i want to go back to peter alexander, who has some new reporting. peter. >> yeah. that's right. lleague, nbc senior white house correspondent garrett hake, speaking to an american official who now confirms that the trump administration is releasing a man by the name of alexander vinnik, a cyber criminal who last year pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. it's unclear at this point whether this is described as a trade or an exchange. nonetheless, it happens in the same time frame, of course, that marc fogel was released by the russians, picked up by the us envoy for mideast affairs, steve witkoff returned to the united states overnight, where he met with the president here at the white house. you've seen those celebratory scenes at this time, and as we report this out, i think one thing that's worth noting, and i know my colleague, ambassador mike mccaul mcfaul, will detail this. it does appear that this white house feels like this is a unique opportunity to try to build what they view as a strong relationship that president trump has with vladimir putin at this

peter alexander starts us off tonight from the white house. >> reporter: tonight, at a conservative group conference, elon musk showing off a chainsaw to celebrate his government of office efficiency's efforts to help president trump slash the federal government. musk touting plans to return some of the money saved to taxpayers, though that would require the approval of congress. >> it's money that's taken way from things that are destructive to the country and from organizations that hate you to you. that's awesome. >> reporter: it comes as white house officials say the trump administration is now preparing to fire many irs workers, some likely from cities outside the nation's capital. >> the treasury secretary is studying the matter and feels like 3500 is a small number, and probably can get bigger. >> reporter: democrats are urging the white house not to implement those mass layoffs, warning they could have a catastrophic impact on the filing season. irs workers like daniel scharpenburg in kansas city say taxpayers will suffer the consequences. >> the work is going to get back up. priv

here is peter alexander. >> reporter: tonight, nbc news has learned defense secretary pete hegseth is considering firing military generals and some of the most senior officers as early as this week. according to two defense officials and three congressional sources. most of the targeted who have been closely associated with former defense secretary lloyd austin who served under former president biden and worked on dei initiatives or voiced opinions that trump allies view as politically out of line with his agenda. the pentagon said hegseth is looking to cut 8% of next year's defense budget, totaling $50 billion. musk's doge employees are working inside the pentagon, according to senior officials, eyeing staffing cuts there. overnight, president trump alongside musk dismissed concerns about conflicts of interest with musk's businesses. even though the tech billionaire's companies have massive contracts with the federal government. >> if there's a conflict, he won't be involved. i wouldn't want that. he won't want it. >> reporter: first the mass firings, now the fallout. across the coun

peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter: tonight, two weeks after returning to office pledging to take a wrecking ball to washington, president trump is pushing back against new attacks on his efforts and those of billionaire elon musk to reshape the federal government. >> he's done a great job. look at all the fraud that he's found. >> reporter: tonight, top democrats are sounding the alarm that musk and his lieutenants are going too far. >> the american people will not stand for an unelected secret group to run rampant through the executive branch. being innovative is good. but mr. musk, this isn't a tech start up. these are public institutions. >> reporter: musk who vowed to slash two trillion from the budget runs the department of government efficiency, that is not a government agency. but his team has already gained access to closely held data systems. >> there's already been really tremendous progress. in our rough estimate is there's at least a few billion dollars a day of savings. >> reporter: one, sharply reducing the federal workforce by offering a buyout the federal wor

peter alexander has detail >> reporter: tonight, just hours ahead of the white house deadline, a federalge has paused the trump administration from implementing its buyout program for all federal workers. that buyout offer, part of the president's campaign pledge to save taxpayer money by slashing the federal workforce. but labor unions went to court to block it, arguing it violated multiple laws, and now that judge has put the buyouts on hold until monday. a senior administration official says more than 60,000 federal employees have accepted the offer. that represents more than 2% of the federal government's civilian workforce. officials here previously said they expected 5 to 10% to take the buyout. >> what president trump and elon musk and this entire administration is trying to do is make our bloated bureaucracy here in washington run like a profitable business. >> reporter: and tonight, the trump administration is ramping up pressure to take t buyout. an email to all eligible federal workers obtained by nbc news warns those who do not could lose their jobs. reading, in part, "at thi

