NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

Markets rebound on tariff exemption for some auto imports; Deadly winter storms battle states nationwide; U.S. Pauses Intelligence Sharing With Ukraine; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, a temporary truce in the growing trade war. A one-month pause for automakers has markets rising again, but warning signs remain when and why the price of some staples at the grocery store are going up, as President Trump acknowledges there could be, quote, a little disturbance. The cross-country severe storms from whiteout conditions to the crash shutting down an interstate. Three dead from severe storms, as at least 13 tornadoes spin up across the plains and deep south. My knees, and I've never prayed so hard in 15 seconds in my life. Plus a potential fall with Ukraine, new signs of progress after the major reversal,

the Trump administration pausing the sharing of intelligence and halting shipments of weapons and equipment already in route. The fallout after the longest presidential address to Congress in history, the divisive message digging into culture wars, the president touting progress on illegal immigration, and the congressman poised to be censured after being removed. Our investigation into the toxic smoke and ash left behind on homes after wildfires and the owners now battling insurance. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. Tonight, turmoil over tariffs and a notable policy walkback. President

Trump granting U.S. automakers a one-month reprieve on new 25 percent tariffs imposed on Mexico and Canada. The announcement sending stocks higher in the hopes that the trade war ignited this week will cool. But no thaw in the ice with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who spoke with the president today. In his address to Congress last night, President Trump mostly holding firm on the new tariffs imposed on America's three biggest trading partners, and he made it clear there are more to come. Retailers now warning of higher prices on everyday grocery items, from avocados to fish. Senior business correspondent Christine Roman starts us off tonight with the deep impact

so many are expecting just days from now. A new protectionist era in America and the president acknowledging Americans will feel it in their pocketbook. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again and it's happening and it will happen rather quickly. There'll be a little disturbance but we're okay with that. It won't be much. That disturbance, according to one estimate, will cost the average American household $1,200 to $1,300 more a year for the goods they're buying now.

The White House announcing one change to its policy after the president spoke today with the big three U.S. automakers. A one-month pause on tariffs on auto imports that come in through the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. At the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage. Markets were covering some of their two-day losses on hopes more concessions would follow. But after a phone call with Canada's

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Trump merely posting that it ended in a somewhat friendly manner. He gave no further indication of changes to come on the tariffs he imposed this week, 20 percent on China and 25 percent on both Canada and Mexico. And one of the first places Americans will feel it, the grocery store. This bunch of avocados will last how long? Maybe a week? This right here is probably going to last like a couple days, maybe two to three days. A couple days.

Grocery chain Stu Leonard's currently sells its avocados, most from Mexico, two for $5. The company says it has about a week's supply left, and after that, it will only sell avocados individually at $2.99 apiece, a 20% increase. The grocer saying it will absorb 10 cents per avocado. All of this is imported from Mexico, and the prices are about to go up. Yes, they are. That's why I'm buying it now. You're buying it now because the prices are going up. Shoppers facing the new economic reality as President Trump says the trade war is just beginning with the potential for new tariffs on virtually every U.S. trading partner starting April 2nd. Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them.

That's reciprocal back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. Christine, these retailers, the grocery stores, they see this coming. How are they making adjustments? So, Stu Leonard's is going to try to source more vegetables from Florida instead of Mexico and salmon from Europe instead of Canada. And many companies have already tried to reduce their dependence on goods from China. But the bottom line here is the reality is that the higher costs, any higher costs,

eventually will make their way to shoppers. Lester. Christine Romans tonight. Thank you. We turn out of the deadly storm, spotting blizzards in the Midwest to thunderstorms and tornadoes across the South. NBC's Kathy Park joins us live from Mississippi. We're in EF2 touchdown. Kathy, good evening.

Lester, good evening to you. Residents tell us that the storm blew through in a matter of seconds. And in that short amount of time, you can see the damage left behind this home completely torn apart. And part of this home ended up right in the pool. Tonight, extreme weather striking all corners of the country. A powerful line of storms unleashing hurricane force winds in the Carolinas. This is insane. And whiteout conditions in the country. A powerful line of storms unleashing hurricane force winds in the Carolinas. This is insane. And whiteout conditions in the Midwest, grounding flights making a mess on the

roads, even shutting down parts of the interstate in Nebraska. The South recovering from torrential downpours and ferocious flash flooding. The storm's being blamed for at least three deaths and several injuries in Mississippi. Hard hit Wayne County was still recovering from last month's EF3 tornado that damaged dozens of homes. Today, they're finding their way forward after another likely tornado. Just kind of came out of nowhere. It was a really scary 15 seconds. Supper turned into survival mode for Lynn Smith and her family. I've never prayed so hard in 15 seconds in my life.

