← Here's the Scoop
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- [00:03]
A
Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Laura Jarrett, your host this week, filling in for Yasmin Vazoukian. Coming up on the show here, the Supreme Court has some pretty big cases on its docket right now. We're going to dive in to their decisions and the impact on the economy. Plus how lawmakers are dealing with ice in their budget and why New Jersey is bringing cursive back from the dead. Before we get to all that, though, President Trump is heading to Davos, Switzerland today, where world leaders are gathering at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. But it might be a chilly reception. It comes after a weekend where Trump and EU leaders exchanged these heated text messages all about Greenland, which we know about because the president posted about them, these private text messages posted about them on Truth Social. So what's that going to mean for this meeting? For more on all this, I want to bring in NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba. Hey, Monica.
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B
Hey, Laura. Good to be with you.
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A
Good to have you. So Trump really set the tone going into this week by publishing those private text messages with these world leaders. What did you find most revealing about the texts and what do you think the goal is here?
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B
Text message diplomacy. This is what we're talking about in 2026. But this is really something that the president has been operating like this for years, in particular with some of these world leaders who it seems by viewing their text messages, I feel they know that these are not necessarily going to stay private, but they know that the way to potentially flatter the president or to reach him on a certain topic area is to sort of have a sandwich of the really important stuff in the middle. But start out with a little bit of praise or flattery, as you saw from the NATO secretary general or from the French president of I think what you're doing on Syria is great. We can work together on Iran. But in the middle saying, but I do think we can find a better way on Greenland or what you're doing on Greenland I don't agree with or.
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I don't even understand. Macron said, I don't understand what you're.
- [02:10]
B
Doing on Greenland and let's talk about it. And he invited him for a dinner in Paris, essentially saying, after you're wrapping things up in Davos, why don't you head over to Paris, we'll have a dinner, we can have some discussions with other world leaders and we can continue to talk about this. Now, we're told from a White House official there are no plans for the president to head to Paris once he wraps up at the World Economic Forum. But it is an incredible insight into the way that this president deals with allies, with other world leaders, and then the fact that he's willing to put this out there for everybody to see. And these world leaders now are prepared for that. They know that likely they may hear from him on Truth Social before they hear back from him directly. They're ready to be put on blast, but at the same time, they're hoping they can get to some of that face to face and in person when they are all on the ground in Switzerland.
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Well, it certainly sets the mood for this week as you think about the agenda for Davos, Greenland, obviously the biggest topic hanging over everything. The Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant, is already there. Here's what he had to say today.
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What I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath and let things play out. As I said on April 2, the worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.
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But he also said people should take the president at his word. And President Trump said in his post last night, there's, quote, no going back on Greenland, so not backing down. And, and meantime, we've seen these responses, kind of incredible responses from EU leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron.
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We do believe that we need more.
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Growth, we need more stability in this.
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World, but we do prefer respect to bullies, we do prefer science to plotism, and we do prefer rule of law to brutality.
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Monica, what is the goal here? Is a win this week, an agreement on Greenland?
- [04:04]
B
I think, for the president, who for years European leaders thought he was joking about Greenland. His goal is to be taken seriously when it comes to this, that this is not some wild idea, that this is not something from the first term that didn't actually happen, that this time around, this is not something that he thinks should be met with derision. He wants to see this as a business negotiation. He wants to make this a larger argument about national security, which you're gonna continue to hear. And he has been saying that in the last couple of. But he really views this. And I'm told when you speak with White House officials, he's emboldened because of what has happened on the world stage in the last couple of weeks. When you look at what happened to Venezuela and the capturing of Nicolas Maduro, when you look at what he has done with the initial steps to set up this board of peace for Gaza, when you look at what he views as his own perceived accomplishments here, he feels like he can now take the conversation to Greenland and have some similar success. Again, I don't think that he's gonna walk out this week with some kind of deal, but he just wants to get European leaders to view this in the way that he does. He wants those leaders to come away from this week saying, we understand the President's point of view better. Let's see if there's a way now in which we can have a conversation about it. And if not, according to the President, that would be the easy way, in his words. And if not, he says then he'll go about it the hard way. And that's why he hasn't ruled out this military takeover. Even though those close to him don't feel like that's what's coming next, they feel like that's a down the line. And then that's also meant to be a pressure tactic that the President is gonna continue to employ.