. >> peter alexander is covering it all for us. peter, good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning. constituents giving their republican representatives an earful, lashing out at them for supporting the cuts by the trump administration and doge, elon musk's outside agency. as you just saw, musk is celebrating his team's work. president trump's top lieutenant driving home his rapid shredding of the federal government. >> this is the chain saw of bureaucracy. >> elon musk boasting about his government of government efficiency's work, cutting jobs and spending. >> but some republicans are now facing constituent pushback over the president and musk's issue. >> what's not reasonable is taking this chain saw approach. why is this being jammed down the pipes rushed and sloppily? >> reporter: taking questions about doge's work this week. >> we are looking into that now to find out. i don't know the answer. >> the fraud and abuse that has been discovered already -- >> reporter: last night tensions boiled over at a republican congressman'

peter alexander is following that for us. >> reporter: nbc news has learned defense secretary pete hegseth is considering firing military generals and some of the department's most senior officers as early as this week. according to two defense officials and three congressional sources. most of those targeted have been closely associated with former defense secretary lloyd austin, who served under former president biden and have worked on dei initiatives or have voiced opinions. they plan to cut $50 billion. it comes as doge employees are working inside the pentagon, according to senior officials, eyeing staffing cuts there. president trump alongside musk dismissed concerns about conflicts of interest with musk's businesses, even though the tech billionaire's companies, like spacex, ave massive contracts with the federal government. >> if there's a conflict he won't be involved. i wouldn't want that, and he wouldn't want it. >> reporter: first the mass firings, now the fallout. across the country, growing protests opposed to the president's efforts to rapidly shrink the federal workforce.

peter alexander is at the white house with the latest on it. president trump seriously. the president who has long touted an america first policy last night declared he would like the u.s. to seize control and develop war ravaged gaza, even if it meant sending u.s. troops there. >> the u.s. will take over the gaza strip, will own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. >> reporter: the president framing it as an economic opportunity to turn the strip of land into what he called the riviera of the middle east. but the idea, of course, would mean displacing the entire population of gaza. that's roughly two million palestinians. the president saying in his vision those palestinians could eventually return, but for now they should be taken in by countries like egypt and jordan. many do not want to leave and many neighboring countries said they would not take them in. democrats quickly condemned the idea. tim kaine called it derang

. >> nbc's peter alexander at the white house and julie sirkin at cpac. also with us, jacqueline alemany, white house reporter for the washington post, and brendan buck, former press secretary to speaker boehner and ryan. peter, just this morning, we heard from the white house press secretary about cutting. what they're calling waste, abuse and more. >> what are we learning? that's exactly right. actually, i had an opportunity to speak to press secretary. >> caroline leavitt here outside the white house within the last couple of hours, and i asked her about. >> those comments. we've now heard from constituents pressing their republican representatives. about what they, in the words of. >> one man. >> described as. >> sloppy. >> cuts a. >> chainsaw approach. >> he said. leavitt said that the media. >> is amplifying. >> a small number of. >> critics here. >> and says that the president is just doing. delivering on the promises that he made. i followed up by asking her about the repeated. >> claims of there finding. >> fraud. >> waste and abuse. >> and here's

that's what we'll be watching. >> a great peter alexander in the snowy white house lawn. you, my friends. good to see you. and with us now, pennsylvania democratic congressman chris deluzio, he represents the district where marc fogel lives and was at the white house for fogel's meeting with president trump last night. congressman, it's great seeing you. i thank you for your time. you were there last night. so what was it like? >> look, it was. >> about mark and. he was overwhelmed, i think, with. >> joy and relief to be back home. i mean, three plus years detained in russia for a medical marijuana prescription. he had. i think he just felt like it was such a relief and that his country hadn't forgotten him. i think it was important for mark not only to have that welcome, but for every american to know your country, no matter where you're from, your party, they're going to we're going to fight for you and get you home. >> you know, it was. and i want your comments and thoughts on he was holding a beer the whole time. i want your information on how and where he got that be

peter alexander has more. >> reporter: at a conservative group conference, elon musk showing off a chainsaw, highlighting efforts to slash the federal government. >> it's money taken away from things that are destructive to the country and from organizations that hate you to you. that's awesome. >> reporter: it comes as white house officials say the trump administration is now preparing to fire many irs workers. some likely from cities outside the nation's capital. >> the treasury secretary is studying the matter and feels like 3500 is a small number and probably can get bigger. >> reporter: democrats are urging the white house not to implement those mass layoffs, warning they could have a catastrophic impact on the filing season. irs workers like daniel sharpenberg in kansas city say taxpayers will suffer the consequences. >> the work's going to get backed up. so private citizens are going to be, like, the irs is not doing their job. and it's because we're getting hollowed out. >> reporter: even one of president trumump's fiercest allies, fox news host jesse watters urged the president to

