Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, March 17, 2025

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, the court hearing late today. The Trump administration accused of ignoring a judge's order over deportations in what some are calling the most significant constitutional showdown of this term. Outrage after the White House refused to turn around a plane filled with alleged South American gang members. The videos of them landing in El Salvador, their heads shaved, now thrown into this mega prison. The Trump administration now trying to get the judge thrown off the case. Also breaking. The Trump announcement late today that he is pulling Secret Service protection from Hunter Biden as well as Joe Biden's daughter, Ashley, why he says he's doing it.

The rising death toll from those vicious tornadoes down south. The school bus flipped on top of a high school, the neighborhoods now flattened, and how this family survived by sheltering in a bathtub. The high-stakes talks between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. Tomorrow's phone call could determine the fate of Ukraine. Our correspondent is inside Russia with the very latest. Fighting back, the American questioned in the case of the missing spring breaker in the Dominican Republic now pushing to leave the country. And why he returned to the site of her disappearance with police.

Mountain top murder mystery, identical twins found dead, their families speaking out why they don't believe the police's version of events. And ready to return, the final night aboard the space station for the astronauts whose eight-day trip ended up lasting nine months. How they're packing up ahead of tomorrow's trip, back to Earth. Plus, the alleged assault at the bottom of the world. One scientist reportedly threatening to kill another at a research center in Antarctica. How will they keep everyone there safe at the world's most remote outpost? Top story starts right now. Tonight, President Trump in an unprecedented legal showdown after ignoring a judge's orders and deporting hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador. The president of El Salvador releasing this video appearing to show the Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. touching down in his country, headed for one of their notorious mega prisons.

Pictures also released by El Salvador's president showing hundreds of alleged gang members lined up, their heads shaved, their hands and legs bound in chains. The White House doubling down today saying they did not violate any court orders. And late today, they've asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to remove that judge from the case. We're also learning new details tonight about another deportation. A professor at Brown University detained at Boston's Logan Airport before being sent back to Lebanon despite having a valid visa. The Department of Homeland Security saying she had attended the funeral of a top Hezbollah leader. Let's get right to NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, who leads us off from Washington. Tonight, a federal court seeking answers from the Trump administration, as the White House mounts a vigorous defense of its mass deportation of undocumented migrants.

It says we're charged with violent crimes, pushing back against a federal judge. I would think without question, the most unlawful order that any district court judge is issued in our lifetimes. Posting a cinematic, music-backed video of the operation, the White House touted the removal. Saturday night of nearly 300 migrants. Officials said investigators determined these are violent members of Trend de Aragua and MS-13 gangs classified as foreign terrorists. The White House said the U.S. government paid El Salvador $6 million to detain the deportees. We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care of the left things. We're coming. At issue whether the Trump administration complied with a federal judge's order to temporarily delay deportations, including

whether any flights took off after the order was issued. The White House says it complied. All of the planes that were subject to the written order, the judge's written order, took off before the order was entered. President Trump invoked a 1798 law, the Alien Enemies Act, which does not require due process in wartime. However, the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela or El Salvador. Mr. Trump defended his approach. That's an invasion. They invaded our country. So this isn't, in that sense, this is war. In a separate deportation case, a Brown University professor of medicine with a valid visa was detained, then sent back to Lebanon.

The Department of Homeland Security posted that Rasha Al-Awea had admitted she attended a funeral for the leader of Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., and said she supported him. Her removal called common-sense security. Her attorney could not be reached. These actions come as new NBC news polling shows 44% say the country is on the right track, the highest number in 20 years. Still 54% find the U.S. headed in the wrong direction. The president's 47% approval rating is his highest across both terms, while a majority 51% disapprove. And Kelly O'Donnell joins us now from the White House.

Kelly, we know the judge rebuffed the Trump administration's last-minute request to cancel today's court hearing as it relates to the people deported to El Salvador. What happened at that hearing? Well, also, the Trump, DOJ tried to have this judge removed. That was not successful. The judge wanted the attorneys representing the administration to answer a number of questions to determine whether or not the administration had complied. And they said they could not do that due to national security.

