Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Episode Date: April 3, 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, President Trump's all-out trade war, the massive tariffs he just announced, and what it could mean for what you pay for everything. The president's Rose Garden signing ceremony, slamming tariffs on almost every country, from 10 percent to as high as nearly 50 percent. Cars, clothes, groceries, and more likely impacted as stock market futures nose dive. Elon on the ounce. New reporting tonight, what President Trump is telling his cabinet about when the a billionaire will leave the White House. Life-threatening storms hitting tens of millions, tornadoes

ripping through the Midwest, semi-trucks toppled in Illinois, extreme flood warnings in Memphis, and the worst is yet to come. Who wants to buy TikTok? The new suitors today, mega tech companies like Amazon and OnlyFans. Who has the best chance of winning the bidding war? NBC News exclusive, The college student at the center of a vicious viral rumor on campus that went national. The famous sports commentators who broadcast it to millions. She tells Tom Yamis in an emotional interview how she's reclaiming her story. Green Beret murder. The wife of this Green Beret now arrested, accused of killing her husband,

the grizzly act she's accused of carrying out, and the possible motive. And rogue wave, the cruise ship battered by 40-foot wave. passengers tossed sideways. Plus, the stabbing at a high school track meet in Texas. One student dead, another arrested on murder charges. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Ellison Barber in for Tom Yamis. Tonight, a dramatic jolt to the global economy as President Trump reveals sweeping tariffs on all imports. Everything you buy from groceries to clothing is expected to cost a whole lot more. Trump taking an unprecedented step,

imposing a 10% tariff on all of our trading partners. For some countries, that will be in addition to new reciprocal tariffs. Take a look at the map. A 20% tariff on the European Union, 26% tariffs on India, 34% tariffs on China, Cambodia and Vietnam seeing some of the highest tariffs

at nearly 50%. The president also making good on his promise to slap 25% duties on foreign-made cars. Those changes are set to go into effect tomorrow. The announcement sending stock futures plunging. The S&P 500 at one point dropping nearly 4% and the NASDAQ down 4.72%. The president hoping the move will bring manufacturing back to the states and correct years of what he calls unfair trade, but it could come at a cost to American consumers. We're breaking it all down, including when you could see prices rise and on what. But first we began with NBC News,

senior White House correspondent, Gabe Gutierrez. Just minutes after the day's market closed, President Trump walking into the Rose Garden. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Announcing a new 10% tariff on every American trading partner, but that's not all. China, 67%, that's tariffs charged to the USA. So we're going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34%. The U.S. will also now charge half the tax on foreign goods that dozens of countries charge on American products to level the playing field, he says. This is not full reciprocal. This is kind reciprocal. If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America.

The president saying he's fulfilling a key campaign promise. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country and you see it happening already. We will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign markets. and trade barriers and ultimately more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers. The White House touting hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment in the U.S. from companies looking to avoid tariffs, including Hyundai announcing a $5 billion steel plant in Louisiana, and Apple saying it will create 20,000 jobs expanding U.S. facilities. All after the president previously announced 20 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, 25% on aluminum and steel, and 25% on certain goods from Mexico and Canada.

Starting tomorrow, he'll also impose 25% tariffs on imported cars. Tariffs, a policy Trump has promoted for decades, saying free trade deals destroyed American workers. They come over here, they sell their cars, their VCRs, they knock the hell out of our companies. Democrats now furious. This is not Liberation Day. It's recession day. Some Republicans are worried. Our consumers, our manufacturers, our potato farmers will pay the price. Economists estimate the tariffs could add an extra $2,500 to $5,000 for the lowest-cost American cars

and up to $20,000 for some imported models. What would you say to Americans who worry that they'll have to pay more in the short term? Well, I'm not sure why they would have to pay more in the short term. that we don't know what the price effects are going to be. Will there be a one-time price adjustment? Could be. Stephen Capone's steel company employs 100 people in Massachusetts. He strongly supports Trump's tariffs to stop Canadian competition from decimating his business.

Since NAFTA, I've seen Canada, Quebec in particular, just keep getting stronger and stronger as the New England steel industry has dwindled away. Jenna Dick runs a bridal shop in Kansas. She says the vast majority of wedding gowns. are made in China, meaning tariffs hit hard. It'll raise costs for myself and for our clients, because we do have to pass some of that on to them. Gabe Gutierrez joins us now from the White House.

Gabe, are we starting to hear responses from some of the targets of these tariffs? What are these countries saying? Yes, Alison. Reaction is starting to pour in from around the world. Italy's prime minister, for example, who's seen as a close ally of Trump's, says that the tariffs introduced by his administration are wrong and would not benefit the U.S.

