freezing the federal funding freeze. a judge temporarily blocking president trump's use on the flurry of federal assistance, financial assistance after it sent shockwaves through the government. we're live in d.c. with a tense standoff and the administration's new buyout offers for all federal workers. the immigration crack down heats up. i.c.e. agents arresting hundreds, including the alleged gang leader in new york city. but it's coming with a heavy price tag for taxpayers. the historic tuberculosis outbreak in kansas. the fight against inflation. the fed set to meet for the first time since president trump took office. and just days after his call for lower interest rates. we go to cnbc on whether we can expect a pause or more rate cuts. and live from new york, it's not martha stewart. why the icon was blocked from appearing on snl.

but early today is live from new york on this wednesday, january 29th. good morning. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the dramatic effort by the white house to cut costs nationwide. an e-mail went out to roughly 2 million federal employees, offering them a buyout if they resign. a senior official ells nbc news they expect about 10% to quit. but some lawmakersre warning people not to trust this deal. >> the president has no authority to make that offer. so my message is, yeah, the president has tried to terrorize you for about a week. and then gives you a little sweetheart offer if you resign in the next week. we're just going to pay you for doing nothing for the next seven months. don't be fooled! >> nbc's alice barr joins my. the white house also tried to

put a hold on federal aid. that order has caused a lot of confusion. >> reporter: good morning, frances. it certainly is. there are still a lot of questions even though that order is on hold. the federal judge has put a pause on that funding freeze until this coming monday after non-profit groups filed a lawsuit saying a pause of funds would be devastating. minutes after that ruling, 22 states and washington, d.c. sued, making the argument that the president does not have the authority to do this. the constitution gives congress the power to dictate federal spending. the confusion began after a memo ordered the pause on federal aid that might run counter to president trump's executive orders. press secretary karoline leavitt clarified that this is not a blanket pause on all assistance. she says direct payments to individuals will continue for benefits like social security and medicare. >> if you're receiving

individual assistance from the federal government, you will still continue to receive that. however, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: the white house said the early childhood program head start would not be affected. but senator chris murphy says that the re-im bursment system was shut down in his home state of connecticut. local leaders and non-profits are concerned. >> the funding goes through the states, which then ultimately gets down to a meals on wheels provider who then provides that service to a senior in need. but it's not, there's no direct cash to that person. it's not considered a direct federal assistance program, like social security or medicare would be. so we're concerned. >> services to our most vulnerable, to our seniors, to our children, to our sick, to our poor. fema, disaster funding to the

victims of the wildfires. >> reporter: and i've been saying this a lot lately. but the legal battle or these plans may need to be settled by the supreme court, frances? >> alice, thank you. senate confirmation hearings will continue this morning with robert f. kennedy jr. chosen to be the next health and human services secretary. caroline kennedy shared a video of herself reading a letter. >> it's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because bobby himself is a predator. he preys on the parents of sick children, vaccinating his own kids while discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs. >> he did not respond to questions about his cousin's message. he has said he is not anti-vaccine and will not take them away. and the trump

administration's crackdown on immigration is hitting the streets of new york city. kristi noem joined federal agents while the raids sent fear across the many immigrant communities. gabe gutierrez reports. >> reporter: new york city at the center of president trump's escalating escalating crackdown on illegal immigration. kristi noem in body armor overseeing the roundup. president trump touting the ongoing arrests. >> we are throwing them the hell out of our country. we have no apologies, and we're moving forward very fast. >> reporter: two sources familiar with the planning confirm to nbc news i.c.e. agents were told to increase to 1200 to 1500 nationwide. many calling it a quota.