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A
You also mentioned the Board of Peace. Can you explain to folks just what is that and why is the President so determined to push for this?
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It's fascinating because the way that this is being set up and this is meant to, to govern and oversee the rebuilding and the security of Gaza after phase one, which was the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, was put in place. The President is inviting, it seems, dozens of countries to potentially participate. Some of them have already said they're not going to be a part of it. France, for instance, has said they will deny the invitation. But others, like Vladimir Putin and Russia, the President said he has invited them. He would be the leader of it. President Trump would be the leader of it. And then the thing that is generating a lot of controversy and a lot of question marks on how it would work is this question of a sort of fee that these countries are perhaps being asked to pay. The White House says that there is no minimum fee to join the Board of Peace. But Bloomberg reported that that There is a $1 billion fee attached for what would be called permanent membership on the Board of Peace. So we don't really know how this is going to work. We don't really know how much these countries are pledging, how that money will be managed. But this is another way in which the President thinks he can invite countries and leaders to be a part of something that he's driving. And many times these leaders feel that if they want to curry favor with the President or with the United States, this is one way to potentially do that.
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Monica? President Trump came out at the White House press conference today with this big book Labeled accomplishments. What do you think the administration is gonna take away from how this first year has gone and how they're gonna use this as a playbook for the next couple years?
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If you look at the raw data of what he has been able to do this year compared to his first term and compared to other periods in that first term of his presidency, to me, what stands out is that the President seems to understand how to wield his power in a way that he didn't necessarily in the first term. He has signed 229 executive orders in the last year. That is compared to 55 that he did in the first year of his first term. That's compared to 77 executive orders that President Biden signed in his first year in office. This is a president who has now surrounded himself with people who make it their business to execute on the goals and the mission of this administration and its policies in a way that is incredibly effective compared to other years. They have.
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They're not there to push back.
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No. And they have learned that the President wants to be surrounded with people who can make possible what he wants to see happen. Certainly a lot of those executive orders have been challenged. There have certainly been complications related to his massive tariff policy, more of which could come when the Supreme Court weighs in on that tariff policy.
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But if you think about it, most of them, even if they've been challenged, have been largely upheld. Most of the moves that he has wanted to make have either been sort of, you know, put on the back burner a little bit, but haven't been out outright struck down.
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And what stands out to me, Laura, too, is that it's not just on the big picture things of policy and immigration. It's on the smaller scale, things that he also deeply cares about, like White House renovations. He spends so much time on a daily basis talking about these projects, talking about the ballroom. He is so personally and directly involved and invested in choosing the onyx and the marble for the ballroom as he is deciding what countries he wants to be on the Board of Peace and what the plan could look like to acquire Greenland. That is kind of the scope that is what encapsulates this presidency for him and what I think should be a big roadmap on what the next three years will look like.
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Monica Alba, thank you.
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Thanks so much.
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Coming up after a quick break, how the Supreme Court is looking at some of the President's first year decisions, including those tariffs that Monica mentioned. Stay with us. Back pain and stiffness made mornings rough.
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And.
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We'Re back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Davos isn't the only place where President Trump's economic agenda is on the table this week. The U.S. supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Wednesday in one of the most significant cases of the term, one that will determine whether the president can legally fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Now, this case is being closely watched, obviously because of its legal implications. It's all about the power of the presidency. But it's also got potentially an enormous impact on the economy. And while markets are keeping their eye out for a decision that could come any day now on the legality of these tariffs, the president is watching very closely, too. So think of this week as where the law meets the economy. Here to break it all down is NBC News senior business correspondent Christine Romans. Hi, Christine.