We walked from right there to right here and just got on the floor and put some pillows over our heads and prayed for the best. Since Monday, at least 13 tornadoes have been confirmed across five states, and peak severe weather season is still weeks away. This is a preview of what's to come. Potentially, just looking at the overall picture, usually March, April is when it really starts to heat up. As a late winter storm now races east, the mid-Atlantic in the bullseye for damaging winds and downpours. Kathy Park, NBC News.

We're also covering the fallout over President Trump's address to Congress. We've also learned the Trump administration is pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Gabe Gutierrez has late details. Tonight, a potential thaw in the face-off between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelensky. The White House revealing a pause in intelligence sharing with a war-torn country to pressure Ukraine into peace talks, but indicating that pause could be temporary. I think we're going to see movement in very short order. President Zelensky now saying there's forward momentum. I'm also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. In the

longest presidential address in modern history, the president touting his administration's accomplishments. America is back. And leaning into the culture wars. There are only two genders, male and female. Also in the chamber, Elon Musk. But today, a legal blow to his efforts to slash spending. The Supreme Court rejecting the administration's attempt to freeze foreign aid funding, at least for now. Elsewhere, this internal memo at the Department of Veterans Affairs saying up to 82,000 jobs added under the Biden administration could be cut. We'll be making major changes, so get used to it. And President Trump announcing the arrest of an ISIS terror suspect accused of planning the Afghanistan bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members. Near the beginning of the

speech, the president heckled repeatedly by Texas Democrat Al Green, who was then removed by the House Speaker. When he said that he had a mandate, it triggered something. It really did, because he doesn't have a mandate. Other Democrats held up signs of protest or walked out. Donald Trump delivered one of the most divisive speeches made by a president in American history. Last night was a very clarifying moment for our country. The Democrats exposed themselves as the party of insanity and hate. Some of the most poignant moments. I am asking our new Secret Service Director, Sean Curran,

to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service. The president celebrating 13-year-old brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel, who today visited the Oval Office, also honored the family of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student killed by an undocumented immigrant last year. The president highlighting the record low number of illegal border crossings since he took office. The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation. We must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.

A lot of moving pieces tonight, Gabe. We've just learned now the administration is negotiating directly with Hamas. What can you tell us? Yes, Lester, the White House confirmed those direct talks with Hamas, which usually happen through intermediaries because it's a terrorist organization.

Late today, President Trump demanded Hamas release its hostages now, saying this was his last warning. Lester. All right, Gabe, thanks. The impacts of the president's budget cuts reach far beyond Washington. Stephanie Gosk reports some local officials are concerned about losing funding for programs that help people with necessities like food and housing. Outside the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If we are not here,

you will not be housed. An alarm was sounded this week over Doge's staffing purge and looming budget cuts. 1,000 miles away in Kansas City, the Bentleys and their son with special needs do have housing. Finally. We were in hotels. Yeah. And we don't have to talk about the sketchiness of hotels. We spent many nights crying, praying. Did it feel helpless? I felt completely helpless. I felt like I failed. We felt like we failed as parents. But then they were accepted into a rental assistance program and now live in a housing project almost entirely funded by federal money from HUD. It literally shows that there are programs to help people who just need just a little leg up. Just need help. He is hope.

Edwin Laundis is the director of the local housing authority that found the Bentleys their house. Do you think there are inefficiencies in the system? Oh, absolutely. Do you want to fix them? They need to be fixed. But he has concerns about Doge. Someone's just, you know, they're waving their hand over. These people have to go. That's not efficiency. His office assists nearly 8,000 families with rent in Kansas City. There are 25,000 on the wait list. To operate his program, Laundis relies on federal partners. Two sources at HUD tell NBC News the Rental Assistance Division's staff could be cut in half by DOGE,

which he worries might lead to disruptions to their program here. In a statement, HUD says it is taking inventory of personnel and programs, adding that it serves our most vulnerable and will continue to do so in the most efficient and effective way possible. Broadly speaking, if the families you work with don't get this assistance, what happens to them? We're going to have a problem. If the program's not in existence, then you're going to have more people under bridges. Laundis and his team say they are hopeful leaders in Washington won't let that happen, that their message will be heard. So are the Bentleys.

