there,s more news on the way. re.

mixed messages to federal workers facing a deadline. elon musk warns anyone who does not justify their job will be fired. as some agency heads say workers do not have to comply. how the president is responding to the confusion. french president emmanuel macron meets with trump at the white house on the third anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. what the french leader is saying about europe's role in defending ukraine as he differs with trump on what the end of the war may look like. another scare in the sky. the delta plane makes an emergency laing after possible smoke fills the aircraft. the cost of breakfast now surging, and it's not just eggs. the other morning staple rising in price. and young baseball card collector makes one of a kind find. it's tuesday, february 25th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera.

a midnight deadline from doge has come and gone for federal workers to justify their jobs. workers were asked to respond to an e-mail that asks, what did you do last week? but then the trump administration later said responses were voluntary. but last night elon musk doubled down, posting that subject to the president's discretion, workers will be given a second chance to respond. and failure to do so would be taken as a resignation. some republican lawmakers tell nbc news that they plan to talk to president trump today about the cost-cutting efforts. they say they'll ask for more compassion during this push to shrink the government. gabe gutierrez has more from the white house. >> reporter: president trump is defending an ultimatum from billionaire elon musk, aimed at slashing the federal bureaucracy. >> there was a lot of genius in sending it. >> reporter: but there are also new signs of a potential power struggle within the administration over how to carry out the president's campaign promise to down size the government. musk, who heads the administration's department of government efficiency or doge,

posted on x over the weekend that federal workers needed to explain what they got done this week, saying adding to respond will be taken as a resignation. then the office of personnel management sent an e-mail to more than 2 million federal workers titled what did you do last week? it asked workers to respond with five bullet points detailing what they accomplished. >> he's saying what did you do? if you don't answer you're semi fired or fired. if people don't respond, it's very possible that there is no such person or they're not working. >> reporter: the trump administration changed course, telling heads of federal agencies responding was voluntary and that a non-response to the e-mail does not equate to a resignation. still, three sources with knowledge of the process tell nbc news, the bullet points from those who do respond will be fed into an advanced a.i. system to determine whether someone's work is mission critical or not.

there had been growing confusion after some agency heads issued conflicting guidance, some told employees either to delay responding or not respond at all. the director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard, writing given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, employees should not respond. trump down-played any conflict. >> that was done in a friendly manner. anything such as marco at state department or the fbi where they're working on confidential things, and they don't mean that in any way combatively with elon. >> reporter: amid mounting protests, including thispside down flag at yosemite national park, the president and musk keep slashing the size of the federal workforce, laying off more than 1600 foreign aid workers at usaid. in missouri, liv alvarado is among thousands let go from the >> the fact that there's going to be even less workers here now, you know, stuff's going to

take even longer. and these are real people with real jobs. >> reporter: musk says no a.i. system was needed, and that the e-mail was just meant to make sure worker also a pulse. also, the department of health and human services is warning employees that their responses could be read by hostile foreign actors. back to you. >> gabe, thank you. defense secretary pete hegseth is visiting guantanamo bay today. he will meet with service members of the naval station and tour the migrant operations center. since taking office, president trump has been sending undocumented immigrants to guantanamo. it currently houses 17 such detainees, after 177 other migrants were sent to venezuela last week. and new york mayor eric adams says the city will close the roosevelt hotel migrant center in manhattan. adams says the facilities are no longer needed because of fewer arrivals. the repurposed hotel has been a frequent target of attacks from president trump and elon musk.