The Australian Prime Minister saying the American people will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs. And the head of the largest party in the European Parliament said this isn't Liberation Day, it is Resentment Day. Now, the major question right now is how many of these countries end up imposing retaliatory tariffs in the coming days? And tonight we're already seeing stock futures fall sharply, Ellis. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you. A lot here to work through. So let's bring in NBC's Kristen Welker, moderator of Meet the Press, and NBC's senior business correspondent, Christine Romans. Christine, let's start with you here. Just walk us through what all of this means and what are some of the real hikes that Americans could actually see. So we know auto tariffs go on

tonight. We will see higher car prices at the dealers probably in a matter of weeks. These new tariffs the president announced today, let's just look at Vietnam, for example, the afford almost 50% tariff there. I was just in the show of a furniture showroom of a man who imports a lot of stuff from Vietnam. That means a $1,000 conversation pit is now $1,500, essentially. He will have to pass on some, if not all of that cost to his consumers. So some of these are very significant tariff rates for some of these 60-some countries that the White House calls the worst offenders. Kristen, President Trump has been previewing these tariffs for weeks. It's also something

he spoke about a lot on the campaign trail. I think of all the moments. He kept saying tariffs are a beautiful word. He's advocated for tariffs for years, but he also told you in your interview this week that they are negotiable. What is his endgame here? You're absolutely right, Alison. In my phone conversation with President Trump over the weekend, I asked him if these tariffs were negotiable. He responded, quote, only if people are willing to give us something of great value. Now, what is the definition of great value?

He did not say, but he left the door open just a tiny bit thing. In terms of what the end game here is, President Trump saying that he believes this will reset the U.S. economy that right now the U.S. is treated unfairly. He hopes it will bring back manufacturing. But of course, economists say historically speaking, as Christine is talking about consumers wind up paying more when taxes are imposed. In fact, during his first administration, we did see consumers pay about $80 billion more in taxes due to the president's tariff policy prices. were hiked on everything from machines, washing machines to tires. Now, in this instance, it carries political risk. We've seen some rocky days on Wall Street, jitters on Main Street as well. And a majority of Americans right now say they disapprove of President Trump's handling of the economy. Remember, part of why he was elected was because he promised to bring down prices. So we'll have to see how this all plays out, Ellison. You know, I'm so interested in the idea that Kristen brought up there, Christine, this

Looking back just on the first administration, his first administration's tariffs, I look back to I was so interested by a Federal Reserve study that they've done on the effects of those 2018-2019 tariffs. And they've talked about what Kristen alluded to. On net, that study found a decrease in manufacturing employment due to the tariffs. If the argument here is short-term pain for long-term gain, what does short-term actually look like before we feel something possibly beneficial? And the president and his advisors, they dispute all of the studies that say, that there was any kind of inflationary impact from those earlier tariffs. And those earlier tariffs, by the way, were on targeted items in a very low inflation environment,

and you could still see prices on just those items rising here. How much near-term pain we just don't know. The long-term gain, the president would like to see more jobs in the United States at $37 an hour than jobs in Mexico at $3 an hour. He wants to re-shore well-paid jobs back and get idle factories going again. He wants two shifts at the auto plants. This is what he's imagining, but the economy, the global economy is so globalized and so interconnected. It's kind of many economists say the horse is already out of the barn.

Kristen, while we have you, I also want to ask you about some of the new reporting that President Trump told his cabinet, Elon Musk, will be leaving his government role at the end of his 130-day period as a special government employee. After some speculation that he may try to stay longer, how are Trump administration officials feeling about that? How are they speaking about it? Well, White House official does confirm to NBC news that President Trump told his cabinet that Elon Musk would be departing in the coming months. That really tracks with what President Trump and Elon Musk have said publicly, which is that he will leave once he believes he's finished with his work in terms of cutting and gutting the U.S. government. But Musk is under increased scrutiny in part because Americans have said that they disapprove

of him to some extent. And then also in the wake of that state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin overnight, in which the Democrat beat out the Republican candidate, Elon Musk, had been not only campaigning for the Republican candidate, Ellison, but pouring millions of dollars into this race. So really seen as a referendum to some extent on Musk and his cost-cutting measures. Will that prompt him to depart the White House even earlier? We'll have to wait and see. But I've been talking talking to outside allies who say that this is definitely a blow to Elon Musk, Ellison. And Christine, from the business side of things, Elon Musk, Tesla stocks, not great. No, and there are people who are Elon Musk fans who worry about, in corporate America,

who worry about the brand damage that all of this political foray has done to his Tesla company, and they worry that he's distracted. He's doing too many different things and not focusing on these companies that have built value, so much value for shareholders. the stock is down significantly over the course of the beginning part of this year. And so there is this sort of brand damage associated with Elon Musk's political endeavors on what had until now been an almost sterling reputation in sort of America's engineering genius. Now he's sort of veered off in kind of a new image.