here's nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: two weeks after returning to office, pledging to take a wrecking ball to washington, president trump is pushing back against new attacks on his efforts and those of billionaire elon musk to reshape the federal government. >> he's done a great job. look at all the fraud that he's found. >> reporter: but top democrats are sounding the alarm that musk and his lieutenants are going too far. >> the american people will not stand for an unelected, secret group to run rampant through the executive branch. being innovative is good. but mr. musk, this i't a tech startup. these are public institutions. >> reporter: musk, who vowed to slash $2 trillion from the budget runs the department of government efficiency that is not a government agency, but his team has already gained access to closely-hd data systems. >> there's already been tremendous progress. a rough estimate is that there's at least a few billion dollars a day of savings. >> reporter: one of those cost-cutting efforts offering a buyout to federal officials. more than 20,000 federal employees have

here's peter alexander. >> reporter: just hours ahead of the white house deadline, a federal judge paused the trump administration from implementing its yout program for all federal workers. that buyout offer, part of the president's campaign pledge to save taxpayer money by slashing the federal workforce. but labor unions went to court to block it. now the judge has put the buyouts on hold until monday. a senior administration official says more than 60,000 federal employees have accepted the offer. that represents more than 2% of the federal government's civilian workforce. officials here previously said they expected 5% to 10% to take the buyout. >> what president trump and elon musk and this entire administration is trying to do is make our bloated bureaucracy here in washington run like a profitable business. >> reporter: and the trump administration is ramping up pressure to take the buyout. an e-mail to all eligible federal workers obtained by nbc news warns those who do not could lose their jobs. reading in part, at this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certai

peter alexander has the latest. >> tonight, two weeks after returning to office pledging to take a wrecking ball to washington, president trump is pushing back against new attacks on his efforts of of his and elon musk's, to reshape the federal government. >> he's done a great job. >> but tonight top democrats are sounding the alarm that musk and his lieutenants are going to far. >> the american people will not stand for an unelected secret group to run rampant through the executive branch. being innovative is good. but mr. musk, this isn't a tech startup. these are public institutions. >> musk vowed to/$2 trillion from the budget runs the department of government efficiency. his team has already gained access to data systems. >> there's been tremendous progress. the rough estimate is there's at least a fewillion ollars a day of savings. >> a senior administration official telling nbc news more than 20,000 federal employees have accepted the buyout offer so far but many federal workers are furious at the pace and the scope of the changes. >> i'm angry. i'm seething. >> speaking at a town ha

. >> from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and laura jarrett.e from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today." and thank you for joining us on this saturday morning and i'm glad we still have a voice left. we did a lot of singing last night at that homecoming concert. >> apology to anyone else around us. lady gaga, snoop, cher who looks amazing 78 years young and lauren hill and wyclef jean. the list goes on. it was spectacular. we're going to share the highlights. >> hard to just pick one right? this morning we have a lot of news that's developing including another emotional day in israel with the release of three more hostages. the hostages finally freed after being held by hamas for nearly 500 days. we're going to have the very latest in a live report from israel straight ahead. >>> but we're going to begin with the weather. a big storm on the move and it is bringing a little bit of everything with it. snow, ice, rain. it just all depends on where you live. so let's get the latest forecast from angie lassman. angie, good morning.

two reports on this, starting with nbc's chief white house correspondent, peter alexander. peter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. president trump just moments ago, announced he will roll out new round of reciprocal tariffs, matching higher rates other countries charge to import american goods. and now, back to the federal judge ruling you were talking about, allowing the trump administration to move forward, implementing its buyout program for federal employees. to be clear, this is a major win for this president, for this white house, that had seen many of its early efforts to slash the federal work force stalled in court. this morning, president trump and billionaire elon musk's plan to reshape the federal government entering a new phase. >> we want to restore the rule of the people. >> reporter: the trump administration closing the window for its program offering deferred resignations to federal employees. after a judge cleared the program's way yesterday. the white house says 75,000 workers have taken the deal. though nbc news cannot verify that number independe

