NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, March 21, 2025

Episode Date: March 22, 2025

Flights resuming at Heathrow after power outage snarled global air travel; Trump denies report that Musk got briefing on China war plans; Columbia concedes to Trump administration demands; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, global travel chaos. London's Heathrow Airport just coming back online after a dramatic fireball caused all runways to be shut down. The planes lined up, stranded passengers forced to navigate terminals in the dark. What caused the meltdown? Elon Musk at the Pentagon. The president saying it was about cost-cutting, slamming a new report that Musk was there to see potential war plans about China. And the Tesla CEO turned presidential adviser trying to assure his own employees. If you read the news, it feels like, you know, Armageddon. Telling them to stay the course as Tesla cars come under attack and more owners look to

ditch their once prized electric vehicles. The new image is just released by NASA, showing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams back in Houston. Richard Engel on the ground in Syria, his rare look inside the prison, holding 10,000 alleged ISIS fighters, the growing global terror concerns.

The mystery surrounding a family gone missing in Arizona. Was this massive highway pileup responsible? What the sheriff's office leading the investigation told our Dana Griffin. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. One of the world's busiest air hubs, London Heathrow, is slowly coming back to life tonight after an electrical substation fire knocked out power to the airport last night, forcing the airport's closure and grounding flights from far-flung destinations around the world,

including flights to and from the U.S. This was the scene at airports from New York to Delhi. Passengers waiting for word on their flights. An estimated 1,300 flights impacted impacted along with 200,000 passengers. And tonight, even as service is starting to resume from Heathrow, passengers are being told not to leave for the British airport until told by their airlines. These images from flight radar showing air traffic coming into Heathrow last week versus this morning. Raf Sanchez is in the UK and has the latest. Tonight, a trickle of flights beginning to land at London Heathrow.

After this towering blaze forced a total shutdown of one of the world's busiest airports and unleashed a global wave of travel chaos. We don't know what to do. We have a group of 12 of us from the United States. The airport CEO apologizing for the mess. This is unprecedented. It's never happened before. I hope people appreciate that we do not close down the airport unless we have severe safety concerns. Heathrow usually sees 1,300 daily takeoffs and landings. But for much of the day, its runways were a parking lot,

leaving passengers stranded and travel plans upended. If we don't get one today, should we assume that we'll get one tomorrow? Tomorrow after tomorrow. So you don't know. Blair Butler was supposed to fly home to Austin from Rome via London. We don't know. If we're getting out today, probably not. There's no flights.

What we've been told is there's no flights available. The fire erupted at a power station, knocking out Heathrow's electricity, plunging passengers into darkness and paralyzing escalators in silent terminals. I feel like I've been picked up and dropped by aliens. Police say there's no evidence of foul play, but an investigation now underway by counterterrorism officers.

The approach to Heathrow is normally the spot of some of the heaviest traffic in London, but you can see today the roads are closed and empty. More than 100 flights were midair en route to Heathrow when it was abruptly shut. Six of them diverted to Washington Dulles, another five to New York JFK. Jeff Ayland was supposed to fly home to London last night.

His new plan? Yeah, so it's Atlanta to Detroit, which will be good, and then Detroit to Amsterdam Schiphol, which is an airport I know very well, and then Amsterdam Schiphol to Birmingham, England. And then I have to get a vehicle to transfer me from Birmingham back to London Heathrow. One journey in a snarl of global air travel that'll take days to unravel. Raph joining us now from outside Heathrow. One journey in a snarl of global air travel that'll take days to unravel. RAF joining us now from outside Heathrow. RAF, what is the status at the airport right now? Well, Lester, flights are taking off and landing here, but it is still a partial service. Heathrow

says it hopes to have full service restored tomorrow, but there will still be a major backlog that needs clearing. Lester. Raf Sanchez in London tonight. Thanks. Now to Elon Musk's visit to the Pentagon on the heels of a report that he would be shown potential war plans for a conflict with China. President Trump calling that story false, saying Musk was there to find ways to cut costs.

Garrett Haight with late details. Top Trump ally Elon Musk from the president's Department of Government Efficiency visiting the Pentagon today. The New York Times reported Musk was to be briefed on the, quote, U.S. military's plan for any war that might break out with China, according to two U.S. officials. President Trump slamming the story as false. When he was asked about the war plans.

I don't want to show it to anybody. You know, you're talking about a potential war with China. I don't want to show that to anybody, but certainly you wouldn't show it to a businessman who is helping us so much. Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible perhaps to that. But it was such a fake story. We welcomed him today to the Pentagon to talk about Doge, to talk about efficiencies. There was no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans. Two defense officials told NBC News Musk, who has a security clearance, was expected to receive an unclassified briefing on China.