All right. Christine Romans, Kristen Welker. Thank you both so much. We really appreciate it. Also tonight, a dangerous storm system marching across the country. Reports of powerful tornadoes and damaging hail already streaming in as tens of millions of people from Texas to Michigan brace for more severe weather tonight. NBC News correspondent Kathy Park is on the ground in Memphis with the latest. Tonight dangerous and potentially life-threatening weather on the move. With millions caught in the crosshairs from Oklahoma to Kentucky where neighborhoods have been ripped apart by violent winds. Loud thunder cracking and trees falling everywhere.

I've seen the trees down on his vehicle down on his house and his whole yard is a total mess. In Missouri, reported tornadoes shredding roofs from homes and businesses, leaving behind widespread destruction. And travel chaos, more than a thousand flight delays in and out of Chicago. Now portions of the Midwest and South are in the bullseye of what forecasters fear could be a generational storm. and Missouri deploying the National Guard to help with the emergency response and Kentucky declaring a state of emergency. The system coming at us is as bad of a forecast as I've seen as governor and that's saying something. Hale, tornadoes and flash flooding all in the forecast with the impact likely lasting days. Make sure that I got my flashlight charged up, phones charged up.

Memphis could be in for a double disaster, severe sores with tornadoes followed by catastrophic flooding. This is not our first rodeo with this. We have had several floods that came through our city, and these sandbags has been like saving grace. The urgent message tonight, prepare now before it's too late. And Kathy Park joins us now from Memphis, Tennessee. Kathy, you have been in touch with officials all day. What have they said the biggest challenge is in Memphis as they brace for this storm? Yeah, so Ellison here in Memphis, we are bracing for a one-two punch.

First, it'll be around a severe storms which will likely spawn tornadoes, followed by potentially catastrophic flooding. And based on conversations with officials here on the ground, their concern is more so on the flooding because they're used to that around here, unfortunately. So that's why you saw in our story. Crews were passing out hundreds of sandbags in the area. But really the best piece of advice, especially for folks who live here, is a say put, stay at home, especially as these conditions worsen. Allison? Kathy Park in Memphis, Tennessee. Thank you. Stay safe. These storms are just getting started, so let's get right to NBC's meteorologist Bill Karens, who is tracking where they're headed. Bill, tornado warnings are in effect as we speak. Allison, a lot of them. I just counted 19 active tornado warnings. In my 20 years here at NBC, that's one of the higher numbers I've ever imagined and remember seeing on one map at a time. The area of greatest concern is in between Little Rock and Memphis. This is the storms that we think that could be the strongest and possibly deliver the strongest tornadoes. That's in this particularly dangerous situation. But we're going all the way just south of Chicago.

Colorado to Streetport with at least a threat of tornadoes this evening. So here's the Memphis area and then Little Rock is all the way on the other side of your screen. This storm has a confirmed tornado with it likely right over the top of do it. You're probably having, you know, the storms are moving at 50 to 60 miles per hour. So, you know, this radar takes about four to five minutes to update. So that storm's probably already getting past there. But we'll have to wait and see how much damage is done there from a confirmed tornado. Tonight, these storms headed to Indianapolis and also down there from Memphis towards Nashville. Again, Alison, the threat of very strong storms. And not just that. We'll talk about this water threat and flash flood threat right

through the next couple of days. Someone's going to get over 12 inches of rain. Wow. All right, Bill Cairns, thank you. Tonight, Israel's defense minister calling for a large-scale evacuation of the Gaza Strip, saying Israel's operation into the territory is growing. In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this will include, quote, seizing territory, striking terrorist, and destroying infrastructure. NBC's Matt Bradley has the latest on how people in Gaza are coping. And we do want to warn you, some of the images in this report may be distressing to viewers. Tonight, Israel is intensifying its war on Hamas.

As an Israeli airstrike struck a United Nations facility that Palestinian health officials said killed 19 people. More than half of them were children. Among the dead was Samuel Alianne's father. She's only 11 years old. What are these crimes? Show it to the entire world, said this man. This is a one-week-old baby girl. Israel's military said the building used to be a clinic, but it's now used as a Hamas command center, a charge Hamas called a blatant fabrication. As Israel expands its fighting, its war goals are shifting.

The country's Minister of Defense said today this latest defensive area aims to capture extensive territory. The families of the remaining hostages in Gaza said they were horrified by this announcement and demanded that Israeli officials focus on a negotiated deal with Hamas. But hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the new priorities, announcing that Israel's army is seizing yet another roadway that bisects the enclave. Tonight in the Gaza Strip, we shifted gears, he said, we're increasing the pressure step by step so that they will give us back our hostages.

But much of that pressure falls on Gaza's civilians. It's been a month since Israel cut off all humanitarian aid to the enclave, including food. A move Israel said was also aimed at pressuring Hamas to free the hostages. Food for families increasingly scarce. No, they're good. Muhammad is seven years old. I want to eat meat and rice, he says.

