>> breaking overnight. the new fire north of los angeles doubling in size. as strong winds fuel the flames. over 30,000 people in the area now under evacuation orders. and, as fire scorches the west,

ice is blanketing the south. our meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking it all for us. breaking news in san antonio, where seven police officers were shot overnight while responding to a suicide call. what we know about their condition this morning. the first interview of the second term. president trump sits down with fox news and talks about everything from disaster relief to those controversial january 6 rioter pardons. we're live with his comments. has mr.beast found his new game? the new name circling a possible tiktok buyout after president trump delayed the ban. and, i'll have what she's having. a reunion. the stars of when harry met sally tease something iconic. "early today" starts right now. glad you're with me this morning. i'm frances rivera. another massive inferno has ignited in southern california, forcing around 31,000 to flee

north of los angeles. another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings. the hughes fire exploding to more than 10,000 acres since it began late wednesday morning near castaic lake. it is now 14% contained. the fast-moving flames threatening homes, buildings, even schools, sending students running. some area schools are closed today, while others have moved activities inside as air quality worsens. many in the evacuation zone hose down their homes concerned with the dry conditions and high winds that have plagued the region for more than two weeks. >> reporter: how wried are you about all this? >> very, obviously. >> my wife, my animals, we're ready to go. >> the faa has issued flight restrictions so crews can attack the blaze from the sky.

every aerial modular system has been launched to fight the fire. millions are under fire alerts this morning. let's turn to michelle grossman who has the latest. >> we're stuck in this stubborn santa ana wind pattern. and we're going to be stuck in this for some time. 10 million people at risk. we could see winds gusting once again up to 40, 50, up to 70 miles per hour. the air is looking at single digits in terms of the relative humidity. so places like santa clarita, riverside, temecula, down to escondido under red flag warnings once again today. and we do have a critical risk. where you see the red, that is a critical risk. the elevated risk is in the yellow. dangerous rapid wildfire is possible. an area of low pressure, we haven't been able to say this for a while, will come to the north, sink to the south bringing lower elevation rain and higher elevation snow on saturday. it will stick around on sunday. we'll look for the chance for

localized flash flooding possibly in the burn areas. that's the unfortunate part of it. we will see wet weather into california by this weekend. frances? >> they get that much-needed break. president trump sat down for his first interview of the new term. nbc's chris pollone has the latest on this now from d.c. good morning, chris, what did the president say about his plans? >> reporter: frances, good morning. disaster response will be in the spotlight, as president trump wraps up his first week in office. on friday, he will travel to north carolina to check out the hurricane recovery before going to southern california. in this new interview with fox news, the president suggested that big changes could be coming to fema. >> fema is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because i'd rather see the states take care of their own problems. if they have a tornado someplace, let that state, oklahoma is very competent.

i love oklahoma. but, you know what? if they get hit with a tornado or something, let oklahoma fix it. you don't need, and then the federal government can help them out with the money. >> reporter: in the same interview, president trump threatened to cut off funding to places like los angeles, where there are laws in place to stop local resources from going towa immigration enforcement. on day one he already signed an executive order directing officials to cut off funds to so-called sanctuary cities if they interfere with federal operations. he is also doubling down on his decision to pardon those involved in the january 6 attack, including hundreds of those who attacked police officers calling the acts minor incidents. >> they were treated like the worst criminals in history. and you know what they were there for? they were protesting the vote. because they knew the election was rigged. and they were protesting the vote. and that, you know, should be allowed to protest the vote. you should be allowed to, you know, when the day comes --

>> you shouldn't be able to invade the capitol. >> some of those with the police, true. but they were very minor incidents, okay. they get built up by a couple of fake guys. this was a political hoax. >> reporter: meanwhile, president trump's plans for the uthern border are being carried out. the pentagon says it has begun deploying 1500 active duty trips to assist border patrol agents and to help with the construction of barriers. and last night congress passed the laken riley act which would require the i.c.e. detention of undocumented immigrants who are arrested for offenses like burglary or shoplifting as soon as today. this could become the first bill president trump signs into law in his second term in office, frances. >> chris pollone, thank you. nbc news has learned more about president trump's efforts to shut down federal dei programs. employees have been told to report any colleagues who work in diversity, equity and inclusion roles or they could face consequences. nbc news obtained e-mails sent

