NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, March 23, 2025

Episode Date: March 23, 2025

Pope Francis released from hospital after 5-week stay; Dangerous wildfires burn across several states; Schumer faces growing pressure as Democrats chart path to take on Trump; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, Pope Francis back home after weeks in the hospital, greeted by crowds and the recovery still ahead. Cheers erupting in Rome. The Pope making his first public appearance since his battle with pneumonia began. Catholics around the world seeing prayers answered with the 88-year-old on the mend just in time for Easter. What his doctors are saying tonight. The race to contain wildfires burning in several states tonight, a state of emergency and evacuations in the Carolinas with one million Americans under fire alerts, growing pressure on the Senate's top Democrat as he insists he will not step down. And the new efforts inside that party to chart a path to push back on President Trump, the president himself pushing ahead with mass deportations.

Venezuela now set to accept migrant flights from the U.S. and Canada's new prime minister on offense over tariffs. New arrests tonight in that deadly mass shooting in New Mexico. The latest on the investigation as the community grieves the three people killed. Unimaginable heartbreak for a New York baseball star. The questions tonight over the death of Brett Gardner's teenage son while on vacation. A 12-year-old girl facing hate crime charges for an alleged attack on two students. This is NBC Nightly News with Hallie Jackson.

Good evening. We are coming on the air as for the first time in five weeks, the Pope is spending this Sunday back at the Vatican. His release from the hospital after a battle with pneumonia, a milestone for the billion plus Catholics he leads. You can see Pope Francis here on the balcony waving to those who had gathered below before his car ride back home, still with those oxygen tubes in place. The emotional crowd waving and cheering as he acknowledged them. Still, his road to recovery is not over yet, as Pope Francis now faces not days, but months of rest and recuperation ahead.

Our Raf Sanchez starts us off. It was the moment Catholics worldwide have been praying for. Pope Francis, frail but smiling, as he was released from hospital after five weeks battling near-fatal pneumonia. Speaking for just a moment after spotting a woman in the crowd carrying yellow flowers. Her name is Carmela Mancuso, a devoted Catholic. My heart was bursting. I didn't think I'd feel this way, she says. Minutes later, the 88-year-old pontiff driven out of Rome's Gemelli Hospital and back to the Vatican, where doctors say he needs at least two months rest and ongoing therapy and oxygen treatment.

The Holy Father was never intubated and he always remained alert and oriented. It will take some time for the Pope's voice to recover and he's being urged to avoid meeting with large groups or small children to limit the risk of infection. In a prayer released today, the Pope saying in this long time of hospitalization, I have been able to experience the Lord's patience. Francis was hospitalized back in February, what started as bronchitis lurching into a severe respiratory infection. But the Pope fighting on, regaining strength, and joking with doctors, I'm still alive. And today, leaving hospital accompanied by the cheers of thousands and the prayers of millions. Raf Sanchez is joining us now. And Raf, with all of this happening just a couple weeks before Easter, how will the Pope navigate those celebrations? Well, Hallie, his spokesman

is saying it will all depend on his medical condition when we get there. The Pope's doctors believe he is out of immediate danger right now, but his health is still fragile and they're taking it one day at a time. Holly. Ralph Sanchez, thank you. Back here at home, the urgent scramble to contain dangerous wildfires burning through several states and in South Carolina, a state of emergency tonight. Our Kathy Park is there. Tonight, a state of emergency as wildfires rip through one of South Carolina's most popular state parks. Choppers dropping water at Table Rock State Park in the state's northwestern region. The flames already burning at least a thousand acres and nowhere near contained.

Take a look. You can see the smoke billowing high above the mountains behind me. Officials say that a lot of the trees knocked over by the remnants of Hurricane Helene last fall are adding fuel to these flames. Kathy Bayer has been watching the winds push the fire closer to her home. And what do you remember seeing? Well, the mountain was just a glow after the dark and then just continued to spread. Sheriff Tommy Blankenship says his deputy spotted the fire Friday. The cause is under investigation. When we're in these dry conditions that even the slightest thing can be negligence, it may seem small, but it could end up impacting the entire community. Fire alerts are in place from Nebraska to North Carolina. Outside Asheville,

crews are battling three separate fires, with mandatory evacuations issued for some residents. Meanwhile, at a state forest in southern New Jersey, the firefight continues, the flames eating through more than 2,000 acres. A weekend of wild weather refusing to let go. And Kathy Park joins us now from near the Table Rock fire in South Carolina. And Kathy, any hope on the horizon for the firefighters where you are? So, Hallie, right now the fire is still burning with no containment and you can still see a whole lot of smoke behind me. But fortunately, rain is in the forecast tomorrow. So crews hope to get an upper hand and finally get this fire under control.

