposite...as a judicial nominee from president bush was held up by a democratic controlled senate. here's what he said then. "the reality is that the senate has never stopped confirming judicial nominees during the last few we've been getting lots of feedback about senator grassley's actions... cherie mortice says the senator is obstructing the constitution by trying to influence the nomination... adding that quote "grassley proves again that he will leave a legacy of political gamesmanship and manipulation." dennis goodrich reminds us that the supreme court is not the president's or senate's...but the people's. going on to say that the president and senate are quote "....are elected for their full term

focusing entirely on grassley. according to politico reid said --quote-- 'senator grassley has surrendered every pretense of independence ... this is a sad day for one of the proudest committees in the united states senate." 'we dont have to go back to 1980 or 1982 to prove the current chairmans ineptness. look at the spike in judicial emergencies that occurred on chairman grassleys watch just in the past year.' today we took those accusations from reid to senator grassley. he says the democratic leader is 404 "right now as the chairman i'm inept ... voted out with wide bipartisan support ... that tells you something right there." 606 "i'm not afraid to go to the that president obama and i very much agree on ... to reform sentencing ... broad bipartisan agreement on that bill as well." meanwhile president obama says he will follow through with his constitutional authority and nominate someone for the high ... whether the senate holds confirmation hearings for the nominee or not. nevada governor brian sandoval - a r

senator grassley held events today in eastern iowa. kcrg t-v nine's dave franzman was there and joins us live from marengo. dave, how did the senator explain his comments from 29 years ago? here in marengo for a town hall meeting earlier today. and he noted his comments about justice kennedy's nomination were different. he said that's because kennedy was the last of three nominees and the process had started the year before president reagan's final year in office. a couple of questions from the audience during the hour long event concerned the supreme court vacancy and whether republicans would even consider a nominee made by president obama. two activists planned to shadow grassley at each of three events asking if he would allow hearings. the senator made no promises either way. "the president has the authority...the senate has the responsibility we hope he does his job" "the senate has the right to consent or not consent so we'll be following the constitution" senator grassley used the time" repeatedly when asked what his judiciary

senator grassley and the other laura:senator grassley and the other -- laura: senator grassley and the other republicans on the judiciary committee released a letter tuesday saying they won't hold hearings on any supreme court nominee until after our next president is sworn in on january 20, 2017, in the interest of the american people. >> to say that this is respecting the will of the american people is simple nonsense. this is deeply down highly charged partisan interests. laura: grassley says vice president joe biden's statements back in 1992 as the chairman of the judiciary committee show why the senate should not take up a nominee. >> action on a supreme court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is >> in his heart of hearts he understands why the senate must do what he said it must do in 1992. laura: political experts say both republicans and democrats have used this argument before but denying a hearing is going too far. >> i think the framers would be rolling in their graves at the lack of cooperation. eric: kcci made several attempts to do a satellite i

"history won't forget this misstep by grassley." "the hawkeye" burlington, iowa, the oldest newspaper in the state in iowa. an editorial in iowa's oldest newspaper, as i indicated, "the burlington hawkeye." the misstep is an unprecedented decision by the senior senator from iowa and the republican leader to deny the president to fill the current supreme court vacancy. the editorial ends with this declaration -- and i quote -- "a few weeks back when the longest tenured senator from iowa passed a vote we lauded his service to us. we noted in casting votes on matters before the senate, he was doing what iowans elected him to do. we gave grassley an atta boy for that. we take it back. we take it back. that's a blistering statement. a revealing statement, a substantive statement. we take it back. there's a lesson that senator grassley and my republican colleagues should learn from this editorial. by refusing to give president obama's supreme court a meeting, a hearing, or a vote, they are banning the oath of office they swore when they b

senator grassley takes a strong stand in the debate over nominating a new supreme court nominee. do iowans agree? >> you are watching kcci 8 news. eric: also this morning severe storms. new video from down south. tornadoes tore through the gulf coast. we'll show you the hardest hit areas. good morning everyone, it's wednesday february 24. i'm eric hanson. elizabeth: i'm elizabeth klinge. here are nice and quiet weather continues. metinka: we got the better end of the deal. cloud cover over central iowa and chilly winds. 35 degrees starting out. it is a pretty nice day. temperatures will be cooler than yesterday. we have 46 yesterday. today we are headed for 41. the winds are going to become a little bit gusty. tomorrow is going to be breezy friday looks better. over the weekend, it is going to be warm, 60's and 50's. eric: big stories in central iowa, des moines police are investigating a shooting in an elementary school parking lot. it happened at park avenue elementary on southwest 9th street. police say a man in his teens or early 20's was shot in the leg there and then went t

