NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, March 27, 2025

Episode Date: March 28, 2025

Newly revealed texts from group chat about Yemen strikes; Active wildfires burn across Carolinas; DHS secretary visits El Salvador prison holding deported Venezuelans; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, protesters taking to the streets over ICE arrests. The backlash to a Tufts University graduate student being arrested by federal agents and sent to a detention center halfway across the country. The legal battle and how the Trump administration is justifying taking her into custody. Drastic cuts throughout the country's health agencies. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announcing his plans to eliminate 10,000 full-time workers from their jobs. King Charles briefly hospitalized due to side effects from cancer treatment, what we know about his condition. Wildfires in the Carolinas doubling and tripling

in size. Up close with firefighters using controlled burns to try to get the flames under control. The arrest today in the arson attack on Tesla cars in Las Vegas, who authorities believe is responsible. The rare move from the White House pulling a key nominee. Why now? NBC's Molly Hunter on the ground in Greenland ahead of Vice President Vance's visit, hearing firsthand how people there are reacting to President Trump saying the U.S. needs Greenland for security reasons. I would say, please do not take us. And on Major League Baseball's opening day, how one man and his lawnmower are inspiring millions. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

Good evening and welcome. With the Trump administration widening its net against foreigners here both legally and illegally, a rally was held today near Boston in support of a Tufts University doctorate candidate whose arrest by ICE, despite her legal status, has cast a chill across some college campuses. While strengthening the government's resolve to crack down on student visa holders, it says have engaged in certain forms of social activism. The woman was whisked off the street by federal agents earlier this week, captured on a nearby camera. While she held a valid student visa, her apprehension is based on what the government

says were activities in support of Hamas. Homeland Security declaring a visa is a privilege, not a right. Stephanie Gosk with the story tonight from Boston. Tonight, protests calling for the release of Tufts University graduate student Ramesa Ozturk. The 30-year-old Turkish citizen here on a student visa, according to her attorney. Video obtained by NBC News shows her being detained Tuesday by six federal agents not wearing uniforms and masked. Telling her they are the police and taking her away. And there was no allegation that she has violated any law whatsoever. Massachusetts Democratic Attorney General Andrea Campbell is

working with Ozturk's attorney. What information specifically are you looking to get from the federal government? What's the timeline here? Is she a threat to any community? Because based on every assessment we've done here in Massachusetts where of course she was attending school, she is not. DHS posting, DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization, but gave no further details. A year ago, Ozturk co-wrote an opinion article in the school newspaper that called on the university to label the war in Gaza a genocide and divest from companies tied to Israel. Immigration law gives Secretary of State Rubio power to deport visa holders who would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences to the U.S. We revoked her visa. We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.

During the campaign, President Trump promised to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests on campuses, where some Jewish students reported being harassed and assaulted. If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, we will throw you out of our country so rapidly your head will spin. DHS has not revealed evidence of Ozturk's role in protests, and her friend called her detainment shocking. There's definitely a feeling of feeling very unsettled and scared right now, people not knowing what to do. Tonight, Ozturk is being held in Louisiana, the same state where Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate detained in a similar case, is also being held, Lester.

Stephanie Goss, thank you. Tonight, HHS announced it will cut an additional 10,000 jobs in what they describe as a dramatic restructuring. Officials say the cuts will save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually, but NBC's Ann Thompson reports there is deep concern tonight. Sir Kennedy, do you have any response? Controversial Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today slashing 10,000 jobs. We're keenly focused on paring away excess administrators while increasing the number of scientists and frontline health providers. The cuts include 3,500 employees at the FDA, but not affecting inspectors or drug medical device or food reviewers. 2,400 at the CDC to focus on its core mission of preparing for and responding to epidemics. This on top of the 10,000 other

workers gone in Elon Musk's Doge efforts. In all, a quarter of the agency's workforce. It just can't eliminate a quarter of the workforce and not have some effect on agency operations. Katie Sandlin, one of those let go in the first wave, says today's news compounds her disillusion. NIH is not the place that I spent my entire career trying to reach anymore, at least from the outside looking in, that's how it feels. Meanwhile, in West Texas, where there's a measles outbreak, it's vaccine skeptic Kennedy's words about alternative therapies that may have an impact. And also cod liver oil, which has high

high concentrations of vitamin A and vitamin D. Doctors at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock report a handful of cases, fewer than 10, involving liver damage caused by too much vitamin A. All the patients were unvaccinated. Dr. Anna Montanez is a pediatrician in the area. Can cod liver oil prevent measles? No, ma'am. Can it treat measles? No, ma'am.