Hallie. Kathy Park, thank you. Also tonight, growing pressure on the Senate's top Democrat to step down as he now pledges to stay, all as his party plots its strategy on how to take on President Trump. Vaughn Hilliard reports. Resign! The people say it's time! Today, protests outside of the Brooklyn home of the Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Chuck! Resign! F facing backlash from within his own party over his vote to not shut down the government and instead back the GOP on a government spending deal touted by President Trump. Are you feeling pressure to step down? Look, I'm not stepping down. It was a vote of principle. You know, sometimes when you're a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve.

Calls from within, however, for new leaders of a party in D.C. with now limited power under Republican control. The American people are fed up with the old guard. There needs to be a renewal. This weekend out west. If the people of America are going to stand up to Trumpism. Tens of thousands gathered for the largest opposition rallies yet against Trump's overhauls in Washington. We are witnessing an oligarchy in America. This as the Trump administration today, according to the Venezuelan government, is set to deport Venezuelan immigrants by flight directly back to Venezuela. A federal judge is preparing to rule

on whether the administration violated court orders by sending hundreds of Venezuelans last week to an El Salvador prison, despite questions of whether those deported were members of the gang targeted by ICE, including this man, his lawyer providing his first name as Andre, telling MSNBC's Rachel Maddow he was only an asylum seeker and has no criminal record. Our client has been forcibly removed and disappeared. The White House insists it intends to proceed with mass deportations. We're going to continue to arrest public safety threats and national security threats. The president this week saying he will comply by the judge's orders.

Would you defy a court order? We all know that. I never did defy a court order. And you wouldn't in the future? No, you can't do that. However, we have bad judges. Vaughn Hilliard is joining us now. And Vaughn, also tonight, some new pushback to a high-profile trip to Greenland by the

second lady, right? Right, Hallie. And we're now told that National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will also join the second lady. But the prime minister of Greenland is already expressing anger tonight, saying the U.S. delegation's trip is not just a harmless visit, but a direct provocation to make Americans believe annexation is possible when it's not. Hallie. Von Hilliard at the White House tonight. Thank you. Canada's new prime minister taking on President Trump's trade war, Mark Carney, now calling a snap election next month, saying Canadians face the most significant crisis of their lifetimes

because of President Trump's tariff threat and his repeated suggestions he wants Canada to become the 51st state. Overseas, Russia launching a massive drone attack ahead of ceasefire talks. Ukrainian officials say strikes from nearly 150 Russian drones killed at least six people. Meanwhile, Russia says it shot down nearly 60 Ukrainian drones. The attacks happened just hours before U.S. officials met with Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia today. Their meeting with the Russian negotiators is set for tomorrow. New developments tonight in that deadly mass shooting at a New Mexico park, with police now making multiple arrests.

Camila Bernal has the latest. Three teens killed in the chaos. When an unsanctioned car show in Las Cruces, New Mexico ended in gunfire Friday night. Run, run, run! Get on my truck! Get on my truck! A fight between two groups escalating. People running for their lives.

And tonight, police announcing the arrest of three juveniles and 20-year-old Tomas Rivas. How did you track down these suspects? I have to give kudos to my team. They did a phenomenal job, especially with how complicated the scene was and this investigation, all the moving parts. They were able to take witness statements along with some video that we either got on scene or was provided by the community. Meanwhile, a community mourning the tragic loss of three teenagers. 16-year-old Andrew Madrid loved playing baseball. 18-year-old Jason Gomez seen here in this family video.

And 19-year-old Dominic Estrada went to the church led by Pastor Carlos Ivan Alvarez. It has been a devastating weekend for our community. Right now it's time to bring strength and comfort to hurting people. A community now grappling with how to move forward after this senseless act. Camila Bernal, NBC News. Some heartbreaking news out of the sports world tonight. Former New York Yankees star Brett Gardner revealing his 14-year-old son, Miller, died in his sleep unexpectedly Friday after getting sick on vacation. Gardner and his wife shared that

several other family members on the trip also became sick, saying they have so many questions and so few answers right now. Also tonight, a 12-year-old girl in Connecticut is now facing hate crime charges, accused of attacking two Muslim students. Maya Eaglin reports. At this middle school in Waterbury, Connecticut, students and staff on edge after a fight that left twin seventh graders, both Muslims, injured and a 12-year-old girl charged with a hate crime. Well, it's horrific. Farhan Memon is the chairman of Connecticut's Council on American Islamic Relations and has been in touch with the family of the victims.

How are those two girls doing today? Well, it took them two weeks to get back to school because there's lots of fear about going back to the same building in which they were attacked. But they went back to school last week. Memon says the twins had just immigrated from Egypt and were wearing hijabs during the alleged attack. One suffered bruises to her face, black eye and bloody nose. Her sister cut on the neck. An investigation by the Waterbury, Connecticut police found that the March 3rd attack on the student was motivated by religion and or

ethnicity, meeting the legal definition of a hate crime. Officials say they charged one 12-year-old with intimidation based on bigotry and bias, and another 13-year-old student was disciplined for their involvement. The school now putting an enhanced safety plan in place, providing the victims with adult monitors and peers to help them navigate their school days. Do you know if there's been any sort of apology or reconciliation between the girls? No apology has been made from the attackers to the twin girls who were victimized in this Islamist bullying incident, nor has there been any contact between the families. The community still processing the act of violence and hoping for a more inclusive future. Maya Eaglin, NBC News.