i was senator charles grassley is sending a clear message to president obama. his judiciary committee will not hold any hearings on a supreme court nominee. the committee sent a letter saying they will not consider a nominee until after the next resident is sworn in. eric: des moines police reporting a shooting in an element or school parking lot. he was shot in a leg at park view elementary. no word on his app condition. a former boone maness charged with killing his wife, emily and 2012. tuesday, prosecutors say he stood to lose his job, home, and children if they couple divorced. elizabeth: one of nearly two dozen tornadoes touched down south last night. major damages reported. gold's gym was destroyed. three people have died and more than 30 injuries were reported. survivor say entire neighborhoods are unrecognizable. to the south, snow. video from what looks like a messy st. louis. going to be a rough ride for many drivers heading to work. slushy snow on the ground there. eric: tornadoes in the south but here it is just chilly. metinka: right now we have c

senator grassley it isn't a : question of chuck grassley, it's a question of all 11 members of the committee feeling the same way i do. steve: grassley's office says it is in touch with the white house to work out a time, likely next week, when the senator can meet with president obama to discuss the matter. meanwhile, president obama says he is planning to go ahead with plans to nominate a new supreme court justice, just as the constitution requires. speaking during a meeting with jordan's king abdullah in the oval office, the president says he knows grassley and the republicans are under enormous political pressure, but that should not be a factor. still the, news at 6:00, the iowa hawkeyes had a week off after last week's loss to penn state. tonight they're back at carver wisconsin. tony seeman is live to preview a crucial big 10 game. stacey: and, it has been a part of c so, let me get this straight -- u.s. cellular has the phone you're looking for, way out here where the other guys don't, and 6 gigs for only $40 a month. that's a lot less than verizon and at&t. so, why on earth would yo

senator grassley does it become : an issue about who he nominates? absolutely not. it's an issue about the process. and this is an opportunity for court justice. cynthia: iowa senator charles grassley, who heads the senate judiciary committee, says he will not hold hearings. : responsibility to see where my consult with each other. you can't have the chair going one direction and 10 members of his caucus going in another direction. cynthia: still the president , says it will be difficult for republicans to explain blocking the nomination. pres. obama: i recognize the politics are hard for them, because the easier thing to do is to give in to the most extreme voices within their party. cynthia: meantime a new tv ad by , justice not politics is airing here this week, featuring sandra day o'connor calling for an i think we need somebody there now to do the job. cynthia: the ad asks iowans to call grassley to ask him to hold hearings, stating once again, the nation looks to iowa. senator grassley's office says it is working with the white house to set a time to meet, li

judiciary committee, grassley would have an important role in this process. here's an excerpt from that editorial, quote: "this could have been a "profile in courage" moment for senator grassley. this was an opportunity for our senior senator to be less of a politician and more of a statesman. but he chose instead to disregard his constitutional duty by rejecting a nominee who hasn't even been named." jack/ots: part of the reason grassley says he doesn't want to vote on any appointments from president obama, is based on precedent. in a statement sent out saturday after the passing of justice scalia, he said, quote: "the fact of the matter is that it's been standard practice over the last nearly 80 years that supreme court nominees are not nominated and confirmed during a presidential election year." jack: grassley was asked about this during a series of town hall meetings in eastern iowa today, where he said he'd take the nomination process "one step at a time." he was followed in these meetings by the activist group "why courts matter," inconsistent. during

grassley said that's based on history.