53 other shelters across the city are expected to close in the coming months. president trump says the u.s. is very close to an agreement with ukraine on a mineral rights deal. the announcement coming during a joint press conference with french president macron. trump calling the meeting an important step in ending the russia-ukraine war. but the two leaders displayed stark differences on russia. >> when i got here, one of the first calls i made was to president putin. and we were treated with great respect, and they want to end this war. >> and this is a rponsibility of russia. not by ukraine, but by russia. >> macron is the first european leader to visit the white house since trump took office last month. let's bring in matt bodner. good morning. >> reporter: frances, good morning. the growing rift between the united states and europe over the issue of the war in ukraine was on display yesterday. notably, trump did not meet macron at the entrance of the

west wing before their meeting. despite all of the smiles during their press conference, it was clear that the two are on different pages. president trump for example continued to show hesitation, even reluctance to call vladimir putin a dictator. president macron stressed that russia was the aggressor in the war. macron said europe and ukraine share the goal, but they do not want an agreement that is weak. at one point during the press conference, trump again brought up the issue of money loaned to the ukrainian government, claiming falsely that they were to pay back. macron said europe had given more of it. macron did say the meeting was a turning point. the two leaders agreed on a european proposal to deploy european peacekeeping forces to

ukraine once a peace deal is achieved. and while all of this was going on, united states voted against a united nations resolution condemning russia's invasion of ukraine on the third anniversary of the war. this puts the u.s. in a camp with russia, belarus and north korea. after 11 days in the hospital. pope francis is still in critical condition this morning. although the vatican says he is showing a slight improvement. he is still on supplemental oxygen, but the levels are reduced. there is currently no prognosis, as nbc medical contributor john torres explains. >> as a physician, that usually means that we are at a stage where his condition can improve rapidly or deteriorate just as rapidly. >> the pope has resumed some wo after mild kidney failure. he felt well enough to resume

his call. a plane had to return to atlanta shortly after takeoff when the crew reported possible smoke in the cabin. the plane made an emergency landing and deployed slides to evacuate the 94 passengers. aviation analyst john cox says the incident appeared more serious than it likely was. >> this is likely an air conditioning or pressurization issue. and that would not have these people in danger at all. >> no one was hurt in the incident the faa says it will investigate. utah poised to become the first state to put a full ban on fluoride in public water systems. a bill on the ban just cleared its final hurdle and is heading to governor spencer cox for approval. under the bill, cities or communities cannot decide for themselves whether to add the cavity-preventing mineral to drinking water. it comes as new health secretary robert f. kennedy jr. expressed skepticism over water

fluoridization. much of the country is feeling a spring thaw. angie lassman is tracking the warmer temperatures. good morning, angie. the question is how long is that going to last, though. >> we've got a bit. we're going to deal with these temperatures above normal. a bit of a temperature swing from what we saw last week. we're going to be running above normal. dallas and albuquerque, even out east, washington, d.c. heads to 63 degrees with macon topping out in the low 70s. we're going to see a variety of 50s and 60s across parts of the midwest. farther south we'll deal with 70s. as we get into late week, it will be nice and mild, right where we should be in a lot of spots. the 40s for columbus. we head to the upper 40s on friday in philadelphia. but right back to the 50s by saturday. we drop from the 70s in raleigh on thursday. and we get down to the upper

50s, so a bit of a temperature shift but closer to where we should be this time of year. a weak system tracking through the northeast. a little bit of making it to 70 in richmond. boston with a high of 50 degrees today. that's a look at your forecast, back to you. roberta flak, the grammy-award-winning singer has died. she was known for music that crossed genres and generations. ♪ killing me softly ♪ ♪ with his song, telling my whole life ♪ ♪ with his words ♪ ♪ killing me softly ♪ ♪ with his song ♪ >> "killing me softly", and "the first time i ever saw your face"

made her the first to ever win back-to-back grammys for record of the year. in 2022, her spokesperson announced that she was battling als. she was 88 years old. coming up, the sequel to fyre fest is here, but will buyers be burned again? and bringing home the bacon is costing more than ever. why eggs are not the only staple getting more expensive. nly stape getting more expensive. frank? —fred, how are you? —fred! support up to 7 brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva. mom's gonna love this! alright kids come on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) a chewy pharmacy order is en route for summit who loves the outdoors. so her parents use chewy to save 20% on their first order of flea and tick meds. delivered fast, so summit never misses a dose.