and the federal judge called that one heck of a stretch and that his order in both written and verbal form was valid even if the planes had taken off and were in international airspace. He was contending that those planes should have turned back around. This was a temporary restraining order in part to determine if the use of the 1798 law could be applied in this instance. And that was part of why he wanted additional time. Kelly O'Donnell at the White House. Thank you. For more on these deportation flights, I want to bring in NBC senior Homeland Security correspondent, Julia Ainsley. Julia, human rights groups are sounding the alarm, saying that some of the people in El Salvador's mega-prisons have not actually been convicted of a crime. Of the 261 people deported by the U.S., do we know if they all are convicted criminals and whether or not,

not everyone that was deported ended up in El Salvadorian prisons. Well, Alison, we know about 200 of those who were deported over the weekend were done so under that Alien Enemies Act that the president invoked on Saturday. And what that means, this is according to senior administration officials and lawyers representing these plaintiffs, is that they were deported without a final order of removal. They basically circumvented the immigration court system in the United States. And so they were deported without that. And as well, when you hear about the crimes that have been listed by the White House, we heard that today from Caroline Leavitt.

There's a long rap sheet of some of the crimes that they're associating with these people who have been deported. I've also been told by senior administration officials that those are crimes that they have been charged with, but not all have been convicted. And Julia, Kelly mentioned in her report that the U.S. is actually paying El Salvador $6 million to detain these deportees. Do we know how much more this operation is costing the United States and how many resources it's using? Well, yes, we understand that $6 million will be to hold these migrants there for one year. That's going directly to El Salvador as part of a deal that was worked out. In terms of other costs, of course, it costs money to do these arrests and to put these planes out there to El Salvador. Then there's a question of who pays for them to eventually be deported.

should they then go to Venezuela. It's the same kind of logistics and cost analysis that had to be done around Guantanamo. Of course, there, the U.S. was providing the detention space, and that ultimately, I'm being told, is now being seen as maybe too costly for the administration to maintain. Julia, should people expect to see more of these deportation flights in the future? Well, Judge Boasberg in the district courts in D.C. has been clear that he still has a temporary restraining order on Trump using the Alien Enemies Act, but that's already being appealed to the circuit courts. And if they do get the go ahead, I understand they could continue to try to round

up and deport anyone who they think is associated with Tren de Aragua. And they could see that as a green light to use that wartime powers and to invoke those in order to spread that group and try to deport others without so much as an immigration hearing. Ellison. Julia Ainsley in Washington. Thank you. Another major headline from Washington, President Trump revealing on truth social that he is revoking secret service protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden, former President Joe Biden's children. It comes as Hunter was photographed vacationing in South Africa. For more on this, let's bring in senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. Gabe, what more do we know about this decision?

Hi there, Alison. Well, this all unfolded just this afternoon when President Trump was asked about Hunter Biden vacationing in South Africa. and the president said he would look into it. A short time later, he posted on social media that he was indeed revoking the secret service protection for Hunter Biden, up to 18 agents, the president said, calling it, quote, ridiculous. The president also saying that he was ending the secret service protection for Ashley Biden,

President Biden's daughter. Now, Ellison, I should point out that by law, spouses of presidents do have secret service protection for life, but it's up to the president's discretion. when it comes to other family members, children, for example. Typically, they get it for about six months or so. That's what President Trump said children,

how long they had Secret Service protection after he left the White House. Of course, this all comes as Hunter Biden last week, there was a ruling allowing him to drop a lawsuit against a former White House aide, and Hunter Biden was claiming that he did not have the funds to proceed with that lawsuit. And so certainly President Trump reading the reports of Hunter Biden in South Africa, again, late today,

saying that he was revoking the Secret Service protection for the former president's son. Alson. Gabe Gutierrez on that breaking news. Thank you. Next to that deadly severe weather outbreak over the weekend. The death toll rising, those severe storms killing more than 40 people. As tornado season is off to a devastating start, the number of. of reported twisters reaching a staggering 99 and across the Midwest and South residents

now left to pick up the pieces. NBC's Kathy Park is in Mississippi with the latest. Tonight, parts of the Midwest unrecognizable, and so much of the South, a debris field. The devastation from a weekend of extreme weather spawning destructive winds. There goes another one. Downpours, even dust storms. A dangerous and deadly outbreak of tornadoes ripped through a 11 states. The death toll in the double digits, a staggering 42. The strongest twister striking Diaz, Arkansas, an EF4 with 190-mile-per-hour winds. Damage so widespread in Missouri, entire strip malls have been ripped apart. Neighborhoods leveled. Near St. Louis, the Azdues told

