i'm tom llamas back in new york. stay right there, more news on the way. s on the way.

a rare winter storm stretches across the south, bringing up to ten inches of snow in areas that usually see none. at least four deaths now linked to the cold, with temperatures set to get even more frigid. meanwhile, in southern california firefighters tamp down new wind-fueled brush fires, as some angelenos return to what remains of their homes for the very first time. president trump defending his pardons of january 6 defendants, including those who committed violence. what he's saying about those pardons this morning. plus the legal challenges already mounting for some of his executive orders on immigration. potential developments in the string of home burglaries targeting nfl stars, including bengals' quarterback joe burrow. four men arrested, possibly tied to the break-in at burrow's home last month. and a piece of music history rescued from a trash can decades over rakes in over half a

million at auction. it's wednesday, january 22nd. "early today" starts right now. glad you're with me this morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin today with a rare and dangerous winter storm sweeping the south. historic snowfall blanketing the gulf coast. parts of louisiana saw as much as ten inches of snow. parts of central florida got up to eight inches. and five inches fell just outside houston. the snow creating chaos on the roads with nearly 170 snow-related accidents in the houston area. chaos in the air as well. flights were canceled airports were shut down or suspended operations. at least four weather-related deaths are suspected. another death was reported in

milwaukee. meanwhile, bitter cold is settling in for much of the south and east. michelle grossman is tracking all of it. good morning. >> we had a lot of snow in the south yesterday. this storm is winding up over the next several hours. still going to bring snow to portions of the carolinas. still 25 million people impacted. we could see winter storm warnings for portions of florida all the way to parts of virginia. also winter weather advisory from the white. for a time there was a blizzard warning for texas and louisiana. that is very rare. as we go throughout time here, we're going to see this low pressure moving off the coast. we're going to see a deep chill into, in the same, in portions of the south. then tomorrow it's out of here. as we go throughout time here, not looking at a whole lot of snow in additi to what we've already seen, but could see some in charleston, kill devil hills up to norfolk. and we're looking at a chill, a

dangerous chill,l, for most of . we'll talk more about that coming up. >> michelle, thanks. now to the latest actions of the trump administration. as of this morning, all federal employees with dei roles will be placed on paid leave. agencies have been directed to draw up plans to fire these workers. this comes as president trump defends his decision to pardon violent criminals. here's peter alexander. >> eporter: the president's facing new backlash for pardoning or commuting the sentences of everyone convicted for their actions on january 6th and those still under investigation. >> these are the hostages. approximately 1500 for a pardon. full pardon. >> reporter: including those found guilty of assaulting police officers. four years ago, president trump condemned the violence. >> to those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. and, to those who broke the law, you will pay. >> reporter: the president's

move something his own vice president had recently argued against. >> if you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned. >> reporter: former d.c. police officer, michael fanone was assaulted during the riot and today sought protective orders against those who attacked him. >> the american people elected donald trump knowing f full we that he would pardon my attackers. and soso it the ultimate betrayal. >> reporter: we pressed the president. you would agree that it's never acceptable to assault a police officer, right? >> sure. >> reporter: so then if i can, among those, you pardoned dj rodriguez. he drove a stun gun into the neck of a d.c. police officer who was abducted by the mob that day. he confessed and pleaded guilty for his crimes. why does he deserve a pardon? >> i don't know, was it a pardon? we're looking at commutes and pardons. we'll take a look at everything. but i can say this. murderers today are not even charged. >> reporter: i want to ask you about jd vance. he said, this is a week ago.

