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Today is Friday, February 6th. We're talking about what could be a big change to the Alex Preddy shooting investigation and what Democrats say are dramatic changes they're demanding from ice. Also, a new timeline in the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother and details from the ransom notes left behind. Plus, President Trump's discount drug website just launched. Part of the country could be in for the coldest temperatures of the season and one of the biggest weekends ever for sports fans. We're gearing up for both the super bowl and Winter Olympics. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. The federal government and state of Minnesota have reportedly reached a critical compromise today. As the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the FBI will start working with state authorities as they investigate the deadly shooting of Alex Preddy. That's been one of state officials top demands ever since Preddy was killed by federal age. It's not clear whether they'll also get access to investigative materials collected after Renee Goode's death, even though she was also shot by a federal agent. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are demanding what they're calling dramatic changes to rein in all agents carrying out President Trump's immigration crackdown in Minnesota and beyond. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries put out a list of 10 demands. They include a clear use of force policy, complete with more training and certification requirements protections for sensitive places like hospitals, schools, churches and courts a ban on ice, stopping, questioning or searching people based on how they look, what language they speak or where they're located. And more Democrats say unless those conditions are included, they won't support a funding deal to keep the Homeland Security Department running well. Top Senate Republicans like Majority Leader John Thune are calling the demands unrealistic and unserious. And he has proposals of his own. For example, Thune says there needs to be a serious discussion about harassment law enforcement officers have been facing as they try to do their jobs and better cooperation with local officials, among other things. Lawmakers have just one more week to pass the spending package. And as of this morning, top congressional leaders say formal negotiations have not even started. Today, American and Iranian negotiators are coming face to face for a highly anticipated meeting. This is the first time the US and Iran have held talks since the 12 day war last summer with Israel, in which American fighter jets bombed and severely damaged Iranian nuclear facilities. And now Iran's nuclear program is expected to be the main sticking point of these talks. Speaking of nuclear programs, the so called New Start treaty we told you about yesterday that limited the world's largest nuclear arsenals did expire. Russia's President Putin publicly said he wanted to stick to the treaty's limits for another year. But President Trump said he was against that idea and on social media yesterday, he called on nuclear experts to work on a new, improved and modernized treaty. Still, even as New Start expired, the US And Russia did agree to resume high level military communication which has been suspended since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Pentagon called this an important step for global stability and peace. Authorities in Arizona say they absolutely believe Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother is still alive. But there are still no suspects and it's now been six days since 84 year old Nancy Guthrie went missing. Yesterday, the local sheriff gave more details about the night of her disappearance. For example, he said Guthrie's doorbell camera disconnected at around 1:50am the camera software detected a person about 20 minutes later, but no video was available. A trail of blood was later found outside the home and yesterday authorities confirmed it belonged to Nancy. Meanwhile, investigators are working to figure out if several ransom notes sent to media outlets are genuine. Already, one person was arrested for sending an illegitimate ransom threat to the Guthrie family, but others have not been traced yet. One of those letters reports Nancy Guthrie is okay but scared. It also says the Guthrie family would have no way of getting in contact. Still, Nancy's children are trying to reach out. Savannah's older brother, Cameron, posted another video on social media yesterday asking for a way to communicate. Meanwhile, security has been stepped up at NBC's Today show this week as Savannah's colleagues report the story. Journalists have questioned whether Nancy was targeted because of her daughter's high profile TV job, but local authorities say at this point they have no credible information pointing that way. The FBI has now announced a $50,000 reward for any significant leads in the case. Meteorologists say it could be the coldest air of the whole winter and it's headed for more than 100 million people in the Northeast this weekend. Dozens of daily cold temperature records are expected to be broken tomorrow and Sunday. Forecasts call for temps dropping into the single