the shutdown showdown going down to the wire congress racing to strike a deal to keep the government up and

run before tomorrow's deadline we're live in d.c. with the latest on the talks and the controversial new gop proposal to push back the age of retirement for social security divided over the legal battle why the whiplash from a texas great la immigration law is leading to confusion. the fbi joins the search for an escaped inmate, leaving three officers injured and will investors sen reddit to the moon the social media giant is going public today read my lips you're fired the shocking i immigrations agaallegations agains shohei otani's interpreter would you happily strap yourself inside a rocket good news, nasa is hiring. find out if you have the right stuff. it's thursday, march 21st. "early today" starts right now

good morning, i'm frances rivera time is run out for congress to prevent a partial shutdown lawmakers have just one more day to pass a funding bill to keep key government agencies open they say they've reached a tentative deal, but we are still waiting on the text of the bill to be released nbc's brie jackson joins us from d.c. what's the latest on these negotiations >> reporter: good morning, frances. leaders of both parties seem optimistic about this deal the bill would provide funding to keep key agencies open, including the departments of defense, labor and department of homeland security. the dhs was a sticking point for republicans. >> that last piece, the homeland piece, was the most difficult to negotiate, because the two parties have a wide chasm between them, as you know. i think the final product is something that we were able to achieve a lot of key provisions in and wins and a move in the right direction that we want, even with our tiny, historically

small majority >> reporter: sources with direct knowledge say johnson spent yesterday morning walking through r republicans through the wins in this bill that include an increase in border agents and i.c.e. beds. meanwhile, there's another budget proposal getting a lot of attention. the republican study committee, which includes about 80% of gop house members includes a plan for raising the age for social security this budget is unlikely to become a law this year, but it will likely play a big role in the fight for the white house. president biden has promised not to cut benefits and attacked republicans during his state of the union address over this issue. the white house budget proposal would cover those programs by raising taxes on the wealthiest earners. frances? >> brie jackson for us, thanks mexico is condemning the

texas border law that is still on hold. mexico's president calls the law which would allow local texas authorities to arrest and deport migrants dehumanizing. he says mexico will not accept deportations and the ongoing court battle is causing confusion at our southern border. here's morgan chesky >> reporter: a controversial immigration law still on hold. 24 hours after the supreme court gave the green light for it to begin. federal appeals court holding a hearing over the texas law known as sb-4, which allows state and local authorities to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the southern border illegally, and allows state judges to deport them. the judges appearing skeptical of the law >> this is the first time, it seems to me, that a state has claimed that they have the right to remove illegal aliens >> reporter: governor greg abbott standing by the law, saying texas is taking action because president biden has not stopped a record number of migrants >> what's going on on the border

is nothing short of catastrophic >> reporter: texas had already placed razor wire and buoys to deter migrants from crossing illegally, moves challenged in court by the biden administration so far, in 2024, most illegal crossings have been in arizona and california a trend some border officials tell nbc news is due to those tougher policies in texas. zapata county sheriff is in favor of the new law >> sb-4, i do support it what we're targeting is the violence, the cartel people that want to, violent offenders that want to come across. >> reporter: but in maverick county where crowds converged on eagle pass last fall, the sheriff has reservations on its face, are you in favor of sb-4 >> not until i get more information how it's going to work >> reporter: and do you know when that will be? >> i don't >> reporter: the sheriff concerned over where arrested migrants would go. his detention center already at capacity

>> we're here in the middle trying to see what's going to happen it's more like politics between the state and federal government that's the way i see it. >> reporter: and where does that put you? >> in the middle like they're not concerned about us concerned about them >> our thanks to morgan for that report two more former mississippi officers were sentenced to prison for their role in beating and torturing two black men in a racist attack last year. daniel updike was sentenced to 17.5 years while christian dedmon received a 40-year sentence it's the longest sentence for the self-proclaimed goon squad the final two of the group will hear their sentence today. the fbi joining a manhunt in idaho after an inmate and armed accomplice ambushed officers he was about to be taken back

from the hospital when an accomplice opened fire on officers they escaped in a gray honda civic. all three officers are expected to survive mead had served eight years after shooting at a deputy during a chase he was up for parole in 2026 investigators in utah are t trying to figure out what sparked an explosion at a duplex and left neighbors on edge >> walls shook, wite heard loud explosion, loud boom we thought it was an earthquake or something she told me, she's like, you better go check water heater it might have exploded >> the body of a woman was found in the rubble, while another person was safely evacuated. the cause is unclear, however, a neighbor told the salt lake tribune, the gas company seemed to have been doing some work at the same complex on tuesday. secretary of state blinken is back in the middle east he addressed the stark terms,

