president trump rolling out another campaign promise, while defending his decision to pardon january 6 rioters, including those who assaulted police officers. we're live in d.c. with his response, as day three of the administration gets under way. strong winds kindling new fires in southern california, while the south is slammed by a historic winter storm. meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking how long the cold could stick around. president trump ready to relaunch his trade war with china. we're live with his new threat this morning, and impact on markets. a crypto conundrum. while critics are questioning his new meme coin that may make him billions. pay more green to stream. how much netflix is hiking prices across the board. and the razzies rolled out their nominations for the worst of the worst. it's wednesday, january 22nd.

"early today" starts right now. hi there, glad you're with me this morning. i'm frances rivera. it is day three of the trump administration, and the president is reshaping the government at break neck speed. the administration has taken the final steps to dismantle federal dei programs, putting all diversity, equity and inclusion staff on paid leave, starting today. and agencies were directed to put together plans to lay them off. meanwhile, the president is defending his decision to issue sweeping pardons in the january 6th attack. nbc's chris pollone joins me now. the president is getting push back from even his own party. >> reporter: frances, that's right. good morning. critics of these pardons believe that the president went too far. there are concerns that extremist groups could be emboldened. leaders of the proud boys and oath keepers militia were released from prison.

both men were convicted of seditious conspiracy and faced the longest sentences. and the qanon shaman thanked president trump online and said he's going to buy some guns. a pardon also went to andrew taake who had pled guilty to attacking officers with bear spray and a whip. peter alexander asked president trump about his decision to pardon more than 400 people who assaulted police officers. >> they've served years in jail, and murderers don't even go to jail in this country. and we had 1500, we have 16 under review, as you know. we commuted about 16 of them. because it looks like they could have done things that were not acceptable for a full pardon. >> reporter: senator lisa murkowski is among the republicans criticizing the pardons. she says she fears what message this is sending to the men and women who protected the lawmakers. form d.c. police officer,

michael fanone went to court yesterday to seek protective orders against five men who pleaded guilty to assaulting him. he says he feels betrayed by his country. president trump continuing his broad actions on immigration. the department of homeland security announcing the end to the policy that restricted i.c.e. agents' ability to arrest undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and houses of worship. but backlash to his sweeping proposal is growing. the episcopal bishop of washington making a direct appeal to the president during a prayer service yesterday. >> i ask you to have mercy, mr. president, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution. our god teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger. >> at least 24 blue states are

already suing over trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. senators were handed new troubling allegations about trump's pick for defense secretary. they received an affidavit from his sister-in-law regarding his ex-wife samantha. she says his behavior made his ex-wife fear for her safety during their marriage. danielle hegseth says she personally observed aggressive and erratic behavior over many years. a lawyer for hegseth dismissed the allegations saying in the divorce samantha signed documents saying there was no abuse. nbc news reached out to samantha hegseth. in an e-mail, she says there was no physical abuse in my marriage. she insisted that she does not want to comment further about her ex-husband. israel's far-right minister of security has resigned in protest over the israel-hamas cease-fire. ben-gvir, the jewish power party

had previously bragged. and halevi will step down in march. he wants to take responsibility for failing to prevent the incursion into israel on october 7, 2023. what's happening in jenin, claudio? >> reporter: good morning, frances. at least nine people have been killed or died. and at least another 35 were injured after israeli forces raided the city of jenin in the west bank. they were helped also by helicopter. and now israel says this is part of a large-scale operation aimed at protecting, they say israeli

settlers and settlements against iran-backed militants. they say iran is trying to send weapons or money to operations in the west bank. this operation is called iron wall and follow as week of tension where israeli forces carried out other raids where freedom of movement of palestinians have increasingly been more and more restricted. and, where also, violent israeli settlers carried out other kinds of raids, for instance, by setting fire to vehicles and buildings, just as president trump announced he was going to lift sanctions against this kind of violent israeli settlers. this also comes two days after the first israeli hostages were released in gaza, raising fears violence in the west bank s continues, it may affect the ongoing cease-fire, which is already very fragile, frances.

