NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

Trump administration offers buyouts to all 2 million federal workers; Undocumented migrants in New York arrested in Trump crackdown on illegal immigration; Tuberculosis outbreak reported in Kansas; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, President Trump testing the limits of his power, the White House ordering a pause on multiple forms of federal financial assistance, the chaos and confusion in Washington, and the swift backlash, including lawsuits, a federal judge late tonight delaying the start date, plus President Trump's new buyout offer for all federal employees, ICE roundups in New York City, the new Homeland Security secretary there as undocumented immigrants are arrested, including, she says, a ringleader of a violent gang. Dangerous outbreak. The unprecedented spread of tuberculosis in Kansas. The historic number of cases detected. Kennedy family split on the eve of his confirmation hearing to lead American health agencies.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin, Caroline Kennedy, blasting him as a, quote, predator. Returned to Auschwitz, she was a 14-year-old when the Nazi death camp was liberated. At age 94, she returns for the first time, showing our Jessie Curse what she says the world must remember tiktok's newest suitors the big tech execs who could be lining up to buy the popular app as the new deadline to avoid a shutdown nears the airbus a321 catching fire while preparing for flight plus the good news tonight for two beloved endangered manatees returning to the scene. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. The speed of President Trump's rush to remake the federal government may have left some in its wake today and ultimately caused a federal judge to step in,

temporarily halting an abrupt Trump administration order to pause spending on federal grants and loans. The order outlined in an early morning memo left many organizations that depend on federal funds, from nonprofits to state programs, confused and scrambling for some clarity. The White House stressing the spending pause would not apply to funds that are directly paid to individuals. The two-page memo from the Office of Management and Budget specifically calls out foreign aid and programs that tend to be favored on the political left. The court today pausing the White House plan for a week. But now tonight, a sweeping new shakeup to report, hitting the email boxes of

every federal worker. It's where we begin with Garrett Haik. Tonight, as part of his promise to reduce government spending, President Trump is making more than two million federal workers an offer. Quit now and accept a severance package. NBC News first reporting federal employees received the offer by email late this afternoon. The White House expects 5 to 10 percent of the federal workforce to accept it, which could lead to $100 billion in annual savings. But tonight, in a blow to the administration, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the president's attempt at another government shakeup.

After the Office of Management and Budget overnight ordered a temporary pause on grant, loan, or federal financial assistance programs that might run counter to President Trump's executive orders. It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs. It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. President Trump is looking out for you by issuing this pause because he is being good steward of your taxpayer dollars. Democrats immediately assailed the president's action.

Law enforcement, rural hospitals, aid to the elderly, food for people in need. This decision is lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel. While several state Democratic attorneys general sued to block the move. When Congress dedicates funding for a program, the president cannot hold that funding on a whim. But Republicans defending the freeze. Let's get a handle on all this spending and figure out if it's going where it's supposed to go. Tonight, the White House saying individual federal assistance would not be paused or reviewed under its plan. Social security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted

by this pause. But all of it sparked confusion about who would be impacted. The White House says Head Start, the early childhood education program for low-income families, would not be affected. But Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy posting, quote, Head Start reimbursement system is shut down in his state. What was your reaction when you heard about this order overnight? Yeah, it was a shock to ask. While in Florida, Talithia Edwards' four-year-old son Raymond is one of the more than 800,000 children served by the program. She told me the uncertainty is nerve-wracking. You look for other options, but there aren't many options when you think about affordability and child care.

Garrett, that judge temporarily blocking the pause on federal assistance until a hearing next week. Meantime, President Trump has issued a new executive order impacting transgender children and teens. What can you tell us about that? week. Meantime, President Trump has issued a new executive order impacting transgender children and teens. What can you tell us about that? That's right, Lester. This order says the U.S. will not fund, promote or assist in any way with transition surgeries for anyone under age 19, including directing government health care providers to exclude coverage for pediatrics, transgender surgeries or hormone treatments, all of it likely to spark a legal challenge. Lester.

Garrett Haig starting us off. Thanks. Another cornerstone of the Trump administration cracking down on undocumented migrants playing out here in New York today as we learn of a quota for arrests. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, New York City at the center of President Trump's escalating crackdown on illegal immigration. Federal agents arresting an alleged ringleader for the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren del Agua, who they say is wanted for kidnapping and assault.

New Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in body armor overseeing the roundup. We're getting the dirt bags off these streets. President Trump last night touting the ongoing arrests. We are throwing them the hell out of our country. We have no apologies and we're moving forward very fast. Two sources familiar with the planning confirmed NBC News ICE leadership has told agents to increase their arrest of undocumented immigrants to 1,200 to 1,500 per day nationwide. One source calling it a quota, adding agents may be penalized for not meeting it.

Across the country, Trump's deportations are sparking both fierce backlash... There's a real goal here to stoke fear into the American people. ...and strong support. I'm really happy it's happening. Very happy, actually. After NBC News reported nearly half of undocumented immigrants arrested Sunday had no prior criminal record besides being in the country illegally. NBC's Peter Alexander asking the White House. So is violent offenders no longer the predicate for these people to be deported?