Back now with a fire at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Florida. Disney says it started in a walk-in cooler behind the France Pavilion. You can see the smoke rising there. Guests nearby were evacuated and the fire was put out quickly. After a whole bunch of high profile food recalls, we're taking you inside a testing lab where they make sure your food is safe to eat. We're back with a closer look at how to protect our food after a series of high-profile recalls. Now, Ann Thompson takes us inside a testing lab where scientists work to make sure what you're eating is safe. We are tracking a deadly listeria outbreak tonight. A salmonella outbreak from tainted cantaloupe. A health warning tonight. A massive meat recall. outbreak from tainted cantaloupe. A health warning tonight. A massive meat recall.

It's an all too familiar headline, food contamination. Something Jody Jurgens tries to stop before products ever get to the store. Anybody who makes food would use our testing. And what goes on over here? We got rare access to one of the six labs the 30-year veteran runs for testing giant SGS. On her most wanted list, salmonella, listeria, and E. coli 0157 in food and the plants that produce them. You see that green sheen? Is that E. coli 0157?

That is. Juergens and her team run thousands of tests a year using incubators, DNA technology, and old-fashioned petri dishes to confirm the findings. How often do you find salmonella or listeria or E. coli? You know, it's a rare event that we would find that organism in a finished product. While there were fewer recalls last year, the Public Interest Research Group says the number of deaths and hospitalizations doubled among the hospitalized 10-year-old Colton George. And we are only one of 89 people in the United States that got this specific form of E. coli. Traced to romaine lettuce, the energetic Colton turned 10 on round-the-clock dialysis to combat acute kidney failure. His parents still have no official

word from the FDA of the source of the contamination. How do you even eat after something like this? Very cautiously. Like I said, it's washing and re-washing everything that we can here at home. Along with washing produce, wash your hands before and after you handle food and cook that food to the recommended temperature. Colton is back to playing sports but not eating lettuce while Juergens and her testers pursue contaminants. I hope in my career I get to a point where we have a year with no recalls, right? I mean, that's the ultimate goal. So what you eat is tasty and safe. Anne Thompson, NBC News, Fairfield, New Jersey. When we come back, there's good news tonight about the arrival of spring

and the new hope that comes with a new season. There's good news tonight on this first weekend of spring about new possibilities and having something to look forward to. It's a time of blossoms and new beginnings. A nation weary of winter now waking up to spring. I see no matter how the temperature changes, no matter what the news says, no matter what happens, the buds are coming up. I'm looking forward to kind of just the sun for spring. I'm looking forward to getting out and about, not having to wear a bunch of clothes. I'm really excited for it to start warming up. This new season, jump-starting joy. I'm looking forward to going to the Yankees. I'm looking forward to everything blooming in New York. I am looking forward to the weather changing and taking long walks with my dogs. It's just, it's fantastic. It reminds you that there are good things in the world.

And love is blooming too. My long-distance girlfriend recently moved into the city, so I'm excited to spend more time with her in person. Seeing my granddaughters makes me very, very happy. Coming up is my daughter's second birthday. My partner and I worked through IVF to be able to have her, so I love her very much. Clover Ray. It's a time for celebrating connections. I made a new best friend who's an international student from Spain. Something that uplifts me is my friends and family and seeing them every day. The winter thaw melting into new memories.

My best friend and I, Kevin, we checked off a bucket list item and played golf out at Pebble Beach. Springtime bursting with so much possibility. I'm going to move to New York City and hopefully get cast on Broadway. The thing I'm looking forward to is creating more health and abundance of health in my life. I'm looking forward to spring and taking my daughter out, and I feel like this is the year where she'll experience the spring for the first time. And so many proud moments. I got accepted to medical school. Wow.

Straight A's. Straight A's, I got straight A's. I got accepted into my dream college, so I'm really looking forward to that. Something that's good that's happened to us recently is that we're performing Carnegie Hall. Also welcoming the warmer weather, our very best friends. Seeing the dogs, petting the dogs, that makes me really happy. This little one, this Paddington bear right here. How can a dog not bring you joy?

Longer days mean more light and more warmth. A hopeful reminder to make the most of every precious moment. You know, happiness is inside. It's the joy of being alive. The joy of connecting. In fact, I have tears in my eyes just saying that I feel so grateful to be alive, to be here. A nice reminder this spring to look for the good. That's nightly news for this Sunday.

Lester will be back tomorrow. I'm Hallie Jackson. For all of us here at NBC, thanks for watching and have a great week.