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a breakthrough in the middle east crisis. israel and hamas agree to a cease-fire, paving the way to a reprieve in gaza and the return of dozens of hostages after 15 months of brutal warfare. we're live with the terms of the deal. a farewell and final warning. president biden looks back at his legacy and cautions america of an emerging oligarchy. we're live in d.c. with his last prime time address. another packed schedule for the senate confirmation hearings after a contentious day on capitol hill. we have the key moments. and a break for firefighters in southern california. the dangerous wind advisory finally ending overnight as crews slowly gain ground on the deadly infernos. and the countdown for tiktok with three days until the ban takes effect. and the rapper who has a weird case.

it's thursday, january 16. "early today" starts right now. good morning. glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. after 467 days of war, hope in the middle east this morning. hamas and israel have reached a cease-fire and hostage release agreement. president biden hailed the breakthrough as the result of american diplomacy. >> this is a cease-fire agreement i introduced last spring. today hamas and israel have agreed to that cease-fire agreement. and the whole ending the war. >> while the cease-fire won't go into effect until sunday, people in gaza took to the street to celebrate the news. according to local officials, nearly 47,000 palestinians have been killed since october 7, 2023. let's turn now to claudio lavanga. good morning, claudio. the deal will come in phases, break that down for us. >> reporter: that's right, frances, good morning.

well, it will come in three phrases. in phase one, which will come into effect on sunday, it will last about six weeks, hamas will release the first 33 hostages, women, children and the elderly in exchange israel will release hundreds of palestinian from populated areas in gaza.hdw then the palestinians can return to their homes, and also the much-needed aid will be allowed to return. in phase two, which will come into place after 42 days approximately, israel will fully withdraw from gaza, but only after hamas will release, will have released all the remaining hostages who are still alive. and in phase three, the bodies of those who have died in captivity will be returned and the reconstruction on gaza can begin. this is the news that the relatives of all hostages have been waiting for since the start of the war. but in some cases, it has been received with mixed feelings.

let's take a listen. >> i'm really happy about everybody, but, on the other hand, we have four american hostages that were murdered on october 7 and still being held there. so, but hopefully, the parents will get the, their loved ones for the proper burial, and we will get our loved ones to, to live our lives happily ever after. >> reporter: now on wednesday, president biden, as you ard there, at the beginning, he took credit of this deal saying this is approximately the same or exactly the same deal that he proposed last may, last year. hamas also claimed victory, saying that in the end, they did not surrender, as benjamin netanyahu has demanded all along. but the fact that the truce was announced on wednesday doesn't mean that the attacks have stopped at all. now a doctor in gaza said that at least 80 palestinians were

killed on wednesday. half of them after the truce was announced. but this is a cease-fire that is also very fragile. and the proof of it is that early this morning the office of the prime minister of israel said that hamas is now backtracking on some parts of the agreement in an attempt, they said, in a last-minute attempt to extort some concessions. will, as a consequence, the cabinet in israel, which was meant to meet this morning to approve the deal, they said, they will not meet until hamas agrees to all the points in the agreement, frances. >> still many moving parts up in the air. claudio, thank you. president biden also spoke about that cease-fire deal rom the oval office last night. but the purpose of the speech was to reflect on his 50 years of public service and to say farewell. >> how it's your turn to stand guard. may you all be the keeper of the flame. may you keep the faith. i love america. you love it, too.

god bless you all. may god protect our troops. thank you for this great honor. >> nbc's chris pollone joins me now from d.c. hi, chris, good morning. the president reflected on his legacy but issued warnings about america's future. >> reporter: yeah, president biden described his achievements as seeds that will bloom for decades. he spoke about investments in infrastructure and clean energy, improving access to healthcare and creating jobs, and of course that cease-fire deal, but he also issued a series of warnings about what he called a dangerous power and the rise of misinformation. >> today, an oligarchy is taking shape in america of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy. our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. i'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our

country as well. americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation. enabling the abuse of power. the free press is crumbling. editors are disappearing. social media is giving up on fact checking. the truth is smothered by lies. told for power and for profit. >> reporter: president biden wished the incoming trump administration success, but he did outline changes that he felt should be made to limit the power of the supreme court and of the president. >> we need to enact a 18-year time limit, term limit, time and term. for the strongest and the strongest ethic eforms for the supreme court. no president is immune from crimes he commits while in office. the president's power is not absolute.