>> claudio, thank you. a possible development in the burglaries of pro athletes' homes. four chilean nationals have been charged in ohio with a psible link to the break-in at the home of cincinnati bengals' qb joe burrow last month. according to documents, a search of the suspects' suv found an old lsu shirt and hat believed to have been stolen. records show burrow's home was the only multi-million dollar home burglarized on that date in that county. burrow did not respond to nbc news' request for comment. turning to southern california, where new fires cropped up tuesday, as santa ana winds whipped across that already-charred region. the friars fire near san diego threatened a mall and several homes, prompting evacuations, but fire crews were able to get it under control quickly. farther north, the lilac fire tore through 85 acres, forcing

evacuation orders. it's now 50% contained. near los angeles, some families were finally able to return to see what's left of their homes after the devastating fires leveleden tire neighborhoods. the death toll has risen to 28. and now a rare and dangerous winter storm sweeping the south. parts of louisiana saw as much as 10 inches of snow. parts of central florida got up to 8 inches, and 5 inches fell outside of houston. there were nearly 170 snow-related accidents in the houston area. and chaos in the air as well. nearly 2200 flights were canceled. authorities expect at t least lr

weather-related deaths. once we get through this, when is some relief and a warmup coming our way? >> i know, finally by the weekend. we have a few more days to get through, and by relief, we're talking closer to normal but still cold. it's january, so we're going to see temperatures below normal still, but just not 25 degrees below normal. let's take a look at what's happening this morning. we have winter alerts across the southeast. we had a historic storm. we're starting to see it wind up. still 25 million people under winter alerts. winter storm warnings and advisories in the white. from panama city to jacksonville to norfolk, virginia. we're looking at the snow falling, that's where you see the white and blue. we could see heavy rain in southern florida today. but for the most part that snow will be offcoast by 7:00 or 8:00

a.m. extreme cold watches and warnings are out. and this is why. at temperatures even in the south cold today. into the 30s in new orleans. 33 in mobile with lots of sunshine. all right. that's your wednesday forecast. >> what a brutally cold winter we've been having so far. thank you. a new set of pinstripes are coming to cooperstown. >> hello, how you doing? >> i'm doing fine. and you'll be doing fine, too, in about two seconds. voters have elected you to the national baseball hall of fame, congratulations. >> thank you. >> cc sabathia was elected to the baseball hall of fame in the first year of eligibility.

he is joined by billy wagner, and of course ichiro suzuki. the three will be inducted in a ceremony in july. "early today" is back in a minute with the trump administration's half trillion dollar deal on a.i. infrastructure. and the new questions over the president's official crypto currency coin. t's official cryp currency coin. things fresh with febreze small spaces. it's an outlet-free air freshener that fights odors for 45 days. so even after every flush... you know your bathroom smells amazing. ♪ lalalalala ♪ always dry scoop before you run. listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded. it's time we listen to science. one a day is formulated with key nutrients to support whole body health. one a day. science that matters. 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. but crest pro-health's antibacterial

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declaration of confidence in america. now stargate will build centers creating more than 100,000 jobs in the u.s. the initial investment will be $100 billion. and we go up to $500 billion over the next four years. the first project of this joint venture is data centers in texas. now, in parallel, president trump revoked a 2023 executive order signed by joe biden that sought to reduce the risk that a.i. poses to workers and national security. on two trade wars, the chinese vice premier warned that there are no winners in a trade war. he made these comments in an address in davos, switzerland. president trump reiterated the threat of imposing 10% tariffs on chinese imports from february 1st. he also said the tariffs could depend on reaching a deal on tiktok in the u.s. now, in the past couple days,

president trump also threatened 25% tariffs on mexico and canada. there are also new questions this morning about the president's latest financial endeavor. just before taking office, mr. trump launched his own crypto currency, known as a meme coin. hallie jackson explains. >> reporter: from a crypto ball before the inauguration featuring snoop dogg to a new crypto task force just launched by the sec. supporters of the digital currency are hoping the president's promised golden age extends to them. >> the reign of terror against >> reporter: after using his trump brand to sell everything from steaks to vodka to sneakers to bibles, he has launched the ump meme coin. >> i don't know much about it other than i launched it. i heard it was very successful. >> reporter: those tokens usually pegged to celebrity endorsers holding only the value