The only thing that prevents measles is vaccination. Now, Kennedy says he is giving the HHS a new charge to end what he calls a chronic illness epidemic by concentrating on safe, wholesome food, clean water and getting rid of environmental toxins. Lester and Thompson, thank you. Now to news overseas and a health scare for King Charles. The royal spent some time in the hospital today. Buckingham Palace said he had side effects following his ongoing treatment for cancer. King Charles later went home to rest and his engagements for tomorrow have been canceled. And now to the fires in the Carolinas, burning and growing as air quality becomes a concern for residents. NBC's Marissa Parra is on the front lines.

The race is on to fight the flames in the Carolinas. The Table Rock Complex fire now doubled in size within one day, leaving more scorched earth behind it. You can see how intense the flames got when the fire came through here. The Table Rock and Persimmon Bridge fires in South Carolina torching nearly 6,000 acres, stoking a new wave of evacuations and aggressive measures to keep it from spreading further. This is a technique we use called a burnout. So essentially we're using this to bolster our containment lines and to burn out the unburned fuel between the fire break and the wildfire. Quite literally fighting fire with fire.

Exactly. This is what we've been seeing. Helicopters like the one you see behind me dropping down so they can connect that orange bucket beneath it. They're going to use that to fill it with water and then drop it where they need to. But slowing down efforts, the debris left from Hurricane Helene. During Hurricane Helene, you stayed here. I did. I did. The debris left from Hurricane Helene. During Hurricane Helene, you stayed here. I did. I did.

From his Hendersonville sandwich shop in North Carolina, Matthew Rogers tells us how the home he called the Cabin of Hope survived Helene, but it didn't make it through the fires. I saw on Facebook the house on fire, burning. Honestly, I'm thinking about my neighbors, but I kept thinking of firefighters. Honestly, I kept thinking of because hurricane in that community brought us together. Rogers, like so many here, clinging to hope once again. Risa Parra, NBC News, Hendersonville, North Carolina.

And we turn now to our new reporting. The President Trump is frustrated with his national security advisor for his role in that group chat about a military strike in Yemen. Here's Peter Alexander. New tonight, NBC News has learned President Trump is privately angry with his national security advisor, Mike Waltz, according to two Republican sources, after Waltz mistakenly added a journalist to that group chat about military strikes in yemen despite the president's public defense of waltz i think it was very unfair the way they attacked michael uh he's a a good person the blunder creating a days-long controversy for the white house it's embarrassing yes uh we're going to get to the bottom of it it comes as a federal judge just ruled against the Trump administration, ordering members of that encrypted group chat on Signal,

including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to preserve all of their texts from that chat. Hegseth shared specific details about when U.S. fighter jets would take off and when bombs would drop, though he insists none of it was classified. They know it's not war plans. There's no units, no locations, no routes. Notably, the judge, James Boasberg, randomly assigned to the case, is the same judge the president once impeached for blocking deportation flights of alleged gang members

to El Salvador. Top Republican Senator Roger Wicker today requested an investigation into the signal chat by the Pentagon's acting inspector general. Attorney General Pam Bondi says a criminal investigation into the leak is unlikely. It was sensitive information, not classified and inadvertently released. And meanwhile, Peter, President Trump just withdrew his nomination for the ambassador to the U.N. What's the backstory? Lester, the president announced that he has asked New York Republican Elise Stefanik to stay in Congress instead of serving at the U.N. This is a dramatic reversal.