that was what senator charles grassley said last week when asked when he'll consider president obama's nominee. but now it appears... one step at a time... will take a while. yesterday, grassley announced the committee will not consider a nominee to the u-s supreme court until after the presidential election. the longest supreme court nomination process in u-s history took only 125 days. president obama has more than 300 left in

grassley on his call to delay a justice nomination until after the presidential election. kwwl's kristii rogers was t senator grassley's town hall in marengo today, a couple people from the group "why courts matter iowa" was represented at this meeting and said they planned going to others later today as well. they directly asked the senator if he planned to follow his duties under the constitution. the heat was on in smmll library. the hot topic, his stance on obama nominating a replacement for jusice scalia on the supreme court. the answer to most of the questions included the same phrase (cg: chuck grassley/ senator) "i'm not holding back` i'm taking it a step at a time." "i'm saying we're goin to takak it a step at the time." "i think i'm pretty clear this should carry over to the next with us eventually." a number of questions were asked throughout the meeting but nearly all of them relating to the supreme court nomination had the same answer. two people from the group called "why courts mater iowa" was also in attendence....concerned with how grassley may handle the

we will have more from senator grassley on this topic coming up tonight at 6. april trial date is set for a cy-ride bus driver accused in a deadly hit and run near the iowa state campus. benjamin clague is pleading not guilty to charges of leaving the on april fifth. i-s-u frfrshman emmalee jacobs died in a hit and run in decmeber. she was from urbana. clague entered that written plea yesterday -- on top of that, he's already pleaded not guilty to failing to obey a traffic control device. man is shot twice. it happened in cedar rapids on the sixth of febuary -- 44-year-old richard smith was r rleased from the hososital for his injuries. investigators say the shooter was a child who thought he was actng in self-defense at the time. a woman is now in critical condition after a deadly fire inside her home. it happened in cedar rapids yesterday. investigators say ronald jacobs died at the scene while his wife karen was taken to the university of iowa hospitals and clinics where has life-threatening injuries and is in critical conditions. police say they weren't abl

iowa senator chuck grassley accelerated her nomination. grassley is now the chairman of the senate judiciary committee. kcrg-tv nine's forrest saunders joins me now. forrest, does grassley's past support of kelly make her a strong potential nominee? that's a good question, but hard to answer. grassley has started towing the party linin sayyg the president should wait for his successor to nominate candidates. quote: "given the huge divide in the country, and the fact that this president, above all others, has use the courts to through his own we defer to the american people who will elect a new president to sesect the next supreme e urt justice." if republicans don't get their way, university of iowa political scientist tim hagle thinks the gop will stonewall any nominees until a new president is elected. that will reset the whole process. " i think that their better move will be to delay. if you give hearings to somebody and that person comes across as knowledgeable and calm it becomes harder to vote no." kelly was confirmed in 83 days to

grassley responded he'd take the nomination process , quote, "one step at a time." <"the senate has the right to consent or not consent so we'll be following the constitution"> elias: also attending the meetings, members of the activist group why courts matter...who say the senator is playing the issue two different ways. they point to 2008, when he argued the exact opposite...as a judicial nominee from president bush was held up by a democratic controlled here's what he said then. stopped confirming judicial nominees during the last few months of a president's term," elias: we've been getting lots of feedback about senator grassley's actions... cherie mortice says the senator is obstructing the constitution by trying to adding that quote "grassley proves again that he will leave a legacy of political gamesmanship and manipulation." dennis goodrich reminds us that the supreme court is not the president's or senate's...but the people's. going on to say that the president and senate are quote "....are elected for their full terms to do the business of the people. they

we interviewed senator grassley on our five o'clock show - here's what he had to say about his work as chairman. "now i may be chairman of that committee, but i've gotten almost 20 bills out of committee consensus so the decision that was made on tuesday by our party and not just chuck grassley." grassley says he and fellow republicans believe voters deciding on a president this november should get a say in who replaces justice antonin scalia. former iowa state sen. kent sorenson pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct a day before his trial in a domestic abuse case. sorenson is charged with interference with official acts in connection with a july arrest at his home in warren county. sorenson's lawyer says a dispute involving the former lawmaker and his wife was blown out of proportion. coming up... its senior night at the mcleod center--as the northern iowa panthers face indiana state in a critical missouri valley conference showdown. and the eighth ranked iowa hawkeyes play host to a red hiot wisconsin team looking to play panthers will say goodbye to three key members of its basketbal