the humanitarian crisis in gaza. >> 100% of the population in gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. that's the first time an entire population has been so classified >> for the latest, let's go to josh letterman what's the latest from blinken's trip >> reporter: good morning, frances. secretary blinken says the u.s. has just put forward a u.n. security council draft resolution, calling for an immediate cease-fire that is tied to a release of hostages. blinken making that announcement in saudi arabia on the first stop in this mideast tour, and it does appear to represent a shift in tone for the biden administration, which has long resisted growing global calls for a permanent cease-fire in the gaza strip, saying israel needed a chance to defend itself following the october 7 hamas terrorist attacks. but the u.s. is emphasizing that

the cease-fire should be tied to a hostage deal in which some of those israeli hostages in the gaza strip should be released in exchange for palestinian prisoners. what is now unclear is whether the u.s. is calling for a permanent cease-fire or a temporary cease-fire that would be part of the hostage release the u.s. is also resisting israel's plans for a military operation in southern gaza in rafah, where more than a million palestinian civilians are sheltering that will be the focus of blinken's last stop in the middle east tomorrow, when he is in israel to discuss israel's plans for that operation, as the biden administration says it does not want to see israel go into rafah in a large-scale way. they believe that would cause far too many civilian casualties, frances. >> josh, thank you in haiti, 15 americans have been evacuated by helicopter into the neighbor dominican republic the state department hopes to evacuate 30 u.s. citizens a day.

haiti, especially the capital, are being terrorized by gangs that threaten to turn the country into civil war around 1600 are still believed to be stuck in haiti here in the u.s., a briefing left lawmakers concerned about national security. some senators left the briefing saying this information needs to be declassified for the american public >> my reaction to this briefing is that tiktok is a gun aimed at americans' heads the chinese communists are weaponizing information. >> if that passed the house, it would force the chinese parent company to divest. but it could take months for the senate to take up the issue because they want to write their own bill much of the country is in for a rainy end to the workweek, and the northeast could see some snow meteorologist angie lassman is

tracking what's in store so we can make our plans, hi, angie. >> just in time for the end of the workweek and into the weekend. we have a couple things to note. we do have lake-effect snow still happening and exiting snow across maine we're going to continue to see the potential for snow across the northern plains. 13 million people in both those locations under these winter alerts some of these will last through the weekend. we will have unsettled weather across that part of the country by then. we have showers and thunderstorms across texas and the gulf coast today parts of the northern plains dealing with snow, specifically the dakotas. tomorrow, the upper midwest and great lakes get in on that action and the southeast starts to see rain work in there. we'll see heavy rain at times. heavy wet snow the travel's going to be difficult friday for some spots, and even into your saturday. notice this heavy rain that we'll be dealing with closer to the coast and the heavy wet snow across portions of northern new

england. we've got a chance for strong storms today, specifically from the coast out to houston and parts of texas we'll watch for the hail to be a potential as well as wind gusts. rainfall up to three to five inches some spots, new england could receive up to a foot of snow by the time we get through saturday otherwise, more widespread amounts, an inch to three inches bismarck, western michigan could see up to six inches o albuquere phoenix heads to 84 degrees. showers and thunderstorms into much of texas and oklahoma today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances. "early today" is back in a minute with the biggest social media ipo in years

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so will it be upvotes or down votes for reddit's ipo. they are making their public debut at $34 a share, valuing it at about $6.5 billion. investors are closely monitoring the debut following an ipo dry spell. still to come, the final teams to punch their ticket to the ncaa men's tournament. and, he's out. the dodgers cut ties with a crucial partner of their $700 million man. find out why after the break n m. find out why after the break. i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. that grimy film on your teeth? dr. g? (♪♪) it's actually the buildup of plaque bacteria which can cause cavities. most toothpastes quit working in minutes.

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we will remember this one for a long time. garacky fires a three. patterson's putback. no it is over here in dayton. >> history continues to unfold the first four, grambling state

erased their 14-point deficit against montana state to force overtime the tigers kept it going and the team booked their trip to the round of 64 to play top-seeded purdue that ot thriller was followed by boise state. the buffs pulled away to score their first tournament win in three years. so they had face seventh seed florida on friday. and talk about gram bbling stat. 11 years ago, they went 0-28 they are clearly right on track, culminating in a historic appearance that victory, we'll keep watching to see if they'll keep on going >> this is what makes march madness so fun you see the upsets, underdogs taking, making history and now to the l.a. dodgers showing their star player's

