NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

Trump defends massive tax-cut and spending bill after Musk’s criticism; Israel: Hamas leader killed during military operation in Gaza; Convicted murderer and ex-police chief remains on the run three days after prison escape; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, from deep-doge cuts to disappointment over the president's big, beautiful bill, Elon Musk pans the president's massive budget plan, calling for deeper cuts, what the billionaire is calling for. It comes as the president's pardons are drawing heavy scrutiny, from the Chris Lees, the reality TV stars convicted of fraud, to floating a reprieve for the men convicted of a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The backlash tonight. Plus more than two inches of rain in two hours.

The emergency rescues in San Antonio from flash floods. Israel's intense strikes on Gaza. Now saying they killed a top Hamas leader, Mohammed Sinwar. He took over for his brother, who the IDF also killed. It comes amid chaos over distributing aid. What's next for SpaceX after the Starship tumbled out of control and broke up over the Indian Ocean? How a car crashed through a roof of this veteran center, and believe it or not, it's not the

first time. The crypto controversy, the president pushing for less regulation of the markets. It comes as the president's businesses go big on crypto. Is it a conflict of interest? Good evening and welcome. Elon Musk, the other face of President Trump's full court effort to shrink government spending by slashing jobs and closing programs, is tonight slamming the administration's new spending plan.

Musk has been one of the president's top lieutenants, named as the head of DOJ, the Department of Government Efficiency. But he says in a new interview that the president's spending bill adds to the budget deficit and questions whether the administration's big, beautiful bill, as the president calls it, can be both big and beautiful president Trump facing backlash on multiple fronts tonight, including his latest use of the pardon power granting a slew of new and controversial pardons gave Gutierrez is covering it all for us at the White House.

He once bragged about using a chainsaw to break up the federal bureaucracy, but tonight Elon Musk is breaking with President Trump over his massive tax cut plan known as the Big Beautiful Bill. I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be big. The bill passed by the House delivers on a slew of the President's campaign promises, including extending the Trump 2017 tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, and directing billions

of dollars for the border wall. But Musk is now joining some GOP senators saying the plan does not cut enough spending. I was like disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and unreminds the work that the Doge team is doing. The president argues not passing the bill would mean higher taxes. We will be negotiating that bill and I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it and tremendous amounts of benefit are going to the middle income people of our country.

Meanwhile, the spotlight is growing on President Trump's pardons with reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley released as early as tonight. We're the Chrisleys, Todd and Julie Chrisley. Three years after their convictions for tax evasion and bank fraud. Your parents are going to be free and clean. President Trump calling the Chrisleys daughter Savannah from the Oval Office. Well, they were given a pretty harsh treatment based on what I'm hearing. The 27-year-old, a Trump supporter. The president called me personally

as I was walking into Sam's Club. Who had criticized her parents' prosecution at the Republican National Convention. Due to our public profile and conservative beliefs, they accused my parents of fraud. The president now saying he'd consider pardoning the men convicted of a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer five years ago. I will take a look at it.

It's been brought to my attention. I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job. Trump today also rejecting claims he's backed down on tariffs when asked about a new term reportedly used by some Wall Street analysts, taco. Short for Trump always chickens out. I gave the European Union a 50% tax tariff and they called up and they said, please, let's meet right now you call that chickening out it's called negotiation

gabe let's circle back to the president's pardons i understand he signed even more of them late today yes lester several including former republican new york congressman michael grim who was convicted of tax fraud a decade ago the president also commuted the sentence of Larry Hoover, a notorious Chicago gang leader who is serving multiple life sentences for crimes including murder from the 1970s. Hoover has said he's now a different person. Lester?

All right, Gabe, thank you. Also tonight, heavy rain caused major flash flooding in San Antonio, Texas. The streets were overrun, leaving some drivers stranded. Crews dispatched to rescue this driver, overwhelmed in waters from a swollen river. The city got more than two inches of rain today in two hours. The National Weather Service says another round of scattered thunderstorms could develop in that area later tonight. Now to the major development of the Mideast.

Israel tonight announcing it has killed the top leader of Hamas during a military operation in Gaza. Richard Angle has late details for us. After relaunching a punishing military offensive in Gaza, today Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed a victory over Hamas, saying Israel confirmed it killed the group's latest leader, Mohammed Sinwar. He was killed, Israel says, in in an air strike on a hospital Mohammed Sinwar took over Hamas is leadership from his brother yet here whose earlier assassination by Israeli forces was captured on video.

