whiplash on wall street. stocks suffering their worst day of the year, fueled by recession fears and a growing trade war. we have team coverage on what to

expect from markets today, and why elon musk says benefit programs like social security may need major cuts. breaking overnight, a school bus crashes along the garden state parkway in northern new jersey, hurting more than a dozen. what authorities say led to the crash. a resentencing roadblock from the menendez brothers. the reversal from the district attorney in the case, and what could make him reconsider his decision. should mel gibson have access to a lethal weapon? why a justice department says she was fired after pushing back against a recommendation to restore the actor's gun rights. positive news on the pope's recovery. the vatican's update overnight on the pontiff's battle with pneumonia. and forget about a pot of gold. how one lucky customer can win a year's worth of krispy kremes this st. patck's day. it is tuesday, march 11, and "early today" starts right now. good morning. it is good to be with you.

i'm jessica layton. this tuesday morning, president trump's trade war is causing more turmoil. china is hitting america's heartland now with tariffs, in effect on many of our agricultural exports. and canada is now charging 25% more for electricity, which could raise energy bills in minnesota, michigan and new york. but the white house not backing down. in fact more tariffs are planned to go into effect tomorrow for steel and aluminum imports. fears over a possible recession causing stocks to fall big time. the dow closing more than 900 points down, losing 2% of its value. the nasdaq fell 4%.. tesla shares have also fallen 15%. the electric car maker has seen seven straight weeks of losses, while its ceo has been working with the white house. nbc's alice barr joins me live from d.c. good morning. with all of this going on, elon musk just gave a little move insight into the work he's doing in d.c. >> reporter: good morning,

jessica, yes, he did. elon musk did an interview with fox business and said that even though it's made it difficult for him to run his companies, he expects to keep working with the administration for another year. he says his department of government efficiency now has a presence in every agency and suggested that popular federal benefit programs like social security may need major cuts. >> the report in entitlement spending, which is all of the, which is most of the federal spending is entitlements. so that, that's like the big one to eliminate. that's the sort of half trillion, maybe, six, $700 billion a year. >> reporter: last night a federal judge ruled that doge likely falls under the jurisdiction of the freedom of information act. ordering the secretive group to quickly process foia requests. the judge writing the dramatic cuts it has apparently made with no congressional input appear to be unprecedented. nasa is complying with orders to

slash its workforce, shutting down three of its offices. and the pentagon is expected to cut up to 10% of all general and flag officers, that's according to two u.s. officials familiar with the plans. more than 200 employees at fema have been let go since inauguration day. nbc's gabe gutierrez spoke with an air force veteran who was laid off. she had this message for president trump. >> look at what you're doing to families and individuals across america in small towns, towns, counties and states that voted for you, and realize that you're not draining the swamp, you are just hurting your every day, blue collar and white collar workers that were trying to be public servants and help you make america great again. >> reporter: late last night, president trump showed his support for elon musk, saying he's going to buy a brand-new tesla this morning. the president says his

billionaire adviser shouldn't be punished with boycotts as he works to make america great again. jessica? >> alice, thank you. meanwhile, the escalating trade war has battered markets across the board. as you can see here, the s&p 500 spiraling 7.5% in just the past month. but the white house is down playing these stock market concerns. cnbc's charlotte reed is here with the details. charlotte, good morning. >> good morning, jessica. well, it was the worst day on the stock market since 2022, with the market selloff entering its third week and intensifying. and it has wiped out about $4 trillion on the s&p 500 since its peak last week. we saw a series of soft data. they're trying to get their head around the trump administration's trade policies and the flip-flops around tariffs on canadian and mexican goods and the impact that this could have on inflation and on

the u.s. economy. and the mass firing of federal employees led by doge also adding to uncertainty. and extra negative news like delta airlines sharply trimming its outlook for this year, saying they have weak domestic demand, pointing to a darker picture for the u.s. now, as you were saying, the white house has been down playing those fears, basically saying it's short term pain for long-term gain. the investment by several businesses investing billions in the u.s. economy point to a more positive picture. we'll have to wait and see at the moment as the stocks future is slightly positive this morning before important inflation data that we await later this week. new this morning, the justice department's attorney says she was fired for what she believes is refusal to recommend that mel gibson have his gun

