News Wrap: DHS says agents in Alex Pretti shooting on leave

Geoff Bennett:

We start today's other headlines in Minneapolis.

Homeland Security officials now say that the two federal agents who fired shots in the death of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti have been on administrative leave since it happened on Saturday. That contradicts a prior comment from Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who had said the agents had been transferred, but were still working. They have not been publicly identified.

It follows Trump aide Stephen Miller suggesting yesterday that the agents may not have been following protocol before the shooting.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio today defended the Trump administration's military operation to seize then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said President Trump had acted to take out a major national security threat to the U.S.

During what was the first public hearing since the January 3 raid, Rubio also pledged to work with Venezuelan authorities to stabilize that country. And he stressed that there was no other option.

Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State: You couldn't make a deal with this guy, right? This guy has made multiple deals. He's broken every one of them. It's not going to be like from one day to the next we're going to have this thing turn around overnight. But I think we're making good and decent progress.

Geoff Bennett:

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth pressed Rubio over the administration's decision to invoke a wartime law when entering Venezuela.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL):

And the president has already said that he's not ruled out the military option. And you have also just said that, yes, we are at war. The president has wartime powers.

Marco Rubio:

But every president retains the power to use military protection.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth:

So, it's reasonable for me to ask you...

Marco Rubio:

And I gave you a very specific example. Every president retains the right to defend the United States against an imminent threat.

Geoff Bennett:

During his testimony, the secretary of state also tried to ease concerns among Democratic lawmakers about the administration's approach to Greenland NATO, Iran, and China.

The Federal Reserve is hitting the brakes on interest rate cuts after three cuts last year. It comes despite relentless pressure from the Trump administration to lower rates even more.

Speaking this afternoon, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy's outlook has clearly improved since the Fed's last meeting in December. That's despite stubbornly high inflation. And he signaled that Fed officials see little reason to rush further cuts.

Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman:

The economy's growing at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has been broadly stable, and inflation remains somewhat elevated. So we will be looking to our goal variables and letting the data light the way for us.

Geoff Bennett:

Powell was asked about his appearance last week at the U.S. Supreme Court for a hearing into the Trump administration's efforts to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Powell called it -- quote -- "perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed's 113-year history."

Weather officials are warning of what they're calling the longest duration of cold in several decades for parts of the Southern and Eastern U.S. Many areas remain covered in ice following last weekend's storm that has now claimed at least 50 lives.

In Mississippi, crews worked to restore power and clear trees toppled by last weekend's winter storm. Nearly 400,000 customers were still without power today from Texas to Tennessee.

Further north, in places like Pennsylvania, many people have been waiting days for their streets to be plowed. That's as another significant winter storm looks set to hit the Eastern U.S. this coming weekend.

For the first time in history, a woman now leads the Church of England.

Woman:

Archbishop Sarah, we welcome you.

Congregation:

We welcome you.

Geoff Bennett:

Sarah Mullally was officially confirmed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony today at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The 63-year-old former nurse will serve as the spiritual leader for some 85 million Anglicans around the world, though King Charles remains supreme governor of the church.

Mullally takes over and mid-divisions on issues like the role of women in the church and its treatment of LGBTQ people. And while her legal duties begin today, she will start her public-facing work after one final ceremony in March.

Football fans are fuming over news that former New England head coach Bill Belichick is not going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. ESPN first reported that the eight-time Super Bowl champion fell short of the required vote threshold in his first year of eligibility. His longtime quarterback Tom Brady told a sports radio program: "I don't understand it."

Three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes called the news insane. And NBA legend LeBron James called the snub disrespectful. Belichick's career was not without controversy. In 2007, he was fined $500,000 after New England was caught filming signals from an opposing team. The NFL will formally announce this year's Hall of Fame class on February 5.

Amazon is cutting about 16,000 corporate jobs and says further layoffs are possible. It's the second round of cuts for the e-commerce giant in just the past few months. And it comes a day after the company said it's closing the rest of its brick-and-mortar Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores.

The online retailer has been slashing costs as it turns its attention to A.I. Shares of Amazon ended slightly lower after the news.

Elsewhere on Wall Street today, stocks mostly held steady after that Fed decision. The Dow Jones industrial average added 12 points, so basically flat. The Nasdaq managed to gain up about 40 points. The S&P 500 crossed the 7000-point threshold for the first time today, before ending virtually unchanged.