NBC's Adrian brought us they had just moments to spare before the roof blew off. We barely made it to the basement within seconds and then the windows blew and we were just crouching down covering our heads felt like the house is coming down on us in mississippi back-to-back tornadoes in walthill county displays hundreds of residents grace and baker found his mom wedged in a small cubby hole with the entire house collapsed on top of her was your mom just panicking or panicking just scared to death nearby a mother's instinct kicked in did you have a game plan in place that's there's always a game plan and this room is the best in the house Sabrina Farage and 11 members of her family took cover in their bathtub

and we were hollering at the storm to go away and dissipate and not tear us up or not hurt anybody it was like a jig oof and everything was like all down and crazy facing extraordinary loss neighbors are now forced to start over together we got each other. And the recovery efforts are just getting underway. There's a big cleanup ahead with so many homes like this one completely demolished. The governor was in the area touring some of the devastation. He said at least 23 counties were impacted in some way by the severe storms over the weekend. He also said there are reports of a tornado that traveled more than 70 miles on the ground. He says the state is working quickly and efficiently to get aid to those who needed.

passed along some good news. Search and rescue efforts are over. He said all of the people who were unaccounted for this weekend have been found alive. Alison, back to you. We are less than 24 hours from the long anticipated return of those two astronauts still in space. NASA confirming Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmer are expected to land back on Earth tomorrow, closing out their nine-month stay at the International Space Station. Our Tom Costello has been following this closely as the countdown to home begins. On the International Space Station tonight, last-minute packing for a long-awaited trip home. It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive.

Sunny Williams, early Sunday morning and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore on the far left. Dragging contact and soft capture complete. After the replacement crew arrived in a drag and spaceship just after midnight. I cannot tell you the immense joy of our crew when we looked out the wind. and we saw the space station for the first time. After their 286 days in space, Sonny and Butch will join crew nine astronauts Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbinoff

and close their hatch at 1045 Eastern Time tonight. At 105 a.m. they'll undock from the station, beginning their return to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf at 5.57 p.m. on Tuesday, after breaking a few space records. You can see NASA astronaut Sonny Williams. Williams has now carried out nine spacewalks in her career, spending more time in the vacuum of space than any other woman.

Yet both Butch and Sonny admitted to feeling the pole of Earth. Eventually we want to go home because we left our families a little while ago. I want to hug my wife. I want to hug my daughters. And everyone craves a favorite food. I want a good pizza. That's what I missed the most when I was in space. Former astronaut Mike Massimino says coming home also means new priorities like missing shingles

on the family house. My wife's like, oh, we had a storm while you were gone. I'm like, well, what the heck? You know, why don't you call the guy? And she's like, you're the guy. So I was, you know, looking at the roof the next morning. Tom Costello joins us now. I mean, Tom, a good reminder there in your piece that life still happens, even when you're in space.

But when astronauts are orbiting in space, and in this case, for nine months, there's surely a physical toll of readjusting to gravity as well, right? Yeah, many of them say when they come back. they feel kind of wobbly and a little nauseated because when they're on Earth, the ear's vestibular system is now suddenly trying to readjust when it had been in space with no gravity at all, right? All astronauts go through a thorough medical exam when they return to Houston. It takes a few days to get over that nauseative feeling. And then the medical examiner, well, the medical team, I should say, will not let the astronauts be released from their quarters in

Houston until they're confident that they are completely clear and ready to go home. Tom Costello, thank you. We're back in a moment with the latest from the Dominican Republic. The man believed to be the last person to see an American college student alive, now fighting to leave the country, what he told NBC news about the investigation. Plus, the body camera footage just released of a fire at a Connecticut home where a man had allegedly been held for decades. And the major change at Harvard, how even more students can now attend for free.

We're back now and in the Dominican Republic, where the search for a missing American college student enters a new phase. The man from Iowa, who police say was with her before she disappeared, is now looking to be set free. A source telling NBC News, the 20-year-old's lawyer filed a petition to release him for. from detention. NBC's Jesse Kirsch reports from Punta Kana. Police say Joshua Reby was with Suddickha Kunaki just before she vanished in Punta Kuna. Tonight, the 22-year-old from Iowa is fighting for his freedom. A source in the Dominican Republic Attorney General's office tells NBC News, Reby's lawyers have filed a petition that's normally used to argue for release from detention.

