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

today. but if it passes, will senate republicans be on board? a reversal in the case of the menendez brothers. l.a. county's new district attorney withdrawing his predecessor's recommendation to reduce their life sentences for murder. what it means for the convicted brothers. secretary of state marco rubio and ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy both in saudi arabia this morning for peace talks in russia's war against ukraine. we're live with what to expect from that high-stakes meeting. the pope is showing new signs of improvement this morning, as he continues to battle pneumonia from a hospital in italy. the latest prognosis for the head of the catholic church. and billboard crowns its 2025 woman of the year. the up and coming artist who earned the honor. it's tuesday, march 11. and "early today" starts right now. good morning, it's great to be with you today. i'm jessica layton. new this morning, some movement in the push to keep the government from shutting down.

house republicans advanced a bill that would keep the government funded for six months. they plan to hold a full vote later this afternoon. congress has uil friday to pass a budget. but democrats are critical of the plan, and the bill needs bipartisan support in the senate. >> no one wants to shut the government down. and we are governing, doing the responsible thing as republicans. it's going to be up to chuck schumer and the senate democrats to do the right thing, and i don't think they're going to shut the government down. >> so 60 votes are needed in the senate. but at least one republican member, rand paul, is saying he is a no because of concerns about spending. meanwhile, we are halfway through president trump's first 100 days back in office. and the stock market just had its worst day so far this year. the dow closing down nearly 900 points, losing 2% of its value. the nasdaq falling 4%. investors are showing concerns over the president's tariffs.

kelly o'donnell has more from the white house. >> reporter: tariff turmoil. the president's trade war, churning volatile markets. and provoking counter measures from adversaries and friends. including canada's next prime minister, mark carney. >> my government will keep our tariffs on until the americans show us respect. >> reporter: but uncertainty renews anxiety. president trump did not appear on camera. that's rare. but he did weigh in on the risks of recession. notably not ruling it out in a fox news interview that aired sunday. >> i hate to predict things like that. there is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big. >> reporter: more from canada. the province of ontao hiking energy costs with a 25% tax on electricity, exported to more than 1.5 million american homes and businesses.

>> if the united states escalates, i will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely. >> reporter: a new economic punch from china. imposing 15% tariffs hitting the heartland. chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, and 10% on pork, beef, produce, dairy and soybeans. farmer josh gakle sells soybeans, part of $13 million in exports to china. >> it will be difficult for u.s. farmers to try to get through some sort of long-term trade war that affects our bottom line. >> reporter: president trump says he will impose more tariffs starting wednesday, with 25% on steel and aluminum imports. most of that supply comes from canada. breaking overnight, 13 people were rushed to the hospital after a school bus overturned on a new jersey highway. the bus was on its way to new york from lakewood when the

crash happened on the garden state parkway. all of the injured are expected to survive. as of right now, all lanes are closed in that area of the parkway. it's not yet clear when it will reopen. new jersey governor phil murphy says he has been briefed on the crash. new jersey state police is investigating. terrifying moments at a texas middle school yesterday. a a student has died after being stabbed by a fellow classmate. the victim was brought to the hospital where she later died. a big legal setback for lyle and erik menendez. the l.a. county d.a. withdrawing his predecessor's efforts for

resentencing. >> reporter: this is not necessarily good news for the menendez brothers. resentencing is very unique to thstate of california, and how it works is that either a judge can initiate a resentencing or a district attorney can file a motion to do so. that's what the previous district attorney had done. now nathan hochman saying that the judge can continue with the resentencing if he wants to, but he is pulling back, withdrawing the motion that the previous d.a. had put forward. and so the reasoning behind this is that the new district attorney says that the brothers have not fully accepted responsibility for the crime. he says he does not believe in their defense, which is self-defense for killing their parents. and so what the district attorney is saying is if the brothers come out and publicly say that they have lied about that self-defense defense then he would reconsider a resentencing motion. in the meantime, though, it falls on the hands of the judge.

the judge will decide whether or not that resentencing moves forward. the menendez brothers, their family releasing a statement saying essentially that the d.a. is not looking at the sexual abuse allegations. they're saying that the brothers have already apologized for their crimes, and they believe they should have that resentencing hearing. so what's left on the table is a decision from the judge on the resentencing. there's also the possibility of the habeas petition and possibly a new trial, which, at the moment, we know the district attorney also does not support. but there is always that option of governor gavin newsom, essentially allowing them to be free. he can commute their sentence. and that would be one of the easiest ways for them to obtain freedom. we know that the parole board is looking into all of this, and then governor gavin newsom will decide. so we will see what happens to the brothers. >> our thahanks to camila for tt report. saudi arabia is hosting a

key summit later 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 ap. nbc's matt bodner has the very latest on this. >> reporter: 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 on the front and in the cities. this puts zelenskyy and his team in a precarious position at these talks. the white house has made it clear they don't think ukraine has any right to make demands, or as trump has put it, they have no cards. nonetheless, zelenskyy continues to try. today he's expected to pitch rubio on a cease-fire.

