NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, May 1, 2025

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

Trump removes Waltz as national security advisor in first major shake-up; Massive delays at one of the busiest airports in the U.S.; Businesses small and large warn about impacts of trade war; and more on tonight’s broadcast. 

Tonight, one of the top foreign policy officials in the country removed after a giant security breach. Mike Waltz out as national security adviser, comes after he and other top administration officials were on an encrypted chat discussing war plans while a reporter was in the group. Who's replacing him and why he will likely still have a job? With summer travel season nearing, the stark warning from the head of the DOT of hacks in the system. Just as the flyers going to a major travel hub delayed five hours. The business is big and small, sweating out the trade war. McDonald's with its biggest drops in

U.S. sales since COVID and why some businesses are opting to expand. Out in the streets, the May Day protests over deep government cuts. We go to coal country where a program checking miners' health has been gutted. The death toll rising from a nonstop barrage of spring storms. The threat of severe thunderstorms again for 41 million. The suspect just caught after a hit and run left children injured in a popular South Carolina beach town. John Elway speaks out after a deadly accident that left his longtime agent and friend dead. Just in, music mogul Diddy's news from court and the rush to protect the seals of Block Island,

the mission that is as important as it is adorable. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. A major shakeup in the Trump administration today, not playing out quite as it may have first seemed. President Trump indeed sidelining his national security advisor, Mike Waltz, as was the Washington buzz earlier today. But then came news from the president that he will nominate Waltz to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and tapping Secretary of State Marco Rubio to serve as national security advisor temporarily while continuing to lead the State Department. Waltz, as you recall, was at the center of a storm

recently after mistakenly adding a journalist into a group chat on Signal, in which a U.S. military operation was discussed in real time. President Trump stood by him after the incident. Still, today's move opening up new distance between the president and one of his top advisors. Garrett Haik reports. Tonight, just 102 days into his second term, President Trump with his first senior staff shakeup, removing National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, announcing he's nominating Waltz to become ambassador to the United Nations instead. Posting, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation's interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.

The president tapping Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pick up Waltz's duties on an interim basis. He did not stop to answer questions late tonight. Mr. President, why now? Waltz was on Fox News this morning praising President Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine moments before reports he was expected to be pushed out of his White House role. Only President Trump could have brought both sides together. We were here. We are moving closer and closer. The decision to reassign Waltz, part of the ongoing fallout after an embarrassing mishap, when Waltz mistakenly added a reporter to a group chat on the encrypted app Signal, where sensitive plans about strikes against the Houthis were discussed.

Waltz later took responsibility for the episode. It's embarrassing. Yes, we're going to get to the bottom of it. Was there a mistake? Absolutely. We're going to improve it. We're going to fix it. President Trump publicly supported it. That man is a very good man right there that you criticize so strongly. He's a very good man and he will continue to do a good job. The president at the time telling me in a phone interview, he thought Waltz had, quote, learned a lesson. But Waltz remained on shaky ground. When asked about Waltz again last week, the president saying only, quote, Waltz is fine.

I mean, he's here. During his first term, President Trump cycled through four national security advisers. Tonight, Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also on the signal chat, to be removed. The national security advisor is out. He's the first person to leave. He will certainly not be the last. Tonight, Vice President Vance was asked about the former Green Beret and Florida congressman. I like Mike. I think he's a great guy. He's got the trust of both me and the president. But we also thought that he'd make a better U.N. ambassador. Garrett, you have new reporting on how this all played out.

That's right, Lester. Waltz's possible departure had been simmering since the Signal story first broke, but the president did not want to hand his critics a victory, according to a source familiar, leading to Waltz's new post instead of a firing. Meanwhile, that same source says Secretary Rubio's interim position could be open-ended. Lester. Garrett Haig tonight. Thank you.

Now to frustration for passengers traveling through Newark Airport today, where delays were five hours or longer. It comes as air traffic controllers warn about persistent issues there. Tom Costello is watching it for us. Tom, where do things stand right now? At this hour, arrivals delayed five hours and more due to equipment problems and staffing shortages. And one veteran controller tells NBC News, don't fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs.

At one of America's busiest airports, Gridlock, 24 hours of ground stops and delays at Newark International, a critical hub for United. Arriving flights delayed 5 to 12 hours. From all we know that this is an ATC FAA issue. This red-eye flight from San Francisco to Newark turned around mid-flight. On the West Coast, passengers waiting in long lines. Yeah, this is rough. The FAA blames the chaos on equipment issues, runway construction at Newark, and staffing issues at Philadelphia TRACON, which guides aircraft in and out of the airport. What I think you're seeing is you're starting to see cracks in the system. Still short some 3,000 controllers nationwide,

the DOT today unveiled plans to staff up within three to four years, including recruiting more military controllers, bonuses for academy grads and veteran controllers who don't leave before mandatory retirement at 56. One newer controller tells NBC News they lost radars on Monday, radios on Wednesday, and things need to change. It's not a safe situation for the flying public. The FAA and the ATC union insist air travel is safe. I think this is a pivotal moment of seeing what the stresses and pressures of this career path are. Stress and strain with summer travel weeks away.

