breaking overnight. a government agency gutted. the trump administration slashing thousands of jobs from usaid. while a new report says federal health employees could be next. we're live with the growing fallout over the race to shrink federal spending. and the head of homeland security gearing up for a trip to guantanamo bay as the trump administration's crackdown ramps up. a massive search is under way to find a plane that went missing with ten people on board. a winter strike to the northeast. millions slammed by a snowstorm. and it could be just the start. our team is tracking the trouble ahead. our first pulse on the u.s. economy since president trump took office. what to expect from the critical january jobs report this morning. and, a super bowl blitz. we're live in new orleans with all the excitement ahead of the

eagles-chiefs showdown. plus, how much your watch party could cost this year. it's friday, february 7th. "early today" starts right now. glad you're with me to end the week. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the white house effort to dramatically shrink the federal government. two sources tell nbc news that the u.s. agency for international development will be reduced from more than 5,000 workers to about 290. two unions representing government workers have already filed a lawsuit over the dismantling of the agency that carries out humanitarian missions. nbc's alice barr joins me now. hi, alice, good morning. midnight was the original deadline, but that has changed. >> reporter: good morning, frances. a federal judge has temporarily blocked the deadline until at least monday. that's when there's set to be a hearing to go over a request by federal labor unions to more fully block the buyouts.

a senior official says at least 60,000 workers have accepted those offers. in an e-mail obtained by nbc news, eligible workers were warned that they could lose this jobs, saying in part, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position for those who choose not to take the deal. the "wall street journal" is reporting that the white house is preparing an executive order to fire thousands of federal health workers, citing people familiar with the matter. the journal says that action could come as soon as next week. democrats continue to raise the alarm about the role of elon musk in these cost-cutting efforts, introducing a bill aimed at protecting sensitive financial information. >> why does elon musk and his minions need access to the names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates and bank account information of millions of americans?

why does he need that information? what are they doing with it? >> reporter: the "washington post" is reporting that musk's department of government efficiency gained access to highly-restricted records on millions of federal employees. that's according to four u.s. officials. the administration says the doge team is working within the law. one doge staffer has resigned after the "wall street journal" asked about his links to a deleted social media account that posted racist comments. last night on capitol hill, the senate voted to confirm russ vought for the office of management and budget. he was a key architecture of the controversial project 2025. during confirmation hearing in the past he has said he believes president trump can withhold spending that congress has already authorized. something we're hearing a lot of complaints about, frances. back to you. homeland security chief

kristi noem is heading to guantanamo bay today. president trump has said he wants to send tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants to the notorious camp in cuba. at least 23 have been flown there. her visit comes as trump faces new backlash in his push to end birthright citizenship. a judge blocking that order. the u.s. district judge in seattle putting the order on hold nationwide for the duration of lawsuits brought by four states and an immigration rights grou the justice department is appealing the ruling. backlash also mounting this morning over president trump's controversial proposal to take over gaza. mr. trump doubled down on that plan thursday, adding he would not send in american troops as part of the rebuilding plan. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu also rejecting the need for american troops. today netanyahu is set to meek with house speaker mike johnson

who called trump's gaza plan a bold move that should be considered. for more, let's bring in nbc's raf sanchez. good morning, raf. >> reporter: frances, good morning. after relatively rare pushback from republicans in the house and senate, president trump now saying his controversial plan for gaza does not require american boots on the ground. that is raising new questions about how this proposal would actually work. the president saying israel would hand control of gaza over to the united states when the war is finished. now, under international law, israel can't just hand somebody else's territory to the u.s., and this is also raising new fears for that fragile cease-fire in gaza. delicate talks are beginning to get under way to try to move to phase two of that cease-fire. that would see a permanent end to the fighting in exchange for the release of all living israeli hostages. but egypt, which is one of the mediators in those negotiations, but also one of the countries

