NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, April 12, 2025

Episode Date: April 13, 2025

White House unveils new exemptions on some Trump tariffs; New audio from deadly helicopter crash investigation; Extreme weather stretches from coast to coast; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, trade war whiplash as the White House announces a major change to President Trump's tariffs. Exemptions on smartphones, computers, and other electronics now no longer included in that massive 125% tariff on Chinese imports, what it means for the price you pay, and whether we could see more exemptions in the future, plus why small businesses are worried about being left out. Stunning new audio from the moments after that deadly helicopter crash in New York City, as we hear from the

victim's family for the first time. Extreme weather coast to coast. A winter blast in the spring, causing treacherous conditions in the northeast and out west. Record heat and millions under fire alerts. Overseas, the U.S. and Iran restarting nuclear talks years after President Trump ended the first deal, the latest on the negotiations. Hamas releasing a new video of an American hostage in Gaza as the families of those still being held gather for a painful start to Passover. Caught on camera, an out-of-control truck slamming into this parked police car. How the officer inside made it out okay. Drug overdose deaths now declining across the country. A hopeful sign in the devastating epidemic. You gotta go warn these kids. They're

dying. Why outreach workers say the fight is far from over. This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart. Good evening. We begin tonight with a new twist in the U.S. trade war with China. President Trump announcing some exemptions, now saying electronics like smartphones and computers will not be included in the 125% tariff on Chinese imports. That move contradicting the president's own Commerce Secretary, who recently said exemptions were not on their radar. The change appears to be good news for big tech companies like Apple, since most of their products are made in China.

But on Main Street, the tariffs are still hitting hard, with many small businesses facing an uncertain future. And tonight, the big question is whether we will see more exemptions on certain industries as the trade war rages on. Our Maggie Vespa is covering it all. The goalposts move again tonight in President Trump's trade war with China, with smartphones, computers, flat panel TV displays, semiconductor chips, and other electronics now exempt from 125% tariffs the president recently slapped on Chinese imports,

with 20% tariffs announced earlier still remaining. You see this headline and think, what? Yeah, it's a stunning reversal. CNBC's Steve Kovach covers Apple, a company hit particularly hard by the escalating trade war. The tech giant assembles 90 percent of its iPhones in China and lost nearly $640 billion in value in three days as President Trump ramped up tariffs on the country. Apple not responding to our request for comment as the trade war whiplash increases.

They still have to grapple with how much to charge. Do they increase their prices on their laptops and other devices in order to keep their margins safe? Or do they eat those costs? We're not talking about $3,000 iPhones anymore, but we're not out of the woods yet. Opening the door that other industries could see their own reprieve, Trump signing the order exempting many electronics late Friday night with no public announcement. The president asked late Friday whether he's waiting for China to initiate negotiations. I guess, you know, whatever it is, we have a lot of countries, not just China. The president's about face on tariffs for key tech items comes just a week after one of his top economic advisors said this.

I don't think the word exemption is going to be a factor. I don't think that's such a thing. Apple shoppers hoping this latest pivot keeps prices from soaring. I feel like I shouldn't have to be checking the news every single day to make sure I can afford products that we all have any kind of accustomed to. And while the new exemptions help big tech, they do nothing for small business owners like Anthony Bernis, co-CEO of Kentucky-based The Cooler Keg. His stainless steel portable kegerator is made in China, and now he says too expensive to import. We're not on the NASDAQ. We're not part of Wall Street. Main Street is the one that's actually getting hit the hardest. But we're looking at what do we do in the long run. Maggie Vespa joins us live outside the Apple Store in Chicago. Maggie,

so back to the electronic exemptions. What do we know about the impact on prices? Yeah, so Jose, analysts say they could still go up. Remember, those 20 percent tariffs still remain. How much prices go up? That, of course, remains to be seen, but we should know in the coming months. Jose. Maggie Vespa in Chicago. Thank you. We're learning more about that deadly helicopter crash in New York City with new audio from the moments right after it went down. Maya Eaglin has the latest. and I want to warn you, some of the video you're about to see is hard to watch. Tonight, stunning new audio from that terrifying New York City sightseeing helicopter crash. Please keep your eyes open, guys.

