NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Nightly News Full Broadcast (April 4th)

Episode Date: April 5, 2025

Markets plunge as trade war escalates; Stocking up before tariffs impact prices; South and Midwest brace for more historic rains, flooding; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, Wall Street in turmoil. Five trillion dollars gone in just two days. The Dow drops 2,200 points, the worst week since 2020. China hits back hard, 34 percent tariffs after President Trump targeting nearly every country we trade with. Fed Chair Jerome Powell warns of high prices and weaker growth. J.P. Morgan now warning over a recession. What's the White House's next move? As American consumers wonder what to do, companies make tough choices. The Nintendo Switch preorders postpone. And the impact on everything from coffee beans

to washing machines. First tornadoes now floods, with eight dead in storms and floodwaters rising. A 9-year-old boy tragically swept away, Al Roker tracking the next wave. Actor, comedian, provocateur Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault, his denial at what he's accused of doing. The father deported to an El Salvador prison even though his family says he's not a gang member. What a judge ordered the Trump administration to do.

The timeshare dispute that landed a Michigan family in a prison in Mexico. Now they're out. How it happened and what they're telling us about the ordeal. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. The financial market sinking further today, their worst weekly performance since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The major difference, this market meltdown appears to be largely self-inflicted. The Trump trade war, the president's new tariffs being

imposed on 180 countries, faced retaliation today from China, which announced it will place a 34 percent levy on American products, matching new U.S. tariffs on Chinese products and hastening today's market sell off. The three major indexes dropping around six percent each today. The breathtaking fall stripping five trillion dollars in wealth from U.S. markets in just two days. Squeezing personal savings, leaving companies scrambling to adjust, many signaling they will have to raise consumer prices on their imported products, big and small. Not even a surprisingly strong jobs report, 228,000 jobs added in March, was enough to stem today's market slide. Let's begin with senior business correspondent Christine Romans. On Wall Street today, a second day of dramatic losses and high anxiety over Donald

Trump's global trade war. The president today golfing at his club in Florida and his only public comments on the economy via social media, posting, my policies will never change, that he had a very productive call with Vietnam about a possible deal, and pressuring Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying, cut interest rates, Jerome, and stop playing politics. Powell speaking with journalists at a conference in Virginia. We've taken a step back and we're watching to see what the policies turn out to be

and the ways in which they will affect the economy. Recession forecasts growing. J.P. Morgan now expecting the economy to contract under the weight of the tariffs and that a recession will drive unemployment up to 5.3%. David Kelly is the bank's chief global strategist. Tariffs push up prices. They cut employment. They slow up prices. They cut employment.

They slow economic growth. They reduce productivity. They cut corporate profits. Top Democrats today ripping into the president. This week, Donald Trump made one of the dumbest decisions he's ever made as president, and that's saying a lot. Today's Wall Street plunge triggered by China's tit-for-tat, announcing 34 percent

tariffs on all American goods imported after President Trump imposed that same figure on China. This retaliation from China, where does that leave the soybean farmer? We're in that twilight zone right now. We don't know. Last year, the U.S. exported one hundred forty three and a half billion dollars worth of goods to China, topping the list. The kind of fifth-generation farmer Glenn Newcomer grows in Ohio. My portfolio is the commodity or the grain that's sitting in the grain bins here. My commodity is going down in value, no different than what the stock market is doing. So when I look at my current assets, they're going down.

And hopefully it will turn around. Concerns about a growing risk of recession overshadowing today's report showing the U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in March. We basically had the rug pulled out from under us. Steve Lang runs a company that sells wedding and prom dresses to hundreds of boutiques, dresses he imports primarily from Asia. What would you have to do for prices? We would have to raise our prices dramatically. There's going to be a surcharge on every invoice. And the brides and consignor customers, mothers of the bride prom girls,

are going to be hit with a very, very large bill. So, Christine, help us out here. Are there any bright spots? Well, Lester, one thing to take a look at here are mortgage rates. They are down this week. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the lowest level in months. And the White House pointing to some manufacturers announcing plans to increase production domestically. But with 62 percent of Americans having money in the stock market, a lot of people tonight are simply seeing all these down arrows. All right, Christine Romans, thank you. And as more tariffs are set to go into effect, it has many people asking, pay by now or risk paying more later? Erin McLaughlin

with that part of our coverage. Tonight, the rush to buy everything from coffee beans to cars. Concerned about tariffs, Alan Willens in California is now the proud owner of a new Toyota Corolla. I think the tariffs really pushed us into, we were coming just to look and here we end up purchasing. Can I get three pounds of ground? And further south at this coffee shop outside L.A., Betsy Dennis buying three times her normal amount of beans. It's very upsetting that we're going to have to pay more. Across the country, consumers and businesses stocking up before tariffs impact prices. It's been a busy week selling cars, been a busy week servicing cars also.