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B
Hi Laura.
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Let's start with Trump's, I guess, favorite type of diplomacy that we've seen so far, tariffs. Over the weekend, the president threatened a fresh round targeting eight European countries, and they're pushing back against his attempts to take over Greenland. How are the markets reacting?
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Look, markets are unsettled because they thought the worst of the tariff drama was behind us. And now you've got new tariffs threatened because of something that is different than we've seen before. This is about buying or annexing or the United States halving Greenland. Something obviously that NATO countries are appalled by that idea. The president saying, hey, you're not on board with my plan. I'm going to put tariffs on you, and then I'm going to ratchet up those tariffs. So clearly, market don't like the idea of entering another year with the threat of new tariffs.
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And they're contemplating tariffs on the US as well?
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Absolutely. They would have counterterroriffs. Those would go into effect, I think, by February 7th. That is by definition what a trade war is. When you put on tariffs, they put on retaliatory tariffs, and then suddenly you've got trade with these huge costs on both sides of the border. That's what a trade war looks like.
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So those would be new tariffs this year, but we also had tariffs last year, sweeping tariffs, and yet this morning, no word from the Supreme Court on tariffs. And court watchers like myself, who had been frantically refreshing the Supreme Court website, still no decision. The conventional wisdom seems to be that the markets have priced in a Trump loss at the Supreme Court, probably based off of how the questioning went at oral argument. But would you agree? Every day that goes by and these tariffs are still in place and the companies are racking them up, the company should be open to the idea that Trump may win this case.
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To be honest, the smaller the company, the more they're freaking out. I mean, a Trump loss in their eyes would mean they would get some kind of a refund from the federal government for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in tariffs they've paid. I'm thinking of one company in Salt Lake City that I profiled where they've paid by Christmas time. They've paid a million dollars more this year in tariffs than they'd paid the year before for holiday stuff that they sell. In a perfect world, they would get all of that money back and that you would think that'd be a boost for them. But if the White House turns around and finds new authorities to go ahead and put those tariffs on, just using a different vehicle, which they signal they're open to, which they've said that they want to do, then does this company stay in business or not? So you see, there's still all this uncertainty Whether Trump wins or loses, there's still an awful lot of uncertainty, especially for medium and small sized businesses.
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Okay. Speaking of the Supreme Court and Trump, they are taking on another big one tomorrow as it relates to his power to fire Lisa Cook, who, as we remember, currently still occupies her seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. But the President has tried to fire her, and she still has her job because the Supreme Court refused to give in when the Trump administration tried to appeal a lower court ruling on this.
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So President Trump tried to fire Lisa Cook. He said that he didn't like her paperwork for some mortgages, a primary mortgage and a secondary mortgage. He was gonna remove her for cause, just that. So the court stepped in and said, no, no, this has never been tested before, this idea that a President can remove somebody for cause. So this is the first big test. And the Supreme Court finally said, no, she can continue on her job while we work through here. So you have a person who is making decisions, voting at the Federal Reserve, who the President wants out. And so this is this huge conflict in tension happening right now between the executive branch and the independent Federal Reserve designed to be separate from the White House.
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It's really more than just about Lisa Cook. It's really about whether he can fire someone on the Fed, which was at least historically seen as off limits, independent. The Court has said the Fed is supposed to be special, Right? We could talk about things that could move markets. The Fed is not supposed to be just like any other quasi independent agency. If, in fact, the court says, oh, no, you can fire Lisa Cook, why does that matter?