kcrg-tv9's dave franzman is live in marengo, one of grassley's stops today. dave, the president doeplan to nominate someone to replace scalia. that will put a lot of pressure on grassley to hold hearings in his committee. what did he say today? bruce, the senator used the phrase "one step at a time" to describe how the senate judiciary committee would react if the president does submit a nommee. and he used thatat phrase repeatedly without committing himself to step. senate grassley took a few general questions from the audience on other topics. but media attention was totally focused on the issue of a supreme court nominee in president obama's final year in office. and the sesetor wasnsn buying predictions of republicans paying a political price for doing nothing. "you'd have to prove to me we'd be taking a hit at this point " over the weekend, the senator agreed with top republblans the nomination should come from the new president next year. one activist who was trailing grassley in all his appearances tuesday said that was too long to wait for important c

senator chuck grassley. against obama appointing a quote: "given the huge divide in the fact that this president, above all others, has about his goal to use the courts to circumvent congress and push through his quote grassley believes the pesident should defer the the remainder of his term critics of grassley have brought up the critics of grassley have brought up the last time this appointment of kennedy during regan's last term as president. lukas: and grassley's not the only siouxland senator potential scotus fischehespent monday in south sioux city nebraska for a q-and-a. when asked about the potential appointment, like supreme court justices, we need to look the best decision replacement. the process and i the president confirmed supreme court justice at this point in his tenure in the white house. it has been a long long time since that has happened and there's a reason for it. so i probably that the president not have tha appointment confirmed." says senator fischer. fischer also spoke to nebraskans

grassley says voters should have a voice in the nominating process. he says that can happen if about their criteria for a supreme court justice. he says it's not about a person, it's about the process. grassley is chairman of the senate judiciary committee which holds hearings on supreme court nominees. the boys club of sioux city will become the boys and girls club this summer. the transition is underway and on june 6th, it will begin welcoming girls for its summer program. with more than 4- thousand clubs across the country, sioux city's is one of only four that still is just a boys club. the club will offer some "female specific" programs to make the transition easier. local leaders are launching an effort to bring more green to downtown sioux city. downtown susatinable communities are putting together ideas for greenspaces, like more planters on the sidewalk or rooftop gardens. and they want your ideas. they'll hold a community open house saturday, march 5th at the public museum from noon to three. a three-million dollar makeover at the downtown h

grassley is chairman of the senate judiciary would hear from a potential nominee. he and his fellow senate gop colleagues decided earlier today not to host any hearings on a potential nominee. grassley spoke on the senate floor yesterday to defend his position that the senate should not vote on a replacement during an election year. he used vice president joe biden's remarks as senate judiciary chairman back in 1992 when faced with the same problem. "it is my view that the prospects for anything but confilgration with respect to a supreme court nomination this year are remote at best....(wipe) senate consideration of a nomination is not fair to the president, to the nominee, or to the senate itself." stephanie: here's a part of grassley's statement on the senate floor monday, noting that quote "the biden rules recognize the court can operate smoothly with eight members for some time, and that vice senate must do. it's unknown whether or not president obama will nominate a supreme court justice in the coming weeks. senate republican leaders are urging grassley and m

stephanie/ram: the calls are growing louder for iowa senator chuck grassley to be open to considering an obama supreme court nominee. grassley caused some controversy last weekend, when he said the replacement for justice scalia, who passed away, should be made by the next president. he's been talking about it at some recent town hall meetings in eastern iowa, saying he would however take the process "step by step." grassley is chairman of the senate judiciary committee, so he plays an important role in the nomination process. as of today, nearly 4,000 people have signed this petition from progress iowa, called "grassley do your job." it says he's playing political games with an important constitutional duty. we talked to the executive director of progress iowa who visited with grassley at " "it was not entirely clear. he started off saying we would take it one step at a time, make no promises, then he said he watned to wait until after pres election year, then he said he doesnt have the authority to bring up a vote though he said he doesnt have the authority to bring up a vote though