Yesterday, all of the bakeries supported by the United Nations were forced to shut. This soup kitchen is one of Gaza's largest, in which tens of thousands depended, now down to just a few pots. Fresh water is scarce, people here say, and so is cooking gas. For many, Israel's constant bombardments are only one danger. This woman said she couldn't find any bread at all. If we don't die by the missiles of the IDF, she said we'll die of starvation. Roba al-Halabi said two bags of bread aren't enough for her family of 10.

The demand is so severe, she said, fights are breaking out in the bread lines. Israeli officials had said Gaza has plenty of food. The UN called that claim ridiculous. You know, WFP doesn't close its bakeries for fun. If there's no flour, if there's no cooking gas, the bakeries cannot open. Only a few bakeries remained open, and their supplies are dwindling. Imana Bouharbeil has been waiting since early morning. She still hasn't gotten bread to feed her young child.

Our life is harsh, she said. I swear it will be famine and people will eat each other. And Matt Bradley joins us now from Tel Aviv. Matt, as Ghazan's brace for more possibility of hardship there, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is starting a controversial visit to Hungary tonight, right? That's right. It's the first time that he's actually been to a state that is a signatory to the International Criminal Court, for which he is under suspicion. He's supposed to be arrested by the terms of the ICC agreement when he lands in Hungary. But already Victor Orban,

who is one of his closest allies, has made it clear he's not going to be arresting Netanyahu, just like Netanyahu was able to visit the United States just a couple of months ago. He was able to do that because the United States isn't a signatory to the ICC treaty either. And important to note here, and one of the interesting ironies is that actually that ICC indictment against Netanyahu, those charges back in November, at least one of them, is for using food as a weapon of war, which is exactly what we're starting to see here in the Gaza Strip. Alison. Matt Bradley, thank you. We're back in a moment with the NBC News exclusive. Tom Yamas sits down with the college student who was the victim of a vicious viral rumor.

One famous sports commentators then talked about on air, how she is now fighting back. Plus, the TikTok bidding war heating up. Amazon now enters the fray. But what happens if no one buys it by Saturday's deadline? And the very high seas, the cruise ship rocked by a giant wave, all of it caught on camera. Back now with an NBC news exclusive. The college freshman's life turned upside down, all by a fake rumor about her, spread online and picked up by major national media personalities. Now she's speaking out about this horrific experience and the harassment that is still ongoing, sitting down for her first TV interview with our very own Tom Yamis.

Having the entire internet, half of the country hating you and calling you disgusting things, telling you to kill yourself, telling you that you're a horrible person that you deserve to die, that's a really hard thing for a girl to go through. In her first TV interview, Old Miss freshman Mary Kate Cornett told me how she became famous on the internet and social media in the worst possible way. In February, an online rumor went viral, claiming an old Miss sorority sister slept with her boyfriend's father. Then, someone attached Cornett's name and photo to it. Do you know why the rumor started? No clue. No clue. I had zero, zero knowledge of this.

This disgusting rumor was a top trending topic on Twitter? Within two and a half hours. Later that night, around 7 p.m., I was number one trending in the United States. I felt so helpless and so alone because so many people were hating on me for something that I had no idea anything about. I mean, I'm a very normal person, just like any teenage girl, I care about what people think about me. I mean, any teenage girl can relate to that. Cornett's phone number was also shared online. She was overwhelmed with harassing texts and voicemails.

was having thousands of calls come through, thousands of texts coming through. Calling me a whore, calling me a slut, telling me I deserve to die. When you look back at the last five weeks, is there one moment that sticks out for you? With myself, it would probably be at 3 a.m. when I was throwing up, while holding the phone with all the texts on it. Just saying how horrible of a person I was and that I should end my life. All because of an internet rumor that has zero truth to it, zero. Cornet says she could barely leave her dorm room, had to switch to online classes. Someone even sent police to her mother's house in a fake 911 call.

Some old Miss Frab, bro. Yep, sir. Okay. Had a KD girlfriend. Soon, the rumor was picked up by ESPN host Pat McAfee, though he didn't use her name. This is what is being reported by everybody on the internet. Mm-hmm. That had sex with son's girlfriend.

Has anyone apologized to you? No. No. They have not at all. I want these famous people to know that I was not famous before this. I'm not a public figure that you can go talk about on your show to get more views. I'm not. Sorry. Nobody knows who I am or nobody did know who I was.

But them pressing this and pushing it farther, made my situation so much worse. Because the people who were talking about it are the people that I would want to take a picture with if I saw out in public. They're people that I watched. Pat McAfee, ESPN, that's all my living room TV every single night.

That's got to hurt that he's talking about that way. It does. It does. Because I used to look up to these people, and now these same people are making me feel worthless. And that I'm just a joke. ESPN and Pat McAfee declined NBC News's request for comment. Cornette says she hit rock bottom when she realized her name would forever be linked to the rumor spread online. I don't think that these boys realize what they're doing to people is awful. It's awful.