across the country, trump's deportations are sparking both fierce backlash. >> there's a real goal here to stoke fear into the american people. >> reporter: and strong support. >> i'm really happy it's happening. very happy, actually. >> reporter: after nbc news reported nearly half of undocumented immigrants arrested sunday had no prior criminal record buy sides being in the country illegally, peter alexander asking the white house. >> so is violent offenders no longer the predicate for these people to be deported. >> reporter: the cost can be staggering. deporting one migrant runs around $10,500. here in new york, city officials estimate a cost of $352 per night to house asylum seekers. are you scared? kathryn from venezuela says she and her daughters have stayed at this hotel for migrants for six

months. that could be a price tag for taxpayers of more than $63,000. and, three sources familiar with the planning now tell nbc news that large-scale arrests will now happen in three u.s. cities per week. back to you. >> gabe, thank you. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is set to visit the white house next week. he will be the first foreign leader to meet with president trump during his second term. a white house official confirmed it was trump who extended the invite and netanyahu accepted. in a letter to the prime minister, trump wrote, i look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to israel and its neighbors and efforts to counter our shared adversaries. the two leaders will meet next tuesday. now on to a troubling health alert in kansas. almost 150 people have been infected with tuberculosis, and two people have died since the outbreak began a year ago. nbc's anne thompson has more on the outbreak. >> reporter: a modern-day outbreak of an ancient disease.

tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that infects theungs now in the kansas city, kansas area. state officials report 67 active cas in two counties, and 79 latent cases where people are infected but not sick and can't spread it to others. there are two deaths associated with the outbreak which health officials say started in january 2024. though officials say the risk to the public remains very low, a state official told the kansas senate committee they are doing everything they can. >> we have, and still have, mobilized staff and resources addressing an unprecedented tuberculosis outbreak. and one of our counties. >> reporter: some of the patients are under the care of the university of kansas health system, and dr. dana hockenson. how sick are people in this outbreak? >> it ranges from very mild symptoms which may have been

persistent for days or months to those who are very ill and have had symptoms for quite a while and seek medical care. we do have treatment for this disease, and typically the treatment lasts about six months. >> reporter: tb is an airborne disease spread when someone coughs or sneezes. symptoms include coughing, chest pain, fever and fatigue. what can you do to protect yourself? dr. hockenson says there isn't much. work with public health officials so they can track your contacts. now to a huge winter storm rolling across the great lakes and northeast. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is timing the system. >> we've got winter alerts already up. and snow is falling across this region. most of that is downwind of the

lakes but stretching out towards portland and boston. we do have some of that across the great lakes. this low pressure system is going to slide across this region through the day today. it's going to be out of here by the time we get into the later parts of today. but some snow squalls will be possible. in the meantime, reduced visibilities will be possible as well. notice the snowfall totals, 2-4 inches is what we're looking at. we will have marginal risk of severe weather, mainly stronger wind gusts and the potential for flooding across this region. we really see this moisture ramp up tomorrow, and it's going to be intense from stretching from the gulf coast to the midwest. we'll have another chance to see severe weather through the day tomorrow. notice houston basically stretching into lafayette and up towards mostly sunny skies for

charleston and atlanta. low 70s from jacksonville to orlando. rain in the forecast for shreveport and dallas today. and that's a look at your forecast, back to you. a musical about dolly parton's life will be going to broadway, but the debut will happen this summer at belmont university. the country icon says a nashville debut is only natural since she is tennessee born and tennessee raised. the broadway premiere is slated for next year. "early today" is back in a minute wh itwhat's next for inrest rates, and deepseek. mhm. why are you shimmyg? oh! unstopables has odor blocker so i'll feel fresh all day, even after a red eye. we all use unstopables. looks like he does too!

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the u.s. navy is steering members away from the new chinese chatbot deepseek. but the fed will meet today for the first time since president trump took office. karen gilchrist is a preview of what we can expect. good morning, karen. >> good morning, frances. yes, the fed will make its first interest rate decision of the year today. it is widely expected to hold rates steady. that's a 97% chance according to markets. so holding them steady around 4.25 to 4.5%. but investors will be looking at what the fed has to say about interest rates moving forward. as you say, under president trump's policies, some around tariffs, regulation and immigration, which some have viewed as inflationary and what this will mean for interest rates going forward. now this comes after trump, as you say, said last week that he would like the fid to cut interest rates immediately, although he has no authority to

