a ave gaza, and the u.s. would take over the land. the swift backlash to his remarks this morning. growing condemnation to elon

musk's actions in the federal government, including actions to push out thousands of workers in a test of constitutional limits. how congressional leaders are responding. all victims of the tragic plane crash in our nation's capital now recovered. the latest details in the investigation, as authorities work to identify all those killed. a raid in new york city's diamond district that could be linked to the break-ins at pro athletes homes. what we're learning this morning. and a fire rescue caught top tape. how firefighters in california saved a woman trapped inside a burning home. it's wednesday, february 5th. "early today" starts right now. glad to have you with me this morning. i'm frances rivera. a bombshell announcement from president trump. the united states will seek control of the gaza strip. the president's proposal coming during a press conference with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> the u.s. will take over the

gaza strip, and we will do a job with it, too. we'll own it. and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out. create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. >> let's get right into it with foreign correspondent raf sanchez joins us live. good morning. where does this leave the palestinians in gaza? >> reporter: frances, good morning. the president seems to be suggesting that the 2 million palestinians who call the gaza strip home would be displaced, potentially on a permanent basis while the united states takes not just control but ownership of gaza, and he is saying he is potentially open to deploying u.s. troops to make this happen. now it is hard to overstate what a radical idea this is.

the palestinians have been very clear, they are not leaving gaza. even over the last 16 months of war. the deep suffering in gaza before that. palestinians have said this is this home. they do not intend to leave. human rights groups have warned any ffort to try to make them leave by force is potentially a war crime. and the other big issue here is the president is suggesting that they move to egypt and jordan. these are both u.s. allies in the middle east. and both of those countries have said they are not open to this plan. but the president saying yesterday he is prepared to force them to accept these 2 million refugees. now steve witkoff, the president's middle east envoy was on fox news after this bombshell idea was floated at the news conference alongside benjamin netanyahu. this is what he had to say about how he envisaged this proposal working out. take a listen. >> peace in the region means a

better life for the palestinians. a better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you're in today. a better life is about a better opportunity. better financial conditions. better aspirations for you and your family. that doesn't occur because you get to pitch a tent in the gaza strip. >> reporter: so this is being framed as a way to get palestinians safely out of the devastated gaza strip and on a longererm basis give them better opportunities. but frances, that is not how it is being interpreted through a lot of the middle east. egypt and jordan, both saying they see this as a non-starter. hamas saying they will not allow the palestinian people to be displaced. and frankly, frances, we don't know at this point whether there are real mechanisms in place to make this formal u.s. policy. >> a shock announcement after that meeting, raf, thank you.

breaking overnight, the first flight of u.s. deportees has landed at guantanamo bay less than one week after the trump administration suggested detaining tens of thousands of migrants at the naval base in cuba. dozens of marines were deployed to guantanamo to support holding operations there. it comes amid the president's crackdown on immigration. later today, a federal court will hear arguments from advocacy groups challenging mr. trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship. it is one of three challenges to that order being heard this week. new this morning, the central intelligence agency could soon be scaled back. a cia spokesperson says employees received buyout offers of eight months of pay and benefits. the director says this move will provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge. also overnight, the u.s. agency for international development announced that nearly all of its direct hires will be placed on leave. the agency will keep some personnel in mission-critical

roles. this comes as elon musk helps the white house rapidly make over the federal government. democrats are pushing back as musk's actions challenge the constitutional authority of congress. here's nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: two weeks after returning to office, pledging to take a wrecking ball to washington, president trump is pushing back against new attacks on his efforts and those of billionaire elon musk to reshape the federal government. >> he's done a great job. look at all the fraud that he's found. >> reporter: but top democrats are sounding the alarm that musk and his lieutenants are going too far. >> the american people will not stand for an unelected, secret group to run rampant through the executive branch. being innovative is good. but mr. musk, this i't a tech startup. these are public institutions. >> reporter: musk, who vowed to slash $2 trillion from the budget runs the department of government efficiency that is