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It matters because it is so unsettling for the independence of the Fed and for the very foundation, I think, of the global trading system. Don't take it from me. I'm quoting the CEOs of banks, former Federal Reserve officials, former top administration officials in both parties who have gone out there in a letter saying, you cannot impinge on the independence of the Fed. And this assault from the White House on the Fed's independence is dangerous. It could drive up interest rates. It could do the opposite of what the President wants. The President wants lower interest rates. His methods of trying to get that, ironically, could destabilize the very institution that you need to keep interest rates low. Think about it this way. The Fed are the shock absorbers on the American economy, right? So whoever's driving the car, in this case, the President of the United States, however fast that person's driving the car, how they're driving the car, the Fed are the shock absorbers. The Fed is only there to make sure that there are enough jobs for people who need them and that you're not having sticker shock for every single thing you're paying for every day. And that's what they have to do. On the Lisa Cook matter, the fact that on a Main street newspaper, anyone would see the name Lisa Cook is not something that would have happened.
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No, wait, these are not household names. No one knows who these people are.
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The whole thing was designed to be insulated, buffered, siloed off from the political process. So these people could just do their job, look at boring data and decide what was most important for the American economy. And the American economy in terms of growing jobs and keeping inflation under wraps. Fed governors have 14 year terms. They can only be fired for cause that has never been tested. The President's trying to test this for.
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Cause so he can appoint them, but he's not supposed to be able to fire them. Just like any other Cabinet official, his.
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Job is appointing them and that's it. And here's what's really fascinating. The Federal Reserve chief, Jay Powell has been. I've been in these meetings where someone, if not all of us, are trying to get him to talk about what's happening from the President, calling him a jerk, telling him he's too late. This sort of nerdy, boring guy is being attacked by the President and we're trying to get him to comment on it and that he just will not take the bait. But something has switched recently. He actually stood up when it was announced that the doj. He announced that the DOJ had a criminal investigation.
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He went on the offense.
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He went on the offense, said the DOJ was investigating the Fed for a $2.5 billion renovation project for its multiple buildings. And he went and looked right into a camera and they posted it on social media. The actual Fed chief talking about the pretext of the White House. And that had never happened before. That was so shocking. And it was a new tack from the Fed chief.
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NBC has confirmed that he is actually going to go to the Supreme Court tomorrow in support of Lisa Cook. What are you learning from people who know him well? Like, what is going on with him? Why are we seeing Powell 2.0?
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So this is a new strategy. It's so symbolic. It really shows that he cares about the optics of this situation. He wants the Fed's work to stand for itself. And the idea is people who know him say he's been forced into this corner. And so now he's taking this new tack of being much more, I think, I won't say forceful, but he is certainly standing up and he knows he's drawing the fire.
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What is the market doing with this case? How is the market feeling about it?
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So one veteran advisor to central banks told me that all of this is terrible for the independence of the US Central bank, but in the end, the feeling is the institutions will hold that. That's what some of these veteran players are saying because they believe that a.
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Check from the Supreme Court will sort of be the last bulwark to, to stop an overreach. Why do they?
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Even if the president were able to get one or two people on that Fed board who say that they picked up the phone and did whatever Donald Trump says, even if the president got exactly what he wanted with two people on that Fed board, those two people couldn't make the decision. What happens to the Fed? There's a bunch of people on that board that are making the decision. It is a consensus driven body, so it might not make any difference.
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Christine, thank you. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day. Something tells me you and I are gonna be doing a lot more talking about Lisa Cook, which as you said, wasn't a household name. But now here we go. Christine Romans, thank you. We're gonna take a quick break and when we're back, what's in the house funding package and where measles is running rampant?
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Hey guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together superstar Bad Bunny to talk about his path from Puerto Rico to the top of the music world. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.
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D
On the night before Halloween in 1975, 15 year old Martha Moxley was murdered. But police failed to make an arrest until in 2000, her one time neighbor Michael Skakel was arrested. He was also a cousin of the guy. The Kennedy connection is the reason that most people know about this case. But the deeper I dug, the more I came to question everything I thought I knew. Dead Certain the Martha Moxley Murder. All episodes are available now wherever you get your podcasts.
- [22:10]
C
Once upon a time in an icy winter world, a wicked woman stole a child. Only the power of love can save him and defeat her. The Snow Queen, new to Morrison Mysteries. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.
