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nbc news daily start now. day, wednesday, january 29, 2025. in the hot seat, trump's controversial pick for health secretary, rfk junior faces intense questioning today on capitol hill. struck ready to resign, the white house extends an offer to a big part of the nation's federal workers. what millions need to know whether they decide to accept. bad grades binding students nationwide are falling further behind in reading. the man behind the curtain. we sit down with the real wizard of oz. the oscar-nominated costume designer behind wicked. let me just say, if you have seen one, i would say it is times and half of what you will

get visually in part to is explosive. >> what he says fans can expect from the sequel and an intimate look at what d him into design. >> such an eye-opening design, such an incredible story. we begin with trump's first 100 days in office. here are three bigheadlines, the white house offering 2 million federal workers a so- called deferred resignation. essentially a buyout. the administration says it could save the u.s. government up to $100 billion. >> there are big questions over whether the white house has undone a pause on federal grants and spending. the white house rescinded a memo that called for the freeze. but the white house press secretary just said the freeze is still in place. also the president's controversial choice for health and human services secretary, robert f kennedy junior facing questions about his position on vaccines, abortion rights,

nutrition, the agriculture industry among other things. if confirmed, he would lead one of the most important agencies. >> the department of health and human services is massive. overseeing 13 different divisions including the cdc, the fda, the nih and the center for medicare and medicaid services. if confirmed, he could make sweeping changes to the way those agencies work. the hearing began today with kennedy rejecting claims that he is anti-vaccine. >> all of my kids are vaccinated. i have written many books on vaccines. my first book in 2014, the first line of it is, i am not anti-vaccine. and the last line is i am not anti-vaccine. i support the measles vaccine, i support the polio vaccine, i will do nothing that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking - >> anybody who believes that should look at the measles book you wrote, saying parents have

been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease, that is not true. >> leading us off this hour is vaughn hilliard at the capital. we knew this would be one of the toughest hearings for any of trump's nominees. what are the highlights from today? >> reporter:the outstanding? and the reason why this is so unknown is because it is not just republicans whose votes are questionable but also democrats. there has been a great many, a majority of the senators that have not committed one way or the other to how they will vote. that is why you saw several democratic senators specifically use the issue of abortion to effectively try to convince republican lawmakers that robert f kennedy should not be trusted. of course, he has had a changed position, publicly, on vaccines, saying he is actually in support of people's ability to get vaccines. the abortion issue in 2023, and

he was running for president he said he believed in a woman's right to reproductive rights all the way through full term and that there should be bodily autonomy for women. then as some of these lawmakers in this hearing pointed out, he has changed his posture on abortion in the last few months since donald trump nominated him to be hhs secretary. in kennedy's taking the same position on abortion righthts a trump. they were pointing that out as a reason he should not be trusted. for mr. kennedy, this is expected to be a close vote. this is day one of two for his information proceedings. >> i am glad you highlighted the abortion point. as you mentioned, kennedy previously said he was pro- abortion access. i want to take a listen to one of his responses to a question from republican senator james lankford of oklahoma.

>> i agree with trump that every abortion is a tragedy. i agree with that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions per year. i agree with him that the states should control abortion. >> did kennedy do enough to assuage republican concerns about his views on abortion today? >> reporter:i think that is a question will hopefully get in the hours and days ahead. in real-time, former vice president mike pence, for instance, has been using his political organization to run effectively campaign advertisement against kennedy, focusing on the abortion issue and that he should not be trusted, for decades he held this position. let's dive deeper into what the trump administration is calling the deferred resignation plan for career federal workers. >> the white house says it wants most federal employees working in office instead of remote, five days a week. an email without to federal workers, they can resign now and still get paid through september. a senior administration official told nbc news they expect five to 10% of employees to quit. which they estimate will save $100 billion annually. although it is not entirely clear how they arrived at that number.

joining us now, nbc news senior white house correspondent, kelly o'donnell. a lot going on again today. i want to read part of the email that was sent out last night. says the trump administration is looking for quote, loyal, trustworthy employees, employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline. including, termination. tell us more about these changes and how the union representing the workers is responding. >> reporter:we are talking federal workers. some of them are represented by unions and many have the production that come from being in the civil service workforce. not the same as corporate america or a startup or any of the things where trump might have more direct experience. what he is trying to do is shrink the workforce. what is not clear is, does he have the ability under the law. there are senators saying he

does not, to promise paid workers as a part of a separation package, when they are then not doing the work. typically, even in times when we have seen government shutdown, we have experienced some of those. congress would have specifically to authorize backpay for federal workers. it is not automatic. one of the questions is, how do they try to get a workforce that they believe is more efficient and certainly for trump and his administration, they would like it more in line with his view of how government should work. the brd federal workforce of course, is on the job regardless of who is president. they are not just here in d.c. but, all across the country in all kinds of different offices. many have remote work, not being part of the office as a part of their work which is not directed by covid. it was a different kind of remote work. some for office space reasons, vocation, all kinds of things, millions of people this would be questioned. it is not clear what the response would be. how many will try to take this up. and will it follow through as the president suggested it