grassley says that makes a huge concern because of a potential of reduced competition, force layoffs, and the history right here in iowa, "and they better take that into consideration. because they merge, split into three companies. make an agricultural seed company and then want to move all this out of iowa or even move the corporate headquarrout oiano. that stuff should be in iowa." grassley hinted he may be persuading committee members r a possible call for they're one of the wall street banks that triggered the financial meltdown -- goldman sachs. just settled with authorities for their part in the crisis that put seven million out of work and millions out of their homes. how does wall street get away with it? millions in campaign contributions and speaking fees. our economy works for wall street because it's rigged by wall street. and that's the problem. as long as washington is bought and paid for, we can't build an economy that works for people. the american people can't afford to wait for ideas that sound good on paper... but will never make it in the real world. the grandmoth

hogg says grassley's stance is part of washington's problem. mr. hogg: that is really exhibit a of what is wrong wrong with congress right now. we need congress to stop acting in their partisian interests and start acting in the long term interest of our people, our country, and our future. stacey: this entire selection showdown was sparked by the death of justice antonin scalia. today, his chair at the supreme court was draped in black. there will be a public viewing for the justice friday. saturday. steve: we had rain on and off throughout central iowa this morning, making for slick roads and several school delays, even some cancellations. a few minor accidents reported during the wet and slushy morning commute. that rain, wet weather may cause some problem. kurtis: we factor a little bit of that snow melting. lots of moisture in the air. right now, we not doing too bad. at least for now, fog not a big problem, but later tonight, expecting its role in around 10:00. going to be some icy spots tonight. tomorrow's high just 37 degrees. after that, t

if he does, grassley's washington power's on display. he chairs the powerful senate judiciary committee... and that committee's the first step in hearings for a supreme court nominee. as chair, it's grassley's call whether to hold those hearings... but he doesn't think the lame duck president should put him in that position. should carry over to the next election but on the other hand i think take it a step at a time." after the town hall, we pushed to know that next step now. reporter off camera: "you're not ready at this point to say we're not going to take it. why "i'm not holding i'm taking it one step at a time. i'm saying we're taking it one step at a time." a couple people from the group "why courts matter iowa" challenged grassley on his call to delay the nomination. senator grassley said he is following his duties under the constitution. in less than two weeks, iowa will turn over management of its medicaid system to three private companies. the change was supposed to happen on january first. it was delayed when federal regulato

grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: mr. president, i rise for the purpose of showing how one bureaucracy, the corps of engineers, and to some extent the e.p.a. working with them, is going -- has already made farming very difficult, and how if the waters of the u.s. rule goes into effect, it can be much worse than even what i'm going to be referring to. now i'm going to quote word for word a farmer's problem from the "iowa farm bureau spokesman" january 27, 2016. and then i'm going to make some comment on it. and for that reason since i'm told the next speaker isn't going to come until 10:15, i ask unanimous consent to continue until that time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: before i start quoting, this is a story about a california farmer by the name of john dewarty of tihama county, california. the title, "one farmer's ordeal: signal agency's actions under waters of the u.s." "all john dewarty did was hire a guy to plow some grazing land so that he could raise wheat on 450 acres that his family had

in cedar rapids -- grassley's fellow iowa senator joni ernst weighed in too. "the president will come forward with a nomination and we don't know when that's going to be. once that comes forward, it'll have to go through the judiciary committee so a step at a timeis the best way to approach this and we do hope that the presidnet will nominate someone who will follow the constitution but that remains to be seen. every week -- we'll be going inside iowa politics -- talking about the people not trying to move into the white iowa congressman steve king may pay a price for backing ted cruz -- who is pretty critical of the renewable fuel standard.sioux city iowa state sentator rick bertrand confirmed to the sioux city journal late in the week that he is considering a run for king's seat in a primary challenge.congressman king has been in the house since 2002 -- and has won seven straight elections. advocates for decreasing drug use held a "day on the hill" event at the statehouse this week.steffi lee shows us what their ultimate message was and what the youth involv

grassley is the chair of the senate judiciary committee. he and other republicans on the committee sent a letter to senate majority leader mitch mcconnell yesterday with the decision. today, grassley told reporters the senate should wait until the next president takes office and selects a nominee to fill the seat that became vacant with the death of justice antonin scalia. he said he believes americans should have a voice in the process. "this issue is not about a person. because that's really what president might nominate somebody. does it become an issue about who he nominates? absolutely not. it's an issue about the process. " today, president obama said he believes the judiciary committee should consider his nominee. he said a refusal to consider the nominee could hurt the supreme court's credibility. he is planning to meet with grassley next week to discuss the situation. some central city parents claim the school district is in serious debt, and they're petitioning for a re-audit of the district's 2015 fiscal year. they say the distri