If you are an individual, a foreign national, who illegally enters the United States of America, you are, by definition, a criminal. The cost of all this can be staggering. Two sources familiar with the process tell NBC News deporting one migrant runs around $10,500. Here in New York, city officials estimate it costs an average of $352 a night to house asylum seekers. Are you scared? No, I'm not scared. Catherine Espancha from Venezuela says she and her daughters have stayed at this hotel, a migrant shelter, for six months. That could be a price tag to taxpayers of more than $63,000. And three sources familiar with the

planning tell NBC News that large-scale arrests will now happen in three U.S. cities per week. Lester. Gabe Gutierrez in New York. Thank you. A troubling health alert to tell you about tonight, a tuberculosis outbreak that's been going on in Kansas with almost 150 people infected. We get more from Anne Thompson. A modern day outbreak of an ancient disease, tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that affects the lungs now in the Kansas City, Kansas area. State officials report 67 active cases in two counties and 79 latent cases where people are infected but not sick and can't spread it to others. There are two deaths associated with the outbreak,

which health officials say started in January 2024. Though officials say the risk to the public remains very low, a state official told the Kansas Senate committee they are doing everything they can. We have and still have mobilized staff and resources addressing an unprecedented tuberculosis outbreak in one of our counties. Some of the patients are under the care of the University of Kansas Health System and Dr. Dana Hawkinson. How sick are these people in this outbreak? I mean, it ranges from very mild symptoms that may have been persistent for several weeks or months to extremely ill patients who've had symptoms for quite a while, but then seek medical care. And by that time, they are extremely ill.

How long does it take to clear? We do have treatment for this disease. And typically the treatment lasts about six months. TB is an airborne disease spread when someone coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include coughing, chest pains, fever, and fatigue. And I was surprised to hear him say six months. And let me ask you, what can we do to protect ourselves from getting TB? You know, Lester, there really isn't much you can do, doctors say. But they do say the most important thing is that if you get it, you need to help those public health officials trace your contacts because that will help stop the spread. All right.

And thank you. Health concerns will be front and center tomorrow at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing for health and Human Services Secretary. He's facing sharp criticism from his cousin, Caroline, and some parents concerned about his potential vaccine policies. Erin McLaughlin has our story, a collaboration with KFF Health News. Tonight, on the eve of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Senate confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Bobby himself is a predator. Caroline Kennedy is lashing out at her cousin, calling him unqualified to oversee critical agencies, including the FDA and CDC, pointing in part to his stance on vaccines. Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children vaccinating his own kids while building a following, hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating

theirs. Do you have any response to the letter released by Caroline Kennedy? RFK Jr. ignored NBC News' questions today, but his cousin's concern is echoed in Franklin, Tennessee. It's very scary that that person is going to be making public health decisions for our family and the country as a whole. Jen Fisher's 12-year-old son, Raleigh, was born with a congenital heart condition that makes him more vulnerable to all types of sickness. Her fear now made worse, Jen says, by growing vaccine skepticism within the Franklin community.

What does that mean for Raleigh? It's a scarier thing to send him out the door every morning. It's cold and flu season. There's a lot of illness going around. Here in Tennessee, according to the CDC, more and more parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children against preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough. A reality Dr. Daniel McGinley says he is increasingly confronting in his practice. Do you worry that people are going to die because of this skepticism?

Some will. You're confident that that is going to happen? If these diseases come back, more people will die. Vaccine skepticism is growing across 40 states plus Washington, D.C. Last school year, the percentage of kindergartners exempted from one or more mandatory vaccines was the highest ever recorded, fueled by online conspiracies and high-profile critics of vaccines and vaccine mandates, like RFK Jr.

There's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective. Since his nomination, he said he's not anti-vaccine and he won't take them away. But parents like Fisher say they'll be watching tomorrow's confirmation hearing closely, knowing that for Raleigh and children like him, the stakes are high. Erin McLaughlin, NBC News, Franklin, Tennessee. In 60 seconds, time running out for a sale of TikTok to avert a ban in the U.S. The big tech execs who could buy it. Plus, we put AI's newest player to the test amid national security concerns over its Chinese ownership.

Some terrifying moments tonight at an airport in South Korea where an Airbus plane caught fire just before a flight to Hong Kong. Fire officials said 169 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated. Three suffered minor injuries. South Korea's news agency said the fire began in the plane's tail. TikTok is back online and some major tech executives may now be in the running to buy the app before it faces a potential ban here in the U.S. Savannah Sellers has more. The list of potential TikTok buyers continues to grow, with President Trump saying. The latest tech giant Microsoft. I would say yes.