And having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world. It makes you feel so alone. cornet now wants justice her lawyer says she's been defamed and is a victim of cyberbullying the rumor is false people promoted it without looking into it you can't lie for money are there laws that protect mary cape because it seems like the internet social media it's the wild wild west to some degree the law hasn't caught up with the speed at which a lie travels online and the fact that it's now kind of anchored to her name forever, but defamation exists. There's growing protections against cyberbullying. There's growing protections against, you know,

making fake pictures, which has also happened to Mary Kate. The legal regime is catching up. For now, she says she's leaning on her friends and family, including her father. I just wonder why. Why my daughter? She wasn't looking to her. for any of this. She never asked for any attention. She's just trying to be a freshman in college. Instead, she's been tested like never before. I have no idea how this started or why, but I do know that this has affected me in such an awful way and has practically ruined my life. Yeah, what would you tell to that person? Um, just that your actions have constant. consequences, real consequences, that I will be living and facing for the rest of my life,

that many other girls face things like this that will affect the rest of their lives. Tom Yamas, NBC News. We're back in a moment with the high school track meet that turned deadly. One student accused of stabbing another, what led to that deadly confrontation? And Steve Kornacki, standing by what last night's elections mean for the future of the Democratic Party. We're back with Top Story's News Feed, a 17-year-old charged with murder after stabbing another student at a high school track meet in Texas. The victim was identified by family members to our local NBC station as 16-year-old Austin Metcalf. His father says the two teens did not know each other but got into a confrontation when the suspect, identified by police, as Carmelo Anthony,

was told he was standing in the wrong spot. It happened this morning in Frisco, that's just north of Dallas. Anthony has not yet entered a plea. And the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Food and Drug Administration over its refusal to approve flavored vapes. The court ruling, the FDA did not violate the law when denying applications from two flavored vape companies. The FDA saying the flavored vapes are a health risk

and encouraged tobacco use in young people. The company's arguing that flavored vapes can help people quit smoking. They could face civil and criminal penalties for marketing products without FDA approval. And an Alaska Airlines flight to Las Vegas was forced to return to Oregon after reports of fumes in the flight deck. Social media video showing emergency personnel on the aircraft after crew members reportedly detected a strong odor. Medical professionals evacuated the crew and guests upon their return to Portland International Airport. The FAA is investigating the incident. And a teenager in Southern California says she was attacked by a sea lion during her junior lifeguard tryouts.

That 15-year-old showing her arm covered with bite marks and cuts, she said she was about 25 feet from the shore when she suddenly felt an intense pain. She managed to swim to shore and was taken to a hospital. The scary moment was a first for the beach-loving teen, but she says she has been stung by a stingray, pinched by crabs, and bitten by tiny fish. Just never a sea lion. Regardless, she says she is still determined to become a life. guard and that she will try out again. Tonight, we are pouring over the results of special elections from two states last night to get an early sense of how voters are feeling in this new Trump administration.

Republicans keeping control of two Florida House seats, but by surprisingly tight margins in at least one contest, and in Wisconsin, the liberal candidate for state Supreme Court beating her conservative opponent despite strong backing from Elon Musk. To break it all down, let's bring an NBC News national political correspondent. Steve Kornacki. Steve, good to see you. Let's start with Wisconsin. This is a candidate. In theory, these races aren't supposed to be partisan. Wasn't the case here. But she beat out her Republican opponent, despite a lot of backing from Elon Musk. What does that tell us? Yeah, Alison, and oddly did Susan Crawford win. In Wisconsin, they call this a landslide, 10 points.

You know, the last three presidential races there were decided by less than a point. So what happened here? Well, the story really is one about turnout. Take a look here. You see, one 3.3 million votes for Crawford, just over a million for the Republican-backed candidate. That's about 2.3 million votes. Now, that's a lot for a race like this, but put this in some perspective. Last November in the presidential race, 3.5 million people voted in the state. So it's a lot less than that. And basically what happened is the difference between 3.5 and 2.3, a lot more people who stayed home were on the Republican side than on the Democratic side. And where you really saw it is right here, this region of the state, this is the Mississippi River that forms the border here.

And you see some blue, some red. A lot of these are small town, rural areas, heavy blue-collar populations. Donald Trump ran up the score in these places. Massive turnout. And when you look at where some of the biggest turnout drop-offs in Wisconsin were yesterday, this is ground zero right here. So a lot of that core Trump base in Wisconsin, they were there for him in November, but they were not there for him in this court race yesterday. And we don't necessarily know why they opted not to vote this go around, but do we have a sense of who was actually voting for Susan Crawford? Yeah. Meanwhile, the flip side of this, and we've seen this now for a number of years since Donald Trump came on the scene, the epicenter of it's right here. See, Madison, the state capitalists, this is Dane County. This is massive University of Wisconsin's here. And what we've seen for almost a decade now since Donald Trump came on the scene is a segment of the Democratic base. You find them in college towns in metro areas. They tend to have college degrees. They tend to have higher incomes. Their politics have gotten more and more liberal, and they vote in every and any election they have a chance to vote in.