In Connecticut, Subaru dealership owner Peter Krause says even he's loading up. Are you stockpiling car parts? Yes, we bought more parts in order to have parts where we don't have to have a price increase for our customers. We picked up about, increased the inventory about 10 percent. At this appliance store in Queens, manager Howard Steinman says he's seen an uptick in business and customers' anxiety. Well, it does remind me of COVID in the sense that people are panicking. In some cases, those looking to hurry will have to wait. Today, Japan's Nintendo postponed pre-orders for the hotly anticipated Switch 2 console in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs.

I was disappointed and anxious because I just want to lock in the pre-order. CNBC senior personal finance correspondent Sharon Epperson says whatever you do, don't panic. This is the time to really think about every purchase that you make, every spending decision that you make, to make sure that you really need to do it. Even as many are now buying in bulk and stashing away any extra essentials. Erin McLaughlin, NBC News, New York. All right, we turn now to the millions across the Midwest and South who continue to be hit with virtually nonstop severe weather, including devastating tornadoes and flooding.

And that threat is still not over. Kathy Park is in Tennessee. The storm-weary south back in the bullseye again tonight. Relentless rain pushing rivers to the brink. Millions from Arkansas to Ohio on high alert for potentially record-breaking floods. Heavy downpours already flooding neighborhoods. Parts of Nashville underwater. In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, rising waters reaching dangerous new levels. Heavy downpours already flooding neighborhoods. Parts of Nashville underwater.

In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, rising waters reaching dangerous new levels. Our Shaq Brewster is there. Residents here tell me they've never seen anything like this before. The river overtaking what's normally a park, flooding some of those cars and rushing into businesses. The building manager telling me the water inside is still rising. Oh, wow. And it'll be the same, like I said, all this at minimum is happening all down here right now. And tragedy in the storm zone. A nine-year-old boy was swept away and killed by rushing waters on his way to the school bus.

At least eight deaths and 23 injuries being blamed on the violent weather that began Wednesday. Several rounds of violent storms, including tornadoes, large hail and destructive winds pounding the same region day after day. We are expecting this extreme weather event to continue. Tennessee dealing with dual disasters, twisters and floods. And here in Selmer, Tennessee, this community reduced to a tragic debris field. Violet Peterson and her roommate were inside their home when the tornado touched down. All I could think to do was cover her up and ask God to protect us. Wow.

They survived, but the trauma runs deep. I can't go through that again. A storm right out of a storybook without the happy ending. Kathy Park, NBC News, Selmer, Tennessee. Let me turn it over to Al Roker now. Over 50 tornadoes and this is going to continue on. Yeah, we've got at least another 48 hours of this, Lester. We're talking a 700-mile swath from Nashville down to just north of Houston. Tornado watches in effect till late this evening as this system pushes to the east. And as you go to the north, 38 million people under flash flood watches and warnings. Heavy rain right now. We're talking some places picking up to one to three inches per hour.

32 million people at risk tonight for nocturnal tornadoes. Twice as deadly from Evansville down to Shreveport. Then for tomorrow, we've got another risk of severe weather that continues for 29 million people and flash flooding. A big problem, Lester, stretching from Evansville all the way down to Texarkana. And with the river flooding, this is going to last right on into next week. OK, Al, thank you very much for that. Tonight, President Trump has fired one of his top national security officials, and now a far right activist is taking credit for it. Here's Gabe Gutierrez. Tonight, the two top officials at the NSA, the National Security Agency, Air Force General Timothy Hawk, and his deputy, Wendy Noble, are out, according to a defense official and three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Hawk had just testified on Capitol Hill last week. We put out an advisory on how to use this signal app. The White House won't say why the officials were fired, but overnight, far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer apparently took credit, posting they have been disloyal to President Trump and thanking the president for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you. Loomer met with the president earlier this week in the Oval Office. She makes recommendations of things and people, and sometimes I listen to those recommendations. He denies she played a role in other recent firings of national security staffers. We're going to let go of people, people that we don't like or people that we don't think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else. Loomer has a history of racist posts on social media and once described

herself as a proud Islamophobe. She's drawn controversy for reposting a video incorrectly saying the 9-11 terrorist attacks were an inside job and amplifying the false claim that Haitian immigrants were eating pets last year in Ohio. In any other White House, you wouldn't let a crazy person like this 100 feet close to the White House. And, Gabe, there was also breaking news tonight about the future of TikTok. What can you tell us? Yes, Lester, the president announced he was extending by 75 days the deadline for TikTok's owner to find a non-Chinese buyer, meaning the popular app will not go dark tomorrow.

Two people familiar with the talk say new tariffs on China have presented a hurdle to a deal. Lester. All right, Gabe, thanks. Tonight, actor Russell Brand has been charged with rape and sexual assault. Molly Hunter reports he denies the claims and is speaking out. Tonight, British prosecutors have charged English comedian and actor Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault. In a statement, London's Met Police said the charges include one allegation of rape, one allegation of indecent assault, one of oral rape, and two more counts of sexual assault. Brand quickly fired back on social media, denying the accusations.