Musk's business interests in China include this massive Tesla gigafactory in Shanghai, which produces nearly one million cars per year. He's there for Doge, not there for China. And if you ever mention China, I think he'd walk out of the room. It comes as a federal judge held another hearing today demanding answers on those deportation flights of alleged gang members to El Salvador. The judge paused the flight Saturday, raising questions over the president's invocation of the 18th Century Alien Enemies Act

to justify them. The president was asked about family members who say some were not gang members. Well, I was told that they went through a very strong vetting process and that that will also be continuing in El Salvador. We don't want to make that kind of a mistake. And venting frustration at the judge's order to pause the flights. They're bad people. We don't want them in our country. We can't let a judge say that he wants them. He didn't run for president. He didn't get much more than 80 million votes. And Garrett, you have some new reporting that DHS has also fired nearly everyone in its civil rights division. Yes, Lester. These were the staffers responsible for investigating

allegations of civil rights abuses of citizens and immigrants at the hands of DHS personnel. In a statement, the department said that rather than supporting law enforcement efforts, these staffers were, quote, internal adversaries that slowed down operations. Lester? Garrett Haig, thank you. Elon Musk also dealing with the controversy and attacks surrounding Tesla. The CEO reassuring employees in an all-hands meeting, just as some Tesla owners are calling it quits. Here's Liz Kreutz. Tonight, more turmoil for Tesla.

CEO Elon Musk live streaming an all-hands meeting Thursday, trying to reassure his employees as Tesla stock tumbles amid a Tesla takedown protest movement against the company. If you read the news, it feels like, you know, Armageddon. I understand if you don't want to buy our product, but you don't have to burn it down. That's a bit unreasonable, you know. Stop being psycho. The company that helped make Musk the wealthiest person in the world now a target,

seen by some as a way to demonstrate against Musk's politics and growing role in the Trump administration. How are you feeling right now in this moment as a Tesla owner? Embarrassed. I love the cars and I really wish I could keep them, but I just can't be associated with that brand anymore. Edward Sanchez says he's looking to sell his Tesla after also just dumping all 150 shares of his Tesla stock. And he's not alone. Data from car shopping website Edmunds reporting that this month has seen the highest ever share of Tesla owners trading in their vehicles. Why do you think going after Tesla is is the way to really get out and go at Elon Musk? It's my only way. Right. It's It's the only thing I have. You just want to distance yourself. But some taking the protest even further nationwide and even in Canada,

multiple reports of Tesla's being vandalized. Some lit on fire in Syracuse. This video showing a mass person defacing Sean Freed's Tesla, writing on it. This car supports Nazis. Protesting is a right that we all have, but destroying other people's property is not. President Trump today warning there will be no leniency and no pardons for those behind these attacks, suggesting it's worse than the January 6th Capitol riot. These are terrorists. You didn't have that on January 6th, I can tell you. You didn't have anything like that on January 6th.

And Liz, any evidence that these attacks might be coordinated? Well, despite claims, Lester, from Elon Musk and President Trump that they are, NBC News has spoken to law enforcement officials and domestic extremism efforts experts who say that there is no evidence that they are coordinated. There are organized protest efforts, but those groups have disavowed vandalism and violence. OK, Liz, thank you. There is news out of Columbia University tonight. The school has conceded to demands by the Trump administration

over alleged anti-Semitism on campus. At stake, $400 million in federal funding. Antonia Hilton is at the campus. Antonia, what has Columbia agreed to? Lester, tonight, Columbia has relented to all of those demands after facing the Trump administration's deadline today and threat to pull $400 million, much of it critical science and medical funding, if the university didn't comply. The demands include a campus mask ban, empowering campus police officers with new powers, and appointing a new administrator to oversee the Middle East, South Asian and

African Studies Department. In a statement, Columbia's president said the way that the school has been portrayed has been hard to reckon with, adding, I have every faith in our ability to overcome the greatest of challenges. Some Columbia professors tell NBC News, though, that they see this move as a form of extortion, warning that they may be the first, but they won't be the last school to face these kinds of demands. No word yet from the White House, though, Lester. Antonia, thank you. It captivated us all. The NASA astronauts returned safely this week,

and tonight in newly released video, we're seeing them back on Earth. That's Sonny Williams there in the baseball camp, and Butch Wilmore, too, the two of them arriving in Houston Wednesday after more than nine months in space. Now to our rare look inside a prison for alleged members of ISIS and the new warning from officials that they cannot keep holding the prisoners without continued U.S. support. Here's Richard Engel. In this prison in northeastern Syria, ISIS has an army in waiting. 10,000 alleged ISIS fighters are locked in jails here. The guards are ethnic Kurds, largely dependent on support from the roughly 2,000 American troops stationed nearby.

So after some discussion, the guards have allowed us to talk to some of the prisoners. Ibrahim, who only gave his first name, says he's from Morocco and admits he was an ISIS fighter. He says he was arrested in 2019 when American forces and their Kurdish allies together defeated ISIS's so-called caliphate. Back then, we watched as the fighters and their families were rounded up. The men were sent to jail. Their families were sent here. The Al-Hol camp is sprawling, squalid, and now houses around 40,000 people. It, too, is guarded by the Kurds with American military support.