The moments right before it fell into the water. If you have an aircraft down, how in the tunnel, please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water. Oh my gosh. Witnesses on the ground shocked. Oh my goodness. The tragedy killing the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists on board. The brother of the wife who died speaking out today. They left together. They left without suffering and they left with a smile on their faces. This is only the beginning of the investigation. First, they're going to look carefully at the video, literally frame by frame, to see if they can get a better understanding of the sequence that the helicopter broke apart. Then this fiery scene in Florida.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. A small airplane crashing and exploding in Boca Raton. Authorities say all three passengers died. These recent incidents creating anxiety among some flyers around the country. But experts say crashes like these are rare. If someone's a bit nervous to get on a helicopter or one of these small planes that we've recently seen in these crashes. What would you tell them? I would tell them that it's safe because it has been so much in the news that there is a perception that doesn't match the facts.

Now investigators are trying to piece together what went wrong for both of these flights, a process that could take months before there are any firm answers. Maya Eaglin is near the scene of the helicopter crash in New York. Maya, what could this all mean for the future of tourist helicopter flights? Jose, we'll have to see if there'll be any changes. Mayor Eric Adams is a huge supporter of these helicopters, and they are regulated by the FAA, but other officials are debating whether or not there are too many risks for them to continue. Jose? Maya Eaglin in New York, thank you. We are tracking extreme weather tonight with a springtime winter blast in the northeast as temperatures heat up out west. Priscilla Thompson has the latest. April showers looking more like snow and icy rain across the Northeast.

I'm getting snowed on. It's wild. It's crazy out here, man. Look at this. A semi-truck jackknifed in Auburn, Massachusetts, where police say they responded to multiple crashes after parts of the state were hit with up to nine inches of snow. And listen to this. What sounds like thundersnow nearby. Temperatures in the region, 10 to 20 degrees below average. And in the West, the opposite extreme. Temperatures up to 30 degrees above average. This is how you survive the heat at Coachella. Power tools. Near record-breaking heat for festival goers in California.

This is like absolutely dangerous hot. Winds up to 40 miles per hour, fueling red flag warnings with 23 million under fire alerts from Denver to Tucson, even Miami. The South also in Mother Nature's bullseye. Golf ball-sized hail pelting Gainesville in a spring season of wild weather, leaving many desperate for those May flowers. I'm begging for summer, man. I'm begging for it.

Priscilla Thompson, NBC News. Overseas, the U.S. and the Iranian regime began a new round of nuclear talks nearly seven years after President Trump withdrew from the first Iran deal during his first term. Yamiche Alcindor is traveling with the president in Florida. Yamiche, what more do we know about how these talks went today? Well, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Oman for these negotiations with Iran, told me he believes the talks were, quote, positive and constructive. And in a statement, the White House said Witkoff underscored that President Trump

wants to, quote, resolve our two nations' differences through dialogue and diplomacy if that is possible. Now, while the White House said there was direct communication, Iranian officials described the talks as indirect. And they noted that the two delegations sat in separate rooms for two and a half hours and shared their views through the foreign minister of Oman, who went back and forth between them. Still, both sides have agreed to meet again next Saturday. Jose? Yamiche Alcindor in West Palm Beach, thank you. Also tonight, Hamas has released a new video of an American hostage in Gaza as hostage families in Israel prepare for a painful Passover, which begins at sundown this evening. Matt Bradley reports from Tel Aviv.

Tonight, as Passover begins in Israel, Hamas has released a new video of Idan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, who pleads for his release. His family responding, saying, when you sit down to mark Passover, remember that this is not a holiday of freedom as long as Idan and the other 58 hostages are not home. It's why another Israeli family is also skipping the holiday. So this is us. It's in this house. Right here. As long as Nimrod, Romi's twin brother, remains hostage in the Gaza Strip. Passover marks the Jewish exodus from bondage.

But thoughts of liberation are far from the mind of Nimrod's mother, Vicky. It's too hard for us to celebrate and together, all the family, if Nimrod is not with us. Her only holiday observance is the children's book that Vicky illustrated. It's a Haggadah, the Jewish text read on Passover Seder. In this special book, each hostage has a symbol. And your son with the Rubik's cube. It's the Rubik, yeah. And this is it, right?

Yeah. And this is the Rubik's that I found with him when he was kidnapped. Vicky knows Nimrod is still alive. A video released by Hamas shows a man whose face was blurred with Nimrod's tattoo. But like so many hostages' family members, Vicky wants the war to end. The only thing that released them is to stop the war and sign a deal with Hamas. So tonight, these families are all feasting outdoors. Here in Tel Aviv's hostage square, this empty cedar table is a symbol of solidarity. I'm actually overwhelmed by the amount of people coming today. This night is Passover evening. Celebrating a day of liberation for those who remain in bondage.