he said if you committed violence on january 6, obviously, you should not be pardoned. why is your vice president wrong? >> well, only for one reason. they've served years in jail. >> reporter: among those being released, the leaders of two far right groups, the proud boys enrique tarrio and founders of the oath keepers' stewart rhodes. rhodes, who'd been sentenced to 18 years in prison speaking shortly after his release. >> i think it's a good day for america that all the wrongs are being undone. so none of these people should have been here in the first place. none of them were tried and deserved a fair trial. >> reporter: jacob chansley, known as the shaman posting thank you, president trump, now i'm going to buy some motha-expletive guns. some question if the president's move was too broad. >> i think they were absolutely justified. again, i don't know all the cases. i certainly don't want to pardon

any violent actors. >> reporter: those among stacks of executive actions already signed by president trump, including many focussed on reversing biden administration policies. declaring a national energy emergency to repeal regulations on oil drilling and fossil fuels and scrapping biden border policies. >> we're getting rid of all of the cancer, i call it cancer. the cancer caused by the biden administration. >> reporter: the president posting the white house is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand presidential appointees from the previous administration that are not aligned with our vision. the administration firing the head of the coast guard, admiral linda fagen, the first woman to lead a branch of the u.s. military relieved of her duties. president trump touting more sweeping changes on his first full day in office, appearing with top tech ceos, including larry ellison, announcing a massive $500 billion investment in a.i. in the u.s. he says will create 100,000 jobs. also president trump was asked

would he support elon musk buying tiktok. >> i would be, if he wanted to buy it. >> our thanks to peter for that report. senators were handed new troubling inflations about president trump's pick for defense secretary. the lawmakers received an affidavit from his former sister in law regarding his second wife samanthaha. she alleges that hegseth's behavior made his ex-wife fear for her safety during their marriage. danielle hegseth says she personally observed erratic and aggressive behavior over many years. she says samantha developed and executed plans to get away. 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. president trump continuing his broad actions on immigration. the department of homeland security how announcing an end to the policy that restricted

i.c.e. agents' ability to arrest undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations like schools, months and houses of worship. but backlash to his sweeping proposals is growing. 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 trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. cumente. israel far-right minister of security has resigned i in

otest over the israel-hamas cease-fire. ben-gvir had previously bragged about thwarting attempts. also resigning, top general halevi who says he will step down in march. he says he wants to take responsibility for failing to prevent the hamas raid into israel on october 7, 2023, which triggered the latest war. meanwhile, despite the cease-fire in gaza, israel launched a large-scale military operation in jenin, in the occupied palestinian west bank. for the latest on that, let's turn to claudio lavanga. what is happening in jenin? >> reporter: good morning, frances, well, that's right. on tuesday, israeli forces backed by helicopters raided the city of jenin in the west bank and killed at least nine people and injured 35 others. now israel says this is part of a large-scale military operation aimed at protecting, they say, israeli settlers and settlements

against what they call iranian-backed militias or militants in the west bank. referring to a claim that, by israel that iran is trying to send weapons and money to militants there. now this operation is being called iron wall. and it comes after a week of increased tension in the west bank where israeli forces have carried out other raids where they have restricted more and more freedom of movement for palestinians, and where israeli settlers have went on a rampage across palestinian villages there, setting fire on vehicles, and palestinians, just as, vehicles and buildings of palestinians, just as president trump declared that he will lift sanctions against this kind of violent israeli settlers. now this also comes two days after the first hostages were released by hamas in gaza as part of that cease-fire there. raising fears that, if this kind of violence continues in the

west bank that it could undermine this already-fragile cease-fire in gaza, frances. >> claudio, thank you. turning to southern california where new fires cropped up tuesday as santa ana winds whipped across the already-charred region. the friars fire near san diego threatened a mall and several homes, prompting evacuations. but fire cws were able to get it under control quickly. farther north, the lilac fire tore through 85 acres, also forcing evacuation orders. it's now 50% contained. meanwhile, near los angeles, some families were finally able to return to see what's left of their homes. after the devastating fires there leveled entire neighborhoods. the death toll has risen to 28. let's turn once again to michelle grossman with more on the deep freeze that is setting in. we're not talking about just time wise here but also just the amount of space. look at that map. >> oh, i know. it's most of the country. and it has been like that for days. it's really just the west that