rights restored. after failing to recommend his gun rights be restored, she got a call from an official who allegedly said, quote, mel gibson is a friend of the president, and that shouould be justification enough. several sources familiar with the situation tell nbc news that within a few hours, she was handed termination papers and escorted out of the building. according to a doj official, the gibson case played no role in her firing. a federal judge has blocked the deportation of a palestinian activist arrested by i.c.e. agents on saturday. mahmoud kahlil was a key organizer of pro-palestinian demonstrations at columbia university. a detention hearing is set for later today. his lawyer saying he is a permanent resident married to an american citizen. fellow activists deploring the arrest. >> people are being disappeared under our government's watch, with no recourse, no charges,

and it's a massive escalation that everybody should be concerned about. >> the white house celebrated kahlil's arrest in a sarcastic social media post that said shalom, mahmoud. the trump administration has pledged to deport those who quote terrorist organizations. but the new york aclu described the detainment as an extreme attack on his first amendment rights. breaking overnight, the former president of the philippines, rodrigo duterte has been arrested on an international warrant. he is accused of crimes against humanity during his war on drugs. he served as president from 2016 to 2022 and endorsed harsh crackdowns on smugglers and users. tens of thousands of unarmed suspects were murdered by death squads. it's not clear if he will be extradited to face trial in the

hague. saudi arabia is hosting a key summit today with secretary of state marco rubio and ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy in attendance as ukraine tries to repair relations with washington. ukraine is expected to propose terms for a cease-fire today that would cover the black sea and long-range missile strikes as well as the release of prisoners. that's according to two senior ukrainian officials who spoke with "the associated press." nbc's matt bodner has the very latest on all of this, good morning. >> reporter: jessica, good morning. big day for ukraine at these talks. putin has wasted no time exploiting trump's decision to withhold military aid and intelligence sharing. this is a decision that has already cost lives in the front and in the cities. this has but the ukraine at a precarious stance. the u.s. has made it clear they don't think ukraine has any cards. zelenskyy continues to try.

he's expected to pitch rubio on a temporary cease-fire and two unidentified ukrainian officials say zelenskyy is ready to sign that controversial mineral deal at the heart of the rift between washington and kiev. rubio speaking to reporters on his flight to saudi says that his administration's goal is to assess whether kiev is seriously ready to engage in peace talks with moscow. meanwhile, concerns that the u.s. has switched sides in the war continues to influence the discussion on continental rearmament. in paris, military officials representing 30 nations will convene to work on a proposal to create an international peacekeeping force to deploy to ukraine. ukraine expressly wants an international force present to deter future russian offensives after a cease-fire is reached. it's not yet clear that the united states will pledge to support such an effort. it's even less clear that russia would allow it. >> so much still up in the air.

matt, thank you. breaking overnight, 13 people were rushed to the hospital after ha school bus overturned. it was on its way from new york to the southern part of new jersey when the crash happened in the northern part of the state. all of those injured are expected to survive. as of now, all lanes are closed in that area. it's not clear when it will reopen. phil murphy has been briefed on the crash. new jersey state police and the department of transportation are both investigating. for much of the country, it is finally starting to feel like spring again. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is tracking the march warmup. good morning. >> good morning, jessica. a welcome warmup. and we have low pressure sitting. we're running 10, 20, 30 degrees above normal in a lot of spots. these are the warmest days of the year. low 70s across the ohio valley.

60s and 70s across the same region for tomorrow. and even as we get into the weekend things are going to remain warm. high 70s for louisville. chicago ends up at 70 degrees by friday. fire alerts in place across new mexico and texas. that critical risk is going to remain for the day today. you'll see lubbock, midland, alpine included in that as well as roswell. out west we're gearing up for the next storm system. we've from mobile. mid-60s for new york city. 62 degrees and sunny conditions expected in boston this afternoon. and that's a look at your forecast, jessica, back to you. >> all right, angie, thank you. coming up, billboard names its woman of the year. and a new twist in the menendez brothers case.