Matt Bradley, NBC News, Tel Aviv. Still ahead tonight, a new hopeful sign in the drug war. Why overdose deaths across the country are now declining. Back now with a terrifying moment caught on camera. An out-of-control truck slamming into a parked police car in Farmers Branch, Texas and crashing into a nearby house. Police say the truck lost control on wet roads. Luckily, the officer in the cruiser made it out with only minor injuries. And now to a hopeful sign in the drug war.

The overdose epidemic has been ravaging our country for years, but new data shows deaths are declining. But as Priya Shrether reports, outreach workers say the battle is still far from over. This is perhaps the unexpected front lines of the war on drugs. LSD, fentanyl. Dr. Nabriyan Dasgupta and his team at this lab at UNC Chapel Hill combed through drug samples collected from across the country. Front line public health programs, health departments, clinics, EMS. The goal, understanding the specific chemical composition of drugs circulating in the streets in real time. What exactly are they trying to discover by sending them here specifically?

Usually when people say they take fentanyl, it's almost never fentanyl. There's always something else in there. They run those small samples through this machine. Then they analyze the molecular structure. We want to help people keep safe and avoid things that they don't want to put in their bodies. This is the way to do it. There's been a dramatic reduction in overdose deaths in recent months. The CDC now saying the numbers dropped to 87,000 between October of 2023 and September of 2024, the lowest they've been since 2020. There are a bunch of different causes that we have analyzed, maybe about 20. Among them, the distribution of naloxone, a medicine that reverses an overdose,

also a shifting drug supply, fentanyl becoming less potent, and community awareness. Desgupta sends his reports back to the clinics that originally sent the samples, including North Carolina's Harm Reduction Coalition. We have Narcan. Outreach workers here say the drug supply is constantly changing, and it's important to know what exactly people are using. Overdose reversal is not as cut and dry as it used to be. For Greg Swan, these resources weren't there for his son, Drew.

He was beautiful. He was a model. He was super smart. Drew died of an overdose 12 years ago. His son, always on Greg's mind today. I just had, you know, a moment in the, in the Walmart where I just had to remember him, you know. But normally I don't get, you know, caught up like that.

There's nothing that compares with this drug in terms of death. Now Swan is on a mission to talk to every high school student in the country about the dangers of an overdose. You got to go warn these kids. They're dying. So we got to put our foot on the gas. United in purpose, doing their part to stop the overdose crisis. Priya Shrether, NBC News, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When we come back, there's good news tonight about the birthday surprise this school worker will never forget. There's good news tonight. So often the good news doesn't get as much attention as the bad.

So every Saturday we highlight the many people who spread joy and love. And these are just some of those stories this week. Talk about a homecoming. That's Starla Anderson, a high school biology teacher in Texas. And her son Austin, who she hadn't seen in two years. He was stationed in the Air Force in Delaware and planned the surprise with a principal. But Starla didn't suspect a thing. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.

This very good boy is a different kind of service dog. Beautiful boy. That's Cole, a pit bull mix who's deaf but still knows his favorite song. That's because these kids are signing it to him. His owner, Chris Hanna, is the music teacher at Dr. William Mennie's school in New Jersey. It's just giving them lessons about empathy and compassion. And get this, this wasn't the first time. Happy birthday to you!

Hundreds of students sang and signed happy birthday to him just a few months ago. Happy birthday to you! For this school band, a moment decades in the making. After months of rehearsals, the Green Central High School band competed at North Carolina's statewide band competition. So, like I said, this is a growing experience. On that day, band director Andrew Howell tried to manage expectations. But then... We're also the first in school history to get a...

Sweet victory when they won a superior, the highest honor. Our cheering did not stop for like a good five minutes. When the kids are that excited to do something so well, that's really what makes me emotional. And you could say this wasn't a typical day at work. That's Nick de Rubio, an attendance clerk at Grand Prairie High School in Texas. And the song in the background, that's Las Mañanitas, the traditional Mexican birthday song. What was that like? I have no words. Knowing that it came from, like I said, from our kids, it felt a lot more special.

Her colleague and longtime friend, Victoria Covarrubias, was behind the camera and got their school's award-winning band Mariachi Azul on board. Even seeing how surprised and how honored she felt by us doing that, watching her like made us emotional too. What was the bigger message for you? It's always good to make somebody else smile or brighten up somebody else's day. I feel like this is like something I will never forget. And that's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. Hallie Jackson will be here tomorrow night. I'm Jose Diaz-Balart. Thank you for the privilege of your time and good night.