not a government agency, but his team has already gained access to closely-hd data systems. >> there's already been tremendous progress. a rough estimate is that there's at least a few billion dollars a day of savings. >> reporter: one of those cost-cutting efforts offering a buyout to federal officials. more than 20,000 federal employees have accepted the offer so far. but many federal workers are furious at the pace and the scope of the president's changes. >> i am angry. i am seething. >> reporter: speaking at a town hall in virginia. >> my colleagues are getting a 15-minute, one-on-one check-ins with 19, 20, 21-year-old college graduates. he and his young child have shacked up on the sixth floor of our agency and are living there. >> reporter: president trump praising musk, including his

move to dismantle the u.s. agency for international development, which distributes and delivers foreign aid. arguing much of its more than $40 billion budget is wasteful. >> money going to all sorts of groups that shouldn't deserve to get any money. >> reporter: but the agency's supporters say it's a vital mission, still, leading republicans back musk's moves. >> i told him to continue the effort, because it's really important for us to get, to restore fiscal sanity to washington. >> reporter: the president responding to a new offer from el salvador to take back migrants and american prisoners, too. >> if we had the legal right to do it, i would do it in a heartbeat, but we could make deals where we could get these animals out of our country. two groups of fbi agents are suing the justice department. unnamed agents say they are trying to stop the mass unlawful termination of bureau employees, alleging unlawful retaliation against employees who work to

investigate january 6 cases. the trump administration has removed eight senior fbi leaders and 24 doj prosecutors, and now thousands of fbi agents are under review. staff members were required to fill out a survey to document their work on capitol attack cases. they are asking to block the personnel names. they fear for their safety and privacy. now a trade war with china getting closer to reality as the two largest economies exchange tit-for-tat tariffs. now the u.s. postal service has delayed or blocked packages. now gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: the u.s. and china have just days to avoid a trade war, or americans' pocket books could be hit hard. china announced it would impose a tariff on energy imports as well as some u.s. products.

>> that's fine. we're going to do very well against china and against everybody else. >> reporter: that retaliation comes minutes after president trump's 10% tariff on all chinese imports took effect. china imposing a 15% import tax on coal and liquefied natural gas as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil, farm equipment and various cars and trucks. and taking aim at electronics, announcing export controls on rare earths, elements essential to all high-tech products, infrared missiles and electric car batteries. president trump and xi jinping now expected to talk soon. >> i'm in no rush. >> reporter: leaders of the world's largest economies looking for leverage in a standoff that could have staggering global impacts. americans across the country and leaders around the world are feeling what the president calls his america-first agenda first hand. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, washington. meanwhile, mr. trump's cabinet is starting to come

together. his pick for attorney general, pam bondi was confirmed by the senate yesterday. only one democrat voted for her, john fetterman of pennsylvania. and two of the president's most controversial choices have cleared a key hurdle on the road toward confirmation. his nominee for health secretary, robert f. kennedy jr. was approved by the senate finance committee and now heads to a full vote in the senate. and intelligence committee advanced tulsi gabbard for director of national thence. dates for their confirmation votes have not been set yet. remember sharpie gate? the chief who supported mr. trump's assertion that a hurricane would hit alabama? he has been rehired. another winter storm is bearing down on the midwest. let's see what it's going to do. here's angie lassman who's

tracking that system. >> we've got alerts from the plains to the east coast, 64 million people included in these. as we gear up for this storm system to work its way through the east today. notice the snow, the rain, the ice focussed across the midwest and the ohio valley today. likely some slick spots stretching from iowa to delaware. you can see by tomorrow, a wintry mix that we'll have to deal with along the i-95 corridor. we could see gusty storms across the tennessee valley. when it comes to totals, highest amounts, 2 to 5 inches across northern new england, boston included in that. and we'll also see that difficult travel with the ice accumulation possible across much of this region, taking it slow, maybe isolated power outages possible as we get through the day today and tomorrow. meanwhile, it feels like spring. 20 degrees above normal for nashville. philadelphia, just a touch above

normal. we'll see temperatures ranging into the 70s and 80s across the southeast. out west we'll see temperatures into the low 80s, too. and then we keep the northern tier chilly. that's a look at the weather across the country. let's see what's happening in your neighborhood. 32 degrees and cloudy conditions in chicago today. we head to the low 40s in wichita and st. louis. 32 in pittsburgh. we head to upper 20s for both detroit and cleveland. 34, mostly sunny skies expected in new york city today. and that's a look at your forecast, frances. back to you. >> okay, angie, thank you. nu wh lo alar s back in a miteita okt ke debut. ♪ okay, y'all. i heard mielle's kalahari melon and aloe vera line is changing the game. up to five days of moisture and no wash days in between? let's see about that. day two, headed to work, but i feel like i'm about to drop a hit single. all the cuties are at the run club. good thing these curls are curling.

