Reporter that reassured wall street, but just hours later, President Trump turned up the heat yet again, announcing 100 billion in additional tariffs against china. Enter today, the Treasury Secretary there is the potential of a trade war. And let me just be clear, it is not a trade war. The president wants reciprocal trade. Reporter so, what now . Well, just last month, the president himself said the United States had been treated so badly for so long on trade that, quote, trade wars are good and easy to win. Does the president think that trade wars are easy to win . Is that still his view . I think the president feels like if he is in charge of those negotiations, absolutely. And jon karl joins us from the white house tonight, and jon, the president s top economic adviser calls the tariffs just a proposed idea, but youre not hearing that kind of language from the president himself. Reporter well, tom, it is true that tariffs have not gone into effect yet. The process could take a couple of months leaving time to negotiate, but the president
sure seems dug in on this, and so do the chinese. As a Chinese Government spokesman said today, we are not afraid to fight a trade war. Tom . Jon karl starting us off tonight. Jon, thank you. Next to the white house, divided over the fate of epa chief, scott pruitt as a cloud of scandal is growing around him. The latest after he denied knowing anything about big staff raises and tonight, sources in the epa dispute that. But only one person can ask him to go, the president. And tonight, he is standing by pruitt. Abcs mary bruce is at the epa tonight. Reporter mired in controversy, epa administrator Scott Pruitt Sat down with President Trump today in the oval office. But the white house refuses to say what comes next. No one other than the president has the authority to hire and fire members of his cabinet. Its a decision that hell make. Reporter tonight, new questions about why two of pruitts top aides got hefty raises, even after the white house refused to sign off. In a contentious interview with
fox news, pruitt claimed he knew nothing about it. I found out about that yesterday and i changed it. So who did it . And there would be some accountability. A career person or political person . I dont know. I dont know. I dont know the answer. You dont know . You run the agency. You dont know who did this . I found out about this yesterday and i corrected the action. Reporter but now, epa officials tell abc news thats not true. They say pruitt knew about and supported the raises. One aide receiving a nearly 57,000 salary increase. No Cabinet Secretary in recent memory has been the subject of so many ethical concerns on so many fronts. From his penchant for Luxury Travel on the Taxpayer Dime to spending 43,000 on a secure phone booth for his office, to questions about his relationship with a d. C. Lobbyist and that alleged sweetheart real estate deal that let him pay just 50 a night for this d. C. Apartment. Pruitt says the scrutiny is all part of an effort to sabotage the trump agenda. Any time you do transformational things, there are critics and there are people that come against you in that
abcs senior meteorologist rob marciano is in washington, d. C. Where the Cherry Blossoms are under threat of snow. Rob, good evening. Reporter hey, good evening, tom. The same system that could bring a little bit of snow here in d. C. Tomorrow is bringing Severe Weather across the south, from dallas across northern louisiana. We have a tornado and severe thunderstorm watches that are posted and they are up until midnight tonight. Watch as this thing makes its way across the cold front, and it will mix for colder air. Another one to three inches of spring snow across the tennessee valley, and across parts of virginia and more storms across the south. Behind this recordbreaking cold, windchills will be below zero in parts of the country on saturday, and much of the east, including The Deep South below the freezing mark, and The Deep South being slammed with wind and rain, tom. Rob marciano for us. Rob, thank you. Next, professional fighter Conor Mcgregor now has a court battle on his hands. He was charged in a Brooklyn Court today for a violent attack on a busload of other fighters. Take a look. Injuring two of them whose battles are canceled because of this. Tonight, the sport is also weighing punishment. Abcs Adrienne Bankert on what might have set mcgregor off. Reporter Conor Mcgregor, one of ufcs biggest names in court. Facing a judge after a melee at the Barclays Center in new york. In this video obtained by tmz sports, Police Say Mcgregor committed assault, tossing this handcart into a bus full of other fighters who are watching, stunned. The glass shatters. You can see mcgregor try to get in, stopped while attempting to throw a metal railing. Whats wrong with conor . Reporter as another irish fighter throws a chair at the bus and allegedly assaults an employee who tries to stop him. The outburst reportedly stems from bad blood between mcgregor, his friend and a russian fighter trying to take the Title Mcgregor was stripped of prior to the incident. From what we understand, the
person who he had the dispute with, or was argued with, was not injured. Reporter he has been charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal felony mischief. Now released on 50,000 bond as he awaits consequences from the ufc. Two of the fighters on board that bus suffered cuts due to the broken glass. In fact, three of the matches scheduled here on saturday are canceled because of what went down. Tom . Adrienne bankert for us. Adrienne, thank you. And tonight, facebook announcing new transparency steps to let users know who is behind the political and issue ads they see on facebook and on instagram. Those posts will be clearly labeled and will show who paid for them. Posters of those ads will also have to prove their identity. At the same Time Facebook confirmed today they secretly deleted messages from the inboxes of people that Ceo Mark Zuckerberg had sent to them citing corporate security. Thats raising new questions about breach of trust. On tuesday, zuckerberg is slated to testify on capitol hill. The u. S. Treasury department issuing a new round of sanctions on russian interests for meddling in the 2016 election. Those sanctions on seven