Yes, yes in war was considered the mastermind of the Hamas October 7th massacre. And tonight Hamas is still holding more than 50 hostages in Gaza. Meanwhile, a controversial new U.S. and Israeli-backed operation has begun to distribute a limited amount of food into Gaza. But Israeli troops firing in the air to disperse hungry crowds exposed the challenges. And today, a crowd broke into a warehouse storing aid. All while President Trump revealed he cautioned Netanyahu

against striking Iran, the major backer of Hamas, while the U.S. and Iran are in the midst of nuclear talks. I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution. Now, that could change at any moment. Could change with a phone call. But right now, I think they want to make a deal. And if we can make a deal, save a lot of lives.

Richard, back to the death of the Hamas leader. Could it have a major impact on efforts to defeat Hamas? Not likely. While there's no doubt that Hamas has been badly damaged in this conflict, in the past, the group has been able to replace its top leaders without much difficulty and given all of the death Destruction hunger that there is in Gaza right now Hamas has plenty of recruits lester. Okay, Richard Engel Thank you now to an explosive moment during Sean Diddy Combs is federal sex trafficking trial

moment during Sean Diddy Combs's federal sex trafficking trial. Combs's lawyer is asking for a mistrial over a line of questioning by prosecutors. The judge swiftly denied that request. Jurors also heard from a stylist who testified he witnessed Combs assault and threatened his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. Combs has denied all wrongdoing. Now to Arkansas, where a convicted murderer and ex-police chief is still on the run after escaping from prison Sunday. Officials say they're facing a number of challenges, including his law enforcement background and difficult terrain.

Here's Priya Shreether. Tonight, the close knit community of Calico Rock, Arkansas, on alert with a search for Grant Hardin, a former police chief turned convicted killer and rapist. Now in its third day, when I heard about it, I just shut the windows and doors and like pistol out on the coffee table and we're good. Officials say they've expanded their search area. Several agencies working around the clock deploying canines and drones to scour the dense and rugged terrain surrounding the prison.

They've set up as many as 10 of these checkpoints around town where they're basically stopping every single car that drives by and asking the drivers if they've seen anything suspicious and also looking inside of the vehicle for any signs of pardon. There's a lot of forests. A cave ran champion is with the Arkansas Department of Corrections

hiding places. There are you know, units, you know escaped wearing a make sh this surveillance photo, an affidavit that caused to open the gate and allow him to walk away from the prison. Harden was convicted and sentenced to 30 years for the 2017 murder of James Appleton a city worker

who police say Harden shot in the face in broad daylight. Harden's DNA was then tied to an unsolved rape of a school teacher from 1997. So far, officials say they believe he's still in the area, but have no credible leads. It really is a needle in a haystack, and that's why we're looking for just that one credible lead that will put us in the right direction. Officials say they noticed that Hardin was missing 30 minutes after his escape, but they say the rain that day and in the following days hindered them from finding him quickly. Lester?

All right, Priya, thank you. Now to the major crypto conference in Las Vegas making headlines tonight. Vice President Vance touting the digital currency, all while there are new ethical questions about the president's push for crypto. Garrett Haake now with late details. Tonight Vice President Vance at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas touting the administration's all-in attitude on cryptocurrency. And I'm here today to say loud and clear with President Trump crypto finally has a champion and an ally in the White House.

The Vice President pushing a hands-off approach to the growing field of digital decentralized finance. We reject the Biden administration's legacy of death by a thousand enforcement actions. We reject regulators. Overall just 17% of Americans say they have ever invested in traded or used a cryptocurrency but the presence of the VP in Vegas seen here as a sign of the movement's ascendancy. For me, Bitcoin's always been about freedom. So the current administration obviously cares a lot about that. It all comes the day after Trump Media, the truth social parent company of which the president is indirectly the largest shareholder through a revocable trust, announced it was acquiring

$2.5 billion in Bitcoin. And after the president attended a dinner for the largest investors in a Trump meme coin, a separate digital novelty product whose trades generate revenue for Trump businesses. That dinner blasted by Democrats. Donald Trump is using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto. And he's doing it right out there in plain sight. The president recently pressed by NBC's Kristen Welker. What do you say to those who argue that when they hear that

they worry you're profiting from the presidency? I'm not profiting from anything. All I'm doing is, you know, I started this long before the election. I want crypto. I think crypto is important because if we don't do it, China is going to. And it's new. It's very popular. The White House says Trump attended that dinner in his personal capacity and that his assets

are held in a trust. Lester. Garrett Haig, thank you. Now to our series, AI Revolution and the artificial intelligence creation of what are being called reporters at the Arizona Supreme Court, computer generated correspondence that may strike some as alarmingly convincing. Gotti Schwartz has more. Okay, TikTok, impression time. In a world full of deep fakes. It's Taylor Swift here.