where president trump says those displaced palestinian refugees should go, is warning that the president's controversial comments are destabilizing those negotiations. now the president also signing an executive order, imposing sanctions on staff at the international criminal court. you'll remember the court known as the icc issued arrest warrants for prime minister benjamin netanyahu and israel's defense minister, accusing them of using starvation as a weapon of war in gaza. they deny those allegations. today the court is pushing back, saying that these sanctions by the united states are designed to undermine the court's judicial independence. >> raf, thank you. turning to capitol hill where a bipartisan bill to ban china's deepseek a.i. from government devices is being introduced in the house. representative darren lahood and josh gotjeimer say the company's technology presents an espionage

risk. lahood said it requires u.s. user data and stores it for use by the chinese communist party. gotjeimer called it a five-alarm national security fire. a spokesperson for deepseek did not respond to request for comment. breaking overnight, a plane carrying ten people has gone missing in alaska. the cessna caravan was headed to nome when it disappeared off the radar 12 miles offshore. the plane belongs to bering air. the nome fire department is doing an active ground search. turning to the tragic mid-air collision in washington, d.c. crews have recovered most of the wreckage of the military helicopter that crashed into an american airlines jet last week. the ntsb says the air traffic control display showed the helicopter was flying 100 feet above its limit at the time of the crash that killed 67 people. now the faa is taking steps to

scale back air traffic into and out of washington's reagan national airport. it comes as president trump suggested the antiquated atc system played a role in the collision. >> we should have had better equipment. we don't. we have obsolete equipment. >> the new transportation secretary says elon musk will help overhaul air traffic control. a utility company has admitted that several videos suggest a possible link between their equipment and the deadly eaton fire. but southern california edison says they have not found broken conductors or evidence of faults on energized lines. the fire killed at least 17 people. multiple lawsuits cite a video that shows sparking from a tower near where the fire started. now to dangerous winter weather. we're talking about 20 states hit by a mix of snow, sleet and

rain. whiteout conditions in michigan, while west virginia saw flash floods after more than three inches of fell in three hours. emilie ikeda has more. >> reporter: tens of millions reeling from a blast of winter that swept across 20 states. >> oh, my god, it is freezing cold. >> reporter: bringing a dangerous mix of snow, sleet and rain. >> look at that. coming right down off the mountain. >> reporter: three and a half inches of rain fell within several hours near charleston, west virginia where first responders waded through floodwaters to rescue at least 20 stranded drivers. roads barely passable. and in some spots destroyed. >> there are 18 counties that have reported in a damage from ice and the storms. >> reporter: lightning lit up the sky in kentucky. an ef-1 tornado in hart county leaving behind a trail of destruction. on the roads, treacherous

conditions. >> whoa. holy crap! >> reporter: ice sending cars into tailspins. this one stopping just short of a crash. while a pileup involving tractor-trailers shut down a major interstate in pennsylvania. the icy landscape snapping tree trunks and limbs and knocking out power to tens of thousands, as february gets off to a furious start. and just as the storm begins to clear out, the region is bracing for another dose of potentially even more dangerous weather this weekend. >> our thanks to emilie ikeda. the winter weather is just getting started. meteorologist denise isaac is here with your forecast. hi, denise, happy friday. >> happy friday to you, frances. yes, the storm is pretty much intensifying as it's moving across the nororthern rockies m we're expecting more snow, ice and also some strong thunderstorms tomorrow, saturday, as this area of low pressure moves from the midwest into the mid atlantic and then

to the northeast. so new york, buffalo, you'll start out as snow and transition to ice. while we could see downpours and thunderstorms in the river valley. the system pulls away by sunday, but we'll still see at least lingering snowshowers across the great lakes. as far as snowfall amounts, boston to hartford and southern new hampshire as well as vermont could get 5 to 9 inches of snow. se fog advisories are in place this morning. while it's still snowing across

montana and north dakota with temperatures in the teens. frances, back to you. happy friday. >> thank you so much. it certainly is. "early today" is back in a minute with the nfl's new reigning mvp. and if you're winging it for your super bowl party, how much can you expect to pay. how much can you expect to pay. 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. did you know... 80% of women are struggling with hair damage? just like i was. pantene miracle rescue deep conditioner with melting pro-v pearls. locks in moisture to repair 6 months of damage. for resilient, healthy-looking hair. if you know, you know it's pantene. want a next level clean? swish with the whoa of listerine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean... ahhhhh with listerine. feel the whoa!