>> reporter: that was not exactly the last word from president biden. what may be his last tv interview of his presidency will come today, with msnbc's lawrence o'donnell tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. >> chris, thank you. senate confirmation hearings will continue this morning on capitol hill. today's slate includes the president-elect's pick for epa administrator, housing secretary and treasury secretary. during a sometimes-tense hearing yesterday, pam bondi vowed to keep politics out of prosecution. she condemned violence and said she would need to review the cases on the january 6 cases. >> will you be able to review hundreds of cases on day one? >> i will look at every file -- >> of course you won't. >> can i answer the question? i would have plenty of staff.

you said of course you won't? >> you'll be able to review -- >> i'm not going to mislead this body, nor you. >> news of the cease-fire deal came during the hearing for secretary of state nominee marco rubio. >> there are now factors at play in the middle east. >> the confirmation process could begin as early as monday, likely beginning with rubio. with the majority of red flag alerts expiring last night, fire crews made some progress against the deadly wildfires that have claimed at least 25 lives. fire officials say there are still hotspots. atf investigators working to determine how the massive inferno started say they have over 150 leads. meanwhile, the eatonire is now 45% contained. it has torched more than 14,000

acres. here's morgan chesky. >> reporter: signs of progress amid disaster. >> in the past 24 hours, there's been little to no fire growth on both incidents. >> reporter: red flag warnings finally expiring over the more than 60 square miles left blackened and charred. search and rescue teams canvassing burn zones with 26 people still missing. for the families who lost everything, a turning point. >> we have school today. >> reporter: the dale family getting their girls ready for their first day back at a brand-new campus. after losing their beloved home and school. >> i think our commute, we had it about three minutes in palisades. and so we're about, probably over an hour today. >> what? [ laughter ] >> reporter: an extra early morning made easier when the girls met our crew's microphone. [ laughter ] >> reporter: with donated backpacks ready to go. >> welcome.

>> r reporter: they arrived at brentwood elementary school, now absorbing hundreds of displaced students. >> can play with their friends and have a normal day. we're just so happy to give them normalcy, because they were so, so happy this morning. >> yeah. >> it's really nice. >> it's a lot. >> yeah. and it comes in waves. we wanted the kids to be with trusted teachers and trusted principals and support staff during this time of anxiety, stress and crisis. >> reporter: back on the fire line, crews working around the clock. >> 12-hour shifts, how are you guys holding up? >> spirit, they're holding up. >> reporter: their mission, scour charred earth to keep hotspots from starting yet another blaze. >> it's tough for the public to understand. why is the fire not contained? i'm not seeing anything. this is really the important stuff. >> and our thanks to morgan for that report. from fires to the winter

blast hitting the great lakes, angie lassman is tracking the timing of the storm and everything in between. >> a little winter weather on the way for some folks this morning. and we've got winter alerts up to prove it. 9 million people extending down from the lakes. you can see some of that snow working across on the radar their morning. all of it going to be a lake-effect snow as we start to see the clipper system work farther to the east. vermont, you could see slick spots. over the appalachians, a little over a foot could be possible. milder conditions across the plains. you can see 60s for tulsa. 40s for davenport. 30s in cleveland. look ahead to the weekend and beyond. temperatures dropping sub zero for minneapolis su for omaha witf

sunshine in kansas city today. 59 degrees and sunny conditions in denver this afternoon. and that's a look at your forecast, frances, back to you. >> thanks so much, angie. "early today" is back in a minute with a final countdown for tiktok. and you won't be seeing red anymore. why the fda is banning a popular food dye. fda is banning a populr food dye. so, we switched to tide free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. and it's gentle on her skin. tide free and gentle liquid is epa safer choice certified. it's gotta be tide. can neuriva support your brain health? mary. janet. hey! eddie. no! fraser. frank. frank. fred. how are you? support up to seven brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva. [♪♪] are you one of the suppomillions of americanshealth indicators, including memory. who suffer from an upset stomach after a big meal?