11 days after Kunaki disappeared, police say no suspects have been identified. identified. But Reby's lawyers say his passport has been confiscated and he has been confined to the hotel since the investigation began. He is permanently escorted by the police anywhere he goes. He is not free to leave. The U.S. State Department would not comment on Reby's status. We won't discuss a private situation, a private case, certainly when it comes to diplomacy, diplomatic relationships between one country and another. Kunaki, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, vanished early on the morning of March 6th, after she was seen walking with Reby in a group to the beach.

Investigators interviewed Reby as a witness last week. According to a transcript obtained by NBC News, which we translated from Spanish, he said after a large wave swept them out to see, he was able to eventually get her back to the shore, but he says he then started vomiting. Later, he says he looked around and didn't see anyone. This weekend, Reby was back on the beach, this time surveying the area with investigators. Meanwhile, some in Rebe's Iowa hometown are now coming to his defense. He wouldn't even hurt a fly.

An anonymous group of friends of Reby's family, writing in part the Rock Rapids community stands behind and supports Joshua Reby and his family. Joshua has an unwavering devotion to his faith and genuine kindness towards others. And Jesse joins us now from Punta Kana with more. Jesse, is there any indication from authorities on whether or not they're going to release this individual from detention or potentially charge him with something? At this point, Alison, it's anyone's guess. We have not been able to hear directly from the Attorney General as to what may happen tomorrow in court. We haven't heard from Reby's

attorneys yet on this filing. We've just heard from our source within the Attorney General's office telling us that this filing has been made and that Reby is expected in court tomorrow afternoon. So we are waiting to see what will happen, but this definitely feels like a point where all of this could potentially be boiling over, Allison. Jesse Kirsch, thank you. For more on this case, criminologist Casey Jordan joins us now. Casey, thank you so much for joining Top Story. I want to start with Joshua Reby, because he is believed to be the last person to see Kunaki alive. What do you make of the story he's told police thus far? The story seems to be incomplete at best.

And remember, you know, we're getting a boiled down version of many days, you know, six hours of interviewing. So there might be more details we don't know. But there seems to be some big gaps and inconsistencies. You know, he talks about the fact that he was a lifeguard and that he was helping her get back to shore and telling her to breathe, you know, talking about all of this concern that he has for her. And then when he gets to the beach, she was walking in the water and disappeared. And yet he did nothing about that. He didn't search for her. He didn't think that was unusual. He didn't report her missing. He didn't go and call hotel people. He says he just went to sleep on the beach for the next five hours. So these gaps and inconsistencies are probably the reason that they have revoked his passport and want him to stay on the island until they get the story straight.

Casey, if you were the lead investigator on this case and you were catching what you describe as those gaps and inconsistencies in his testimony, how would you clear those up? be your follow-up questions. And from your perspective, do you feel like Dominican authorities are taking the steps necessary to clear up and get answers to those questions that you have pointed out they likely still have? Well, we've got a few things that went wrong from the outset. Her friends didn't report her missing for 12 hours. It was another 24 hours before the U.S. Embassy contacted DR authorities. And Dominican Republic Police are not unsophisticated, but they have different protocols than we do. And they're probably thinking, she went home somebody. you know, let's not panic.

I think that everything was delayed from the outset. But my two burning questions are, where is her physical cell phone? We know that they are looking at her digital imprint, trying to figure out, reconstruct what was going on in the hours before her disappearance. But if her cover-up was found on the beach, why wasn't her phone on the beach? If she had drowned, it seems like most of, you know, evidence would have washed ashore by now, whether it be clothing or a body. The other big question is, where is the security footage and the hotelist said,

Ironically, they lost power at 5 a.m. that morning exactly at the time she disappeared, and electricity was out for a number of hours. And I really wonder if this is true or if this is a ruse because they don't want to release security footage or they lack security footage. So why do we have so little security footage? Those are the burning questions I would really like to see answered. And then the next question is, when are we going to do a land search? I worry that evidence is there that might be destroyed, given that it's spring break, and I don't see them with a backhoe on the beach. And to me, that would be the very next step they should be thinking about. Do you think, based on what you've seen so far, that authorities in the Dominican Republic

are equipped to handle a case of this magnitude? I'm going to put it this way. I think that they need to accept all of the help that is being offered to them by the FBI. And you don't want to get into territorial wars. I worry that they're equipped, but that they are at odds with the tourist industry, which is a huge and very important economic basis for the DR economy. We are in the peak of resort season, February, March. By the time April comes and May, they might get to doing a land search, but I think they're equipped. I think that their priorities, however, are probably at odds with the very important persona that all Caribbean tourist destinations want to put out, that they are very safe. So one worries that the investigation is being slowed down because