or an adventure. for quality meds. for life with pets, there's chewy. [♪♪] are you one of the amillions of americanss of nutella. who suffer from an upset stomach after a big meal? try pepto bismol. unlike some products, pepto coats and soothess yourigestive system, to provide fast 5-symptom relief. stock up on pepto today. could the most important meal of the day become the most expensive? it's not just eggs. the cost of other breakfast staples like coffee, bacon and orange juice is getting harder and harder to stomach. our george solis is looking at what's driving up prices. >> reporter: the battle over balancing your breakfast and budget brewing unlike ever before, with costs soaring for staples at the table, like eggs, bacon, coffee and orange juice. people full of frustration. >> especially when you have

kids, growing kids. it's getting expensive, very expensive. >> growing up in a different generation, now seeing this. it's not encouraging. >> reporter: we all know how bird flu is wreaking havoc on egg production. so far more than 162 million poultry birds infected by the virus since the start of 2022. the result. a dozen eggs now averaging $8. more than tripling since last october. it means surcharges on egg-driven menus and limits at some national retailers have gotten so bad it's time to import eggs, turkey sending 15,000 tons. an eggs-istential crisis when you pair with bacon. more than 7 bucks a pound, slightly down from the all-time high a few years ago but still historically sizzling hot. and washing down that cost isn't any cheaper. coffee prices near record highs. the reason for the surge,

something hallie jackson now covered at the end of last year. >> climate change is the number one factor on the increase and change in prices in the coffee market. >> reporter: arabica bean prices surged to around $4 a pound after a brutal heat wave in brazil, the world's largest producer. in vietnam, another big coffee grower, they saw record floods. all that adding to the bitter taste hitting your wallet. orange juice prices aren't easier to swallow. the department of agriculture reporting a 90% reduction in production. there is a deep-rooted history in florida with no plan to get rid of any of it. this family has managed these groves for more than a century. >> we might go down with the ship, but we're not done forever. >> reporter: but disease called citrus greening and hurricanes have hurt production. last month, one of the sunshine state's largest producers calling it quits.

the company saying it's no longer economically viable for husband in florida. they say they will weather the storm but admit the florida orange may one day be a novelty. >> we won't have united states products. everything will be imported if there's not something done, you know. if we and other people like us don't stay in the industry. >> reporter: if you think you can escape the squeeze with alternatives, milk and bread are historically high. and if you're eyeing avocado toast, if tariffs kick in with mexico, they could go higher. >> thanks to george for that report. still to come, break out the cheese sandwiches. tickets are on sale for the grand return of the fyre festival. find out what the convicted fraudster is saying this time around. time around. i got somebody for that!

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fyre two is real. my dream is finally becoming reality. i think what makes fyre so cool is that we are selling the experience of fyre. i want to be one of the first festivals that can sell out with no artists. >> nearly a decade after it first flamed out, the fyre festival is set to light up the world of the arts and internet once more. tickets for the second edition went on sale monday. prices range from $1400 to $1.1 million for the four-day event. here's the thing that you heard the founder, billy mcfarland say, the festival has yet to book any artists. sound famimiliar? fyre fest two is slated to run from may 30 to june 2nd on the mexican island. we all remember, there are so many documentaries, if you are not familiar with this, like the branding of cheese. they were saying the hut, the emergency tents. >> yes.

i can't believe he's doing this again. i mean, i don't know. >> there are going to be handlers doing it and all. but he's the face of it. >> and here we go again. now to the dynamic duo bringing a taste of oz to the dolby theater. ariana grande and cynthia erivo will be among the musical performers for the 97th academy awards. it's not known if they will be singing something from the beloved picture contender. they had also feature doja cat. these two are performers on performers on performers. it's going to be a show nonetheless. when we come back, another restaurant cracking under the cost of eggs, passing the buck on to customers. and could trouble be brewing for starbucks? trouble be brewing for starbucks? ♪♪ they can hunt down the latest trends.