Why should the federal government fund a program like this? I would say because it's needed. Please tell me you don't know one person in your life that didn't help. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Kansas City, Missouri. A short break here, then in 60 seconds, the hidden crisis from the L.A. wildfires. Our investigation into why smoke damage might be more of a problem for some residents trying to recover. It has been nearly two months since fires scorched parts of Los Angeles, now growing frustration over insurance claims for residents whose homes survived the blaze

but are unsafe to return to. NBC News' Liz Kreutz reports. We built the house. We put every dollar we had into it. Ian Hardcastle seems like one of the lucky ones. I was shocked that it's still here. His Pacific Palisades home survived the devastating LA fires. This is the plaque. The tree he and his wife Veronica planted in memory of their late baby girl Charlie, remarkably still standing. We like to think that she was kind of looking over our house in the neighborhood and that's the reason why it's still here. But their home, far from habitable. Inside, black ash covering nearly every surface. Okay, so these hygienists have been testing for fire emissions in the air, carcinogens, gases, because it's not just about this visible ash that we see here around the home.

It's also about the toxins that we can't see. Toxic debris expert Don Bostad-Johnson says anything porous is likely tainted. We're in the nursery. What are the concerns? So the concerns that I have is refining hydrogen cyanide gas in here. Do you suggest someone move back into this home? No, not with what I'm seeing right now, no. But the Hardcastles, who are now in a rental with their one-year-old and another on the way, say their insurance, the California Fair Plan, doesn't appear to see it that way. They sent us a document unprovoked that basically pointed to language saying that smoke damage will only be covered if something is ruined and destroyed visible to the eye. What that could mean, hundreds of thousands and out-of-pocket

expenses, replacing everything from the drywall to furniture, even your clothes. But the insurance company kind of treats you like the forgotten stepchild. They just say, it looks okay. Yeah, it's just dirty. Dirty. Clean. Clean. And the Hardcastles are not alone.

Thousands of other fire victims also rely on the Fair Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, a plan that in 2022 was found by the state's Department of Insurance to have been illegally underpaying or denying smoke damage claims. Findings the Fair Plan disputes. Attorney Dylan Schaffer has litigated against the Fair Plan for years. And California Fair Plan takes the position that the family, which includes very, very young children, should move back into this house and clean it themselves. So his options are essentially accept the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars or hire me and file a lawsuit, which nobody wants to do.

Or the other option, move back into a home that could make you or your family sick. Will make him sick. Ian is hoping the test results from inside his home will sway his insurer. But just this week, he received this initial estimate for remediation, roughly $1,800, money he won't get because it's within his deductible. We don't want to live in a house that poisons us. The California Fair Plan declined to comment on the Hardcastle's case, but in a statement said the Fair Plan pays all covered claims, including smoke claims consistent with California law,

and that our policy and approach to direct physical loss is consistent with other insurers. Fair Plan is an outlier by a very, very big distance. They believe that these homes are not damaged. State Farm and Liberty Mutual and USAA, they will acknowledge that the homes are damaged. And then the question becomes what they pay. For now, the Hardcastle's left in limbo, questioning how they'll be able to get back to the home that means so much. And we want to come back when it's safe to come back. Yeah. We don't know when that will be.

Liz Kreutz, NBC News, Los Angeles. There is more to tell you about tonight. Still ahead, woolly mammoths are extinct, but scientists brought a smaller version of them back. All right, watch closely. We're back with a possible scientific breakthrough. These extra furry rodents are called woolly mice. A Dallas company that works on de-extinction

genetically modified them with hair to resemble the traits of a woolly mammoth. The company says it plans to revive the actual woolly mammoth to walk the earth again as soon as 2028. And that is nightly news for this Wednesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please

take care of yourself and each other. Good night.