it's tourist season and they don't want any bad public relations. Casey Jordan, criminologist, thank you so much. We appreciate your time and insights. Always great to be here. Coming up, the assault investigation in Antarctica, a member of a 10-person crew on a base. They're accused of physical, and sexual violence. What happens now with the crew that is thousands of miles from home and in some of the harshest conditions on planet Earth? We're back with Top Stories news feed, starting with the latest on those U.S. deportations to El Salvador, a federal judge ordering the U.S. Justice Department to provide details on how planes of alleged gang

members, mainly from Venezuela, were deported despite a court order. The judge asking for a sworn declaration by noon tomorrow. Late today, the White House asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to remove that judge from the case, citing what they called, quote, highly unusual and improper procedure. And this just in, the wing of an endeavor air flight striking the runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The FAA says the strike happened last night as the pilot was a ten. attempting a go-around maneuver due to an unstable approach. No one was seriously hurt. Endeavor is the same airline that crashed and flipped over upon arrival at Toronto's airport just last month.

And an update on that horrific abuse story we brought you last week. Police releasing body camera video from the fire that police say freed a Connecticut man from his stepmother's home after 20 years in captivity. Video shows Kimberly Sullivan outside her Connecticut home asking emergency responders for help. Firefighters can then be seen carrying the emaciated 32-year-old man to an ambulance. He later told officers he intentionally set the February 17th fire to try and escape Sullivan's home. And in Kentucky, lawmakers voting to protect conversion therapy used against LGBTQ plus use. The measure, part of a bill that also outlaws use of Medicaid to pay for gender affirming health care. The bill is a response to Governor Andy Bashir's executive order that restricted the practice last year.

Conversion therapy is a controversial and widely discredited practice that attempts to force LGBTQ-plus youth to conform to gender norms. And some good news for you. Beginning next school year, Harvard University will offer free tuition to families earning less than $200,000 a year. The school is also set to cover housing, travel, and supply costs for families earning less than $100,000 a year. The bill for a single year at the nation's oldest university can add up to more than $82,000. including tuition and housing. Now to President Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire, but Russia's President Putin is demanding changes to the plan. Tomorrow, President Trump is set to speak directly with Putin. NBC's Keir Simmons is inside Russia with more. Tonight's President Trump, just 24 hours away from a high-stakes call with Russia's President Putin. But it's a bad situation in Russia, and it's a bad situation. in Ukraine. We're going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace, and I think we'll be able to do it. The president this weekend, saying they'll talk about more than just stopping the fighting, Ukrainian territory and assets are on the table.

I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides. You'll ask him. Ukraine and Russia. We're already talking about that, dividing up certain assets. Tonight we're in Kursk, part of Russia taken over last year by Ukrainian forces, once seen as a Ukrainian bargaining chip, but much of it has been taken back by Russia. The fighting over Sujo in Kursk, so fierce, Russian videos show it in ruins. We drove into the Kursk region on a road teeming with Russian military to a frontline town full of soldiers. Many locals hardened by years of war are suspicious of President Trump, who now have

appears on the front page of newspapers here. Peace should be done the Russian way, not the U.S. way, he says. There'll be a ceasefire, this woman says, when we win. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Zelensky, who has already accepted President Trump's ceasefire proposal, tonight is accusing Putin of dragging out the war, saying pressure is needed on Russia and that Ukraine needs long-term security. Today we saw evidence of battles, Russian trucks carrying the bodies of soldiers and U.S. made Bradley fighting vehicles apparently seized from the Ukrainians. Now comes the bitter negotiations.

Alison. Keir Simmons in Russia, thank you. To the Middle East now, where the Trump administration ordered a wave of air and missile attacks on the Houthi militia group in Yemen, killing more than 50 people. The strikes come as the Iranian-backed militants have pledged to restart attacks. on a critical global shipping lane just off of Yemen's shores. NBC's Matt Bradley has the latest. For three straight days,

the U.S. blitz on Yemen, it hasn't let up. The Trump administration first-ordered airstrikes on the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Saturday night. Since then, 98 people have been hurt, and 53 killed, according to the Houthi-run health, Ministry. Officials say women and children are among the dead and injured.

A claim NBC News hasn't been able to verify. A U.S. defense official telling NBC News the Houthis tried to launch two retaliatory strikes against the U.S. as Harry Truman over the weekend, and both were unsuccessful. An era of peace through strength is back. We will use overloaming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. President Trump today on social media reiterating his warning that Iran will be held responsible. if the Houthis do strike back, writing every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran.

