pope francis still in critical condition this morning

as he battles pneumonia and mild kidney failure in an italian hospital. the faithful around the world praying for his recovery. the latest on his health crisis. 1600 usaid workers now officially without a job. and nearly all of the entire agency placed on administrative leave as the trump administration continues its crack down on the federal workforce. thousands facing a deadline to justify their work to elon musk. germany's afd part surges in the election, we're live with what it could mean for u.s.-german relations, as afd gets support from donald trump and his administration. hospitals are relying on robots to mix and delivever ugs like chemotherapy to patients. what it could mean for healthcare and the role of pharmacists. and the big winners from

film and tv from the sag awards. "early today" starts rht now. good morning. glad to be with you. i'm frances rivera. we begin today with pope francis' health. he remains in critical condition, as he received treatment for double pneumonia and mild kidney issues, according to the vatican. thpontiff is alert and well oriented, even participating in holy mass with those caring for him on sunday. many around the world and across the u.s. praying for the pope's recovery. >> i know, you know, he's getting up there in age. but, you know, we just pray to god that everything works out. and, you know, i guess that's all we can do is leave it in god's hands. >> nbc's anne thompson has more. >> reporter: pope francis remains in critical condition in the rome hospital. vatican officials say he is

still getting supplemental oxygen to help him breathe. and there has been no new respiratory crisis, and he did have mild kidney failure which is under control. >> once you develop sepsis it can be a life-threatening condition. >> reporter: the global catholic church united in prayer for francis. from nairobi, kenya, to new york. >> we would love to have the gift of more time with him. >> reporter: to st. john, rome's cathedral. in his hometown of buenonos air. he sent this message. i am confidently continuing my hospitalization at the hospital. carrying on with the necessary treatment and rest is also part of the therapy. that rest and recovery means amy's minnesota church group will not see the pope as planned

this week. how disappointed are you that you're not going to have that opportunity? >> oh, i'm very sad. very sad. but i hope he gets well. >> reporter: prayers offered with her cousin kathy gregory. >> our thanks to anne for that report. some scary moments in the sky when an american airlines flight from new york to new delhi was diverted to rome. a bomb threat was sent by e-mail. passengers say the turn around happened very suddenly. >> there was a sharp turn at the point of the diversion. they said you may have noticed we have taken a sharp turn. the reason is there's a security concern. so we diverted to rome. that was the announcement. >> law enforcement cleared the incident.er it landed without american airlines writing that the threat was determined to be

non-credible. the trump administration has begun eliminating thousands of jobs from usaid. hours ago, all employees around the world were placed on administrative leave, except for a fraction who are still considered essential personnel. and about 1600 jobs are being eliminated here in the u.s. meanwhile, elon musk is asking millions of federal employees to justify their work, giving them until midnight tonight to explain what they did last week. yamiche alcindor is following the story. >> reporter: the clock is ticking on 2.3 million federal workers. most have until monday at 11:59 p.m. to respond to an e-mail pushed by elon musk and the department of government fficiency, titled what did you do last week. three sources say employees started sending the messages saturday, asking them to send five bullet points of what they did last week.

americans sounding off at town halls around the country, including for this republican congressman pete sessions. >> when are you going to wrest control, as a congress back from the executive and start hurting your constituents? >> reporter: and on line. >> this [ bleep ] gets weirder by the day. >> we're living in a timeline where our democracy is being dismantled. >> at this point, i am the most pessimistic i've ever been in my life. >> reporter: signs of both mixed messaging from government agencies and a possible power struggle between some trump officials average elon musk, with some agencies telling workers not to respond. e-mails show the fbi telling workers to pause any responses. the state department saying no employee is obligated to report their activities outside the chain of command. but the department of human services is telling workers the e-mail is legitimate and to respond by the deadline. musk saying on x that failure to respond will be taken as a

resignation. that after defending his actions at the conservative conference cpac. >> it's like, you're going to close your eyes and shoot in any direction. you can't miss. >> reporter: this weekend, president trump also praising musk and doge. >> we're removing all of the unnecessary incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats from the federal workforce. >> our thanks to yamiche for that report. late last night, president trump revealed the next deputy director of the fbi, naming bongino. he has been a conservative radio host and podcaster, something he is prepared to give up for the new job. he does not need senate confirmation. olaf scholz suffered a stinging defeat. the conservatives got the