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Welcome back to here's the scoop from NBC News. All right, let's get to some headlines. The Justice Department has issued subpoenas to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry and other state and local elected leaders. The DOJ is investigating whether they conspired to impede law enforcement during federal immigration operations in the state. St. Paul's Mayor Kali Herr and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison were also subpoenaed, according to a document reviewed by NBC News and a person familiar with the investigation. NBC has reached out to their offices for comment. In a statement, Ellison said the subpoena was for records and documents, not for him personally. Fry sharply criticized the Trump administration in his statement to NBC News saying, quote, in Minneapolis, we won't be afraid. Meanwhile, officials are raising questions about ICE arrests, including that of a U.S. citizen who was taken from his home this weekend. Here's NBC News correspondent Maggie Vespa from Minneapolis.
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This video and the story of this arrest are going super viral. You see Chong Li, Scott Tao, a 57 year old naturalized US citizen with local officials say no criminal record being led out of his St. Paul home in shorts, crocs and with a blanket draped over his shoulders.
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That's it.
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And you can see it's snowing and he's surrounded by federal officers. He would later tell reporters those officers came to his front door over the weekend, pointed a gun in his face and demanded his id, which his daughter in law went and got. He then says they declined to look at it and they drove him around for an hour and he says fingerprinted him and cleared him and then dropped him back off. Now DHS says they were looking for two sex offenders who they say live at that address and that Tao fit the description, although they didn't give names as to who exactly they were looking for. His family in a statement flatly denies that sex offenders live at that address. They dispute DHS's account. And St. Paul's mayor, who says Tao is actually a family friend, is speaking out. She called this devastating to watch and un American.
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ICE funding could be at the center of the next government funding fight. Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators just released a massive spending package aimed at fully funding the government before the shutdown deadline of January 30th. But the package includes money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And Democrats in the House and Senate have insisted they would reject any funding bill without additional policies to restrain the agency. In their view. The top Democrat on this committee, Rosa Delorio, said the bill takes several steps in the right direction, but added it does not include broader reforms Democrats proposed. For example, the deal allocates $20 million for the procurement, deployment and operations of body worn cameras for ICE agents, cuts funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations and reduces the number of ICE detention beds by 5,500. There is a major measles outbreak spreading across South Carolina right now, including at Clemson University, where state officials confirmed the first case of the highly contagious disease. South Carolina has seen a surge in cases over 550since last fall, with over 120 diagnosed in the past week alone. The state's Department of Public Health said a majority of those South Carolina patients are children and teens, and most are unvaccinated. Measles had been declared eliminated officially in the US in 2000, but the disease has been spreading across the country at an alarmingly fast rate. And before we go, what do a letter from your grandma, Revolutionary War documents and the signature on your paycheck all have in common? They're all written in cursive. And they have become nearly indecipherable by a growing population that communicates via email, text, DMs, and voice notes. Well, that could be about to change. A growing number of states, including Georgia, Kentucky, California, they're all bringing cursive back. And this week, New Jersey joined the ranks and will be requiring schools to teach cursive in grades three through five. But before you write cursive off, experts say the handwriting style actually improves reading, memory and fine motor skills in children. Hope my 6 year old is listening to this. And with that, I'm going to be signing off from. Here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Laura Jarrett. We'll be back here tomorrow with whatever the news may bring. And if you like what you heard, why not rate and review us in your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.
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Where was she? The disappearance of Carrie Farmer was quite unlike any other because Carrie hadn't exactly vanished, but retreated beyond the shadows to release rage in torrents of text messages.
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And it just went on and on and on.
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Beyond diabolical, beyond the macabre to murder a story straight out of left field.
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You'Re on edge as to what's going to happen next.
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Next.
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I'm Keith Morrison, and this is Something About Carrie, an all new podcast from Dateline. Listen to all episodes now. Wherever you get your podcasts.