Our message to Iran is you better take this president seriously, and I think the Houthis learned out the hard way this past weekend. Iran supports both the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza. In 2023, the Houthis started attacking vessels on a key global shipping route just off Yemen's shores. In solidarity, they said, with the Palestinians. Those attacks largely stopped after Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire deal in January. But after phase one of that ceasefire expired, and Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza earlier this month.

The Houthis pledged to renew their attacks. Iran's Revolutionary Guard commander over the weekend saying, we stand firm against any threat and will respond in the strongest possible way. A firm crushing and devastating response. In Yemen's capital Sana, massive crowds coming out to denounce the strikes and to express solidarity with Gaza. One protester saying, the American and Israeli strikes that fell on our great Yemeni people will not weaken us or defeat us.

And Matt Bradley joins us now from Tel Aviv. Matt, President Trump really drilling down on Iran in the last few days. Are there any indications of what his in-game might be when it comes to dealing with Iran. Yeah, it's kind of a scattershot diplomacy that we're seeing Trump engage in when it comes to Iran again, threatening them on the one side, but also demanding that they come to the table and negotiate for a new nuclear deal, but kind of nuclear deal that he basically reneged on back in 2018 during his first term.

It's unclear what kind of game Donald Trump is playing when it comes to Iran. Ellison? Matt Bradley, thank you. Staying overseas with Top Story's Global Watch. At least 15 people were arrested in connection with a deadly fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia. More than 59 people were killed and 120 injured in a nightclub blaze in the northwestern city, Kossani. Authorities detaining people suspected of bribery and corruption after inspections revealed the club was operating without a proper license. The Vatican releasing the first photo of Pope Francis since his hospitalization.

The Pope captured in a wheelchair at a private mass in a hospital chapel. The Vatican says the 88-year-old remains in stable condition as he continues respiratory therapy treatment. The pontiff maintaining a rotating schedule of daily prayer and rest. And a Peruvian fisherman rescued in the Pacific Ocean after being lost at sea for 95 days. In Ecuadorian fishing patrol, discovering the man's 680 miles off the Peruvian coast, he went missing in December on a fishing trip after a storm sent him a drift. Officials say he is in critical condition and was severely dehydrated but stayed alive by consuming rainwater, bugs, birds, and sea turtles after running out of food. Now to a troubling story out of Antarctica. A member of a 10-person crew on a South African base fair accused of physical and sexual violence.

His colleagues fearing for their lives thousands of miles from home and isolated by some of the harshest conditions on the planet. NBC's Danielle Hamamchen has the details. Tonight, a South African research team based in Antarctica, almost completely cut off from the world, now allegedly facing a threat from within. In an email obtained by the Sunday Times of South Africa, one of the 10 team members describing one colleague physically attacking another, threatening to kill them and sexually assaulting a different colleague. According to the Sunday Times, the email says there's now an environment of fear and intimidation on the base. The crew member writing, it is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure the safety of all employees. South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment confirming to the outlet it has launched an investigation. NBC News has not independently verified the email.

The team is living at the Sinai 4 research base, roughly 2,700 miles from the southern tip of South Africa. The crew is slated to spend 15 months on the base, conducting research that includes climate monitoring, atmospheric studies and geological surveys, according to the program's website. Over the winter, they live mostly in isolation, with travel nearly impossible due to weather conditions. Basically, it's down to the team on the ice. They've got to sort themselves down because once the winter starts, effectively you are completely isolated. Antarctica is the coldest place on earth, reaching more than 120 degrees below zero,

with winds that can top 115 miles per hour. The weather is not the big issue, because you're dressed for the weather, so you have the right clothing. So the environment isn't really what you're faced with. It's the isolation and the need to get on with the people you're wintering with. In recent years, sexual violence on the continent has come into sharper focus, with a study from the National Science Foundation finding nearly six in ten women

experienced harassment or assault during their time on the continent. Now fears growing for another team facing more than just the frozen hellscape at the ends of the earth. Danielle Hammam, NBC News. We're back in a moment with new questions about the timeline of Gene Hackman and his wife's death. The call she made after investigators say she ceased communications. Plus, the murder mystery on a mountaintop. The twins found dead. The family says they do not believe the police's version of events.