Stefanik was expected to be easily confirmed, but the president expressed concerns about Republicans keeping what is a razor thin majority in the House. Lester. Peter Alexander, thank you. With new tariffs on imported cars and auto parts expected to go into effect in just a few days, dealerships are bracing for higher prices. So how much more can you expect to pay? Here's Christine Romans. Tonight at car dealerships across the country. Your phones are ringing. They're ringing. Customers are concerned. We first met George Glassman last month. He owns Mitsubishi, Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, and Genesis dealerships in Michigan. They want to make sure that they're getting in if they need a car and making that deal before the tariffs kick in.

Consumers are going to bear the brunt of this and it's going to be painful. Car shoppers, dealers and manufacturers bracing for higher prices as the president puts 25 percent tariffs on imported cars and auto parts. If they're made in the United States, there's absolutely no tariff. But almost half of cars sold in the U.S. and 60 percent of auto parts are imported. Goldman Sachs estimating tariffs could add five to fifteen thousand dollars to the price of foreign-made cars and three to eight thousand on cars made in the U.S. because of border taxes on the parts. For Damon Jefferson, who works on an assembly line in Detroit, that cost may be worth it. The American people have to realize that Trump is

putting these tariffs in place to be able to keep the American people working. The Trump administration banking on tariffs to spur more investments and bring factories back to the U.S. But retooling a factory is slow and costly. The president would love to see all vehicles in the United States built in the U.S. with 100% U.S. made parts. That's not going to happen. The industry is set up on a regional basis. So there will still be production in Mexico and in Canada. Canada's prime minister says the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner. We will respond forcefully. Nothing is off the table to defend our workers and our country. Here in Miami, the Canadian government paying for billboards telling

Americans tariffs are a tax on your grocery bill. Christine Romans, NBC News. There was an arrest today connected to an arson attack on Tesla cars in Las Vegas earlier this month. Liz Kreutz has more. Tonight, authorities announcing the arrest of a 36-year-old man who they say is responsible for using Molotov cocktails to torch several Teslas at a Las Vegas service center. The suspect's name is Paul Kim. According to officials, Kim is facing both state and federal charges, including arson, unlawful possession of an explosive and discharging a firearm into a vehicle. Our search has revealed numerous items of interest to include multiple rifles, a shotgun, as well as a black backpack with pink paint, face masks.

Police say when Kim arrived at the Tesla Service Center last week, he began shooting into the surveillance cameras before spray painting resist across the front door and setting multiple cars on fire. Authorities say they're looking into his social media to determine a motive. A preliminary assessment of the suspect's social media activity indicates some very loose but self-proclaimed ties to the Communist Party USA social media group, as well as social media groups called Revolutionary Communist International, Hidden Palestine, Palestine Action.

The arrest coming amid a rise in violence and vandalism of Tesla locations and cars nationwide. Earlier this week, a 33-year-old man in Texas was arrested for allegedly ramming a mini four-wheeler into multiple Teslas around the city of Texarkana, just one day after incendiary devices were found around a Tesla showroom in Austin. And with more protests planned at Tesla locations this weekend, Tesla sales in Europe have dropped by at least 40 percent, according to an industry trade group. Tesla's U.S. quarterly earnings are expected next week. The company has not commented. Lester. OK, Liz, thank you. We'll be back in 60 seconds with the FAA's new push to keep air travel safe after that deadly mid-air crash over

the Potomac in January. The FAA is reviewing hot spots at airports nationwide looking to avoid a mid-air crash like the one between a helicopter and a passenger plane in January at Reagan National Airport. With more, here's Tom Costello. Eight weeks since January's mid-air crash, the FAA today announced all helicopters flying around Reagan Airport must turn on their geopositioning transmitters called ADS-B, but with some exceptions for national security aircraft. ADS-B could have provided more precise location information to controllers. Investigators say the Army helicopter was flying too high when it crashed into the regional jet that night. Today, a commanding general told senators the chopper was flying with its ADS-B transmitter off

to avoid public flight tracking software. The crew, however, was approved to operate with that capability off in accordance with Army policy. Army policy that continues around D.C. I am at a loss to come up with any justification for risking the lives of the traveling public with that decision. Meanwhile, the FAA concedes its own database included more than 15,000 proximity warnings, potential close calls between planes and choppers over a recent three-year period at Reagan. Yet it took no action. Since the crash, the FAA has restricted chopper traffic around D.C. and is now using AI to identify potential conflicts at 21 other airports.