nbc's chief white house correspondent peter alexander joins us with more. peter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. this was a remarkable scene inside the oval office. president trump behind the desk. billionaire elon musk by his side, detailing their plans for a large-scale cut to the federal workforce, and handing over future power for firing to musk. trump firing the independent watchdog that oversees usaid. it comes a day after the ig's office released a report detailing the potential risks of administration's dramatic downsizing of the agency, according to a letter obtained by nbc news. all of it as the president in an extraordinary scene in the oval office largely ceded the spotlight to his top lieutenant, elon musk, talking about his work reshaping the government. >> a lot of times people don't get what they voted for. but in this presidency, they are going to get what they voted for. and that's what democracy is all about. >> reporter: president trump and musk, his 4-year-old son in toe say they identified billions of dollars in w

nbc's peter alexander with that report.l. >> peter laid. >> it out. >> very well there. >> but there's much more to what defense secretary hague said, beyond just simply saying that ukraine would never be a member of nato, which you could say you could see coming. what he also said was that as well as there not being u.s. troops on the ground in ukraine, any european or non-european force that was there to maintain security for ukraine, could not be a nato mission and couldn't be protected by article five. in other words, you just think about the beginning of the ukraine war and all of the concern that perhaps russia would fire a missile, that it would kill some european troops or hit a european installation of some nature, and that that would then trigger article five and that that would pull nato into a war with russia. well, hegseth is saying there that even if we have some kind of a security force in ukraine, that can't happen now. look, i think it's also worth just pointing out that the defense secretary also said, and

you know, peter, in her first briefing, i think caroline leavitt was questioned by peter alexander about this and came up with that, you know, some untold number of million dollars, 60 to $90 million was spent on condoms. not true at all, according to the washington post. you know, fact check, which we you know, it got four pinocchios from from the washington post. but it's you know, all of us have looked through this and it's just not true. aid into gaza is one of the things we're in. all of these multiple missions that i traveled with secretary blinken last year, he was trying to surge aid in after israel had frozen food, water, fuel in the opening days of the invasion, weeks of the invasion, nine days in. maybe, maybe it was a little later than that. secretary blinken spent hours and hours arguing that that should be lifted. and as part of this cease fire deal, as you guys both know, a surge in aid in trucks going in. you know, israel doesn't trust the un, the world food program and un agencies unwra. but us aid and care and the world food program have all been critical to that effort

but first, here's peter alexander coming up this morning on today, your inside ticket to a very exclusiveover the weekend, doug's winter party. it went viral for the 87 year old host. hand-delivered invites in this morning. doug is going to join us live to tell us all out his heartwaabrm (♪♪) i love flying hawaiian. and now that they've joined alaska, my miles can take me further when i fly either airline... so i can still fly hawaiian to hawai ' i... and i can fly with alaska to the east coast? annd mexico? annd the bahamas?! while my miles add up?? oooo this is good. packing is going to be...funnn. (♪♪) ♪ yeah, baby, i like it like that ♪ ♪ you gotta believe me when i tell ya ♪ ♪ i like it like that ♪ ♪ i like it like that, i like it like that ♪ welcome back. we are moving you forward with a look at our top stories here on today in the bay. one person is in custody after an altercation with police that led to officers firing several rounds. it happened last night near san leandro in unincorporated ashland. this is at 1/64 avenue and east 14th street. no one was injured. authorities say

but just this morning, press secretary caroline leavitt, speaking with my colleague peter alexander, pushed back on this criticism, saying that the vast majority of americans, in their view, support what the president is doing and that he is delivering on something that he campaigned on. >> ana and we're working to get that sound to turn for our viewers. melanie, let's talk about the backlash. >> some of. >> these republican lawmakers are now facing at home over. >> the doj's actions. >> what more can you tell us about it? >> yeah, republicans. >> are really starting to feel the heat over some of these doj's cuts and these doj's actions. you know, it was one thing when it was u.s. aid or foreign aid that was on the chopping block. but as these cuts have started to hit close to home, republicans are starting to really feel the heat. and there were a number of town halls this week where republicans in the house were home for recess, were confronted by angry constituents at town halls, and one of them was particularly notable richard mccormick. he's a georgia republican. he represents a