Tom Costello, NBC News, Washington. We turn now to President Trump's trade war and the businesses, large and small, saying the impacts are real, painful, and being felt right now. Christine Romans has details. With dire warnings over President Trump's tariffs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today practically begging the White House for tariff relief for small businesses, telling the administration even if it only takes weeks or months to reach agreements, many small businesses will suffer irreparable harm.

These tariffs are just adding uncertainty and complexity at a time when these small businesses just don't have the cash flow to cover it. The Chamber's CEO says she's speaking up for Main Street companies that don't have the lobbyists and lawyers like big public names. Businesses like Bonnie Bray Flowers in Denver. Got our roses from Ecuador. Facing Mother's Day and graduation with new costs they never anticipated. Everything that is imported from another country, you know, adding anywhere from 10 to 20 percent on every one of our invoices. Big companies, too, with big tariff price tags. GM warning investors of current tariff exposure of four to five billion dollars. Hershey says tariffs will cost it up to 20 million dollars this quarter. Stanley Blackendecker says it's already raised prices because of tariffs

and will raise them again next month. Consumers, meanwhile, growing more cautious. Sales at McDonald's in the U.S. fell 3.6 percent, the biggest drop since the pandemic. Airlines also seeing passengers pull back. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan. The demand is way down. Now, a lot of that is, I think, the consumer reaction to the tariffs. The administration's message tonight, stay calm.

We didn't get here overnight. We're not going to fix this overnight, but I do think uncertainty will go away. Markets closed higher for the day, and after the bell on an earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly addressed the trade war. Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add nine hundred million dollars to our costs. And Christine, meantime, the White House is saying that the tariffs are having the desired impact. That's right, Lester. The White House tonight pointing to Mercedes, saying it'll be moving production of one of its vehicles to a plant in Alabama. Also today, Kimberly-Clark, the company that makes tissues and toilet paper and other consumer goods, it announced a plan to invest more than $2 billion

to expand its manufacturing in Ohio. That should result in about 900 jobs. All right, Christiane Romans, thank you. In South Carolina tonight, police just apprehended a suspect believed to have plowed his car into children in a suspected hit and run. Erin Gilchrist now with a breaking update on the case. Tonight, police announcing they've captured a hit and run suspect, Justin Colin Adams, now in police custody after a manhunt that lasted for several hours. Officers searching this South Carolina beach town house by house. The suspect has been arrested. He is in custody. The area is now safe. He was found on a boat, and he will be going with detectives to talk to them. They say Adams struck three people, including two children,

with a car outside the Sunrise Presbyterian Church preschool on Sullivan's Island. One child treated at the scene. The other victims rushed to the hospital. Police say the suspect took off on foot. The manhunt unfolding just before one in the afternoon. Police dropping a dragnet on the town, putting helicopters and drones in the air, teams of officers knocking on doors. The effort drawing crowds of onlookers and bringing traffic on the island to a crawl. In addition to doing the searches of the homes, we're also searching

every vehicle that is leaving the island looking for the suspect. Investigators still trying to determine whether the crash was an accident or deliberate. The second child struck in this hit and run has been released from the hospital and police say the adult victim is stable and should be fine. Lester. Aaron, thank you. Turning now to another tragic incident, this one involving a Hall of Fame quarterback, John Elway, that left his close friend and former agent dead. Here's Liz Kreutz. Tonight, legendary quarterback John Elway mourning the death of his longtime friend and agent, Jeff Sperbeck, who died after falling off a golf cart at a private residential community near Palm Springs. Officials have not said who was driving or what may have

caused the accident, but a source familiar with the details of the incident confirming to NBC's Denver affiliate, KUSA, that Elway was the driver. According to authorities, the accident happened around 6.50 Saturday evening at the Madison Club, a luxury golf community. After falling off the golf cart, 62-year-old Spurbeck was transported to a local trauma center in critical condition where he died three days later. In a new statement, Elway says he is absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner, and agent. He did not comment on his reported involvement. Elway, who won two Super Bowls with the Broncos, worked with Spurbeck for decades.

I'm Jeff Spurbeck. I'm one of the founding partners of Seven Cellars. The two even becoming business partners, opening up a winery together. This was John Friend's very close friend, if not best friend. It is devastating to him. Sperbeck's family saying in a statement they are grieving this unimaginable loss as a family alongside our dearest friends, the Elways, and the many other clients Jeff called friends. And the incident happened not far from the Stagecoach Country Music Festival. Authorities say they have launched a thorough investigation and will take appropriate action based on the outcome. Lester.