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plane's cockpit, fuselage from the potomac. radar data and the plane's black box showed the black hawk helicopter was flying at about 300 fefeet at e time of the collision, which is higher than it was supposed to. now potential break in the case of those recent burglaries at the lavish homes of top athletes. yesterday in the diamond district. two men were arrested who federal prosecutors allege knew re stolen, working with a south american theft operation. three sources familiar with the matter say they're looking into whether one of the targets was joe burrow. his home was burglarized in december. a trade that upended the nba this past weekend is now official. the lakers formally introduced luka doncic on tuesday whom they acquired in a blockbuster trade with the mavericks last weekend.

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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, remember neuriva. here's what's making headlines this morning. almost a year after the deadly collapse of baltimore's francis scott key bridge, a new design has been revealed to replace it. the new bridge will be taller and better protected against ship strikes and is set to be completed by 2028. it looks like fewer americans are quitting their jobs. december job openings dropped to 7.6 million, the lowest since september. teens spent an average of 1.5 hours on their phones at

school. and apple launched a new app that allows you to create custom invitations, so users can rsvp and listen to apple playlists for the event. android users can access the invites, but they'll have to use a web-based version instead. "early today" will be right back after the break. head & shoulders is launching something huge. ♪♪ the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients. no sulfates, silicones or dyes. and packaged with 45% less plastic. giving you outstanding dandruff protection. and leaving hair beautiful and moisturized. major dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. job done. head & shoulders bare. 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,

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>> reporter: an incredible moment caught on camera. watch as this fire crew with the san bernardino county fire rescues a special needs victim after the family's home caught fire. [speaking in a global language] >> reporter: we met elizabeth romero as she remembered those agonizing moments of desperation outside her home on valencia avenue on tuesday, a day after her home caught fire. according to the fire department, the call came in around 11:00 in the morning. two people inside were able to escape. captain nick turner was one of the first crews to respond. but he says they were unaware someone else was still trapped inside. >> my crew and i, firefighter and i, we made entry into the structure. we started to push down the hallway. we had heavy smoke and heat and fire blowing over the top of us. >> reporter: turner says in the middle of all and with no visibility because of the smoke, scream behind a bedroom door.

>> i grabbed the girl, and i said don't worry, i got you. i'm not going to let you go. >> reporter: at the same time, another fire crew outside the home was able to find the victim's bedroom window thanks to romero's help. [speaking in a global language] >> reporter: my daughter is non-verbal. and i remeer yelling her name out. >> i think any time you hear my daughter's in there or my son's in there, most of those guys on the job, we're dads, so i think when you hear that, that always, it just, it just takes everything up a notch. >> reporter: the young woman was carried out and taken to the hospital as fire crews directed their focus on the flames. >> yeah, we start to see, i think, around 500 degrees damage can occur to our masks and helmets. it was very hot. >> reporter: captain turner showing us the damage to his helmet during the rescue. she sends this message to those she calls her heroes. [speaking in a global language]

>> even more reason to appreciate those california firefighters. our thanks to christian for that report. all eyes will be on saquon barkley in the showdown against the chiefs. comiming up on "today", kaylee hartung will sit down to talk about his unforgettable first season in philadelphia. something you don't want to miss. especially with just a few days away now from the big game. thank you so much for being with me and starting your morning with "early today." i'm frances rivera. have a great wednesday. your news continueri

bracing for possible flooding. nervous residents in the north bay are keeping a close eye on the russian river. it is set to crest later this morning. we're live with the latest on evacuation orders. plus, president trump sparks new outrage in proposing