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children's behavior. food manufacturers will have up to two years to reformulate their products. stock futures are in the green this morning after the best day for markets since november. the dow jumped 700 points after a tamer than expected anaphylaxis report. karen gilchrist is here with the details. good morning, karen. >> good morning, frances. it was a positive turn for stocks on wednesday after a run of negative sessions, and that cooler than expected inflation data and positive earnings for banks. now core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices came in at not .2%. it was also up 3.2% on the year. and this indicates that inflation is moving closer to the fed's 2% target after ppi also came in cooler than expected earlier in the week and

does suggest that interest rates could be forthcoming in 2025. now elsewhere, as the clock is ticking on tiktok, the saga does continue. it looks as though the biden administration is looking at ways for the app to continue being available in the u.s. ahead of this potential ban on sunday. but this also, as reports emerged that tiktok is looking at potentially completely shutting down the ban in the u.s. for its 170 million estimated users. this is instead of what would have been an effective ban, meaning that the app was still available but updates would not be possible and eventually it would be phased out. this, again, as reports are emerging about a potential u.s. buyer for the app with elon musk among one of the people potentially named. but certainly the buyer will need deep pockets with the app estimated to be worth $40 billion to $50 billion. >> meantime, we're scrolling for the last few days. still to come, the first

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♪ ♪ studio 8h. new york city's hallowed comedy ground. a 50-year tradition of laughter on "saturday night live." all the greats have passed through these halls. also steven segall. and this saturday, dave's back. >> none other than morgan freeman is the hype man for dave chappelle's return to snl. the legendary comedian makes his fourth appearance as host this weekend alongside musical guest glo rilla. he'll stand up there probably longer than usually with that cigarette. talking about the inauguration, i'm sure. >> his iconic prop that he

always has. moving on to the next. a new legal filing, if it is to be believed, nothing was the same for drake in ma2024. he filed a lawsuit against his own label accusing them of defamation, accusing them of spreading a false narrative. it also alleges that the promotion of the number one hit led to real-world consequences for drake, who was locked in a highly-publicized feud with lamar last year. a umg spokesperson said the allegations are untrue and that drake's claims are illogical. this is the second lawsuit that he's filed. the last was in november against umg and spotify. i mine, the saga continues. >> bringing it on to 2025. airline delays, and why tubi could be the mvp. ys, and why tui could be the mvp.

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new york is often calllled e pizza mecca. and in one neighborhood, the pizza competition is heating up. our valerie castro has the latest on the so-called pizza war. >> reporter: a visit to new york city is not complete without a slice of pizza. >> the new york style pizza is just magic. >> reporter: and for years, tourists and new yorkers alike have been lining up for pizza near the legendary brooklyn bridge. but the competition just got hotter than a pizza oven. >> we're considering this area as a new pizza mecca of new york. a pizza row. >> reporter: the iconic l&b spumoni gardens and famous for square, upside down pie recently opening up a second outpost. but the choice of the location could be seen by some as throwing down a gauntlet. is there a pizza war going on here? >> oh, absolutely not. a friendly one if anything. >> reporter: they picked prime real estate for this location.

it's in the heart of the dumbo neighborhood in brooklyn, a big draw for tourists. but right across the street are two other famous pizza restaurants that have been here for years. grimaldi's and julianna's are the strongholds on this side of the street. but their newest competitor is armed with enough ovens to feed an army. >> we have an arsenal of ovens to give us anything from 500 and above pies day. >> reporter: grimaldi's not intimidated by the newcomer. >> our oven is the most important thing that makes it different than everyone else. our pizza is still ours. their pizza is theirs, and people can choose. >> reporter: and even embracing the potential for more business. >> maybe it will draw more people to the area, and maybe people will want to go and taste all three of the pizzarias and do a taste test. >> reporter: julianna's also welcoming the challenger. >> it's absolutely a friendly

competition. it is not a pizza war. they could bring more people into the neighborhood. and now this is even more of a pizza mecca than it was just a week ago. that's what we were hoping. that's what we expect. >> reporter: customers at all three just hungry for a taste of new york. >> i mean, you just got to try them all and see what you like the most. >> grimaldi's is delicious. love a little friendly rivalry. >> i think it's a competition, but it's fun, who can innovate and make the best pizza, and you can play off of each other. if one place is too busy, can you go somewhere else. it adds to the magic of the city. >> reporter: valerie castro, nbc news. >> it is a tough problem we have here in new york. all the great pizza and picking your favorite. thanks for waking up with "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a gat thursday. see reyo

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