traders put in it. at one point, the trump coin rocketing from $6.50 to $72. a similar coin, named for melania. >> there was this promise that trump would usher in a time of, at least thoughtful debate. what the concern now is that launching a meme coin is one of those areas of crypto taken less seriously. >> reporter: conflicts of interest and concerns about the trump family enriching themselves. >> he's going to be in a position to make determinations around that entire specter. >> i'm laying out my plan to ensure the united states will be the crypto capital of the planet. >> reporter: for the president, an evolution from just three years ago. >> bitcoin, i just, it seems like a scam. >> reporter: president trump pointing to the influence of his son barron. >> barron knows so much about this. eric. and barron's a young guy. but he knows it.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ always a ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the joker is me ♪ >> his predecessor may have been an oscar darling, but this year the joke's on joker folie a deux. as well as nods for r joaquin phoenix and lady gaga.

megalopolis rounded out the nominees for the notorious honor. and there were high hopes for so many of these. and even with joker, you know, he won best actor. he won an oscar for that for the first joker. and then to fall so far. >> we'll have to watch. this ken could be heading for, to a galaxy far, , far awa. the hollywood reporter revealed tuesday that ryan gosling is in talks to star in the upcoming "star wars" film from director shawn levy. few details are known about the intergalactic project. "star wars" is expected to return to the big screen for the first time since 2019. >> you put ryan gosling's name on anything, and can you expect that to be -- and "star wars," too. independently, they're huge. together, even more so. up next, pokemon fans can head to mcdonald's to catch them all. and netflix is hiking prices again.

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here's what's making headlines this morning. netflix is raising its prices again. the streaming giant's standard plan will jump to $17.99 a month. the add-support plan is going up to $7.99, and the premium plan will be $25. new york plans to ban cell phones in class next fall. some parents worry they may not be able to contact their kids in emergencies. mcdonald's is letting kids catch them all. new happy meals include a pack, a poster and a sticker sheet. "early today" will be right back. "early today" will be righ back. use tide. do i need to pretreat guacamole? not with tide. why do we even buy napkins? thankfully, tide's the answer to almost all of them. —do crabs have eyebrows? —except that one. for all of life's laundry questions... it's got to be tide. always dry scoop before you run. listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded.

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we are getting a look at a new exhibit in new york city, recreating anne frank's secret hiding place. it will open monday marking international holocaust remembrance day. our new york station has the story. >> reporter: since 1947, anne frank's diary of a young girl has helped the world understand what it was like to hide amid nazi persecution during world war ii. and now the secret annex where she lived in amsterdam has been recreate the here in new york city. part of a powerful and immersive exhibition. >> i think it serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of confronting hate. >> reporter: the artifacts, many never before seen publicly, like the book she and her sister read, the monopoly game they

played and her father's chair, desk and trunk. everything two coincide with holocaust remembrance day, opening to the public on monday. >> it's a beacon of awareness. >> reporter: you can see the dishes that they used. family photos that they displayed and prized possessions like her kindergarten photo. up until now, these items were only able to be seen in the netherlands. >> we don't just preserve jewish history, we mobilize it to address today's challenges. >> reporter: this is an exact replica to what you would see in amsterdam, down to the stain in the sink. the only difference is here it's furnished, there it's not. it will be free for children to visit. they'll get no see this video to set the tone. then they'll walk the path that shows where the death camps

were, like the one that stole anne frank's life. only her father survived the concentration camp, later publishing her diary. the exhibit will be open into april. >> today, as we stand in the presence of anne's legacy, we are reminded of our shared responsibility. >> reporter: erica bifield, news 4. the latest salvo in the streaming wars. we told you about the netflix price hike. coming up, how you can save on your subscription to make sure you're getting the best deal. something you don't want to miss when you have so many bundled. they'll have the tips you need. i'm ances rivera. hafrve i'm tom llamas back in ne.

stay right there, more news on the way. s on the way.