biggest share of the vote with about 28.7%. crucially, the far right party afd placed second with a fifth of the vote. let's turn to matt bodner. what are the take aways? >> reporter: frances, good morning. these elections come at a critical time for europe and for germany, as they find themselves at a crossroads with a new trump administration, america's future relationship with europe as well as with russia and the ultimate outcome of the war in ukraine. this election saw historic turnout. 83% of the electorate made it the largest turnout since 1990. the moderate conservative party known as the christian democratic union leads with 30%, putting its head friedrich merz in position to form a government. what is most noteworthy about it is that the right wing alternative for germany party

known as afd, came in in second place with 20% of the vote. the party is openly and extremely right wing, to such an extent that the rest of the german political spectrum historically has refused to work with them in any capacity. the party's star has been rising with the help of external actors, such as elon musk, jd vance and allegations of support from moscow. afd talking points echo russian positions. it is unlikely that merz will bring them into government. he has said europe must achieve independence from the united states and consider a european replacement for nato. frances? >> thank you. a pennsylvania police officer killed while responding to a shooting at a hospital over the weekend. now the mother of the 30-year-old, andrew duarte, is

speaking out. >> andrew's my only child. and an amazing, an amazing young man. i'm not surprised that he answered the call. i'm not surprised he was one of the ones in on the front. he was a mighty warrior. >> police say five people were injured after the gunman opened fire and held some hospital staff hostage. the gunman was killed by police. kentucky governor andy beshear announcing a disaster declaration after the death toll from last week's severe weather rose to 21. deadly flooding and freezing temperatures barrelled the state. more than 100 roads are closed across the state. according to the governor, nearly 600 kentuckians are sheltering in parks, hotels, schools and churches. all right, let's get a check now at the weather for the week ahead and see what to watch.

michelle grossman is out there. good morning. >> good morning, frances. so good to see you. we are looking at a spring preview this week, finally looking at temperatures much warmer than where we have been. we're going to break some records, too. that is the big weather headline this week. also staying active in the northwest and northern rockies. we're looking at rain and a lot of it in some spots. also looking at wet weather through florida. we have a front coming through tomorrow morning that could bring heavy rain and localized flooding as well. as we get towards the middle of the week, a new system into the upper midwest and ohio valley. still really warm in spots. record highs throughout the southwest. temperatures into the 70s, near 80s in some spots. then by friday, still feeling like spring throughout much of the country. looking at temperatures in the 70s in the central and southern plains. we are looking at snow in parts of the upper midwest into th e temperatures in the 50s in th

ohio valley and looking good in the south central states. rain will be falling in florida. all right, that's your monday forecast. >> appreciate that, michelle. thank you coming up, the big winners and surprise snubs from the sag awards. ome on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) [fighting scene] —ugh! here we go again —wait there's a red hulk now? excuse me... what do i do about this? —we use tide oxi boost. —it's a life saver. the most powerful clean in any universe. lookin good. thank you. see captain america: brave new world.

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university hospital's oncology pharmacy. his colleagues say he's quiet, punctual and pulls his weight, preparing roughly 40 of the hospital's 100 chemotherapy orders a day. this pharmacist is a co-worker. >> he works really well alongside our team, but he's also a very important part of our team. >> reporter: is he competition? >> no. no. we don't, we don't compete here. >> reporter: mixing chemo drugs can be dangerous. the toxic formulas designed to kill cancer cells pose a risk to the pharmacists who handle them, requiring protective gear in the event of a spill. >> there's a screen right now. >> reporter: he says cairo reduces that risk and increases productivity. >> it takes now ten minutes on average for chemotherapy to be prepared by a robot where it took 20 minutes to be prepared by an employee. >> reporter: cairo's speciality?

