NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

Trump’s Oval Office clash with South African president; Multiple tornadoes slam Midwest and South; Two women arrested for allegedly assisting escaped New Orleans inmates; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, the tense Oval Office confrontation. President Trump in an extraordinary scene accusing the president of South Africa of allowing genocide of white people in a series of unsubstantiated claims. Elon Musk and South African golfers on hand for the confrontation. It comes after the administration granted dozens of white citizens of South Africa refugee status, allowing them to travel to the U.S. The funnel clouds menacing the landscape of the Deep South and the mess left behind of one of the most active spring tornado seasons on record, now the new nor'easter in the forecast. The Pentagon accepts a controversial luxury mega jet from Qatar that President Trump could

one day use as Air Force One as security and ethics questions loom. First, the jailbreak, now the manhunt. Five inmates captured, five on the run in New Orleans, plus two women arrested. How they're accused of aiding the fugitives. The new photos of federal agents raid of Sean Diddy Combs' home as the trial continues. The chaotic scene aboard a flight after a false bomb threat. Plus, from Northern Lights to the City of Light,

one astronaut shares his stunning views with me that will leave you breathless. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. We begin with that uncomfortable and maybe even cringeworthy moment at the White House today where President Trump publicly clashed with his foreign guest, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. In a moment similar to his recent Oval Office takedown of Ukraine's President Zelensky, President Trump seizing the moment to confront the South African leader over his government's race policies and the plight of white farmers, he says, have been persecuted and have been targets of violence.

And Mr. Trump breathing new life into unsubstantiated claims of a white genocide happening in South Africa. The president then asking for the lights to be lowered as a video montage played of sound and images he believes supports his claim. The South African president not backing down, defending his government, saying violence against white farmers is not government policy. President Trump recently admitted into the U.S. dozens of white South Africans as refugees. Peter Alexander was in the Oval Office and has this report.

Tonight, another extraordinary Oval Office meeting. President Trump hosting the leader of South Africa, kicking it off with this unusual introduction. President Ramaphosa, and he is a man who is certainly in some circles really respected, other circles a little bit less respected, like all of us in all fairness. We all like that. The meeting quickly turning into a tense confrontation. President Trump accusing Southrica's black majority government of not doing enough to protect white minority farmers from racial persecution they're white farmers and they feel that uh they're going to die and after amplifying unsubstantiated claims of genocide the president was asked if he believes it's happening. I haven't made up my mind. I hate

to see it from the standpoint of South Africa. The Trump administration this month fast-tracked 59 white Afrikaner refugees to become American citizens, despite effectively banning others, including Afghans, many of whom had risked their lives to help U.S. forces. Today, I pressed President Trump why it's appropriate to welcome white Afrikaners when other refugees have had their protected status revoked. We've had tremendous complaints about Africa, about other countries, too, from people. They say there's a lot of bad things going on in Africa, and that's what we're going to be discussing today. When you say we don't take others, all you have to do is take a look at the southern border.

The president was then asked what it would take to convince him there was no white genocide. Ramaphosa jumping in. It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans, some of whom are his good friends. Then, in an unprecedented move, President Trump directed an aide to play a video for the visiting president. Excuse me, turn the lights down. Turn the lights down. Showing South African opposition leaders calling for violence against white farmers. You are cutting the throat of whatness. And alleged burial sites.

I'd like to know where that is, because this I've never seen. I don't. Okay. that is because this I've never seen. I don't. Okay. I mean, it's in South Africa. That's right. We need to find out. These are people that are officials

and they're saying that kill the white farmer and take their land. Ramaphosa is saying he strongly rejects the messages in the video. Our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying. Acknowledging

violence including in rural areas, but saying most crime victims are black. There is criminality in our country. People who do get killed, unfortunately, through criminal activity are not only white people. Majority of them are black people. And Peter, another headline from the White House tonight. The Pentagon has now accepted that Qatari jet to be the new Air Force One. Lester, that's right. You'll remember there has been backlash, even from some Republicans over President Trump, saying the U.S. would accept that Qatari gift of a luxury jumbo jet.

The Pentagon tonight says that President Trump will use it once it's upgraded and proper security measures are in place and that they are accepting it, quote, in accordance with all federal rules and regulations. Lester. All right, Peter Alexander, thank you. Communities across the Midwest and South are cleaning up after devastating tornadoes swept through once again. And the threat isn't over yet. Priya Shrether has the story. Huge tornado right now. Fierce tornadoes ripping across the Tennessee Valley overnight, sending debris flying.