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here's what's making headlines this morning. starbucks is laying off more than a thousand corporate employees and will not fill several hundred other open positions as sales drop. fabric and craft retailer, joanne is going out of business and closing all stores after the company filed for bankruptcy protection. the two-year shortage of weight loss drugs is now resolved, means production of off-brand copies will wind down. and denny's is the latest restaurant chain to add a surcharge to its egg menu as bird flu drives up charges. as bird flu drives up charges. to the heat? that's it. take it up a notch. looks like ordinary antiperspirants can't take the heat. ordinary antiperspirants can't fight sweat better than secret clinical. mom's gonna love this! alright kids come on. it's time for bed! ( ♪♪ ) good morning, mr. snuggles. make breakfast special with the cocoa

and hazelnutty goodness of nutella. ( ♪♪ ) 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. [♪♪] when you need are you one of the millions of americans who suffer from an upset stomach after a big meal? try pepto bismol. unlike some products, pepto coats and soothes your digestive system, to provide fast 5-symptom relief. stock up on pepto today. it is the catch of a

lifetime for an indiana teen and his grandfather. the two avid baseball fans visited a store that sells sports memorabilia and unknowingly bought a signed babe ruth card. from our evansville affiliate, max parker has the story >> reporter: for bob kenning and his youth, they were riding around the block. >> a lot of them wound up if my bicycle spokes. >> reporter: for bob's 12-year-old grandson, a collector's item. >> close to 10,000 cards many. >> reporter: for this duo, baseball cards were a perfect activity for a chilly afternoon. >> it was president's day. we didn't have much better to do, keegan calls me up and says hey, papa. >> reporter: when you can't go outside and play baseball opening a pack of cards can create the rush. >> the chase of all the cards and the thrill of finding them. >> reporter: sometimes you strike out opening a pack.

but on monday, keegan and his grandpa found only greatness. a one of one babe ruth baseball card, featuring the penmanship of the great bambino himself. >> babe ruth right in the middle. at one point in time, he signed this, not knowing it was going to be on a baseball card. >> reporter: the owner of the hobby den was stunned. >> they just aren't common in general. seeing something like that, that's what the hobby's all about. >> reporter: a moment shared with his grandfather they will never forget. >> when we can share this hobby together and have a grandfather-grandson bonding time, i mean, that's priceless right there. >> reporter: this card could net keegan a big time payday, but he says the bambino isn't going anywhere. that's what card collecting is all about.

>> i think i'm going to hold onto it, definitely. one in a lifetime pull and probably will never get anything just like it. >> our thanks to max parker for that report. it makes you wonder what else is out there that people don't know about. coming up on "today", savannah guthrie sits down with her daughter to talk about her new children's book. >> why was it important for you to write a kids version? >> i thought the message was so lovely and simple enough for kids to understand that i thought it would be a way to have kids say goodnight, feeling that reassurance, just like when we do our prayers at night, and we remember that god loves us and we're just where we're meant to be. >> a candid conversation about her book on faith. her book on faith. thanks for (♪♪) years of hard work. decades of dedication.

committed to giving back. you've been there, done that. and you're still here for more. so now that you're 50 or older, and at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia and ipd be proactive with capvaxive- a vaccine specifically designed for adults to help protect against pneumonia and invasive disease caused by certain types of pneumococcal bacteria. capvaxive is the only vaccine that helps protect against the strains that cause 84% of ipd in adults 50 or older compared with up to 52% by other pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. don't get capvaxive if you're allergic to the vaccine or its ingredients. tell your doctor if you have a weakened immune system. coon side effects include injection-site reactions, feeling tired, headache, muscle aches, and fever. whether you've had another pneumococcal vaccine or not ask your doctor or pharmacist about capvaxive. (♪♪) due in court