digits or below zero for much of the Northeast, including New York City, Philadelphia and Boston. Strong winds will make it feel even colder. Plus, windy conditions could cause tree damage and power outages. Eventually, milder or at least less cold air is expected in the east, but it may take until late next week to get there. More news still coming up, but first, a break for our sponsor. Not only is Wild Grain the first bake from frozen subscription box for cozy sourdough breads, delicious artisanal pastries, fancy fresh pastas and more, but it also uses simple ingredients you can actually pronounce and even a slow fermentation process that can be easier on your belly and richer in antioxidants. There's no preservatives and no shortcuts, and yet you can conveniently bake all of their items in 25 minutes or less. I mean the convenience of having it in the freezer without the guilt. I'm all in my family and I really love having warm sourdough bread on a busy weeknight and flaky, perfectly made croissants for weekend brunch. Plus, Wildgreen's boxes are fully customizable. In addition to their variety box, they have a gluten free box, vegan box, and a new protein box. There's nothing like having an artisan bakery in your freezer to chase away the winter chill. Now is the best time to stay in and enjoy comforting homemade meals with wild grain. I highly recommend giving Wild Grain a try. We love it in our household. And right now, Wildgrain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box, plus free Croissants for Life when you go to wildgrain.comnewsworthy to start your subscription today. That's $30 off your first box and free Croissants for Life when you visit wildgrain.comnewsworthy or use our promo code Newsworthy at checkout. Now back to the news. Trump RX is now up and running. That's the website President Trump spearheaded to help Americans buy prescription drugs directly at a discounted rate. It isn't really a platform for buying medications, though. Instead, it points Americans to drugmakers direct to consumer websites where they can make purchases. It also provides coupons to use at pharmacies through Goodrx. As of this morning, the site has more than 40 medications listed, including treatments for obesity, infertility, migraines and more. President Trump says more drugs will be added soon. Now, to be clear, most Americans are insured and they're likely to get a better deal on drugs through their coverage. Also, Trump Rx only offers discounts on brand name drugs, which are generally far pricier than generic versions that are also more commonly prescribed. Still, the site is now live for anyone who wants to comparison shop. It's about to get easier for President Trump to fire career officials in senior positions across the government. The Trump administration just made the biggest change to civil service rules in more than a century. Roughly 50,000 federal workers now fall into a new category that means they can be dismissed from for nearly any reason. Instead of the current, more lengthy process in which career employees have been able to appeal firings to an independent board, that will no longer be an option. The White House says the whole point is to improve performance and to stamp out what President Trump believes is a deep state undermining his agenda. But critics say it will leave workers vulnerable to being fired for political reasons unrelated to their job performance and that it could discourage whistleblowers. Plus, they worry it will increase turnover and raise costs. Now, as we've told you, the Trump administration has already fired or forced out hundreds of thousands of federal employees over the past year. And already this year, layoffs have surged in the private sector, too. New data from outplacement firm Challenger Gray and Christmas shows layoff announcements hit the highest January level since 2009. Some analysts say this is a sign employers are not optimistic about the year ahead, but others are hopeful things could turn around soon. The price of Bitcoin dipped another 10% yesterday, and with that, the world's largest cryptocurrency sunk to its lowest level since before President Trump was elected in 2024. Remember, Trump's victory helped propel bitcoin to record highs as he and his policies were considered crypto friendly. But now all those gains have been erased. In fact, bitcoin has dropped by about 50% in just four months. Many experts point to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, leading investors toward more secure assets. Of course, volatility is nothing new for bitcoin, and it's possible this low point doesn't last long. It's being called a full circle moment in the literary world. Spotify announced it will start selling paperback and hardcover books through its app. It comes at a time when physical book sales are sluggish because more people are turning to ebooks and other sources on the Internet, like audiobooks, which have been expanding on Spotify in the last couple of years. Now Spotify says it wants to expand the audience for all books, so it's selling the physical ones. As part of a partnership with bookshop.org, spotify will also launch Page Match. That will let people scan a page from a physical book or ebook and then jump to the matching point in the