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169,000 jobs in the month. this behind december's blowout report. but in line with the three-month average, which would suggest that the labor market is holding up solidly. if it were to come in weaker, it could force the fed's hand to cut interest rates sooner than it might hike, something it's reticent to do. as it waits to see the inflationary impact of tariffs on the trading partners. stock futures are little changed overnight as it anticipates this report. elsewhere, potentially good news if you're looking to host a super bowl party. it looks like the cost of doing so is little changed on the year, with estimates from wells fargo agri food institute suggesting it will cost $139 to host for ten people, up just .1 percentage points on the previous year. but they point to divergence across the foods.

if you're looking for different foods, can you point towards broccoli and celery as being a little lower in cost. frozen pizza and frozen shrimps a little cheaper. and if you want guac. you'll have to pay a little more for your avocados. as we await kendrick's performance. >> make it basic. pretzels, popcorn and beer. he may not be playing in the big game on sunday, but josh allen got a pretty good consolation prize at nfl honors last night. >> and the ap most valuable player presented by invisalign is josh allen. >> okay. >> the bills' quarterback took home his first nfl mvp after a season where he threw for over 3700 yards and had 40 total

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"early today" is back now with a super cute super bowl prediction. jimmy fallon unleashed the puppy predictors. and most of the pups decided to chow down with the chiefs. "early today's" super bowl predictor is jay gray who joins us from new orleans where excitement is growing. >> reporter: i'm good at the chowing down, part, frances. i don't know. we're inside the nfl experience. and we got in a little early. it's not open yet. this is where the fans get their chance to kind of go with the flow. find out what it's like to really be a nfl player, even for just a minute. they are ready to, as they say down here -- let the good times roll. a big time in the big easy. >> new orleans is awesome. food, excitement, the buzz of the super bowl. it's great times all over. >> reporter: it's a city made

for a party. and this weekend, new orleans is hosting the biggest bash of the year, from the french quarter to the nfl experience. there's a little something for everyone. >> it's been awesome. tours, a ton of great food, and we've been here today. it's been amazing. >> reporter: but, for the chiefs and eagles, this is a business trip. >> it's all about your focus. it's all about keeping the main thing the main thing. truly. >> reporter: the planning and practice just about over now. players on both teams anxious to get to game time. >> a lot of guys don't get the opportunity to play this game. so i'm just going to take advantage of it and make the most of it. >> reporter: the most of it for the chiefs would be nfl history. the team looking to win their third lombardi trophy in as many years. a three-peat, something that's' never been done. >> i think more than anything, it's just to be able to win. i know that sounds easy. but to be able to win with the team around you that's something special that the greatest do.

>> reporter: both teams looking for greatness. and fans looking to have a great time. yeah, and look, they expect as many as 100,000 fans to take part in the nfl experience, and i'm done. i think i pulled a hamstring. >> you're looking pretty good. coming up on the "today" show, all the excitement from new orleans, team coverage on the final preparations and what to expect from sunday's big game. it's early today, you're thinking about the super bowl, wear r, regardless of whether you're rooting for the chiefs. it is go red for women day, for national heart health day. all for a great cause. get the message out there and wear that red. we thank you so much for being with us on this friday for my n"eame's dan and i live hee in san antonio, texas. i ran my own hvac business and now i'm retired. i'm not good being retired.

i'm a pain in the neck. i like to be able to have a purpose. about three or four years ago, i felt like i was starting to slip. i saw the prevagen commercials. after a short amount of time taking prevagen, i started noticing a difference-- i stopped taking prevagen and i found myself slacking back so i jumped right back on it. i've been taking prevagen for about two years now, and i've found a huge difference. prevagen. for your brain. and i've found a huge difference. i'm tom llamas in new york. stay right there, more news on the way. s on the way.