ther tonight, breaking news. on the brink of a trade war. president trump's threats against china, sending shock waves around the globe. the news rocking the stock market and your 401(k). plus the new sanctions on russia. targeting those close to putin. coast to coast storms. the tornado watch at this hour. snow, rain and record cold for much of the country. backstage brawl. ufc champ, conor mcgregor charged with assault. video showing him throwing a dolly at a bus full of fighters. also tonight, the driver who sped right into a police station, crashing through a wall. why authorities say this was no accident. reunited. the menendez brothers, lyle and erik, convicted of killing their parents, face to face for the first time in more than two decades. and nightmare at sea.

the vacation outrage. we'll take you on board a cruise ship that passengers say felt like a floating construction zone. and good evening. and it's great to have you with us on a busy friday night. i'm tom llamas in for david and we begin tonight with the growing fears of a new trade war. the u.s. and china back and forth with threats of tariffs on one another. with american farmers, tech companies and manufacturers caught in the middle. after the first round of tariffs from each side, president trump now threatening import taxes of $100 billion more of goods from china, and fueling those fears tonight, treasury secretary mnuchin, admitting the potential of a trade war is real, and the president saying americans could feel some pain. the news rocking the stock market. the dow losing nearly 600 points. abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl, starts us off from the white house. >> reporter: a brutal day on wall street. stocks tumbling after

president trump escalated his threats toward china. today, the president acknowledged his trade policy may cause pain. >> so i'm not saying there won't be a little pain, but the market's gone up 40%, 42%. so we might lose a little bit of it, but we're going to have a much stronger country when we're finished. >> reporter: global markets have been battered since the president first announced plans to hit china with $50 billion in tariffs. >> if they charge us, we charge them the same thing. that's the way it's got to be. >> reporter: this week, china fired back, threatening $50 billion in tariffs on american products, everything from soybeans to cars to airplanes. it could cost thousands of american jobs. american farmers could be hit especially hard. as markets tumbled, the president's new top economic adviser set out to calm nerves. >> we're not running a trade war. if you read this thing you'll see, this is just a proposed idea.

>> 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 you're 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. abc's 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. it's a decision that he'll make. >> reporter: tonight, new questions about why two of pruitt's 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 don't know. i don't know. i don't know the answer. >> you don't know? you run the agency. you don't know who did this? >> i found out about this yesterday and i corrected the action. >> reporter: but now, epa officials tell abc news that's 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

regard. >> reporter: tonight, sources familiar with the thinking inside the west wing, tell us white house chief of staff john kelly wants pruitt gone. the president is still standing by him. >> and mary bruce joins us from out in front of the epa, and mary, president trump tweeting today that scott pruitt is doing a great job, but is totally under siege? >> reporter: tom, pruitt has long been one of the president's favorites. he is carrying out the tough work here that trump wants, rolling back regulations, but tonight, sources tell us the president is growing increasingly frustrated with all this controversy. tom? >> mary bruce with that new reporting tonight. mary, thank you. next, let's turn to weather and there is severe weather watches tonight, and we're bracing from storms from coast to coast. wintry weather in denver. ground crews using snow blowers to clear the fields there, and heavy rain expected at yosemite. campgrounds closed to visitors. the heavy rain coming up from the gulf coast as subfreezing windchills. take ahold of a wide stretch of the country.

abc's 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 record-breaking 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. abc's adrienne bankert on what might have set mcgregor off.

>> reporter: conor mcgregor, one of ufc's 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. >> what's 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. that's 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. here's abc's 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.

>> i've already wasted four hours of my life. >> reporter: but tonight, sources tell abc news the special counsel has obtained evidence that may conflict with prince's 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 can't even remember his name. we didn't exchange cards. >> reporter: prince remembered the russian's 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 lebanese-american businessman who sources say is cooperating with the special counsel.

interviewed four times by mueller's 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? you're 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. here's abc's 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. >> i'm just a normal kid. >> oh, erik, you're 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. >> it's marvelous they are able to look at each other and love each other. >> reporter: lyle's 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. it's america strong. stay with us. the day after chemo might mean a trip back to the doctor's 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 you're 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. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away.

in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. so why go back there? if you'd rather be home, ask your doctor about neulasta onpro. when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. each day justin at work... walk. and after work. he does it all with dr. scholl's. only dr. scholl's has massaging gel insoles that provide all-day comfort. to keep him feeling more energized. dr. scholl's. born to move. you wouldn't accept from any one else. so why accept it from your allergy pills? most pills don't finish the job because they don't relieve nasal congestion. flonase allergy relief is different. flonase relieves sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose, plus nasal congestion, which pills don't.

flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. and 6 is greater than 1. start your day with flonase for more complete allergy relief. flonase. this changes everything. next tonight, from dream cruise to misery at sea. hundreds of passengers on board the norwegian sun complaining their trip from miami to l.a. was anything but smooth sailing. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: this may look like a heavy duty construction site but look again. passengers aboard a two-week norwegian cruise from miami to los angeles say it's their vacation. >> i want to know what the heck we were exposed to. it was a full blown construction going on. >> reporter: after departing miami, and traveling through the panama canal to l.a., passengers aboard the norwegian sun posted image after image. claiming they smelled the chemicals used to resurface multiple decks, covered their faces to protect themselves from thick dust and then there's the noise.