could in terms of the pay package. >> there is a new twist that we mentioned in the federal funding freeze story. the white house going back and forth today. >> reporter:there was a memo issued by the office of management and budget freezing the federal grants to states. they have rescinded that. it had been put on pause a federal court. that ends that particular chapter. but the white house is telling us that they are not backing away from the intention to trim some of the spending. they say that the president's executive orders on a range of topics, for this kind of reduction in spending. what this does for now is ends confusion. that was active over the last 24 to 48 hours. as people are trying to figure this out.

but, just to be clear, do the funds remain frozen? >> reporter:it is hard to answer that, the white house says they will freeze funds in other ways. memo to do it, has been put on hold. that the president had to say that things people are worried about are not actually happening. >> social security, medicare, medicaid have not been affected by any action we are taking. we are merely looking at parts of the big bureaucracy where there has been tremendous waste and fraud and abuse. >> reporter: waste, fraud and abuse as defined by the trump administration, there may be pushback at various agencies so more to come. we are

following breaking news affecting your wallet. the federal reserve announcing just moments ago, it is not changing interest rates. >> the first decision under the second trump administration. this comes after three straight interest rate cuts to end 2024. this pause was expected by economists, but walk us through the decision. >> reporter:that graphic shows it is a wait and see mode. after three rate cuts the fed will pause and see what is happening in the economy. the economy is solid the employment rate continues at a low level. >> the public should be confident we will do the work we always have. keeping our heads down and doing our work. >> the next meeting is in march. the chairman said they will review data on inflation and the overall economy before deciding on another potential interest rate change. frontier airlines trying to merge again. and have you been eating

fraudulent trip? >> reporter: for the second time frontier has offered a merger proposal to rival, spirit airlines. it gave a proposal to take over spirit as the budget carrier tried to get out of bankruptcy protection. spirit rejected the offers thing was too low and there was substantial risk. and if you are sick of having to call for an employee to unlock cabinets at cbs, there could soon be an app for that. they are checking out a smart lock program in three new york city stores to allow customers to do it themselves. they have to use a new app, ba loyalty number and use the store's by five - wi-fi. and if you think you are using locally caught fish in the gulf coast, think again. many restaurant are passing their shrimp is locally sourced even though they were imported. the study found tampa bay and st. petersburg had the highest rate of shrimp fraud at 96%.

>> florida, do not be doing that. good to know. stay with us, coming up, several music's biggest stars will take the stage tomorrow night for los angeles wildfire victims. katie! i knew i'd find you here. i know, it's wild. future you. anyway, our doctor figured it out. all that constipation with bly pain that keeps coming back, it's ibs-c. she said linzess could help you get ahead of it. whatta you say? yess! get ahead of your ibs-c with linzess. linzess is not a laxative. it's a once-daily pill that helps you get ahead of your symptoms. it's proven to help you have more frequent and complete bowel movements. and helps relieve overall abdominal symptoms - belly pain, discomfort, and bloating.

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in new york city, former to be sentenced. nendez is said menendez, a democrat from new jersey, was convicted last july on 16 counts of bribery, extortion and acting as a foreign agent for egypt among other crimes. the following month he resigned from the senate where he wants led the powerful formulations committee. we are outside the courthouse in lower manhattan. what do we know about what is happening? >> reporter: what is happening right now is that the former senator offered a cheerful contrite presentation to the judge talking about all the things he has done in his 50 years of public service. 30 years in the senate saying he poured out his heart to people in his mmunity,

helping them in every way he possibly could. helping families who needed a transplant for a family member. helping those devastated after the hurricane. helping people in whatever way he could. he said i share the stories not to boast but to tell you about my work. he saidi have lost everything, everyday i wake up as a punishment and in a half a century of public service, i ask you to judge me in that context. ththe prosecion returned to address the court and said the defendant's request for leniency is that but this trial shows he was not always engaged in public service, even though they acknowledged that the former senator did do some good. said it was not a favor. in essence, that was his job he was elected to do. we are waiting, as i am looking at this document, to see when the judge will have his say from the bench, letting us know how much of, or what the

sentence will be for former senator bob menendez, who has been convicted of 16 federal corruption charges. a terrifying fighter jet crash was caught on camera. you can see video of it as it spun out of control and crashed. jennings now is - who has been following the developments. that video is incredible. what exactly happened and how is the pallet? >> reporter: the pilot is expected to make a full recovery. officials say he was taken away in stable condition but was evaluated as a precaution. the investigation centers on what officials are calling an