Hold on just a second. What happens when the face of your official source of information isn't human, it's AI? The Arizona Supreme Court. Meet Victoria and Daniel, the official AI avatars for the Arizona Supreme Court. Hey there, I'm Victoria, one of the Arizona Supreme Court's new AI, generated court news reporters. Why? Why are you doing this?

Why I think it's just an efficient way for us to get news out. Alberto Rodriguez is a public information officer for the court and helped design his digital coworkers. So traditional production obviously takes quite amount of manpower. Then how much time does it take for Victoria to do it here? It takes minutes. I gotta admit, when she says,

I'm Victoria, a a news reporter like my human feelings get hurt as a news reporter. Yeah yeah do you see this ever replacing like news reporters? I don't think so. Arizona's Chief Justice Ann Timmer says it's important to note that everything you hear the avatars say is actually written by the justices themselves. For years we took it for granted that of course you trust the courts, of course you trust judges, we're doing our best but if people don't believe that it doesn't matter. However there are a lot of people out there that that don't trust AI. That's true but they have to remember this AI at least that

we're using it's not generative. The justices said that even if she didn't mean to violate the rules, her act... And while the avatars might become the most forward-facing example of AI in the legal system, Justice Timmer points out the law profession is already using AI every day for things like research to document review and analysis. I come here today a humble proceeding. On plaintiff in New York, even trying to use AI to argue his case before a skeptical appeals panel. Shut that off! But with more AI come concerns over instances of AI models

citing cases that never existed and potential bias and discrimination that's often found when tapping into large data sets. I don't see if what your concern is that which is a valid one that will use a I to start substituting for judgment. I don't think that what will ever happen. All ethical concerns in a new era that could end up before Arizona's high court decided by human justices but disseminated by something else. Gotti Schwartz, NBC News, Phoenix, Arizona. For better or worse, 100 percent me. In 60 seconds, another SpaceX booster explosion.

What went wrong and what it means for the future of Elon Musk's space program? Plus, a dramatic confrontation between a driver and police officer that led to a shooting through the windshield. Tonight, SpaceX says its engineers are looking for answers after an uncrewed test flight of its massive starship yet again came apart in flight. And as NBC's Tom Costello reports, Elon Musk is promising to try again soon. 3, 2, 1.

Breaking through gravity and hoping to break new records, SpaceX's mega starship, the biggest rocket ever built, roared off the pad in south Texas, all 33 of its Raptor engines firing in unison as the booster, reused from a previous test flight, powered the ship into space then separated and fell back to Earth. But instead of splashing down in the Gulf, the booster exploded as it descended. Confirmation that the booster did demise. While the upper stage, which one day would carry astronauts or cargo, continued on into space.

But within a few minutes, a door to release satellite mock-ups failed to open. Then Mission Control lost contact with the ship. minutes a door to release satellite mock-ups failed to open. Then mission control lost contact with the ship. We did spring a leak in some of the fuel tank systems inside of Starship. Soon Starship was tumbling out of control. We have essentially lost attitude control on the ship at this point. It's the third Starship loss this year. In January and March, debris rained over the Caribbean, forcing the FAA to clear planes out of the hazard area. This time, CEO Elon Musk, in mission control, posting Starship made it to the scheduled

ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight. Musk is promising to try again soon with another test flight every three to four weeks and the ultimate goal of reaching the moon and Mars. Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. We're back in a moment with some wild video of a car crashing into the roof of a veteran center and it's not the first time.

We're back now with some pretty wild video of a car crashing through the roof of a veteran's hall in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Police say that excessive speed may have contributed to the crash and that a male driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. But get this, this is not the first time a car crashed into the roof, but the exact cause of this crash is still under investigation. Also, tonight, disturbing video to show you out of Miami, a police officer shooting a driver through the windshield

while on a car's hood. It's unclear exactly what happened before the confrontation in this video, verified by NBC News, but Miami police say the driver hit the officer after those shots were fired. The driver exited the car and was arrested. The driver's sister, who was in the car, said he was wrongly shot at. The driver and officer both hospitalized.

And overseas, brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been charged with rape and human trafficking charges. Prosecutors in the UK announcing the news publicly today, after the charges were approved last year. The Tates, whose provocative online content has drawn them massive audiences, were arrested in Romania in 2022. The brothers deny all allegations against them. That's nightly news for this Wednesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt.

Please take care of yourself.