And you see it here yesterday. Look at this. Susan Crawford, this is a huge Democratic area. But look, she did better. Let me show you this. Then Kamala Harris did in this county back in November. She did almost 10 points better. So the turnout here, relatively speaking, was much higher than that area I just showed you. So let's talk Florida because we had two congressional races. There are first district and 6th district. Republican leaning solidly red districts, but kind of surprising what happened in the 6th District, right? Yeah, and it's right here. You could see this is basically south of Jacksonville, extending down to Daytona Beach, and then inland and core Republican area. You could see last November. This is what it looked like. Donald Trump won here by 30. That's standard for Republicans in this area.

That was no aberration. And yet last night, yes, the Republicans win. Yes, it's double digits. But that margin is more than cut in half by Democrats, 14 points. That's the closest, relatively. speaking here, but that's the closest race you've seen in this district since the turn of the century. So what does that indicate, actually, when you really start to dive into the cities, towns, counties in this district, it's a similar story

to Wisconsin. It's those Democratic areas, higher turnout than those core Republican areas. Trump voters, without Trump's name on the ballot, maybe not as enthusiastic. When it comes to Wisconsin, I got to go back and ask you just while we have you, this factor of Elon Musk being involved, his candidate

not performing well, does it give us a sense? of how the country feels about Elon Musk more than what we've seen in the polls before? I suspect it tells you more about what the Democratic base feels about him, but we can show you this. This, by the way, the other race in Florida, a very similar story here. But looking at this, here's our latest NBC poll, just asking folks what they think of Musk. Is it positive, negative? Now, it's more negative than positive. These are not great numbers. We've seen worse numbers than this in polling. This is slightly worse than Donald Trump's numbers, for instance. But Musk's numbers among self-identified Democrats and the kinds of voters I was just describing there in Dane County are absolutely bottom of the barrel.

And I suspect his presence and the prominence in this campaign that he played really, we talk about that sky-high turnout. He might have been a factor in Democrats turning out because of the negatives he has with them. Interesting. We always say that voter enthusiasm is not necessarily how much they like someone, but it can also be how much they dislike someone. Really interesting stuff. Steve Kornacki, thank you so much. Thanks, awesome. We have another major political story that crosses over with business. The deadline to save TikTok now just days away. President Trump addressing the Saturday deadline earlier this week.

We have a lot of potential buyers. This tremendous interest in TikTok. The decision's going to be my decision as you're not through Congress. They've given me the power to make the decision. We have a great team of people essentially taking vids. Amazon, the late. is to make a bid to save the popular app before the Saturday deadline for its parent company, Bite Dance, to sell or divest. This, as we are learning, the White House's effort to secure a deal

as being led by Vice President J.D. Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. So what does this mean for the more than 170 million American TikTok users? NBC news correspondent Savannah Sellers has been following this closely and joins us now with more. I mean, Savannah, it seems like in the last couple of days, there's just more and more bids. or possible buyers? Who is actually a serious contender here? Yeah, Alison, it's a great question. Just today, we actually saw three more companies at last count jump in here. Amazon being the biggest name. You'd think coming from Amazon, coming from someone like Jeff Bezos, certainly a serious initiative. However, the White House

says they're not taking it seriously, just given the fact that that deadline is two days away. Also, today, only fans said that they were interested and kind of got together a group, as well as this company called Appleven. In terms of who seems the most serious and who's kind of been in this game for a while now. There are a couple bitters who are sort of individual groups that have stayed serious, and we do believe are still getting some communication from the White House team that's working on this. There's this Wyoming billionaire named Reid Raisner.

He's raised about $50 billion. There's also Frank McCourt and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary. However, what seems to be moving along the furthest with this team that's being led by the vice president is essentially existing U.S. investors, so companies and people that already invest in TikTok. That includes a mega Trump donor, Jeffrey Yas, and his firm, Susquehanna, General Atlantic, KKR. Those firms essentially take a larger stake, and then they're joined by a couple big names. That would include Larry Ellison of Oracle, Blackstone. It would include Mike Andreessen, another big donor. That's the group that is getting the most attention right now. But I think the fact that Amazon

was brought up today and also some things that Trump has been posting on Truth Social about other bids means anything still could happen. And I expect that we'll hear by the end of this workweek. Okay, so what will happen Saturday? I mean, is there still this possibility that TikTok could shut down? We don't think so, and I'll tell you why. The last time that the app did shut down when we were reaching a deadline, we were also in between administrations. It was this confusion over what the Biden administration was going to do with that law. Are we going to enforce it?

And will these service providers be dinged with billions in fines? That fear is not the same this time, given that Trump has been friendly to TikTok and has told his attorney general not to enforce it, Ellison. All right. Savannah Sellers. Thank you. To power and politics and a major update to the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A federal judge today dismissing the charges at the request of the Justice Department after they argued the case distracted from Adams' ability to carry out President Trump's immigration policies.