in-flight malfunction justsouth of fairbanks, alaska. officials indicate it was a scheduled training mission and the pilot was attempting to land when, according to officials, there was a malfunction causing the pilot to eject just seconds before the plane made that impact. incredible to witness that scene that this video captures. in the meantime, they are still having flights go on with f-35s at the base that was selected back in 2016 to host more than 50 f-35s, specifically as part of an expansion. this is a plane that is familiar to staff on base. now, at least one of the jets at the center of the investigation. but this is not the first incident involving an f-35? >> reporter:right, multiple incidences that have involved f- 35s. the most recent being this past may in new mexico, when an f-35 bound for a california air force base, the pilot stopped to refuel in new mexico but it

crashed south of albuquerque just minutes later. each jet costs millions and millions to make. that has caused scrutiny. >> thank you. a new report finds american studentsts are falling even further behind in reading. further behind in reading. at wh my mom used to tell me if you want to be a champion you got to be a champion at life. i got to watch her play at her highest from when i was born. from one generation to the next, to the next,

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every day that we don't act is another day of life lost to addiction. you know how they say, don't hate the player, hate the game. well, you know what? imma hate the player because this ain't no game no more. the ordinance needs six yes votes from the board of supervisors. a few have voiced support and the ordinance is expected to pass. mayor lurie says san francisco will no longer be a place too or deal drugs. outcry continues around the bay area over the federal immigration crackdown. some students are planning to voice their anger later today. nbc bay area's bob redell is in the east bay with the latest. earlier this week, ice agents took into custody some people in san jose, which is why you had this scene yesterday, a protest of immigrant rights. you can see hundreds of students, members of the community. they blocked the intersection in east san jose of story and king, which is near where agents with the federal immigration customs enforcement agency ice were spotted in

recent days. one woman who showed up with her father to that protest told us, quote, he only came for a better life. he's not a criminal. referring to her dad, she says her dad has worked hard to provide for her and her brother, while her mom has remained in mexico. i have not seen my mom in almost like ten years. i called her, but it's still sad because both of my parents are not together. they're separated. it is extremely important to me and to our police chief that residents know when they see an sapd officer that we do not enforce immigration laws, just as we don't enforce the irs laws or the epas laws, we enforce violent and property crime in our community. mayor matt mahan of san jose says his police department does not go around and asks its citizens about their immigigration status. butf somebody is committing a serious or violent crime, they will be held accountable, prosecuted and possibly deported. nbc news

reports nearly half of the undocumented immigrants arrested nationwide on sunday had no prior criminal record, outside of the fact that they were in the country illegally. earlier this week, ice wrote in a statement, quote, enforcement and removal operations law enforcement activity takes place around the clock. however, ice does not conduct raids or sweeps, nor does the agency operate roadblocks or checkpoints, and ice officers do not target noncitizens indiscriminately. students at cal uc berkeley. they have organized a rally and march for between 3 and 5:00 this afternoon evening, and there are more protests scheduled this weekend in the south bay. bob redell, nbc, bay area news. thank you. bob. some bay area immigration attorneys say they want everyone to know their rights. so later today in east palo alto, a forum with legal advice plus a question and answer session in english at 5 p.m, spanish at 6 p.m. where san mateo counties human services

agency in east palo alto. well, the bay area can expect more cool weather this week. here's kari hall with our forecast as we take a look at our high temperatures for this afternoon. it's going to be a little bit lower than we've seen recently, with highs mostly staying in the 50s all across the bay area. a cold start on thursday, and then we're back to some of those same temperatures, only making it up to 55 degrees in napa and santa rosa and 57 in san f francisco e are also going to see a change in the pattern that brings in some rain for the weekend. this storm system will tap into some deep subtropical moisture and arrive into the bay area as an atmospheric river on friday and continue into the weekend, as well as early next week. we are going to talk about the impacts and what you can expect before you make weekend plans. we'll take a look at that coming up in the next 30 minutes. all right, kari see you then. the public will get a chance to hear directly from lawrence livermore lab tonight. leaders are holding a presentation at 6:00 to

address plans to upgrade the lab's plutonium facility. some residents fear the upgrade might mean higher plutonium levels at the lab, transported along nearby roads and highways. the lab says it will discuss the potential environmental impact tonight. all right. that's going to do it for this edition of the fast forward. i'll be back in 30 minutes with kari with more news my life is full of questions... how do i clean an aioli stain? 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 eyebws? —except that one.