some of he most commonly-used chemo drugs that treat 14 cancers including breast and lung. bar codes and cameras track cairo's moves, ensuring the mixtures are correct. and then the chemo is handed off. what is this? >> this is luke, our delivery robot. after the chemotherapy medication's compounded it can be placed in the delivery robot to be delivered to the suite for our nurses. >> reporter: it follows a specific route to make sure he doesn't bump into anything. more and more hospitals are using robots. sir mix-a-lot mixes at this clinic. and big pharmacies like walgreen's have robots manning fulfillment centers. >> they don't have to count and put pills in bottles, and

actually putting them more on a patient facing. >> reporter: at georgetown. he insists cairo won't replace people but make pharmacist jobs easier. >> perhaps now they'll be at the bedside, working with the physicians. >> reporter: machines and man working together for better care. anne thompson, nbc news, washington. still to come here on "early today." tve? t, without play, outlast, ouot survivors introducing a new feature to control the game for the first time. feeding him, blue buffalo, right? (jack) nah, we got purina one. it's all the same stuff. (mom) not really. blue life protection formula's got deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, oatmeal, barley... (mia) well purina one has chicken, rice flour, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal...

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>> and the winner goes to conclave. >> white smoke emerged as conclave won the top prize at

the screen actors guild awards, clenching outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. timothee chalamet took home an award for his role as bob dylan, declaring in his speech he wants to be one of the greats. demi moore received best actress. and shogun added more spoils to the expanding empire of trophies. it won four awards sunday, including best ensemble in a drama series, and a big night for only murders in the building. it took home best prize for best ensemble in a comedy series. but martin short won for best comedy actor. he could not attend after

contracting covid at the snl anniversary. for the first time, fans will get to weigh in on elements for survivor's 50th season. polls open after the season 48 premiere. the 50th season aptly titled in the hands of fans is set to premiere next february. when we come back, captain america still holding the shield high at the box office. and get ready sd toensome golden love. how the postal service is honoring the one and only betty white. ushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and mething serious may be behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com

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after more than a hundred years. its lease is ending and the store will shutter on march 31st. captain america's brave new world held tight at the top of the box office. the monkeys came in second. and the u.s. postal service is celebrating the late tv legend betty white with a commemorative stamp debuting on march 27 in los angeles. ♪ you're a pal and a confidante ♪ a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ even when us women's national team forward mallory swanson isn't on the field... ...she always makes the perfect play. thanks to the bank of america customized cash rewards visa card, she'll earn 3% cash back on her purchase after choosing the online shopping category. ♪♪

(laughing) oh. i peed. that's so embarrassing. well, it's kinda your fault. after kids, the pelvic floor can weaken, and then perimenopause reduces estrogen. here. i have poise. how did you know all that stuff? well, i used to be a doctor. no you didn't. 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, remember neuriva. we're back with the emotional reunion in arizona between a mother and the officer

who saved her life. she was on the way home from dropping her kids off at school when a cement mixer sent her spinning out across the highway. morgan chesky has the story. >> here, here, here, get out of the way! >> reporter: one arizona police officer in the right place at the right time. officer brian larison on his way to work when he witnessed this cement mixer slamming into a pickup truck where amy ruiz, a mother of three was struck. he rolled up on the crash. >> there was just an accident on the 60. >> i'm not going to let her burn up. i was like, i hit it three times. it seemed like it took forever to get the window to break. my thought was, she's not dying. >> reporter: ruiz, who had been trying to escape through her window was thrown back inside as the truck flipped right side up

her hair catching fire. >> i started thinking about my kids, my husband, how are they going to live without me if i burn in this truck right now. >> reporter: and, as if on cue. >> get her out of there! >> i looked out of the corner of my eye. there's this off-duty fireman. he's got all his fire retardant gear on. >> reporter: the firefighter also on his way to work, arriving just in time. >> we got you. we got you. >> reporter: despite having never met, the first responders understood the assignment and worked in synch, pulling offer the high-stakes rescue as if they were long-time partners. >> we're good, we're good. >> i'm glad you're here, brother. >> i just remember this, holding onto the officer so tight. so, so tight when he was telling me that he had me and he's got me. this was so comforting. like, i knew right then and there i was saved and just watching my truck burn there. it could have been me. >> i just held her.

and i just told her i had her. >> i was shaking. ooh. >> reporter: those three words "i got you", echoing in ruiz' mind since tuesday as she reunited with them. holding onto them tight once again. >> we got you. >> reporter: getting the chance to thank them one more time for saving her life. >> i thought my life was over. >> reporter: and keeping her family whole. >> there's no way i'm ever going to be repaying it of course. >> this is payment enough. >> stories don't get anymore emotional than that. thanks to morgan for the story d to youan

he's getting up there in age. but you know, we just pray to god that everything