right hand man to the door the interpreter for dodgers' dual threat shohei otani was fired wednesday. his dismissal comes after otani's reps allege he had been a victim of a theft of a massive amount of money. he initially said that otani had agreed to transfer money to pay off gambling debts then a day later saying that otani had no knowledge of them the payments involved a california book maker under federal investigation and the money transfers totaled millions of dollars >> he has been otani's interpreter since his major league debut in 2018 the two also shared a close friendship, which one teammate of otani's once referred to as a brotherhood. the man sadid yotani had no knowledge of his betting difficulties you take these allegations, and what a blow professionally,

right? because he's been fired, but then also, these two at the said brotherhood. you never see one without the other. a blow to their personal relationship at this point >> and otani has had quite a good couple years. he's riding high after some really good deals. >> this is a tough one when we come back. brain game, how elon musk's neuralink is helpi its first patient play chess and new species discovered from more than 200 million years ago. more than 200 million years ago. ill with a big story to tell ♪ ♪ i take once-daily jardiance ♪ ♪ at each day's start! ♪ ♪ as time went on it was easy to see ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c! ♪ jardiance works twenty-four seven in your body to flush out some sugar. and for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. serious side effects may include ketoacidosis

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did you guys remember career day last year? lane hartzel came as a hershey's taste tester. well i told hershey about that. seeing the way that hershey's has made the dream come true... has just really been exciting. thank you, lane! jordan's sore nose let out a fiery sneeze, so dad grabbed puffs plus lotion to soothe her with ease. puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin and locks in moisture to provide soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. we're back now with what you need to know "early today. mercedes benz is recalling more than 116,000 vehicles over a fire risk from an electrical issue. it includes multiple models made from 2019 through 2024 the biden administration announcing strict new vehicle emissions standards. the regulation includes a target for a 56% of all united states

vehicles sold to be electric by 2032 that's down from 67% in last year's proposal. the move will prevent more than 7 billion tons of planet-warming emissions over the next 30 years and also provide nearly $100 billion in net benefits, like lower health care and fuel costs. according to a report from the "wall street journal," private equity firm apollo global manment has made a $11 billion offer to purchase paramount studio as they weigh an offer from sky dance media. elon musk's neuralink live streamed this video showing the first patient use the brain implant. they're moving a mouse on a computer to play chess neuralink is developing a brain computer interface to help patients with severe paralysis control technologies using neural signals scientists have discovered a

new species of a massive armored cousin of the crocodile. look at this the ancient reptile roamed the earth before kdinosaurs more tha 250 million years ago. they grew up to 16 feet long and were covered in bony plates for protection and french bulldogs are the most popular dog breed this is the second year fr frenchies topped the list. frenchies topped the list. [dog whimpers] [thinking] why always the couch? does he need to go to puppy school? get his little puppy diploma? how much have i been spending on this little guy? when your questions about life turn into questions about money... there's erica. the virtual financial assistant to help you spend, save, and plan smarter. only from bank of america. i can't believe one bottle of tide

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do you have what it takes to work in space? tom costello has details >> reporter: if you can't get enough of the apollo moon landings >> the eagle has landed. >> reporter: or spacex launches. >> and liftoff go dragon, go falcon >> reporter: if you dream of stars and speed and all things space. >> that was one heck of a ride thank you. >> reporter: nasa has a job for you. >> so, you want to be an astronaut? if you have what it takes, we want you up here >> reporter: yep, nasa is looking for full-time professional astronauts, applications due april 2nd more than 12,000 people are expected to apply for just ten spots. the job requirements, you must be a u.s. citizen, have a master's degree in an s.t.e.m. field, science, computer science, math met ickes or engineering, at least three years of professional experience

or 1,000 in-command hours for pilots and able to pass a rigorous fitness test. nasa's latest class of astronauts just graduated after two years of training, including a fighter pilot who grew up in puerto rico. >> you can feel the motemotion. >> reporter: we were invited into a mock up of the orion space capsule that will one day carry some of those new astronauts to lunar orbit. the biggest difference between orion and apollo, it's bigger. four will sit in here instead of three. and it uses solar power rather than apollo's battery power. what is that like to be in this astronaut class to walk on the moon >> i think exciting is a jn understatement >> reporter: beyond the

professional resume, nasa is also looking for something else in new astronauts. >> i'd say teamwork is the number one competency we are looking for in folks that will be successful coming into this role that includes being a leader but also being a follower as part of that team. >> reporter: starting pay, $152,000 and you gotta be willing to travel >> well, it rocket science that eliminates a whole bunch of us our thanks to tom costello for that report. thanks to you for watching "early today." i'm frances rivera hope you have a great thursday see you back here for friday enjoy. joy.

mexico now weighing in on the texas border battle, saying it will refuse any d