You'll hear from them. Next. We're back with new details in the day. deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Araqua. The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirming she called a medical center the morning of February 12th. That is one day after police originally said they believed she had died. For more on the latest developments in this case, we're joined by NBC's Dana Griffin. Dana, I want to play what investigators said about the timeline of Arakawa's death during a March 7th press conference. And then we'll talk right after. Let's listen.

Our investigation shows that all the last known communication and activity from Ms. Arakawa was on February 11th. It is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed away first, with February 11th being the last time that she was known to be alive. Do we know at this point, Dana, or what more, rather, do we know about why the date of her death has now shifted? Yeah, and we do because of phone records, essentially. So investigators initially, as you heard there, thought that she had died likely around February 11th, but they now confirmed that she was alive on February 12th. And that's because of three calls that were made from her phone that morning to a medical center in Santa Fe called Cloudberry Health.

That same medical center made one incoming call to her that afternoon that unfortunately went unanswered. And in a statement, the Santa Fe, the Santa Fe County Sheriff, office said that they did not report a date of death. They went on to say we did state that the last known activity for Mrs. Arakawa Hackman was February 11th, 2025. We also stated that the investigation was open and we were awaiting cell phone records and here we have them. Those records now paint a clearer picture of the death timeline. Investigators also believe that Gene Hackman's pacemaker last registered activity on February 18th and that's still nearly a week before his wife

passed. Ellison. So, Dana, what, if anything, happens next in this investigation? So right now, the district court has issued a temporary restraining order on images and video released from law enforcement, taken of the couple's body and also the residence. And so two weeks from today, there's going to be a hearing. And a judge will likely decide if those images will ever make ever be made public you know a lot of the sheriff's department announced that they were going to release body cam video we have not yet seen that and so this is going to be the next step we know that the hackmans were extremely private and even their personal rep has said that they would not want those images to be released as far as the dogs involved in this case the dog that died

zina the pathologist determined that the dog likely died of dehydration and starvation because of being enclosed in a combined space we know that the dog was held in a quirk as far as the two surviving dogs, according to a rep that told people.com that both bear and Akita have been placed in appropriate homes. Both are safe, healthy, and adjusting to their new environments. Ellison? It's such a tragic story all around. Dana Griffin, thank you so much. Now to the investigation into the deaths of twin brothers in Georgia. The 19-year-olds found dead at the summit of a mountain. Investigators say both had gunshot wounds and that an initial investigation points to murder suicide. But the twins aunt and uncle, they say that explanation is not adding

up. NBC's Priya Shrether reports. Tonight, a murder suicide investigation in Georgia, leaving a distraught family with more questions than answers. We want to know exactly what happened to the twins. Police say twin brothers Kyder and Nizir Lewis were found dead by hikers on a Georgia mountain earlier this month. The brothers, weeks away from their 20th birthday, each found with gunshot wounds, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which says their preliminary investigation reveals the deaths to be a murder suicide. We knew right away that wasn't true. But their relatives, rejecting that characterization by police, saying the boys were close and had no history of conflict. They're very protective of each other. I couldn't imagine don't hurt in each other because I never

even seen him get into a fist fight before. Relatives saying the twins had tickets for a 7 a.m. flight on March 7th from Lawrenceville, Georgia to Boston, where they were set to meet friends. But on March 8th, their bodies were found at the summit of Bell Mountain, 90 miles away from their home and in an area their relatives believe they had never visited. How they end out in the mountains, they don't hike out there. They never even been out there.

They don't know nothing about Hawasi, Georgia. They never even heard of Bell Mountains. So how did they end up right there? Over the weekend, authorities saying autopsies have been completed on the pair, but a medical examiner ruling had not been released because further forensic testing was needed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has not disclosed if a gun was found at the scene or how the twins got to the mountain, telling NBC news the investigation is active and ongoing. NBC reached out to family members for more information, but did not hear back.

They had a huge support system. Like, we know them that they wouldn't do anything like this. Something happened in those mountains, and we want answers. Priya Shreather, NBC News. And if you were someone you know is struggling, remember you can call or text the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. We're going to turn now to some business news. Because Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy, the fast-fashioned retailer could disappear from malls across the country as the company searches for a buyer. NBC's Brian Chung has the details. Forever, no more. For four decades, Forever 21 prided itself on cheap, trendy clothing. But now the American fast fashion giant announcing its filing for bankruptcy and liquidating its assets.