make them do so. but certainly, investors are a little bit cautious about the outlook for the cuts with just two being presented for the year. now elsewhere, the u.s. navy has told its members not to use or download the deepseek a.i. app that's become newly popular out of china. this app became the most downloaded app over the weekend, sparring concerns about its a.i. use. now the navy has said that this ban is over potential ethical and security reasons. but it said that they shouldn't be using them for personal or work reasons. and this is ll about concerns about china's use of a.i. and what that could mean for tional security in the u.s. back to you, frances. >> we are quite familiar with that, thanks, karen. elon musk says he plans to help spacex bring home the two

stranded astronauts from the international space station as soon as possible. at the request of president trump. butch wilmore and suni williams arrived last summer for what was supposed to be a ten-day trip. their return flight has been delayed to march because the new spacex craft is not ready as far as that goes. and it has been delayed since then. it's not ready to fly for both spacex and nasa. still to come, find out why martha stewart has never hosted snl. and joe jonas has more on their new show. and their return for a holiday reunion. ♪ they call me jane ♪ ♪ that's not myame ♪ ♪ that's not my name ♪ ♪ that's not my name ♪ ♪ that's not my name ♪ ♪ can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey! eddie, no. frasier, frank. frank? —fred, how are you? —fred! support up to 7 brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember,

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>> to us, this announcement is perfect. the jonas brothers paid tribute to love actually tuesday, revealing that they will be starring in a christmas movie on disney+. nick, joe and kevin will appear as fictionalized versions of themselves trying to get home for the holidays. it streams later this year. it can't come fast enough for fans everybody the jo bros. they started the series, jonas movies, camp rock and camp rock two. so it is about time. >> i'm not ready for us to be talking about christmas again. i want summertime weather first. >> maybe they can do a summer special, right? >> i'm here for that. now to a decision that martha stewart has not been living well with. the icon reflected on the storied history of her impersonations on "saturday night live." that's when jimmy fallon asked her if she'd ever dropped by studio 8 h to host. >> they asked me as i was coming

out of alderson, that camp i was in for a while. i was allowed out of my house for eight hour as day. >> the parole officer said no? >> no, [ bleep ]. >> he served five months in prison or what she called a camp after being convicted on fraud charges in 2004. she has great comedic timing. she hangs out at nbc all the time. >> that was decades ago when that parole officer told her that. up next, making a latte out of a little. why starbucks is dialing back its menu, and good vibes only. time to should the bad habits. and fights odor for 72 hours. for your pits, privates, chest, thighs, and feet! how do they do it? get native. can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey! eddie, no. frasier, frank. frank?

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there are no smiles inin th growing fight over the mona lisa. one said it's time for the louvre to give up the painting. kelly cobiella has the story. >> reporter: french president macron making plans to save the louvre with a massive renovation process. >> translator: long live the >> reporter: announcing a new entrance, the creation of new underground rooms and a special space just for leonardo davin ji's the mona lisa. milan's regional chief in response to a memo said the mona lisa should be returned it italy, writing in an official note, we are ready to host the mona lisa until the french can decide on, quote, relocations and restorations. she goes on to tell the uk

publication the times, leonardo represents italian genius. milawould be an ideal location to display the work. and, with the winter olympics in milan just a year away, she says it would be good to have as tourist numbers would be extremely high. swarmed with nearly 9 million visitors a year, the louvre is the largest and most-visited museum. the mona lisa remains its biggest attraction. and it's not the first time debates have emerged about who has the rights to house the mona lisa. she was stolen in 1911 by an italian employee, who wanted to bring her back to italy. the mona lisa has been hanging at the louvre museum in france for over 200 years, after it was first purchased by a french king. but its what painted by leonardo davinci, the famed italian renaissance artist in the early 1500s. >> there's a lot of leonardo in

milan. but, do they have greater rights than florence? do they have greater rights than paris? do they have greater rights than rome? and i think they don't, very obviously. >> reporter: nbc reached out to the louvre about the report, and they responded no comment. but for now, there's no indication that the mona lisa will be switching countries, with the costly and complex renovation process likely taking years to complete, with a special focus being put on building a special entrance, offering stream-lined access for those wanting to see the mona lisa only. macron says a design competition will be held in the coming months for the renovations. kelly cobiella, nbc news. we thank you so much for being here with us for "early today." have a great wednesday. we'll see you back here early tomorrow. t. ing.

goodnight.