to multiple agencies that say some of these programs are disguised using coded or imprecise language. employees were ordered to turn over any information within ten days. the white house did not respond to questions about how this would be enforced. this morning, a federal appeals court is set to hear arguments around louisiana's law requiring public schools to display the ten commandments in classrooms. the law was meant to go into effect on january 1st but is currently blocked in five school districts as a challenge works its way through the courts. a judge blocked the law saying it was overtly religious and unconstitutional on its face. supporters argue the commandments are not solely religious but have historical significance to the founding of u.s. law. a nashshville hi school is closed for the week as a community mourns the latest school shooting. a 17-year-old shooter opened fire in the cafeteria killing

one student and wounding another before taking his life. >> reporter: another american community dealing with another shooting. a 17-year-old student opened fire with a pistol, killing a 16-year-old girl, grazing a 17-year-old boy and ultimately killing himself. authorities also say a student who was not shot fell and injured his face. authorities have now identified the two people who were killed in this rampage. they say that the 16-year-old girl who was killed by this alleged gunman was josselin escalante. the shooter in this incident was 17-year-old solomon henderson. so we are learning more about those two individuals, as this community, again, is grappling with what no parent, no student

should ever be going through. back to you. >> jesse, thank you. breaking overnight, san antonio police say seven officers were shot after arriving on a residential call. according to authorities, they were responding to a call made by a family member of a shooting suspect for, quote, a suicide in progress. all seven officers were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. a suspect described as a man in his 40s barricaded himself in an apartment for hours before he was found dead. police say it is unclear if he was killed by the s.w.a.t. team or a self-inflicted gunshot wound. at least four weather-related deaths have been reported across the south as snow, ice and record-breaking cold create paralyzing conditions. this part of the country rarely if ever sees. priya sridhar is in atlanta where millions struggle to get around. >> reporter: millions in the south in the grips of severe weather, in a region rarely slammed with snow.

just outside of atlanta, slick roads stalled cars. some hoping the sun would melt the ice. >> get you a little spot and just wait it out. you know, i'm not saying it's simple, but it's smarter. >> reporter: drivers at a stand still on this highway in georgia for more than 12 hours. >> we going to be here a minute. >> reporter: in dekalb county officials issuing a state of emergency urging residents to shelter in place. >> we have also treated more than 500 tons of roads with sand, salt and calcium chloride. so this is a very serious condition that we're facing. >> reporter: atlanta's airport hit with just over one inch of snow. airport officials say some tsa officers struggled to get to work. wait times for travelers up to 90 minutes. passengers finally moving at tampa's airport, where dozens of flights were delayed and

canceled. >> a day, it feels like it's been three days, and it's only been a day. >> reporter: in jacksonville florida, three bridges are now open again after multiple crashes closed them. in louisiana, cities are blanketed in snow. a historic ten inches swept parts of new orleans, tens of thousands rye main without power along the gulf, as many worry major disruptions could continue for days to come. priya sridhar, nbc news, atlanta, georgia. >> when are we finally going to get a break when it comes to these temperatures? >> finally seeing a break by this weekend. still january-like temperatures but not extreme like we saw the past few days. today, though, we are looking at 36 million people impacted by cold alerts from the louisiana area into the southeast and mid atlantic and also into parts of northeast. we are looking at temperatures very cold this morning once

again. and that includes along the gulf coast states. we would see some record morning lows. 36 in houston. 27 in new orleans. you factor in the winds, it feels like 22. it's going to be another cold day today. temperatures in the 30s in denver. from the rockies to the east coast. chicago 28 degrees today. that's ten degrees colder than what is typical. but not 50 like we saw the other day. 39 in mobile below freezing in n. also in philadelphia. look at the south, though. a little warmer than where we have been in dallas. 50 degrees with lots of sunshine. 49 in san angelo. 37 in amarillo. that's your thursday forecast.

coming up, jetblue venmo payments take off, and who will save tiktok? the surprising name emerging as potential buyer. ame emerging as potential buyer. “you just add water, and then i'm good to go.” "with magic eraser... i use it on everyday messes.” "i even use it on things that i think are impossible to clean." "if you're a mom, you need mr. clean magic eraser in your life. it gets the job done." and, try mr. clean magic eraser ultra bath, to cut through 100% of built-up soap scum and grime. 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. no more gross cough syrup. we all want you to feel better. i want extra tv time or i'll walk! how about this? introducing the only kids soft-chew for medicated cough relief. aaaaghhh! new mucinex children's mighty chews are mighty clever.