oligarchs, 12 companies they own or control and 17 senior russian government officials, all of them close to vladimir putin. The treasury citing, quote, Worldwide Malign Activity such as the Occupation Of Crimea and syria as well as the election meddling. Next, an abc news exclusive from the russia investigation. New questions tonight about the testimony of erik prince, a major Trump Campaign supporter, about a meeting he had with a russian banker just before the inauguration at an exotic resort in the seychelles. Prince told congress it was a coincidence, but a source suggests there is evidence to suggest it was planned. Heres abcs Chief Justice correspondent, pierre thomas. Reporter this is erik prince, the founder of the Security Company blackwater. He is also the brother of education secretary, betsy devos. Sources allege he was also a liaison between the trump transition and the russian government, something he emphatically denies. Here, prince is leaving a closed session with congressional investigators clearly annoyed. Ive already wasted four hours of my life. Reporter but tonight, sources tell abc news the Special Counsel has obtained evidence that may conflict with princes sworn testimony. At issue, a meeting prince attended at this exotic seychelles resort just two weeks before the inauguration. Also there, a russian banker with ties to the kremlin. Prince has said his meeting with the russian banker was unplanned, a chance encounter while on a business trip. I happened to be there, and i met a russian, some fund manager. I cant even remember his name. We didnt exchange cards. Reporter prince remembered the russians name when speaking to those congressional investigators several months later. Prince said he traveled to meet with some potential customers, and they, quote, mentioned a guy i should meet who is also in town to see them, a Kirill Dmitriev from russia, who ran some sort of hedge fund. So i met him in the bar. We talked for 30 minutes over a beer, and that was it. But there is another version of this story. And it involves george nader, a lebaneseamerican businessman who sources say is cooperating with the Special Counsel. Interviewed four times by muellers grand jury. Those sources say nader set up the Seychelles Meeting between prince and the russian banker specifically to launch conversations between the trump transition and russian government officials. People talk about there was a back channel or all of that . Youre saying no, off the table . Complete hogwash. Reporter prince was familiar with the investigation tell abc news his team has obtained evidence from nader that suggests he met with prince at the pierre hotel in new york city a week before that Seychelles Meeting. Sources say that Evidence Documents that reveal within hours of the new york city meeting, nader started sending messages to prince with the bio of the russian banker, showing he was a powerful putin ally. Just a week later, prince was in the seychelles having a beer with that russian banker. A meeting he said was unplanned. Prince has said he was not representing the trump transition and he has spokesman told us he stands by his testimony before congress. Tom . Pierre, thank you. The fbi and other federal agencies shutting down the classified ad website, backpage. Com. Authorities blocking access to the website posting this announcement instead. Backpage has been under fire for years for allowing adult ads for sex workers and for allegedly enabling the Sexual Exploitation of minors. Next, the Menendez Brothers reunited in prison. Lyle and Erik Menendez convicted of killing their parents in a case that made national headlines. The two seeing each other for the first time in more than 20 years. Heres abcs whit johnson. Reporter tonight, the brothers reunited behind bars. The member Menendez Brothers serving their sentence for murdering their parents inside their Beverly Hills mansion. Their 1996 interview with barbara walters, one of their last times together. Im just a normal kid. Oh, erik, youre a normal kid who killed your parents. Reporter back then, a detective arguing the partners in crime might conspire to escape. Now Prison Officials allowing the infamous brothers to both live inside this san diego prison. Lyle burst into tears, and erik burst into tears, and they hugged each other for several minutes. Reporter lyle and erik testifying they were molested by their father. He would fondle me. Reporter but prosecutors argued the brothers were merely desperate for their parents fortune. Over the years, their only communication, letters. Its marvelous they are able to look at each other and love each other. Reporter lyles move to be reunited with his brother in san diego comes after five failed attempts, tom. Whit johnson for us tonight. Whit, thank you. There is still much more ahead on World News Tonight this friday. Misery at sea. Passengers posting pictures of their two weeks at sea complaining their cruise ship was under construction the entire time. Tonight, the cruise line responding. Plus, the Driver Crashing into a Police Station. Why Authorities Say it was no accident, and what they
allegedly found inside that car. And high school teenagers, the anxious moment that could change their lives. Its america strong. Stay with us. The day after chemo might mean a trip back to the doctors office, just for a shot. But why go back there, when you can stay home with Neulasta Onpro . Strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. Neulasta helps reduce Infection Risk by boosting your white blood cell count, which strengthens your immune system. In a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17 to 1 , a 94 decrease. Applied the day of chemo, Neulasta Onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day. Neulasta is for certain Cancer Patients receiving strong chemotherapy. Do not take neulasta if youre allergic to neulasta or Neupogen Filgrastim . Ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and Capillary Leak Syndrome have occurred. 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Claiming they smelled the chemicals used to resurface multiple decks, covered their faces to protect themselves from thick dust and then theres the noise. But remember to smile. Youre on the Norwegian Sun. Reporter some of the 2,000 passengers even creating a facebook group, detailing the ordeal and the aftermath. Like this post, im still coughing. My lips with still cracked and sore and im still getting some nasty stuff out of my sinuses. They could have simply stopped work and accepted the fact they would lose four or five days or six or seven days of construction on that vessel. Reporter and in a statement to abc news, Norwegian Cruise Line apologizes to the passengers and is offering them a free cruise, but some of the passengers say what they really want is a refund. Tom . Gio benitez for us. Gio, thank you. When we come back, the Driver Crashing into a Police Station. What police have now revealed. The Police Officer accused of beating a man stopped for jaywalking. 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A verbal confrontation escalated after cain was stopped for jaywalking. He settled for 550,000. The deal also includes a series of police reforms. And a fiery collision on a highway in dallas. Take a look at this. The driver of a Tractor Trailer killed in this crash. An explosion on interstate 30. His rig dangling from a bridge. Police say several vehicles were
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drenched all day and now the storm is surging south. Continues to pound the bay area. Give you a closeup look in just a minute. A body only recently recovered. Announcer live where you live. This is abc7 news. This is what a level 3 storm looks like. Wide spread rain across the bay area and about to get stronger. I am dan ashley. And i am kristen sze in for ama daetz. Todays storm ranks three. Take a live look at conditions across the bay area. In vallejo a car crashed and rolled off highway 37. No one was hurt. Wet roads appeared to be a factor. In oakland