The next big accident is in the data right now. Inside the hearing today, family members of the 67 people who died. Tim Lilly's son, Sam, was the first officer on the passenger jet. This has been the hardest two months of my life. While the Army chopper was not transmitting ADS-B data, it was sending its transponder location signal to air traffic control. The NTSB says it plans to complete its investigation within a year. Lester. Tom Costello, thanks. Still ahead, the big chill will take you to the top of the world, Greenland, and the controversy there over the vice president's visit.

Greenland, a remote island at the top of the world, is front and center tonight as Vice President J.D. Vance prepares for a visit that has brought on an Arctic chill. Molly Hunter is on the ground there. On the eve of an unwelcome scaled back U.S. visit to Greenland, the competition over the Arctic is heating up. As Vice President J.D. Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright prepared to fly to the remote northwest BDFUK space base to meet with U.S. military personnel. Skipping out on the originally planned cultural tour stops in Greenlandic cities, Russian President Putin cautioned the U.S. is

serious. Everybody knows very well, he said today, about the U.S. plans to take over Greenland. And yesterday, President Trump doubled down. We need Greenland and the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark. Denmark has to have us have Greenland. But why the fixation on the largest, least populated island in the world, a territory of Denmark? Greenland is 80 percent ice. And as the ice melts, as you can see right here, due to global warming, that's where Trump sees opportunity. Underneath all this ice lies the prospect of an estimated 1.5 million tons of rare earth elements, as well as oil and natural gas reserves. Strategic Arctic shipping lanes also opening up and Russia and China together already working on the key northern sea route. Here in the capital of Nuuk, Anders Larsson says they like America here,

but not enough to want to be American. You feel backstabbed and feel like it can be difficult to depend on America in the future. But it's all about collaboration, says Greenlandic MP Kupanuk Olsen. We need to learn to dance with the U.S. Yeah, we need to figure out how to dance together. Yes, dance together. Molly Hunter, NBC News, Nuke, Greenland. And when we come back here tonight, a major league surprise. The guy who got a call to work with the Kansas City Royals in a way you'd never expect. Finally, he's famous for surprising so many with his lawnmower.

Shaquille Brewster introduces us to the fan getting a surprise of his own on baseball's opening day. It's moments like these that Spencer says keeps him going. The 26-year-old transforms overgrown and neglected lawns around Kansas. Yes, now my kids can come play outside. Yeah. All at no charge to homeowners. I've probably done around 200 at this point. 200?

Yeah, 200. I've been doing it for a little over three years now. All free? All completely free. His time-lapse videos and clips of shocked but grateful neighbors have gone viral. You're an angel. But recently, it was Spencer who got a surprise. I got a call from a local neighbor. A call for help from the Kansas City Royals,

offering the chance to work with crews getting the field ready for today's opening day. We got on a phone call and scheduled a date, and it was real. Spencer spent the day with the grounds team, learning how to cut and and stripe this grass even conditioning and preparing the dirt in the infield. It was weird because I'm used to mowing crazy overgrown lawns and so it was a little bit nerve-wracking. You have some 40 million followers but this made you nervous? Yeah it did for sure. Teaming up with head groundskeeper Trevor Vance. He brought his work clothes and he went to work. What kind of job did he do? He did a really good job. Okay the one to ten I'd give him an eight. He brought his work clothes and he went to work. What kind of job did he do? He did a really good job. Scale of one to ten, I'd give him an eight.

The newest video in the stream he hopes is inspiring others. Beautify my community and just help people out. And a pinch yourself moment for someone who creates them for so many. Thank you. Can I give you a hug? I'm stinky, but you can. Shaquille Brewster, NBC News, Kansas City, Missouri. Nice to see he made the cut. That's nightly news for this Thursday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of

yourself and each other. Good night.