As a reminder, Adams was indicted in September for allegedly receiving more than $100,000 worth of free plane tickets and luxury hotel stays from Turkish nationals for nearly a decade. The indictment argued that in return, the mayor used his position to carry out favors. Today, Mayor Adams addressed New York City about the case and reiterated his innocence. This case should have never been brought. And I did nothing wrong. Let's bring in NBC's senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett and NBC New York's political and government affairs reporter Melissa Russo. Thank you both so much for joining us tonight. Laura, let's start with you on this because the judge did dismiss this at the request of the Department of Justice,

but he also said, I'm dismissing it so the Trump administration cannot use this as leverage. Does this mean Mayor Eric Adams is totally off the hook here? The case is for all intents and purposes completely over, and yet the way that the judge did it today is just blistering, right? He's basically accusing the government of using the sort of prospect of a future indictment as leverage. the judge says you cannot do. So he's dismissing the whole case with prejudice, which means the Justice Department cannot bring those charges again. And there'd been all this back and forth between the Justice Department and Mayor Adams and other attorneys to try to suss out exactly what was their intent. Was this about trying to use immigration priorities?

Or was this about what the Justice Department said was a political weaponization of the Justice Department? Or was it about the charges coming too close to a campaign? Right. Which was the other argument that the Justice Department made, that nine months before the Democratic primary in the mayor's race in June was too soon. Now, the judge said today, that's not true either. Yeah. Take us through sort of the timeline, again, to remind viewers here exactly how much the Trump administration had to do with all of this. Well, remember, he was being investigated, Mayor Adams, I should say, was being investigated before he was even mayor.

And so that was one of the ways that the sort of career prosecutors had said, this is not about a political prosecution. This was about the horror of what was a corruption case. Now, of course, he pled not guilty. He always maintained his innocence, as he did again today. But the judge seemed to think the Justice Department's excuse here about political organization was like pretext, mere pretext was for his words. I want to play a little bit for you, Melissa, and ask you about what happens next for Mayor Eric Adams. He had his press conference today.

Didn't take any direct questions from reporters, but did say this as he was leaving. Let's listen. He said, for re-election, and you know what, I'm going to win. Do we think he is going to really run for re-election? Well, people have said they don't think he looks like he's running at all. He's not raising money. He's not holding campaign rallies. He never hired a campaign staff.

He doesn't have a campaign website. All the signs of a campaign don't seem to exist for Mayor Eric Adams, but he insists he is running for reelection. Now, the question is this ruling today comes one day before the deadline for him to file his petitions if he wants to get the Democratic nomination. they're due tomorrow. So bottom line, we've been hearing from associates of the mayor that he's less likely to run in a Democratic primary in large part because he's less likely to win in a Democratic primary. Break down those numbers for us, too, because we're talking about former governor

Andrew Cuomo and his ratings are much different than what we've seen with Eric Adams. Right. I mean, Governor Cuomo came in surprisingly, perhaps, as the frontrunner, and Eric Adams is trailing pretty dismally in the polls. Voters were not happy about the corruption charges. If that wasn't bad enough, though, maybe the only thing worse to New Yorkers than the corruption charges against their mayor was when they started to think their mayor was colluding with Trump to make those charges go away. It did not play well in Democratic New York City. So the only remaining question is, will the mayor mount some other sort of third-party run in November? Can he find a lane? And could he possibly mount some run in November if he decides

not to run as a Democrat, but we'll know for sure Thursday. He's been very sort of all over the place about what his plans are. All right. A lot to watch. Laura Jarrett, Melissa Russo, thank you both so much for being here. We really appreciate it. Tonight in Top Story's Global Watch, officials identifying the four U.S. soldiers found dead in Lithuania when their armored vehicle became submerged in a peat bog. Their names are Jose Duenas, Jr. He's 25 years old of Illinois. Edvin Franco, 25 years old of California, Dante Titano, 21 years old of Guam, and Troy Knutzen Collins,

28 years old from Michigan. U.S. officials say they were taking part in a training exercise when they died. The Army is investigating the cause of the incident. And 40-foot waves slamming a cruise liner during a trip through a dangerous ocean stretch near the southern tip of South America. You can see the massive wall of water

hitting the ship, knocking passengers right off of their feet. There are no reports of any injuries. It's this area they were in. It's known as the Drake Passage. It runs between Argentina and Antarctica. It's infamous for its dangerous waves. And back here at home, we're remembering legendary movie star Val Kilmer, who died today at the age of 65. He was known for his roles in popular films like Top Gun and Batman Forever.