that was press secretary karoline leavitt pushing back on nbc's peter alexander asking why is the media against cutting waste, fraud and abuse in joining us now, the host of the ben ferguson podcast, ben ferguson. wonderful to see you again, ben. >> good to see you. elizabeth: we're seeing a pushback -- i see that you're at a cpac -- >> a pushback against doge. they are trying to cut out the waves that's built up over a generation -- waste that's built up over a generation and longer in the government. what do you a. >> i'm laughing at a democrats. i was with elon yesterday here at cpac and, look, the guy is, like, laser focused on finding the fraud, the waste and abuse and then exposing it to the american people. i think what you're witnessing right now is the pushback which is fear-mongering. that's all the left and the media has to say, well, you can't do this because you're letting people look at things that might be too important to our country is so is, therefore, you're not allowed to cut waste, fraud and abuse. this is all fear mongering, and they're not going to stop. i think t

job by peter, our colleague peter alexander. good work there by the washington post. >> it is. >> worth reiterating this is again a first policies. the diversity. >> initiatives were put in. >> place by president obama. >> trump. >> while he was president. >> left them. >> there and then. >> it was. >> his. >> own faa. >> when he was in charge that promoted. >> programs about. >> hiring those with. >> disabilities to join. >> that agency. and that. >> yesterday he, of course, tried. >> to blame them in a wedge issue, speaking. >> you know. >> in moments after a crisis, our. >> nation reeling. >> from it, choosing once again division also lying about his record very reminiscent, i will say of during the presidential campaign when he. >> gained much traction. >> from then. >> vice president harris. >> and the idea of. >> transgender surgery. >> provided for inmates in prisons. well, we fact. >> checked it at the time and found that that program. >> also existed. >> under the trump administration. >> he. >> of course. >> when he. >

but, tim, i want to play a part of an exchange between our own peter alexander and the white house press secretary, caroline leavitt. it's from this morning. and peter asked her about town halls like the one we've been talking about. watch. >> we're now hearing from constituents in some traditionally red districts right now, complaining about what they say is the chainsaw approach and saying that it's been done very sloppily. the cuts to jobs and spending. how do you respond to that criticism? >> i love how the media takes a few critics when the overwhelming response from the american people is support for what this administration is doing. if you look at the public polling, 70% of americans, according to cbs, believe that president trump is delivering on the promises he made. >> however dismissive this white house wants to be about its critics. people are feeling this. lawmakers are hearing about it in lots of forums, not just in-person town halls. and for some of whom, the layoffs are recent. what happens, tim, after that last paycheck hits, how long do you think political ideology or

. >> chief white house correspondent peter alexander. also with us, msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin and msnbc political analyst and staff writer at the atlantic, ashley parker. peter, what more are we learning about this. >> move to gut the staff. >> at usaid? >> well, it's clear that president. >> trump's desire is not to. >> just be. >> gutted. >> but that the staff basically. >> evaporate altogether. >> only a short time ago on truth. >> social. >> his favorite. >> megaphone, the. >> president wrote in part, closed. >> it. >> down. >> saying that the money has been spent. >> so much of it, he. >> says fraudulently. >> he says it's totally, totally unexplainable. >> nonetheless, it's. >> striking to hear these comments from him right now, given all. >> the. >> works that. >> usaid does around. >> the world. many of those works. >> that were. >> witnessed by. >> his own wife, the first. >> lady melania. >> trump, back. >> in 2018. >> traveling throughout africa. >> in partnership. >> with usaid. >> at the. >> time. >> she described.

joining me now in the sea news chief white house correspondent peter alexander, reuters white house correspondent jeff mason, former democratic senator doug jones, former republican congressman from florida david jolly and catherine christian, former assistant manhattan district attorney. so, peter, you questioned the white house press secretary earlier today about those cuts. what did that look like? >> yeah, i had an extended. >> back and forth with karine leavitt, of course, the press secretary here, where i asked her about some of the. >> words we have heard. >> from those constituents at town halls in traditionally red districts around the country, including those that you played. moments ago. and by and large, she blamed. >> the media. >> for. >> amplifying, as she described it, a few critics. >> in her words. >> when she says the. >> overwhelming number of americans. >> right now. support exactly what. president trump is doing, she says that the president is simply. >> delivering on. >> the promises that he has made so far. then i followed up by asking. >> her specifically. >> about the cl