isn't under any sort of cold watch. we do have extreme cold watches, extreme cold warnings. 163 million people impacted. we're going to start to see a gradual warmup starting tomorrow or the next day. but still bitterly cold today. dangerous air today. we are looking at 20s from bismarck all the way to houston. 23 degrees right now in houston. new orleans 26. 31 in tallahassee. that is below freezing at this point. as we go throughout today we're looking at temperatures into th temperatures still really chilly, the freezing mark in new orleans, 39 in jacksonville. that's your wednesday forecast. >> thanks so much, michelle. he made history at the plate, and now he's making

history in cooperstown. >> ichiro suzuki becomes a member of the hall of fame. >> he was inducted tuesday, becoming the first-ever japanese player to receive the honor. the mariners' legend came one vote shy of being the second unanimously selected for the hall. joining ichiro in the class of 2025 are two pitching legends, cc sabathia and billy wagner. "early today" is back in a minute with the arrests possibly linked to a burglary ring targeting athletes, and why ryan gosling could be taking a trip to a galaxy far, far away. a tri to a galaxy far, far away. keep 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.

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search of the suspects' suv found an old lsu shirt and bengals hat believed to be stolen from the december 9, 2024 burglary in hamilton county. the documents don't specifically name burrow, but records show burrow's home was thonly multi-million dollar home burglarized on that date in that county. burrow did not respond to nbc news' request for comment. a nevada judge is upholding the murder charge for the man accused of killing rapper tupac shakur. the clark county judge rejected dwayne davis' argument he had been provided an immunity deal in their case, saying there was never any proof. lawyers sathey may appeal to the supreme court. davis is the only suspect ever charged in the 1996 murder of the west coast rapper but has pleaded not guilty. still to come, oscar nominations don't come out until but we have a pretty good idea of the movies that will not be nominated. find out which flops and pan flicks are up for razzies this year. ks are up for razzies this year. f flowing coffee cherries]

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for a galaxy far, far away. ryan gosling is in talks to star in an upcoming "star wars" film from director shawn levy. a few other details are known about the intergalactic project. "star wars" is set to return to the big screen for the first time since 2019. when we come back, the cost of streaming is once again on the rise. and if these frigid temperatures have you using a space heater, you want to stay tuned for a recall alert. stay tuned for a recall alert. ein, my ride or die. boom! if you know, you know. let's go. this stuff changed my life. so good. high protein. check. one gram of sugar. oh, yeah. and a flavor for every vibe. (♪♪) (♪♪)

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♪ take a load ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> rock fans are remembering the legendary instrumentalist garth hudson this morning. the keyboardist was the last-surviving member of the band, the only non-singer in the group. but his keys helped shape their hits like "up on cripple creek." from the group that once backed bob dylan to the artist himself. a piece of musical history fished out of the trash can has sold for a huge chunk of change. >> reporter: on stained and torn pages, rough drafts of a folk rock classic. ♪ hey, mr. tambourine man ♪ ♪ play a song for me ♪ >> reporter: lyrics to "mr. tambourine man." made famous by the byrds.

♪ hey, mr. tambourine man ♪ >> reporter: written by bob dylan. sold at auction this week for $508,000. ♪ in that jingle, jangle ♪ >> reporter: rescued from a kitchen trash can decades ago. >> i was 8 years old at that time. >> reporter: he remembers dylan staying overnight at their new jersey home. >> that morning in march of 1964, my father found the lyric sheets crumpled up in the trash can. just took it out and put it, smoothed it out and put it in a folder and forgot about it. >> reporter: the two yellow pages found recently by miles' wife, now part of the dylan renaissance. there's the movie "a complete unknown", and now this auction of memorabilia, including the

lyrics, raking in over $1.5 million. ♪ ♪ dylan wrote, treasure can't be found by men who search. this time it was. anne thompson, nbc news. >> could have very easily been tossed away. still to come on "today", the latest salvo in the streaming wars. we told you about the netflix price hike coming up. how you can save on your subscriptions. and here's al roker with a look at what else is ahead. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", how to build a better budget. and bacon's on the menu when we make blt sliders. and a performance from the cast of the new broadway hit a wonderful world. all of that and more coming up this morning on the third hour of "today". thanks so much for waking up with "early today" on this frigid