President Trump recently said he's made no decision on keeping U.S. troops here. But two U.S. defense officials tell NBC News the Pentagon is drawing up plans for a potential withdrawal. Two Kurdish officials tell me they're worried that would give ISIS a new lease on life. This is a camp really of no return. And it's been described as a ticking time bomb that the next generation of ISIS is here. Many of the children appear to be extremely radical. They were all saying, one day I hope to kill you, one day I want to slit your throat.

The longer we stayed, the more aggressive the children became. Here come the stones. All right, we're going to move to another area. As we left, they made sure we got the message. Reintegration has been a real problem. Most countries have refused to take their people back. So the people here are effectively stateless. You're 29 now. Yeah. Is this forever for you? I don't know. This is a dark place without any issues. Any hope? No. The camp's director told me the ISIS families

effectively run the place. If American troops were pulled out of Syria, what would happen to this camp? I think maybe we could hold on for a month, she says. U.S. military officials tell NBC News keeping American forces in Syria forever is not the solution, but neither is leaving entirely while the ISIS threat is growing. Richard Engel, NBC News, Northeastern Syria. A revealing story. We'll take a break in 60 seconds. The missing family mystery, 6,000 miles from home and gone without a trace near the Grand Canyon, how police are trying to track them down. The search is on for a missing family in Arizona after they never made their flight back home to South Korea.

Tonight, investigators are trying to unravel the international mystery. Here's Dana Griffin. Tonight, the search intensifying for a missing family of three not seen since this 22-car pileup on an Arizona highway more than a week ago. According to authorities, the South Korean family had rented a BMW that last pinged on March 13th, just a mile from that deadly crash site. The Kim family was headed from Grand Canyon National Park to Las Vegas. The sheriff's department now desperately searching. What do you think happened to this family? Well, that's the mystery right now. Investigators say they are looking into several theories, including GPS rerouting them around the crash and onto a Forest Service road.

Are those fire roads so remote that someone could be lost for an entire week? So it was obviously inclement weather, but we didn't have any pings on those roads either. Family in South Korea contacted the consulate when the Kims never made their flight home. The consulate telling NBC News they've sent an official to work with local police to locate the family. Have they used credit cards, their cell phones, any indication they're still alive? We haven't had any hits on the phones or the credit cards. Leading investigators back to search that March 13th crash. You've got to imagine just a very hot fire burning for many, many hours, melting metal and plastic. The cars are just unrecognizable. So it takes, it's going to take a lot of work. It's a horrific scene. Dana, how long might it take them to go

through it all? It could take days, possibly weeks. Right now they are going from vehicle to vehicle. They are checking VIN numbers and they will likely use DNA testing to try to determine if anything or anyone is in that pile. All right, Dana, thank you. Still ahead for us tonight, farmers in crisis. One family's struggle with the bird flu and federal funding cuts all during the egg shortage. Now to the series of crises plaguing America's farmers and one family's story of losing their entire poultry business due to the bird flu outbreak, only to learn the Trump administration dealt a second financial blow. Maggie Vespa with that story. On Cockadoodle Farm outside Chicago, it happened fast. We lost 30 birds and we... 30

birds at once. 30 birds at once. At first, Marty and Mary Kate Thomas blamed the January cold. And then the next morning, we walked into the coops and there were hundreds dead. America's bird flu outbreak had hit their flock of 3,000. By the time the USDA got here, there was only 500 that were alive. After euthanizing the remaining chickens, the USDA placed the farm's coops under quarantine until June, costing Cockadoodle an estimated $100,000 in revenue. This is considered the hot zone. And it turns out that was just the first blow.

First it was chickens and then, you know, the state of Illinois notified the Thomases they'd been awarded a $220,000 Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure, or RFSI, grant to transform a barn into a distribution center for online orders pending USDA approval. The couple fronted $80,000 of their own money pouring concrete floors and adding insulation. This month, the Trump administration cut RFSI's funding, meaning cock-a-doodle likely won't be reimbursed. Stress about the farm's future weighing on staff. I'm worried about cock-a-doodle. I'm worried about my job.

I'm worried about my livelihood, my home. I'm worried about it all. Is it keeping you up at night? Yeah. Yeah. The USDA telling NBC News they are committed to exploring additional ways to aid flock owners and minimize their financial burdens from bird flu, noting they announced the expansion of biosecurity assessment and audits.

The agency not responding to our questions about the RFSI cuts. There are a lot of farmers that are, we're counting on these programs for funding because historically that's how farming has been, you know, with subsidies and such. It totally sucks. But what do we do? They hope cock-a-doodle can resume producing eggs by August. Maggie Vespa, NBC News, Madison, Illinois. That is nightly news for this Friday. Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.