. >> nbc's peter alexander, thank you. and we love doug. that's tonight's moment of joy in tonight's reidout all in with chris hayes starts now by. >> tonight on. >> all in. >> who resigned? >> the head of. >> social security? >> i don't know. i mean, i resigned or got fired, i think got fired. >> elon musk's. doge team. >> targets social security. >> i asked elon. who are these people? >> and a top justice. >> department attorney. >> resigns, claiming undue. >> pressure to start a. >> criminal probe. >> it's all. >> of a piece of. really lawless action. >> tonight. >> the latest flashing warning. >> signs in. >> the rule of law in america. and then, as eric adams heads to court. >> the slippery. >> slope of a quid. >> pro quo. >> with new york's mayor. >> and as we. >> get incredible new images of that crash landing in toronto, what we now know about what probably caused. >> the horrific. >> accident when all in. starts now. good evening. >> from new york. >> i'm ali velshi in for chris hayes today. >> a federal judge. >> in washington cle

our colleague peter alexander asked caroline leavitt, the white house press secretary, earlier today, about whether this is all an indication that the white house cuts have been too deep or too sloppy. listen to their exchange. >> there should be there should be no secret about the fact that this administration is committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse. the president campaigned on that promise. americans elected him on that promise, and he's actually delivering on it. and this is something that democrats promised they would do for decades. president trump is just the first president to get it done. >> let me ask you about the fraud. if i can, we can all have our own opinion about what is wasteful spending. and republicans have praised the president for cutting wasteful spending. but fraud, of course, is a crime. so have you turned over evidence of fraud to the justice department? and when should we expect to see those indictments? >> it's a clever question. first of all, i think all americans would agree that funding mastectomies and mozambique is not something that the american

he was asked by our colleague peter alexander about this proposal. and despite the fact that there is clear condemnation and concern expressed by partners in the region and by allies and adversaries of the united states, here's how the president responded. >> thank you. mr. president. can i ask you about your gaza? can we ask about your gaza proposal? >> a lot of people are talking about. >> obviously. >> it got a lot of attention. >> everybody loves it. but this is just not the right time. but we'll maybe do something later. this is a very important and in my opinion, solemn occasion. >> so the president there what i wanted to key on is everybody loves it. the president often takes questions. he was not effusive in taking questions in this moment. we expect to hear from him again later in the day. but his initial response was everybody loves it. clearly there are many, even in his own party, who are raising serious questions about it. at the same time, the speaker of the house is being supportive and there are reverberations around the world and thi

peter alexander was doing some reporting on this. and apparently we obtained a memo that the trump administration sent out saying we need to find these people, but we're not quite sure how to find them, to hire them back. can you explain what's going on, yamiche? >> yeah, it's really, in some ways, striking situation. what you had was a number of employees who oversee the nuclear stockpile. that's part of the department of energy. we're told that they were being terminated. they were probationary employees, people who usually worked for the government within a year or two for a year or two. then the government decided, actually, we really want these people to stay. they do actually have important jobs. the problem was that they had already cut off access to their communication devices and their communication emails and other things to try to get in touch with them. so there was a real sort of issue there in terms of how to get in touch with employees when you've already blocked their access to their communication. so in some ways, it

i believe i heard peter alexander's voice, our chief white house correspondent, confirming that trumputin, but also with zelensky of ukraine. it's welcome news, given the conversation that you and i were just having before we dipped in there. but what would it say? and what does it say that we're now seeing action on the hostage front from belarus as well as russia, with marc fogel. >> well, i hope it's great news as far as i'm concerned. i mean, yesterday was a fantastic day for me personally. i know marc, he was a teacher at the school when i was a us ambassador. he taught my son and i give praise to trump and his administration for getting him out. and it sounds like they have another victory in belarus, along with two other belarusian activists, it sounds like. i applaud their efforts. anytime an american gets home, that's good for all of america. >> i think many of us would agree with that statement. and we're so happy that your friend is safely back home. now. i think the question that we heard asked of bowler there that i will also ask you, i imagine your answer might be differ

we will start with peter alexander. peter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. america's allies are appearing to distance itself from long-standing commitments to its security partners in that region and appearing to rule out nato membership for ukraine. it comes as president trump is offering kind words of confidence for putin, while at the same time announcing plans to impose tariffs on some of america's closest partners. this morning ukrainian claims of a dramatic attack at chernobyl as president trump enters negotiations over the russia/ukraine war. saying a russian drone hit the nuclear power plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. authorities at this point saying there does not seem to be a breach of the radioactive container. russia says it would not carry out strikes on nuclear facilities. still, the strike comes after president trump signalled a sympathetic tone toward vladimir putin in the negotiations over the war, saying he trusts the russian leader after they're called this week. >> i know them very well. yeah, i think he was. i think

. >> nbc's peter alexander, thank you. and we love doug.