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here are some of the storiesmaking headlines on nbc news. officials in northern india say at least 30 people dead and dozens more hurt after a stampede at the world's largest religious gathering. it happened early wednesday morning. police say it was triggered when millions of pilgrims rushed to dip into what they believe to be sacred water. the ritual is part of a six week hindu festival. a trial underway over $4 billion settlement for victims of the deadly hawaii wildfires. the governor of hawaii announced the settlement last august but lawyers coould not agree on how the money would be split up. a settlement has now been reached but details are not available.at least one or two people were killed in august of 2023. it was caused by a brush fire sparked by downed power lines. one of the deadliest wildfires in u.s. history in more than a century. more than two dozen stars coming to for a benefit concert to support victims of the wildfires in california.

the fire aid concert will feature performers like billie eilish, sting, lady gaga. it is expected to raise millions and it will take place in two los angeles venues tomorrow. it will run for over five hours, and you can watch and listen to the entire concert. we will stream the entire thing on nbc news now starting at 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific. the nation's report card is out and american schoolchildren are falling behind in reading. >> it was released, measuring student achievement in math and reading in grades four and eight. joining us now, nbc news reporter maia england. walk us through the big takeaways. >> reporter:the biggest take away is the historic gap between the highest performing testcorers and the lowest performing. i think it is summed up pretty well and a statement from the department of education.

today's results reveal a heartbreaking reality for american students and confirm our worst fears. not only did most students not recover from pandemic related learning loss, but those students who are most behind and in need of the most support have fallen even further behind. we see this in basic reading scores. take a look at the fourth grade scores from 2019 to 2024. a 6% decrease, eighth-graders only at 67%. a grim picture but not all bad. >> reporter:not all bad, we did see an increase in fourth grade math by 2%. al some increase in certain states, louisiana, alabama, new york. washington, d.c. had a 10 point increase in their average testing scores. >> scores in reading and math, they have been on the decline for years. why do they think it still continues? >> reporter:experts say we can

no longer just by blame the pandemic anymore. there are more systemic issues at play. one of them being chronic absenteeism. a lot of students not attending school enough and kids are not reading for fun as much as they used to. >> thank you. a planned immigration operation in aurora, colorado tomorrow has been canceled, at least for now. we first told you about the story yesterday. and today, two sources familiar with the situation says it was called off by what sources are calling media leaks. separately the trump administration said it is ending temporary protections for venezuelans in the united states. more than 600,000 people could be deported. president biden extended the temporary protected status before leaving office earlier this month. it allows people to stay in the country if they cannot safely return to their home country. it also allows them to get their work permits. trump tried to end the programs during his first administration but his efforts were blocked by

various lawsuits. we are joined by nbc correspondent george soliz. florida has arguably one of the biggest populations of tps recipients in the united states. >> reporter:obviously what you are hearing is a lot of fear and concern. many who say they wonder what will happen next. many venezuelans feel like they are in limbo. we were speaking to an attorney who said her phone began to ring at 6:30 this morning with people want to figure out what their next steps are. many venezuelans working in this country do not want to return ovever concer of the regime. what venezuelans are losing is about a year of tps set by the previous administration. there are some avenues that are protected by tps and can be pursued. but, it will take a long time and it is an uphill battle for those under that status. there is a glimmer of hope, not

a big one, given this resendingof the tps protections for the -next 18 months. new officials have until saturday to decipher thosese th were protected in 2023. that has to come by this weekend or there is an extension for those particular recipients. not a big number. looking at more than half- million venezuelans set to lose those protections. about a year they thought they had guaranteed. officials are up in arms, many asking people to call representatives, to call their congressman to appeal to the trump administration directly to make sure they undo this. take a listen. >> write a letter to your congressman and to the president. we will be more active and more effective in our claim. >> reporter:quite interesting, some of the voices i have been hearing from say, we actually do not mind what the trump administration is doing in terms of deporting those here committing crimes. those they are trying to target tarnishing the name for other people who have migrated to this country trying to improve their lives. bottom line, many just scared

to figure out what to do next. people from haiti, el salvador and sudan were also targeted during the first trump term so many people are wondering if they will be next. we are heading into the world of ours. we say - we see his amazing, wicked good costumes. we sit down with the costume designer. >> not your first stent down the yellow brick road. you first designed costumes for your high school production of wizard of oz. he went on to do the nbc live production of the wiz and now this. talk to me about how you thought about designing costumes that is not complies the integrity of such a classic

but also, bringing your own spin. >> it is important to acknowledge a huge fan base of the original wicked. also, the wizard of oz has been in our lives for such a long time. back paul is no stranger to timeless classics, winning a tony for his costumes in hamilton. and making history in his oscar nomination for steven spielberg's west side story. the first black man nominated in a costume design category. with wicked, he could be soaring to new heights. >> two very different women, very different color schemes. how did you go about thinking about the textures and the makeup both of their costumes? >> for both of those characters, for glenda, i am giving her a back story, with - closer to the animals, the