NBC's Joe Fryer takes a look back at some of his iconic characters. You're everyone's problem. As Top Guns, Iceman, Bal Kilmer taunted Tom Cruise with a snap of the jaw only to befriend Maverick by film's end. You can be my wingman anytime. The movie opened doors, including The Doors, a biopic with Kilmer immersing himself

in the role of Jim Morrison. While in Tombstone, he played Doc Holliday. We started a game we never got to finish. We firing off this iconic line. I'm your hucklebearer. Despite earning a reputation as difficult to work with, Kilmer was prolific, trained at Juilliard before starring in dozens of movies. He shared the screen with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in heat, and briefly donned the Cape Crusaders' mask for Batman Forever. Who's your tailor?

A bout with throat cancer and a procedure on his trachea left his voice gravely gravely, which could be heard in a documentary about his life, simply titled Val. and sound here next way than I feel. Kilmer's daughter says he died Tuesday from pneumonia. His friend Josh Brolin paying tribute writing, you were a smart, challenging, brave, Uber creative firecracker,

a light that burned bright in Kilmer's last big movie in 2022, reprising the role that made him famous. Who's the better pilot? you are me. There's a nice moment. It's not ruin it. An enduring moment of warmth from the Iceman.

Joe Fryer, NBC News. When we return, the Green Beret allegedly murdered by his wife. New questions tonight about how she could have killed this highly trained fighter. We're back with the case of a missing retired green boy. His wife now accused of killing him after he allegedly told her he wanted a divorce.

NBC's Priya Shrethar has the details. The wife of a Green Beret veteran now charged with his murder. It's just a very tragic situation that has certainly gripped the community. Clinton-Clint Bonnell, a father who served in the Army for 20 years, was reported missing after a welfare check in January. A month later, police finding his dismembered body in a pond just three miles from his home. And it looks like to not be a part of a body floating out in the water. Bonnell's sister telling NBC's dayline in February that her brother was seeing someone else

and that's who reported him missing. And according to court records obtained by NBC News, Bonnell's girlfriend reported to police that he told his wife 50-year-old Shanna Cloud he wanted a divorce just days before that welfare check at the couple's home. Officers not finding Bonnell, but say they found evidence suggesting, quote, he may have been harmed, including his laptop damaged by some kind of projectile. What's uniquely this different about this case, he is and was a green beret. He was special operations, specially trained, and which means he was a person that we can only assume was capable of taking care of himself in a physical altercation. Police say they carried out search warrants on Cloud's vehicle, rental property, and cell phone. On Friday, she was arrested on first-degree murder and concealment charges.

Ms. Cloud is innocent and looks forward to her day in court. She has not entered a plea, and Cloud's attorney's office telling NBC news, they're not making any comments at this time. She was denied Bond on Monday and remains behind bars. I'm going to play a song for you. Tonight, Bonnell's family, remembering him as someone, who loved music and was entering a new chapter in his life while studying to be a physician's assistant. Writing in a Facebook post, quote, Clint was an incredible human who sacrificed so

much for others and dedicated his life to the betterment of this world. Priya Shrether, NBC News. When we return, testing your child's empathy, the TikTok toddler challenge going viral. Do your child's results say anything about what kind of person they'll grow up to be? Finally, tonight, a viral trend all over TikTok, parents putting their toddlers to the test, how these moms and dads are using two cookies and three plates to see just how kind their child is. But doesn't say anything about the person they'll grow up to be. NBC's Yasmin Vasugi and with what researchers say and how her own child did. It's the viral challenge sweeping Tic-tok.

Introducing hashtag cookie challenge, little ones face with an ethical dilemma. They get two cookies and one of their parents gets none at all. I got two. For some, it's an impossible decision, devastation that someone may be missing out. I didn't get any. Oh. Quickly remedied by a sweet gesture. Parents tickled and sometimes relieved by their little one's generosity.

Yay! Other kids delighted with a double helping, wasting no time eating it all up. But mama doesn't have a cookie. What should we do, Lulu? But with a little nudge can usually rise to the occasion. Thank you, Lulu. The question is, do these decisions mean something? Is this a true measure of a child's empathy?

I think we all have to be really mindful not to take this one small experiment, which isn't really scientific at all, and broaden it out to... Dr. Jen Hartstein specializes in psychotherapy with children. She says your child's decision can be largely situational. If you just did this challenge with your son and he just got home from school,

is he hungry and wants a snack? And so I'm more vulnerable to wanting to keep my stuff because I'm hungry versus if you just had one, and then you did this challenge with him, might you have a different reaction? Dr. Hartstein says a full understanding of empathy doesn't click until age three or four. I was hungry for answers. Would my kids pass the cookie or keep it all to themselves? Oh, you're so sweet.

Whether your family member is a cookie monster or a distributor, rest assured that sometimes that's just how that cookie crumbles. What is that saying about the child, if anything? We cannot put all of our eggs in the basket that this is a determination of what this child is going to be like as they grow up because it's not really determining that. Yasmin Vesugin, NBC News. Thanks 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.