and two officials speaking to the associated press say zelenskyy is ready to sign that controversial mineral deal, the one at the heart of the rift between washington and kiev. rubio speaking to reporters on his flight to saudi says his delegation's goal is to assess whether or not in the view of the white house kiev is seriously ready to engage in peace talks with moscow. meanwhile, concerns that america has switched sides in this war continue to motivate europe's discussion on continental rearmament. representatives from 30 nations will convene to work on a proposal for a peacekeeping force to ukraine. ukraine wants an international force present to deter future russian offenses after a cease fear is reached. it's not clear if the u.s. would support such an effort. >> a lot up in the air. thank you. president trump's special advisor, elon musk, the richest

man in the world, is touting what he calls major savings for taxpayers. after his mass slashings at the federal workforce. but in alabama, nbc's gabe gutierrez speaks to former fema employees who say these cuts have gone too far. >> reporter: just days after president trump placed new limits on elon musk's down sizing of the federal bureaucracy, placing cabinet secretaries in charge of layoffs, musk touting cooperation. >> did you ever think this would happen? >> no. >> reporter: air force veteran and mother of two, she had been working at fema's center for domestic preparedness here in alabama. she helped train first responders until she was laid off on president's day. >> i thought well, they're going to take a scalpel to fraud, waste and abuse, not just hack off the entire limb. >> reporter: since inauguration day, more than 200 fema

employees have been cut. a government watchdog report in 2022 found the agency was understaffed by 35%. also among fema's layoffs, marine corps veteran and father of three, john whipler. >> i'm sure there are some things that need to be cut down, but does everything need to be? >> reporter: fema drew backlash from trump. >> fema's a disaster. i think we're going to recommend that fema go away. and we pay directly, we pay a percentage to the state. >> reporter: but she has this message for the president. >> really hook 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: secretary of state marco rubio has said 83% of all foreign aid programs under usaid would be canceled. >> thank you. it is starting to feel like spring out there finally here in the northeast. nbc meteorologist angie lassman is tracking a mid-march warmup for us. good morning. >> hi, jessica. what a couple of days it's been. temperatures well above normal. today is no different. 10, 15, more than 20 degrees above where we should be this time of year. 70s from st. louis to cincinnati. washington, d.c. tops out at 73 degrees. this trend continues into tomorrow. across parts of the south, 70s. 57 in minneapolis. 80s for our friends in texas. as we transition into late week, still dealing with spring-like highs. 40s in chicago on thursday to upper 60s by friday. a nice way to round out the workweek. more mid-70s and 80s on tap across the mid atlantic by the time we head into saturday.

meanwhile really dry conditions across parts of texas. that means, and new mexico, rather, that means that we have fire alerts up. so we will see the potential for fires to start and spread quite quickly for new mexico and texas. out west, a whole lot of winter alerts. you can see the rain, the sn . 60 degrees on the mark for cleveland today. full sunshine in new york city with a high of 65 degrees. and that's a look at your forecast, jessica. back to you. >> loving that for us here in new york. thank you, angie. "early today" is back in a minute with a positive update on the pope's recovery. and how investigators say back yard s'mores sparked the wildfires across looirnd. d the wildfires across looirnd.

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leading the news. investigators have linked saturday's massive brush fires on new york's long island to people trying to make s'mores in the back yard in the eastern part of the island. strong winds helped whip the embers all the way to westhampton where the largest of the fires sparked, named the pines fire. it scorched 600 acres before being contained. new york governor kathy hochul has called for a burn ban until an annual state-wide ban begins on sunday. a fiery collision off the coast of england. the uk coast guard saying a fuel tanker and cargo vessel collided in the north sea, setting both ships on fire and sending thick smoke into the sky. a defense official tells nbc news the ship was carrying fuel for u.s. navy ships. the vatican says pope francis' condition is improving. the pontiff was admitted to a hospital in rome on february

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fashion icon. >> i was just so curious. i'm like, you know what, how did it look starring my grandmother in high fashion. >> reporter: she has been working as a new york-based stylist for years. >> i got the love of fashion from my late dad, growing up, seeing how he was so into, you know, fashion, into dressing up. >> reporter: in 2023, during a trip to her homeland of zambia, she was inspired to extend the familial inspiration. >> i went outside to my grandma. i want to exchange what, switch outfits with you and take pictures. she's like, okay, let's do it. >> reporter: she was game. >> and we did it. >> reporter: it was a viral hit, amassing hundreds of followers online. >> i figure especially our elderly, they can't wear certain clothes. they can't, they have to be always covered. >> reporter: modesty but also

regality. >> why should you restrict them? >> reporter: grandma, who lives in zambia is now a cover girl appearing on magazine covers across the globe. her journey not without its challenges. and beyond obviously being a fashionista, who is your grandmother? >> oh, my god, my grandma, obviously, she's my mother's mother. born premature. and ended up being married, forced into marriage at 12. so me doing this for her makes me feel like, you know, she's reliving her years. she never got to wear a wedding dress, because obviously, she was forced into marriage. so i had to style her in a wedding dress. and, when i put that dress on her, she was just like oh, my god, this is how these things feel like. >> reporter: oh, wow. >> and she shed a tear.

and so i feel like i have helped to relieve her, the stolen years. >> reporter: and she says it's inspiring others to relive their timeless fashions. >> i've gotten so many dms, you know, from people in their 60s, in their 70s, talking about oh, now i'm going to go and get the clothes that i gave my daughter and my grandkids, because now i know that i can actually wear this. and it's okay. >> what a gift for glamma. and our thanks to you for waking up early with "early today." i'm jessica layton. have a great tuesday. ve a great. dupixent helps people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. that too. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. it works with your asthma medicine to help improve lung function. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems and doesn't replace a rescue inhaler. it's proven to help prevent asthma attacks. severe allergic reactions can occur.

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