Honestly, I think it's gone kind of downhill. The closures come with deep in-store discounts and up to 80% off online. In its bankruptcy filing, the retailer blamed in part fierce competition from Chinese retailers Sheehan and Timu, which keep prices low withheld from a trade exemption that allows them to skirt import taxes and tariffs. Their clothes are at way lower price in Forever 21. So it made it extremely difficult for Forever 21 to operate. Forever 21, founded in Los Angeles, survived a bankruptcy five years ago, restructuring and closing more than 100 stores. Unable to find a buyer for the remaining 350 stores, this new bankruptcy is. likely to be the end. Store closures like ones at Forever 21 are happening at a time of concern for the U.S.

economy and the U.S. consumer accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity. February figures show a tiny uptake in consumer spending, up 0.2% for retail sales, but below a Dow Jones forecast for a 0.6% rise. Forever 21 joins the likes of Party City and Crafts Store Joanne as iconic retailers now going bust. Me as a teenager, it really was like, let's go to Forever 21. But now I'm almost 30, so I'm like... Not forever 21 anymore.

Not forever 21 anymore. Brian Chung, NBC News, Jersey City, New Jersey. When we return, the dance revolution that changed Irish step dancing forever. We line up with the legendary river dance troupe as they step past a major milestone. Finally tonight, we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day here on Top Story with a look some of the festivities from around the globe. Half a million people packing the streets of Dublin today. St. Patrick's Day is a public holiday in Ireland

with a parade made up of bands from several countries, but the oldest and largest parade in the world right here in New York City. Two million people lining Manhattan's famed Fifth Avenue. Revelers also out in Savannah, Georgia, to watch that city's 201st annual St. Patrick's Day parade. Another thing that has become synonymous with Irish culture, Riverdance.

The iconic show celebrating its 30th year with a sibling duo in the lead. I went to see how these two champions made their way to the top and how they honor the legacy of Irish dancing. It's the show that brings the sounds and steps of Ireland to the world. The iconic River Dance, now celebrating 30 years on the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, River Dance. It was first introduced to a global dance. audience at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.

And with world champions, Michael Flatley and Jean Butler at the helm, Irish dancing, mesmerized to the world. No one could ever expect that 30 years later. It would have gone from a spectacle to a global cultural phenomenon. It inspired young dancers, like siblings Fergus and Anna Mae Fitzpatrick, to embrace an Irish tradition that dates back centuries. We met up with a pair as they prepared for performance at D.C.'s legendary Kennedy Center. I saw River Dance on TV, and I was completely blown away. And I knew instantly I wanted to do what they were doing on stage. I was going around the house, pretending to do the choreography, pretending to be the lead. After years of hard work, that dream became a reality.

Fergus and Anna May becoming regular River Dance cast members in 2017, and then principal dancers. first brother and sister to do so in the show's history. I think the real moment for me was when I first saw Anna perform lead. And I was on stage and then once I saw her entrance for Countess Kathleen, I just instantly broke down crying, just tears of joy and just pride. When you started dancing, did you immediately imagine yourself on the stage performing for such a large group of people, traveling, touring, all of that? always in my heart knew that this is what I would be doing and I think getting to share that with family has been the part that's been like the icing on the cake. They're now embarking on a tour to more than 40 cities to celebrate three decades of River

Dance with the cast that by and large has never known a world without it. Most of the dancers you see on stage weren't born when the Eurovision happened back in 1994. So for us we have always known life with River Dance and it has always been a dream. They shared some of it with us, even agreeing to try and teach me some of the most iconic steps. We're going to teach you a bit of a simplified version of the steps. The cut is the foot comes all the way up here to the hip. Point.

Point. Cut. Other foot. There we go. Now jumps. Jump. Jump. Jump.

Jump. That's it. That's it. But some things are better left to professionals. who guys i'm not going to be in river dance but for those who are they promise to carry the show's legacy and to cherish the irish history every step of the way 30 years of river dance what do you hope the next 30 look like we hope it touches the hearts of the people that we haven't met yet the people that are that will be here in 30 years and we hope that the people that the people that will be here in 30 years

And we hope that the people that will be in our position in 30 years will still have the same love and care for it as we think we have for the people that came for us. I'm tone deaf and I can't dance, so I am sorry to all of Ireland, but it was a pleasure getting to spend time with Fergus and Anna Mai. Thank you so much for watching Top Story. I'm Ellison Barber in New York for Tom Yamis. Stay right there. More news is on the way. Thank you.