A lot of interest in TikTok. Microsoft had no comment, but CEO Satya Nadella emerged as a top contender to buy TikTok in 2020 when Mr. Trump initially wanted to ban the app. Other suitors could include tech titan Elon Musk and Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Are you open to Elon buying TikTok? I would be if he wanted to buy it. I'd like Larry to buy it too. Musk notably has not commented on rumors he'd make of it. Ellison's Oracle already stores TikTok data. Mr. Trump signing an executive order last week, pausing a ban on the app from taking effect for 75 days,

while his administration explores a potential sale or investment, later saying it could happen within 30 days. TikTok's parent company's Chinese ownership sparking national security concerns that China could steal user data or manipulate content. TikTok says that's not true. Those concerns echoing around another Chinese-owned app climbing the charts, DeepSeek, an AI chatbot now on the White House's radar. As for the national security implications, I spoke with NSC this morning. They are looking into what those may be. Deep Seek notes in its privacy policy, it collects user keystrokes and stores that information

on Chinese servers. And Savannah joins me now. You've been testing this app. I'm curious what you saw. Absolutely, Lester. Let me tell you about one of our experiences. So we asked Deep Seek about China's Great Firewall. That's their internet censorship and surveillance system.

It paused for a moment. Then it spit out a lengthy answer. But that answer was only visible for seconds. It was then wiped and replaced with a message saying that it was beyond its scope and asking to talk about something else. If you do ask it, though, about recipes or resume help, it does complete those tasks quickly. Interesting. Savannah, thanks very much. Up next, the pointed message from an American Holocaust survivor. We're with her on her first return to Auschwitz 80 years later.

We're back now with an extraordinary journey of horror, hope and salvation. It's a story of one woman, an American Holocaust survivor who returned to Auschwitz today for the first time. Jesse Kirsch met with her there. Fog and snow cannot hide the horrors that unfolded here. There are many things I blocked out completely. The electrified fences caging people like animals. The starvation. The gas chambers. What are you feeling right now? That I can't go in. I don't want to go in. I want to see where my family and whole world was killed, my whole world. This place is a reflection

of humanity's worst. But at 94 years old, Ruth Cohen had to return. She was ripped from her home, forced onto cattle cars with her family. She remembers arriving at Auschwitz. First, my dad went that way with men. My mother went that way with my brother and my little cousins. And we went that way. This is the last place 14-year-old Ruth saw her mother, her little brother, and two young cousins. They were likely immediately gassed.

It's awful, and it's terrible. I didn't know about the gas chambers. I didn't know about the crematorium. Now that I know about it, it hurts even more. Ruth says she and her sister were sent to this blockhouse. They slept on a wooden plank. Six of us slept this way. Six of us slept that way.

So there were 12 in one little area. Was your sister here with you? Yes. Did you sleep right next to each other? Yes. Every night? Yes. Having her there with you, did that help? sleep right next to each other? Yes. Every night? Yes. Having her there

with you, did that help? I'm sure that it saved my life. She wants to take a photo here. You're smiling. I'm here and Hitler lost. Ruth, her sister, and their father were eventually transferred to other concentration camps where they were liberated. What did this place take away from you? My life until I got it back. Took my family, was only one year, 13 months, but it took a life away. They built a new life in America. Now she wants to make sure history does not repeat itself. Nobody is remembering what happened. So Ruth continues to share her story.

I have to be a witness for the world that I went through the horrors. I made it. I survived. I made a life. I have children, wonderful children who are going to carry my, not my legacy, but my history. She's sharing that history today with her daughter, Barbara, who found her grandmother and namesake in this book of names. Just so real. I mean, my grandmother's part of me. I have her name. What would you tell people to do to prevent something like this happening again?

I could say it in one word, love. Love would never permit something like this to happen. Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, Brzezinka, Poland. A powerful woman with a moving story. When we come back, there's good news tonight about the new push to save these gentle giants and the people who are making it happen. Finally tonight in Puerto Rico, efforts to save manatees from extinction made a big splash today. George Solis now with the good news tonight.

It's a moment more than five years in the making. A significant swim that may help ensure the survival of a species. Endangered female manatees, Loisa and Taikaraya, celebrated as they were released back into the waters of the Caribbean. The pair orphaned as calves after getting stranded and separated from their mothers. Nourished back to health by the Caribbean Manatee Conservation Center in Puerto Rico, run by Dr. Antonio Mignucci. Just how exciting was it to be there for their release today? Signifies a lot to us after five years of rehabilitation work

that these animals finally get to touch the salt water again and be able to carry on for the species. What is most important is that they make their own living in the ocean. The gentle giants, a national mammal of the island, now a healthy 500-plus pounds, and part of a multi-group effort to protect and conserve the species, which has long been threatened by loss of habitat, boat strikes, and infection. There are about 13,000 manatees worldwide, including 500 to 700 in

Puerto Rico. Dr. McNucci says thanks to an army of volunteers, donors, and sponsors, the center has been able to rehabilitate and release 11 manatees. The center will keep tabs on Loaiza and Taicaraya for the next year with the help of special radio transmitters as they begin life back in the waters where they belong. George Solis, NBC News. And that is nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt.

Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.