I've never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes. Police said the five alleged incidents involved four women and happened between 1999 and 2005 in the UK. Brand admitted he was promiscuous back then. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist. The comedian got his start performing risque stand-up. Later jumping the Atlantic, moving to LA and briefly married to pop star Katy Perry back in 2010. But in recent years, he's largely been out of the mainstream Hollywood mix. He's built a YouTube channel following of 6.8 million. From the people who bought you COVID vaccines, cancer vaccines. Oh no, we're all going to die.

And at times, amplifying conspiracy theories, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his statement today, he said he's ready to defend himself in court next month. And of course, I'm now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court. And I'm incredibly grateful for that. Prosecutors have set the court date for May 2nd. Molly Hunter, NBC News, London. And when we come back in 60 seconds, the father deported held behind bars in an El Salvador prison. His wife's legal battle to get him back and just in. A federal judge's ruling next. Tonight, a federal judge has ordered the return of a man the Trump administration acknowledges was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Stephanie Gosk has late details

on the legal battle. Come on, if you can hear me. In Maryland today, a wife and mother with an emotional message to her husband i miss you so much and i'm doing the best to fight for you and our children hours later a federal immigration judge ruled the government has to bring kilmar abrigo garcia back to the u.s from el salvador j Jennifer Vasquez-Sura says her husband was driving with their five-year-old son on March 12th when ICE agents pulled him over. They told me that I had to be there to pick up my son because he was being arrested. Abrego Garcia was part of a roundup of alleged gang members who the Trump administration deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Vasquez-Soura

says she recognized him in this video shot when the flight landed. Court documents from a 2019 hearing show Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2011, that he was detained eight years later, according to DHS at the time, in the company of ranking gang members. And a government informant identified him as a member of the violent MS-13 gang. Based on those assertions by DHS, the judge writing, the evidence shows that he is a verified member of MS-13, which Abrego Garcia denies. According to court filings, in October that year, an immigration court ordered him removed from the U.S., but granted withholding of removal to El Salvador. This was unquestionably a

person who broke the laws to get into our country. This is unquestionably a person an immigration judge had found had zero right to be in the United States of America. The White House called his deportation to El Salvador an administrative error. Tonight, a DHS spokesperson was asked if he will be returned to the U.S. No matter what, Martha, he will be off of American streets and no longer a danger to the American public. But his attorney says he did not commit a crime and should not have been sent on that flight. Instead, he is in a notorious Salvadoran prison, rife with human rights abuses. His wife says their children are distraught. I want them to bring my husband back. That's what I want.

A White House official tells NBC News President Trump thinks the judge does not have jurisdiction and Obrego Garcia, as an alleged part of MS-13, does not qualify for any pause in deportation. The DOJ, Lester, is already appealing. All right, Stephanie, thank you. Still ahead, the grandparents from Michigan released from prison after their vacation nightmare in Mexico. What they just told our Maggie Vespa about their stunning ordeal. Now we have an update on a story we told you about last week. A Michigan couple detained in Mexico over a credit card dispute with a timeshare company.

After reaching an agreement, they're now back home and they spoke with our Maggie Vespa. This is the moment Paul and Christy Acao walked free from a notorious Mexican prison after being held for a month over a timeshare dispute. The Michigan grandparents, escorted by their congressman, flying straight home into the arms of their family. What was it like hugging your kids that first time? It was amazing. Like, I was so happy to see them. I never thought that I was going to be able to see them again. So in my, no, I didn't. In my mind, I thought you're going to die in prison. I was going to die there.

They say they had no idea they were being investigated for fraud when they flew to Cancun for vacation last month. That investigation was over nearly $117,000 worth of charges tied to their membership contract with timeshare company Palace Elite Resorts, which Paul, a U.S. Navy veteran, successfully disputed with their credit card companies in 2022. The couple argued Palace failed to provide the goods and services, but a lawyer for Palace argued the disputed charges amounted to fraud. The couple detained while the case progressed. I wanted to die because it was so just disgusting. I spoke with the Akeo's daughter last week. We need help. Soon after, help came. Michigan Congressman Tom Barrett traveled to Cancun to demand their release. I said I'm here for one reason, to get Paul and Christy back home,

and I'm not leaving without them. He said the case had also caught the eye of President Trump. I want to thank, you know, our government for stepping in because we wouldn't be here. Tonight, Palace says under an agreement they reached with the Achaios, a sum of money will be donated to charity, adding each party regrets that this incident occurred. Prosecutors say all charges against the Achaios have been dropped. We're just grateful to be home. Yeah, you're just grateful to be home. Yeah, you're just grateful to be home. Yeah.

Maggie Vespa, NBC News, Lansing, Michigan. And that is nightly news. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.