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we're back with the legal setback for convicted murderers erik and lyle menendez. the d.a. has withdrawn his petition to hahave the brothers resentenced. the los angeles district attorney delivering yet another obstacle to the menendez brothers in their fight for freedom after 30 years behind bars. >> they do not meet the standards for resentencing. they do not meet the standards for rehabilitation. they pose an unreasonable risk of danger to the community, and their resentencing should not therefore be granted. >> reporter: d.a. nathan hochman withdrawing his predecessor's petition that theyey be resentenced. >> our position is that they shouldn't get out of jail. >> reporter: the brothers, who currently serving life without

parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, jose and kitty, argue they acted in self-defense. but an 87-page filing cast doubt on the claims, saying that the brothers repeatedly lied and changed their story and said they acted out of self-defense because they believed their parents were going to kill them. do you think sexual abuse is a factor in killing their parents? >> i believe they believe sexual abuse occurred. as their own attorney acknowledged, sexual abuse does not justify killing the abuser. >> reporter: outraged family members who support the brothers ripping into the d.a., saying he has blinders on, that they were repeatedly abused. the d.a. saying he could change his recommendation if the brothers take full responsibility. >> if they go ahead and sincerely and unequivocally lay out that they have now lied on

their entire defense and finally admit that they killed their parents in cold blood, then that will be a new insight that the court should then consider. >> they've showed remarkable rehabilitation. >> reporter: the brothers' attorney saying despite the d.a.'s position, they're hopeful the judge will be on their side. do you still believe that erik and lyle will get out of prison? >> do i? yes, absolutely. the law is going to be followed. if the law is followed, they should be out. >> reporter: resentencing is one of three paths the menendez brothers are taking to try to get out of prison. while their attorney does believe that resentencing remains a viable option for them, it is increasingly looking like their best chance of getting out is to turn to california governor gavin newsom who can grant them clemency. he has called on the state parole board to begin a risk assessment on the brothers to determine what risk if any they'd be to the public if they were released. back to you. >> liz, thank you.

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king charles aired the music room, featuring a selection of favorite songs from the british monarch. it includes bob marley, kylie minogue. his majesty couldn't help but end he show with tunes from across the pond, closing out the broadcast with songs from diana ross and beyonce. everyone that he named, incredible artists. he has quite an eclectic taste. >> he has decent music taste, yeah. he really does. >> i'm surprised doechi's not on there. >> maybe next year. up next, a positive report on the pope's recoveryry. so chic. ♪♪ and take quality very, very seriously. ♪♪ ceramic. they're highly trained, deal making professionals. who travel far and wide to hustle the best of the best for you. we get the deals,

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the young aviator whose passion is just taking flight. >> reporter: it's not every day that you see a 17-year-old juggle classes at spelman college, then go soaring through the clouds. and camora freeland hadn't imagined this life either. at 12 her mom had the idea to put her on the wait list for a scholarship private pilot program. at 15, she got in, trading her love of sea animals for the sky. at 17, after two years of flights and intense studies, she made history as the youngest licensed pilot in new york state, and one of the youngest black female pilots in the country. what do people say when they find out that you fly? >> they're always so amazed. like oh, you're so small, you fly. >> reporter: she was introduced to other black kids eager to take flight. she found community. do you worry about whether or

not you fit into this industry? >> no, i just knew i wanted to create change. i could show other people that you can do this. >> reporter: so she showed me a bit of what she's learned. demonstrating more mastery of this plane than i had over a car at her age. >> i got it four days after i got my pilot's license. >> reporter: she set her sights even higher, planning to finish college in three years and become a commercial pilot. do you feel like you're making history in that moment? >> i don't think of myself as someone who made history. anyone can do it. i'm so amazed every time i fly. >> reporter: she might even open her own aviation school one day, but for now, she's going to enjoy the view. antonia hylton, nbc news, atlanta. krispy kreme is launching four new st. patrick's day doughnuts. they are an also randomly selecting customers each day to win a pot of gold pass. winners will be chosen march 17 and get free glazed doughnuts

for a year. coming up on "today", the pursuit of better sleep. our morgan chesky looks at the dangers of undiagnosed sleep apnea and why millions of you may not know you have it. and here's dylan drier with a look at what else is ahead. >> this morning, comedian aliza schlesinger is live. and the brand synonymous with childhood memories, chuck e. cheese. >> sounds delicious. thanks for watching "early today." i'm jessica layton. have a great tuesday. we'll see you tomorrowow.l see .

overnight, a house committee advances a stopgap to keep the government funded as a shutdown deadline approaches this week. a full house vote is set for da