pushing a radical program. the floodgates opened in 2020 when they came up with a bright idea to defund the police. they wanted us to believe take resources away from hot police would make us safer. major cities that embraced the idea found themselves in crime. and no city saw so much of a change in life than portland, oregon. portland jumped to the defunds the police movement in 2020. the council cut its budget by $15 million. in 2020 homicides increased 83% in portland. that trend continues in 2021 and 2022. the city tried to combat growing crime by refunding the police in late 2021. but the force is struggling to bring back officers. portland has become a prime example of how quickly a city can fall into anarchy when there is a break down in the rule of law. burning down buildings, squatters. violence in the streets. last year there was a 17% increase in burglaries. if you look at the property crime, it s not much better. they had a truck pull up and break into the front
announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening from los angeles, where picket lines went up today in front of major film studios the people who write the plots that enthrall and entertain millions of american tv and film watchers sidelined tonight by a writers strike 11,000 writers off the job after talks with producers reached an impasse overnight. at the root of the dispute, some of the very things that have transformed how all of us watch our favorite shows. think streaming. the impact of emerging technology think virtual reality. tonight t the writerers and d productionon cocompanies, i including our parentnt company nbnbcuniversalal, appear toto be far apapart, virtually y guaranteeieing reruns wilill be comining to scrcreens as productitions grind d to a haltlt for some s shows, the e impact wilill be felt t immediately. miguel almaguer has the latest what do we want a fair contract reporter: off the job and on to the picket line from co
president trump or if this was a democrat it should be equal justice in america. and stop going after people because you have political differences. house speaker kevin mccarthy pushing a popular defense within the gop when it comes to a possible indictment for donald trump. we ll have the latest on the former president s legal troubles in new york in just a moment. plus, chinese president xi jinping is in russia this morning meeting with vladimir putin for the first time since the invasion of ukraine. and also ahead, new investigations into tiktok amid allegations that former employees spied on journalists good morning and welcome to way too early on this monday, march 20th i m jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day and week with us we ll begin this morning in new york where amid mounting legal trouble across multiple states, former president donald trump could be criminally charged for the first time, and that could happen as early as this week according
americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe. did the government s actions actually make the system healthier? i ll ask democratic senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts.ollides plus, close encounters a russian fighter jet collides with a u.s. drone over the black sea. we know the intercept was intentional. we know the aggressive behavior was intentional. vladimir putin gets ready to welcome chinese president xi jinping at what could be a pivotal moment for the war while the top 2024 candidates no longer see supporting ukraine as a vital security interest. the greatest threat to western civilization today is not russia it s probably more than anything else ourselves. is the party ronald reagan now embracing isolationism i ll ask republican mike rounds of south dakota and a call for protest. former president donald trump claims he will be arrested and calls on his supporters to protest as he faces the possibility of an indictment in new york city
darkness 80 americans how the operation came together plus bills to get hundreds of americans trapped out. an american airlines plane catching fire. the dramatic moment on board as passengers brace for an emergency landing. i was afraid that we were going to crash. it comes just days after flames tore through the wing of another american airlines flight. ready to announce. president biden would like to make his reelection run official within days why our new nbc news poll shows most americans don t want him or donald trump to run again. lights out for bed, bath & beyond the retail giant s planned bankruptcy how long do you have to use the ubiquitous coupons. postal workers held up at gunpoint. why thieves are targeting them and your mail. and draggonfire. the moment this popular disneyland show went up in flames disney now halting many of its fire effects across the world. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with kate snow. good evening. i m peter alexande