. >>> from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and laura jarett, live from studio 1a in rockefellerza. >>> welcome to "today," and thanks for joining us on this very busy saturday morning. >> yeah. hard to believe we're already beginning the month of february. we start with several developing stories, including an ininvestigatn into philadelphia where a plane carrying a young pediatric patient, her mom and the medical team crashed sending a fireball into the sky. the moments caught on one family's ring camera. watch as they were terrified by the scene. we're going to have more from philadelphia this morning straight ahead. >>> but we do begin this morning with the breaking news out of the middle east. three more hostages released a few hours ago, including american israeli keith segal. keir simmons is in tel aviv with the very latest starting us off this morning. good morning. >> reporter: laura, peter, good morning to you. we can breathe again is the way this family just described it in a statement. we watched here in hostage square as keith walked to freedom here in israel. you ca

. >>> from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and laura jarett, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> welcome to "today." thanks for joining us on this saturdayment you can talk about all the clean, shiny yankee faces right now. just talking about spring training makes a lot of people happy. >> are you pro scruff? what is your scruff protocol? >> after the show i let it go for a couple days. a rough day on wall street. the worst yet this year in fears of a slowing economy, stubborn inflation. what it means for the prices you pay. >>> also ahead, the latest on the menendez brothers' bid for freedom. >>> we do want to begin with that welcome news in the weather. those bitter temperatures melting away for a much needed warmup. angie has a look at where and when. we have been waiting for a long time hoping you would say just this. when does it start? >> one of my favorite things is when i can give you good news when it comes to the weather. i know we have had brutal temperatures. these are the only frost and freeze alerts that we haveat this imtoo. it is basically centered acro

. >> this is today with peter alexander and laura jarrett live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to today, thank you for joining us on this saturday morning, among my favorite things about you is we show the video of the bedazzled helmets and you are like, are they wearing them for super bowl lix? >> i knew they were not wearing them for the game. i have a lot of questions about football but that's not one of them. i'm excited about the commercials. >> we will take you there. >> super bowl lix is nearly upon us and it will be a nonstop party in new orleans and new orleans knows how to party. for the next 36 hours between now and the kickoff between the chiefs and eagles, we will have a live report ahead. >>> we want to begin with a fierce weekend storm that is bringing nasty weather from iowa to new england. we are happy to welcome telemundo's gabby day on the studio. we have a lot of snow to keep an eye on. >> that's right. happy to be here. we are tracking a parade of storms that will impact millions of people today and this weekend . we are seeing energy in the system

i'm peter alexander alongside laura jarrett. savannah and craig are off. this was like nothing you have ever seen. >> so good. >> "snl," you go down the roster of names., eddie murphy, mike myers there, debbie downer, will farrell, bill murphy. -- murray. >> eddie murphy crushed it. >> you have to watch it. >> martha stewart. >>> first, the top story. this nonstop string of winter storms, they left misery and travel chaos in their wake. >> the latest round bringing more of both over the weekend and turning deadly in the south. torrenential raitriggered devastating flooding. this morning, tens of millions are already on alert for the next storm. >> we are going to get to al's full forecast in a moment. the mounting delays and cancellations at the nation's airports. we want to begin with kathy park. she is in flood-ravaged hazard, kentucky. >> reporter: good morning, peter. parts of the south received up to 6 inches of rain, causing creeks and rivers to overflow. behind me, you have the north fork of the kentucky river. it's running pretty high this morning.