It's throwing trees in the air. And knocking out power for thousands in Alabama and Tennessee. Oh my gosh, that's a freaking tornado. 13 tornado reports in four states last night. Today in Kentucky, cleanup efforts underway. A massive EF4 tornado killed 19 people. There it goes. In Alabama, a tornado tearing the roof off of Gary Kennedy's home. Normally I'm somebody involved in tears. Somebody helping me is kind of, I'm not used to that. So it's touching to have that much help. In Madison County, everything you've ever worked for your whole life is scattered all over the community now, you know, in the matter of just

minutes. The Gibson family lost everything. All of this can be replaced. I've got my wife, my kids, everybody's good. So at the end of the day, that's the most important thing. And in St. Louis, the head of the city's emergency management agency placed on leave with new procedures in place after a failure to set off sirens over the weekend to alert residents. Let me be clear. SEMA exists to alert the community when severe weather is coming. This office failed to do that in the most horrific and deadly storm that our city has experienced in my lifetime. And Priya joining us now from Gurley, Alabama. Priya, there's extensive damage really

all around you. Yeah, that's right, Lester. This home here is completely destroyed and now crews are actively working to comb through all of the debris in this area. Survey teams are saying it could take days to fully assess the extent of the damage. Lester. Thank you. And tonight there is another storm on the way overnight and into tomorrow and nor'easter will bring one to two inches of rain across the northeast and New England. Maine and New Hampshire could see some snow, too. Those conditions are expected to slow down travel across the region over the next few days. With five inmates still on the loose after that dramatic escape from a New Orleans jail, tonight authorities say two women have been helping some of the escaped men. Ryan Chandler has that report.

Tonight, two new arrests connected to the urgent manhunt for New Orleans fugitives. State police say Courtney Harris and Corvante Baptiste aided some inmates after their brazen escape. They say before the breakout, Harris used a phone to contact an inmate who remains at large and say she transported two escapees to multiple locations. They're both still on the run. They say Baptiste used a phone and social media to contact and deliver food to an inmate who has since been captured. Both are now facing felony charges of their own. The level of fear is high, as it should be. Everyone needs to be on high alert. New video shows three of the men wandering around a New Orleans alley shortly after their escape. Five fugitives are still on the run,

including a convicted killer. At this very moment, they're comparing all faces. The search aided by more than 200 facial recognition cameras across New Orleans. At Project NOLA, this non-profit's command center scans the city's hot spots. The French Quarter here, Canal Street in front of the cathedral. Automatically alerting certain authorities when a face matches a mugshot. As soon as we received the data from the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, it only took us about three or four minutes to do the data entry, and literally we hit enter and ding, ding, ding, we started getting the first alerts. There were two escapees in the French Quarter.

He says Project NOLA's cameras helped authorities capture one of the escaped inmates. Has it ever made a mistake? For the last two years, we've been 99% accurate, regardless of skin complexion and lighting conditions. Some civil rights groups scrutinizing the technology. The New Orleans Police Department even opting out of the program's auto alert system. But Project NOLA says it's perfectly legal. State and federal law enforcement continuing to utilize it. Scanning for these five faces

as the manhunt continues. Ryan Chandler, NBC News, New Orleans. We are getting a new look inside the Miami mansion raid of Sean Diddy Combs. Heavily armed teams searched Combs' property last year. In court today, a special agent said authorities recovered guns, including two dismantled AR-15s, drugs and accessories for sex parties. Combs faces charges including racketeering and sex trafficking and has pleaded not guilty to all counts. How much would you spend to have dinner with the president? According to one analysis, some cryptocurrency investors recently spent millions. And that's raising questions about presidential access.

Gabe Gutierrez now with our exclusive new reporting. Tomorrow at the Trump National Golf Club in D.C., a high-powered dinner for a price. 220 winners of a contest to meet President Trump, the top holders of his crypto coin. I don't know much about it other than I launched it. I heard it was very successful. NBC News has learned each dinner guest paid between $55,000 and $37.7 million for the Trump coin, according to an analysis by the blockchain analytics company Nansen, based on the crypto wallets of the contest winners. The total? $394 million. While the website for the contest says that the president is appearing at the dinner as a guest

and not soliciting any funds for it, another side says that 80 percent of the Trump coin project is owned by two companies affiliated or in business with Trump. How unusual is this? This is unprecedented. Daniel Wiener researches money in politics at the NYU School of Law. To have the president of the United States participating in a dinner where the folks attending are paying money essentially into his own businesses is really something that we haven't seen before. On Capitol Hill this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about foreigners buying access to the president. I can't comment on a dinner I know nothing about. Yeah, I think that represents a real problem for this committee because there's clearly a way around the State Department for foreign individuals of significant influence