>> but remember to smile. you're 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, i'm still coughing. my lips with still cracked and sore and i'm 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. the new headline tonight. plus the fiery collision. the big rig hanging from a bridge. part of the highway shut down for hours. we'll be right back. be right back.

but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell you doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some things. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™".

we're on a mission to show drip coffee drinkers, it's time to wake up to keurig. wakey! wakey! rise and shine! oh my gosh! how are you? well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied. are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me? you won't find relief here. congestion and pressure? full-bodied. go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritin-d. while the leading allergy spray relieves 6 symptoms... claritin-d relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. claritin-d relieves more. it's ok that everyone ignores it's fine. drive. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. and i don't share it with mom! right, mom? righttt. safe driving bonus checks. only from allstate. switching to allstate is worth it. ♪ from only the thickest, juiciest heinz tomatoes. no one grows ketchup like heinz™.

like you do sometimes, grandpa? and puffed... well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said... symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. watch out, piggies! get symbicort free for up to one year. visit saveonsymbicort.com today to learn more. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

time now for the index. let's head to miami where a car crashed into a police station there. police say the driver intentionally rammed his car into the station this morning. the police chief says the driver plowed through the gate and then into that wall. authorities allegedly found a rifle and a safe in his car which prompted police to call the bomb squad as a precaution. the driver was the only person injured. and news tonight about the man beaten by police for jaywalking, settling his lawsuit. you may remember this video. it showed nandi cain jr. being punched several times in the face by an officer in sacramento last april. 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

involved in that crash. a hazmat team was called in to clean up a fuel spill. part of the highway closed for hours. and when we come back. how times have changed. high school teenagers about to open the e-mail that could change their lives. it's america strong. stay with us. lives. tbs america strong. stay with us. stay with us. america strong. stay with us. i america strong. stay with us. t america strong. stay with us. ' america strong. stay with us. s america strong. stay with us. of your retail business. art so that... if your customer needs shoes. ...& he's got wide feet. ...& with edge-to-edge intelligence, you've got near real time inventory updates... ...& he'll find the same shoes in your store that he found online... ...he'll be one happy, very forgetful wide footed customer... at&t provides edge to edge intelligence. it can do so much for your business, the list goes on and on. that's the power of &. & if your customer also forgets... socks! ...& you could... you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia, that can take you out of the game for weeks,

even if you're healthy. pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that in severe cases can lead to hospitalization. it may hit quickly, without warning, causing you to miss out on the things you enjoy most. prevnar 13® is not a treatment for pneumococcal pneumonia... it's a vaccine you can get to help protect against it. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. you should not receive prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. if you have a weakened immune system, you may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, less appetite, vomiting, fever, chills, and rash. help protect yourself against pneumococcal pneumonia. ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13®. a hilton getaway means you get more because you get a break on breakfast

get an extra day by the pool get to spend more time together get more from your spring break getaway with exclusive hilton offers. book yours, only at hilton.com what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ but he hasoke up wwork to do.in. so he took aleve.

if he'd taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now. only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve. all day strong. you're still here? we're voya! we stay with you to and through retirement. i get that voya is with me through retirement, i'm just surprised it means in my kitchen. so, that means no breakfast? voya. helping you to and through retirement.

finally tonight, america strong. and the videos that are being seen by millions. the college admissions process, the anxious moments, the buildup and the answer about the future that's one click away. >> reporter: if getting into college isn't stressful enough, now so many recording the torture and the triumph. [ cheers ] >> reporter: in the bronx, celebrating with a classroom full of friends. >> so impressed, bro. >> reporter: in washington state, so nervous to check, he has a friend click it for him. a celebration, going nuts because he just got into harvard. across the country, it's becoming an annual tradition this time of year. and it's not just teens. colleges getting in on it too.

asking high school counsellors to surprise their students and record it. some of these videos even going viral. millions watched as louisiana brothers got accepted to their dream schools, harvard and stanford. in houston, senior michael damon brown jr.'s life is about to change. he got into every school he applied to, but his top choice? stanford. let's watch. a rite of passage with the world watching. >> and a big congrats to all those seniors. so much to be proud of. thank you so much for watching on a friday night. i'm tom llamas. i hope to see you right back here tomorrow. for david and all of us here, good night. the north bay has been

drenched all day and now the storm is surging south. >> continues to pound the bay area. give you a close-up 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. today's 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.

no one was injured but the car badly damaged. >> live team coverage. >> let's get to the expert. weather expert spencer christian. >> the storm is likely to maintain the intensity. here is a look at live doppler 7 and you can see the rain is wide spread. mainly moderate rain right now with intervals of heavier rain. numerous storm reports as you can see. and most have to do with localized flooding. over in the east bay, reports of flooding as well. and a flood advisory remains in the north bay. from just west of santa rosa. in effect until 10:00. storm ranks three on the storm impact scale. still a strong storm and remains so for tomorrow