nbc's peter alexander is there. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the pace and scope across the changes of the federal work scope is staggering. one long time federal worker has been telling me it's been the worst week of their life. a judge is soon going to decide whether the trump administration can move forward with its massive buyouts, even as the white house said it's cutt white house said it's cutting waste and is pushing workers to accept the deal. this morning president trump facing legal hurdles in his effort to reshape the government. plans to shrink the federal workforce, give elon musk's team access to treasury systems and scale back u.s. foreign aid, all facing challenges. but the president is still plowing ahead. >> we got rid of woke over the last couple weeks. >> reporter: a federal judge paused the buyout offer to all federal workers hours before the deadline. now delayed until monday after employee unions filed suit arguing it violates federal law. stilill the whe house is urging workers to take the buyouts. a senior administration

we have peter alexander with us because craig is on an incredible assignment. >> a little "pink pony team usa. mike tirico will be there with him, too. we're looking forward to that tomorrow on "today." >> let's get to your news at 8:00. we begin with the one-two punch of winter weather. a pair of storms bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain to the rockies to the east coast this week. 72 million of us under winter weather alerts. dylan dreyer will break it down. tale of two storms. >> it is the tale of two storms. let's go through the details here. this is storm number one. this is storm number two and the watches and warnings associated with it. let's break down the first one. it is already starting to bring heavier snow through kentucky. charleston, west virginia, bringing some snow. heavy rain on the south side of it. snow will take hold across virginia. then it will move through the mid atlantic. this is not a new york city storm. this is a philadelphia, washington, d.c., type of snowstorm, whehere we cod end up with several inches of snow. you go further south across southern v

against doj's involvement with the system are still pending. >> that's nbc's peter alexander with thatt and host of the 11th hour, stephanie ruhle. it's great having you all with us. stephanie, let so let's break this down a little bit if we can, okay? because there are a lot of different layers here. let's first of all talk about what i think most americans are just hearing generally that don't follow the news like day in and day out. god bless them. they're hearing about a president that's going after waste, fraud and abuse they like that's always popular. they're going after employees, federal employees. they're saying they want to trim the workforce. i think most people would like that. they're they're also they're talking about instituting basically best practices, right? getting the biggest bang for the taxpayer buck. they like that as well. so we have all that over here. so people are going, how in the world could he be doing this and why? well, it's because these are generally it's kind of like, you know, controlling the border from having fentanyl and illegal immigrants coming

nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander brings us the latest. >> overnight, the.oversees usaid. it comes just a day after the ig's office released a report. detailing the potential risks of the administration's dramatic downsizing of the agency. according to a letter obtained by nbc news, all of it as the president and his top lieutenant, billionaire elon musk, say musk's team at the department of government efficiency has identified billions of dollars in fraud and waste without providing specific evidence. >> when you get down to it, it's going to be probably close to $1 trillion. >> musk in the oval office with his four year old son. >> in. >> tow, insisting the federal. government is filled with. corruption again without evidence, we're. >> talking. >> about known fraudsters, known aspects of waste. >> musk's doge team's operations have been shrouded in secrecy, entering. >> agencies without warning. >> and accessing sensitive data systems. >> i don't know of a case where. >> an organization has been more transparent than the doge organization. >> top democrat

. >> correspondent peter alexander brings us the latest. >> this morning, ukrainian claims of a dramatic authorities at this point saying there does not seem. >> to. >> be a. >> breach of the. radioactive material container. >> russia says. >> it would not carry out strikes on nuclear facilities. still, the strike comes just after president trump. >> signaled a sympathetic. >> tone toward russian president vladimir putin in negotiations over the war, saying he. >> trusts the russian leader after their call this week. >> i know him very well. yeah, i think he wants peace. i think he would tell me if he didn't. >> zelenskyy says. >> he will not accept. any deal without. ukrainian input. >> president trump. >> and. >> defense secretary pete. hegseth have suggested ukraine will likely have to give up some of its territory that russia has seized. earlier, the president offering an. olive branch, insisting russia should rejoin the g-7 that represents the world's most advanced economies. more than. >> a. >> decade after it was expelled for annexing that territory. >> i'd love to have them back.

have two reports for you this morning, starting with nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexandern of gaza. more than 2 million palestinians who call the war ravaged territory home, insisting. >> the united. states should. >> take it over. >> and redevelop. >> the area. >> everybody i've spoken to loves the idea of the united % land. >> hosting israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the white house, the president said palestinians should. >> be taken in. by countries. >> like egypt and jordan, but many. >> gazans do. >> not want to leave, and neighboring. >> arab. >> countries have repeatedly said they will not. >> take them in. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell pressed. >> the president about. >> the proposed. u.s. takeover of. >> a sovereign territory. >> what authority would allow you to do that? are you talking about a permanent occupation there? redevelopment. >> i do see a long term ownership position, and i see it bringing great stability to that part of the middle east and maybe the entire middle east. >> later, when asked, president. >> trump did not. rule out deploying. >>