jetblue is making it easier than ever to buy a plane ticket. but first, could youtube's biggest star take over tiktok? charlotte reed is here with the details. some big names circling the social media giant. >> yes, absolutely. and one of those names is youtube star mr.beast that could interested in making an offer for tiktok in the u.s. in a video posted on monday. mr.beast said he was about to put in his official offer for the platform that he might become its ceo. this is one of the names circulating potentially being interested. in the u.s., the other names are elon musk, larry ellison and we

don't know how much these offers would be. but tiktok has a value of up to $50 billion. now yoremember president trump has said that he was open to potentially seeing a jv, a joint venture. but you remember he set a 75-day delay to the ban on tiktok while they try to find a new solution to the platform in the u.s. and booking a holiday might be a little easier. jetblue is the first ever airline to accept payment by venmo. the option is available on their website and will be rolled out very soon on its mobile app. >> charlotte, thank you. still to come, the different eras of timothee chalamet come to life in the latest snl promo. and will we have what they're having? billcrystal and meg ryan tease a re-june. ystal and meg ryan tee a re-june. —he's right, you know. union /- jun. tiny troy? union /- jun. nts in head and shoulders

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i've never done this before, you know, i'm having to be snl host and musical guest in the same week. so it's a lot of work. and i want to focus on the songs. so i brought in some help to cover with paul the hoisting duties. >> what's up. >> hello. >> please welcome timothee chalamet! ♪ ♪ >> he's good. >> pulling double duty on snl is easier than it looks, as long as you're able to bring on a few extra hands to help out. timothee chalamet summons some of his look-alikes for his much-anticipated stint as musical guest and host. he's so great, but they're also getting their 15 minutes, the look-alikes. because it was such a big deal when they had that contest in new york city and he just showed up. >> and they were kind of the first group to kick off that whole thing.

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here's what's making headlines this morning. in las vegas, the longest hotel strike in decades has come to an end. the culinary workers union has announced a new contract. the deal includes significant pay raises, like matching a historic 32% wage increase secured by other union members. 63,000 jeep cherokee suvs from 2017 through 2019. the recall spurred by an issue that could lead to a loss of drive power. increasing the risk of crashes. a fix is in the works. rental costs have hit a three-year low. that's according to a new report from redfin. the median asking rent for an apartment is $1,592 per month, down more than 6% since august of 2022. the most affordable rental markets based on the median rental income is austin, houston

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d.c. we talked about how music helped her find her purpose and love. >> reporter: it's standing room only at showtime lounge in washington, d.c. for a musical performance unlike any other. ♪ ♪ >> repeporter: at 92 years old, alice leads a band known as granny and the boys. and they bring the house down. granny alice has been playing the piano nearly her entire life. but she never thought about joining a band until her husband's death in 1996. >> when i passed, i was at sixes and sevens, what do i do. >> she was reading a music book. i actually said to myself, oh, god, that's my cue. >> reporter: richard lynch who worked at the university of maryland spotted her on campus where she was taking classes. >> i said ma'a i mean no harm. i'm a musician myself. i see you're studying music. and i talked to her about my

band. >> reporter: she joined the boys in 1997. hundreds of shows and almost a dozen albums later. for her, it's more than a second act. >> i was a wife, which i was happy being, a mother, not a grandmother even yet. but there was always something like i thought, gee, you know, all these roles i'm following. where am i? where is the alice? and that's what i found. that's where the music came in. >> reporter: this is the alice? her performance has struck a chord. >> i think being able to see people in their older age still playing music and just rocking it is amazing. >> it's really cool. it's so cool to hear so many of the classics. >> i'm just one part of this band. if you took away the rest of the musicians, i'd just be a solo pianist. >> reporter: where would you be

without richard? >> i probably would have passed away a long time ago. i'm honest wow. >> i think so. >> because i'm the kind of person who has to have a purpose in life. if there's no purpose, if i'm just doing everything the same way every day i'd be bored to death, literally. >> reporter: a reminder of the power of music to ift spirits and transcend differences. nbc news, washington. >> you are never too old, right? proof right there. thanks so much for waking up with "early today" and being with me. i'm is this gave

them license to wear it. walmart said it's okay. >> i'm tom llamas in new york. stay right there. stay right there. another large wildfire breaks out in the los angeles area. the hughes fire exploding to more than 9,000 acres, forcing evacuation orders for more than 30,000 people. that fire fueled by dr