audiobook on Spotify. The feature will start rolling out later this month. The biggest single event in American sports is happening this year. This weekend. We're talking about Super Bowl Sunday this year. It's a rematch from 2015, the New England Patriots versus the Seattle Seahawks, but the teams are much different than they were then. Both the Patriots and Seahawks have new starting quarterbacks and head coaches. At this point. The Seahawks are considered favorites to win. And of course, the super bowl halftime show is one of the most coveted gigs in the music industry. And this year, Bad Bunny will be the first Latin artist to headline the halftime show on his own. Fans expect his performance will celebrate Puerto Rican tradition, rhythms and pride, much like his concerts, but it's already sparked controversy since many people are upset over the fact that Bad Bunny sings mostly in Spanish, openly supports immigrants and opposes President Trapp. Also performing Charlie Puth, who will be singing the Star Spangled Banner before the game. Brandi Carlisle will perform America the Beautiful and Coco Jones will perform Lift Every Voice and Sing. You can watch all of it on NBC and Peacock kickoff is at 6:40 Eastern. The 2026 Olympic Games formally kick off today. The opening ceremony is happening this afternoon at roughly 2pm Eastern, when it will be 8pm in Italy. As always, it's expected to be a massive display of pageantry celebrating the Games and all the athletes from around the world. This is actually the first time in Olympics history the opening event will be spread across multiple locations since there will be shows in both Milan and Cortina. There will be tons of performances from musical icons like Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, and Olympic officials say to expect some surprises. Of course, there will also be the usual parade of athletes and lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Then after the ceremony, it's time for the athletes to focus on competition. In total, There will be 116 medal events across 16 sports. Team USA will be fielding its largest Winter Olympics team ever with 232 athletes, including big stars like Lindsey Vonn, Mikayla Shiffrin and Chloe Kim. NHL players are also back on Olympic ice for the first time since 2014. Like the super bowl, the events will be on either NBC or Peacock. By the way, we spoke to an Olympic medalist who competed for Team USA back in 2018. She shares her unique journey to the Olympics and some behind the scenes of the Winter Games, including what it's really like to ride in a bobsled. That's on this weekend's special edition to Saturday episode available tomorrow morning. That's it for the May News today. So now it's time for Feel Good Friday when we bring you one extra Feel Good or positive news story before the weekend. But first I want to take a moment to tell you about Quince. Quince focuses on elevated essentials that are designed to layer, mix and last, whether it's organic cotton sweaters, premium stretch denim or those cotton cashmere blends that feel just right as the seasons change, everything is thoughtfully made to be worn again and again. I have a few quince pieces that I reach for constantly, from a soft cashmere sweater that's become my new go to to a washable silk tank that somehow works year round dressed up or down. Even my Quince Carry on suitcase has become a staple for travel. I love the compression features, it has, how it easily rolls and I like the color and look of it. And of course I wear my quince bracelet daily too. What I appreciate most is knowing that I'm not paying for brand hype. Quinte works directly with ethical, safe factories and cuts out the middlemen. The result is a wardrobe that feels polished, versatile and smart. Refresh your wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.comnewworthy for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.comnewworthy to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.comnewworthy okay, now back to Feel Good Friday. Some blind and low vision sports fans are getting unprecedented access to this weekend's Super Bowl. They're going to be using a tactile device that tracks where the ball goes, gives vibrations for key plays like touchdowns and tackles, and delivers real time audio commentary. The data comes from chips and cameras embedded in balls, jerseys and other key components of a game. The NFL already collaborated with One Court and Ticketmaster to test out the device 15 times during the regular season, and those who got to use it say it felt like getting their own new pair of eyes. Now one of the fans who will get the same opportunity during the super bowl told the AP it's hard to describe how much this means to him since he grew up playing and watching sports before he lost his vision. This technology won't go away after the super bowl either. One Court has partnered with NBA and MLB teams to provide its devices at games, and it's in talks to make them available at the NHL along with other leagues and sports organizations all over the world. Thank you so much for listening today. Be back tomorrow with our special edition Saturday episode about the Winter Olympics. Then we're back on Monday with the latest news to know for now. Have a great weekend.