senator grassley planned to hold town halls in tama and vintin following marengo today, the coalition "why courts matter iowa" said they planned on warmer weather is on its way! let's go to storm track seven chief meteorologist mark schnackenberg now for your first forecast. from the kwwl stormtrack here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: the sky remains cloudy tonight with the potential for areas of wwnesday since the wind remainsns light. the coldest day, of the next seven, is wednesday. temperatures. highs will be in the 40s and and some 50s thursday through sunday. to get gusty wind is most likely needed. thursday and friday wind gusts will be near 35 or 40 mph. the wind and warm temperatures will melt a lot of snow on the ground. we might the potential for areas of fog to form. some of it could be locally dense and linger into wednesday since the wind remains light. the coldest day, of the next seven, is wednesday. thursday into early next week expect above normal temperatures. highs will be in the 40s and and some 50s thursday through sun

senate grassley took a few general questions from the audience on other topics. but media attention was totally focused on the issue of a supreme court nominee in president obama's final year in office. and the sesetor wasnsn buying predictions of republicans paying a political price for doing nothing. "you'd have to prove to me we'd be taking a hit at this point " over the weekend, the senator agreed with top republblans the nomination should come from the new president next year. one activist who was trailing grassley in all his appearances tuesday said that was too long to wait for important court decisions. " the supreme court is the supreme court of the land and they need to be fully staffed " grassley says his role on the judiciary committee would be to begin the process of looking at a nominee's qualificatitis and he made no promises without seeing what the president would do first. " whether we consent or don't consent... we're still following the constitution " republicans have indicated a reluctanan to take up a supreme court nominee approved 320 other

grassley is one of the great senators here. he's totally honest. we all know it. and he speaks his mind. and we all know that, too. madam president, i've served longer on the judiciary committee than any other current member of this body. except for senator leahy. during these past four decades, including during my more than eight years as chairman of the committee, i have strived to develop a record of true fairness toward the nominations made by presidents of each party. i have absolutely no doubt that the treatment of this vacancy fits squarely within this record of fairness. the bottom line here is simple -- the constitution obliges the senate to take its role seriously as a check on the president in the consideration of lifetime appointments to the federal courts, especially the supreme court. with voting already under way to replace our lame-duck president, delaying consideration of a nomination until after the election comports not only with historical practice but also the prescription of key democrats in the senate on the white house over many years. by p

grassley has a big role as chair of the senate judiciary committee. we interviewed him yesterday. this is something where the advantage of that but don't forget the congress' role is consent to his nominee. we can not consent. or we can just as we mentioned earlier -- senator grassley will meet with the president next week. republicans want the next president to choose a nominee. the race for the white house takes us to texas tonight for another debate. republican presidential hopefuls face-off in houston. coming off his win in nevada tuesday night, frontrunner donald trump hopes to build on that momentum -- just days before super tuesday. a former republican presidential nominee says he believes there could be a "bombshell" in donald trump's tax history. mitt romney told fox news that trump and other candidates need to release all their tax information. he suggested trump is not as wealthy as he claims, and is not paying certain taxes. this is what trump had to say "well because my returns are nobody's been bringing it up reason he brings it up is because he lost in the last elec

senator grassley is the head of the senate judiciary committee. the audience asked questions about the supreme court vacancy. they wondered if grassley would allow hearings for president obama's nominee. the senator made no o promises either way. "the president has the authority...the senate hahathe responsibility we hope he does his job" "the senate has the right to consent or not consent so we'll be following the constitution" senator grassley used the phrase "one step at a what his judiciaryommittee would do if the president does nominate someone in his fifil year in office. republicans in south carolina will go to the polls on saturday for that state's primary. despite jeb bush's hope he would do better in that state, recent polls still show donald trump leading. but right now, here's a look at today's opening farm markets. good morning! it's ---. plan on a decent february day plan on a decent february day with an overall partly cloudy sky. the sky will be clearer the farther northeast you go. highs will range from 30 northeast to around 37 so