Okay, Liz, thank you. On this May Day, a traditional day of labor demonstrations, thousands turned out nationwide for protests targeting President Trump and his sweeping cuts to the federal workforce. In West Virginia, Jacob Soboroff reports that coal miners could pay the price for those cuts as critical research into black lung hangs in the balance. For decades, Scott Laney's team made health screenings as convenient as possible for coal miners in Appalachia who have limited access to health care facilities. We provide x-rays, pulmonary function tests, blood pressure screenings, occupational histories, to try to get a sense of what the health of the mining workforce is. All through NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which focuses on work-related illnesses like black lung and coal miners,

a disease that can cause difficulty breathing, a persistent cough, and lead to death. Is black lung today worse than ever? It's certainly worse than it's been in the last 30 or 40 years. In central Appalachia and among long-tenured coal miners, one in five miners who are working today, right now, have Black Lung. Lainey and his team were trying to reverse that trend. But a month ago, he and more than 800 other NIOSH employees were terminated as part of the Trump administration's doge cuts. And despite the administration signaling this week their jobs would be reinstated,

a memo obtained by NBC News says that reinstatement will only be a temporary arrangement, even as the Trump administration looks to expand coal mining. My concern is these new people who are going to be going into the mines now have less protection than their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers as a result of this. These current and retired Appalachia-based coal miners all relied on the program. As someone who's still working underground, are you worried about what that means for your health? Absolutely. Without having the protection or the sampling and some of the stuff that NIOSH does, we're not going to be nearly as protective as

we are now. They just started closing things up and not even looking what they're doing. This needs to be reinstated as quick as possible. Otherwise, the mines might survive, but not the miners. Critical government health protections for coal miners, now anything but certain. Jacob Soboroff, NBC News, Morgantown, West Virginia. We'll be right back in 60 seconds, a day after another wave of dramatic rescues from flash floods. 41 million in the severe weather threat zone for tonight. Once again, we're watching the skies after a series of violent storms has left six people dead. We have seen desperate water rescues play out across Texas and Oklahoma. Meteorologist Tevin Wooten is here.

Tevin, it's going to be a long, stormy night for a lot of folks. Absolutely, Lester. And we're watching two distinct zones, one across Ohio, the other getting going not just during sunset, but after sunset tonight and into Friday morning across central and southern portions of Texas. And it's gusty winds, 60, 70 plus miles an hour and the potential of isolated tornadoes outside of that one distinct zone between Oklahoma City and across Austin, Texas. We will likely see golf ball, if not lime sized hailstones tonight. And unfortunately, the same way a lot of folks started the work week on Monday and Tuesday with severe weather, we're going to end the work week as well, Lester, with severe thunderstorms into Friday. All right, good to have you here. Thanks so much. We're back in a moment with news

from the criminal trial of Diddy, the new headline just out of court, plus a glimpse you rarely get of a great white in shallow water. What it was doing there, next. Only days before his sex crimes trial is set to begin, Sean Diddy Combs rejected a plea deal from prosecutors. Details weren't disclosed, but one prosecutor said the offer came with potentially less jail time than a guilty verdict would from a jury. Combs has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is set to begin Monday. A pair of women astronauts made history today. Anne McLean and Nicole Ayers left the International Space Station, taking the fifth all-female spacewalk ever while prepping the station for new solar panels. McLean was supposed to take part in the first all-female spacewalk six years ago, but there weren't enough spacesuits in her size.

And it's one of the ocean's most fearsome creatures, the great white shark. But when a 10-foot great white got stuck in shallow waters off the coast of Australia, a group of men stepped up. They worked for almost an hour to rescue the stranded shark, helping it back into deeper waters. When we come back, the spectacular seals of Block Island inside the mission to help save so many next. And finally, there's good news tonight about a team fighting to save seals on our shoreline. Our Emily Aketa joins them on their mission to protect the species.

Nice pink dumbs, so that's great. The Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue Team has never been busier. So far this season, we've had about 20 entangled seals at this location alone. So we followed program manager Sarah Callen to Block Island in New England for a closer look at the staggering surge in gray seals entangled in a mess of fishing gear and trash. Now Callan's team racing to remove it. First containing this entangled seal pup so they can cut him free from the netting. An eventual death sentence.

What relief to have this off of its neck. Yeah, absolutely. It's the same group that brought in this little guy. Stranded in city streets in Connecticut. Sadly, Chappie didn't make it with plastic found in his stomach. Research estimates billions of pounds of plastic enter the ocean every year. The amount of animals that are interacting with human made products and debris within the first couple months of their life is a bit alarming. It directly relates to the state of the ocean.

It's our job to help share that message and educate people on the threats that these animals face. A fight Mystic isn't giving up on. Bye! Helping seals like this swim towards a healthier horizon. You get to give an animal a second chance at life that they normally wouldn't have without our intervention. So it's such a special moment. Emily Ikeda, NBC News. Awesome, nice job.

Block Island, Rhode Island. Some really important work they're doing. 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.