and wealth to be able to directly lobby the president. When asked about the dinner, the White House says the president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws. The president has been incredibly transparent with his own personal financial obligation throughout the years. The president is a successful businessman. And I think, frankly, it's one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office. Legal experts say tomorrow's dinner may be unusual, but not illegal. Lester. OK, Gabe Gutierrez, thank you. The Justice Department is now dropping agreements for police reform in Louisville and Minneapolis. The DOJ moved to end the agreements known as

consent decrees. They were part of the Biden administration's effort to reform law enforcement in cities that had high profile killings by police officers, specifically George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. It comes just days before the fifth anniversary of Floyd's death. Tonight, there's new progress getting much needed food to civilians inside Gaza as many go hungry. It comes as Israel now says it may have killed a top Hamas leader. Matt Bradley has latest. Tonight, aid trucks are moving further into Gaza, now on their way to U.N. warehouses for distribution. After Israel, facing international pressure, announced earlier this week it would end its 11-week blockade. But hunger still stalks Gaza. And it's Gazan children like Najwa who are

suffering the most. Her body has become much thinner than before, said her mother. She now looks like a skeleton. Najwa is just six years old, but hunger has taken years off her face and body. And there are more heartbreaking stories. In this tent, there are six children, all under age six. Their mother showing photos back when they were all healthy and well-fed. These are the simple dreams of children here, she said. They go to sleep dreaming of food because we have nothing. Israel's government said they've moved nearly 100 truckloads of food into Gaza,

saying they had blocked the aid earlier because Hamas was stealing it, and to pressure the group to release its hostages. But international aid groups say what's coming in is just a drop in the bucket compared to the massive need. It does look to me like a political stunt. I hope that this stunt will turn into a real effort. An effort that tonight, children like Najwa are desperately counting on. And tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Mohamed Sinwar, Hamas's leader in the Gaza Strip, may have been killed after having been targeted in a military operation. All right, Matt Bradley in Tel Aviv. Thank you. In 60 seconds,

the major update from a gay bar drugging scheme in New York. The sentences just handed down. New body cam video showing the moment a 24-year-old was arrested and charged with pretending to be a high school student. Next. Back now with an update on a scheme that targeted men leaving gay bars in New York City. Three men were sentenced to decades in prison today for engaging in a deadly years-long scheme to drug and rob men outside popular gay nightclubs. Julio Ramirez and John Umberger were murdered in 2022. Umberger's mother delivered an emotional impact statement.

She told the court that losing her son was the worst pain in the world. NBC News' reporting helped shed light on the crimes. Frightening moments aboard a Hawaiian Airlines plane at the San Diego airport on Tuesday when authorities said a passenger made a false bomb threat before takeoff. New video shows armed police searching and clearing the plane before evacuating nearly 300 people on board. A 35-year-old Navy technician was charged for making the threat. Also tonight, new body cam video shows the moment a 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with posing as a high school student. Police in Perrysburg, Ohio say Anthony Emanuel Labrador, used fraudulent documents to enroll in the city's

school district and was posing as a 17-year-old. He was booked on felony forgery charges. When we come back, a glimpse of Earth few get to see. My conversation with the astronaut who has snapped nearly a million images from space. Planet Earth is picturesque, especially when you see it from space. One astronaut tells us why capturing the view is just one perk of the job. Ask any astronaut and they will tell you the best part of the job is looking out the window. I'm sure you're asked a million times what it's like in space. Are these photographs and videos part of your answer? They're part of the answer of what it's like to live and work in space and to tell this story to everybody on planet Earth that might not have an opportunity to get into the space.

Don Pettit, a veteran astronaut, has logged nearly 600 days in space, most recently spending five plus months on the space station. Spending his off-duty time snapping photos and shooting video in the orbiting outpost's cupola window. For me, nighttime imagery is such a vivid display of what Earth beauty has, and it's hard to capture with a photograph. Certainly, horizon views from orbit of the Milky Way rising, and the flashes on Earth are lightning storms. You have the atmosphere on edge, which is glowing green, kind of like a slice of key lime pie. He's taken nearly a million images, sometimes setting up five cameras, and uses long exposures to capture things like the mesmerizing pulsation of the northern lights, two dwarf galaxies, and a comet streaking by. Training his camera on Earth,

he's captured California fires, a SpaceX launch, trails of green lights from fishing boats on Southeast Asia's Andaman Sea, the sun's reflection off a river snaking through South America. Do you still get giddy when you look out the window? Oh, yeah, I have a hard time not getting giddy. The world is just an amazing playhouse every single day to make observations. And we're so glad he shared those photos. That's nightly news for this Wednesday. Thank you for watching.

I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.