the prime suspect was a lapd detective stephanie lazarus.he murder book, he found almost nothing on lazarus, even though she was the ex-girlfriend of the husband of sherri rasmussen. there was only one notation in the criminology in 1986. a detective had written stephanie lazarus, p. o., police officer. as if her name had come up, but not as a suspect. no notes of any conversation with her? >> no paper trail. >> she seemed to be someone above suspicion. stephanie ilene lazarus had grown up in southern, california, a tomboy of sorts and loved sports. she attended u.c.l.a. where she played basketball. it was during her college days that she met and dated john ruetten, long before he and sherri got married. after graduating in 1982, lazarus surprised her family by joining the lapd. this when only a handful of women entered the force. >> i don't think i knew that she was applying. >> stephanie's brother, steven. >> i was very proud of steph. i thought it was a cool thing. >> stephanie lazarus quickly rose through the ranks of lapd, from patrol o

robberies are up 18% year to date, according to lapd. armed robberies up 44%.h the majority of that is still in underserved neighborhoods, communities across the county are on edge. shocking surveillance video of brazen attacked put out by lapd searching for leads. this victim chased and pushed to the ground. the suspects, one armed, attacking him, taking his watch and other items authorities say valued at over $600,000. in another, a mother and infant returning home, followed into the driveway by two men, demanding her property. and in this, a victim exits his lamborghini and is attacked by two men, one with a handgun. fighting them off until they leave in their vehicles. >> many of these attacks start off violently and without provocation so the victims comply willingly. >> reporter: captain tippett is with the lapd's robbery homicide division and heads-up the newly formed "follow home task force." are there any techniques that make these robberies unique? >> yes. they're focusing on places where people are willing to walk around with high-end jewelry, they'r

lapd was always an intimidation factor. you knew that you had limits and bounds because these guys basically would kill you. >> the academy was like a marine corp kind of boot camp. it was very, very strenuous both academically, physically and everything. and the wash out rate was very high. there were so few police, there were like 6,000 or 6,200, 6,400. and the crime was so high you spent all your time just going from call to call to call. we didn't have radios when we got out of the car, so if you were in the projects and something went sideways, somebody shot at you, you were on your own. >> los angeles police call their gang sweep technique "the hammer." >> what's operation hammer? >> operation hammer was you sweep into neighborhoods, make lots of arrests and then leave. >> every weekend they would just have the mass arrests of black and brown youth. and the police chief at the time had no regard for the residents of south l.a. >> last year testifying before congress he had this to say about casual drug users. >> casua

officer jerry was a little young cop on the lapd. where he met -- . >> the first call i got was the call to goes to c l drive. it came out as a drunk in a car. >> officer cruised up to the big canyon. and found the dead streak called c l o drive. the neighbor flagged him down. and suddenly, the drunk in a car call became something else. >> he had told me that the maid came running back out, yelling, blood and bodies! him, all along, noticed his car in the driveway. he could see right away things were not right. >> the telephone wires that had been cut had been hanging over the gate. you go through the gate, and there is a car parked in the driveway. >> in the car he found, not a drunk, but a body! >> he had been shot. and i walked around the front of the location, and there were two more bodies on the lawn. >> then backup arrived, and they went into the house. and found a scene, horrible in a way that would go down in history. there was a young woman. >> there are multiple stab rooms on her. and then, there was a synthetic rope that

. >>> my exclusive inside the lapd's cutting edge program training the next generation of officers in virtual reality. >>> love is in the air. the surprise wedding at 37,000 feet >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone the pentagon tonight warning americans against travel to ukraine after the death of a 22-year-old u.s. marine veteran who went there to join the fight. the mother of willy joseph cancel saying he wanted to go over because he believed in what ukraine was fighting for that fight this evening still focused in the east but u.s. officials say the russian advance there has been slow and uneven and taking longer than the russians had anticipated. the mayor of the besieged city of mariupol, which is so critical to the russian goal of dividing the country, believes more than 20,000 in that city alone have died since the beginning of the war. the russians once again looking over their shoulders turning some of their attention back to the capital. missiles striking in kyiv, a city where a major russian armored assault was successfully

stephanie: the problems at lapd were partly addressed with diversity recruitment.w majority people of color. but police killings of black and brown angelenos are still often in the headlines, and accountability is rare. 30 years later, connie rice is still trying to help reform the police. she partnered with the lapd to help create the community safety partnership, with a holistic approach to working in neighborhoods where mistrust still runs deep. >> the transition has to be from search and destroy, mass incarceration, shock and awe policing, to wrap around safety, heal and build. guardian police. gladiator to guardian. that's the culture change, but you can't have that change without all of the other sectors changing too, civil rights lawyers, the residents, government agencies. we ask cops to do too much. stephanie: rice says she has found like-minded police chiefs with the same goals, but that the message hasn't trickled down to the rank and file. >> if you stick people in a hellhole and you send cops in to make sure that what's in that ghetto stays there, you'

what he says happened during a meeting between chris rock and the lapd. ♪♪ more relief could be on the your commute. president biden issuing a new order to help lower gas prices. >> the president trying to ease the burden on american families. it comes as a new poll shows more americans blame president biden than russia's war on ukraine for rising gas prices. will the fix work and when will we see the difference? ian cull. >> reporter: a month in record high gas prices, the biden administration is pledging to cut them down. a release of 1 million barrels of oil a day from the reserve over the next six months. >> reporter: the average price for californians is $5 a gallon. >> it is terrible, man. we don't go far. where ever we go, we got to put more gas and money. >> reporter: any upcoming road trips for spring break is out of the question. >> president biden pitting the blame for high prices squarely on vladimir putin. >> reporter: u.s. drivers must more than 7 million barrels a year. so today's change would be a 5% increase. experts expect prices at the pump will drop about 20 cents i

it looked like the lapd was out for lunch. and i do understand why he declined to press charges.n for slapping you in the face, that's a weak thing you can do, so i get that. but i do want to see what they haven't released from another angle that shows the minute that he made the joke, jada looked at her husband and so that has to come out. sitting down either with king or roberts or fox news for prime time. and explain what went down and then the story will be out there. >> well, that will be something half hashed over and the bottom line is you really don't need to know if she signaled will smith and said go get him. let's just assume that. doesn't matter? >> i would like to see all the angles, like it's an assassination. >> this is a battery and a crime, but apparently chris rock did not want to do it. but should they have taken him out of the auditorium? >> in real life, i think that there is one of the best places to have these two is to have them together and what i am tired of hearing is how people are traumatized over this. these are people who are not paying attention to

the lapd came and needed to talk to chris. so they came into my office and they were laying out very clearly what chris' rights were and they were saying, this is battery. we will go get him. we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you can press charges. we can arrest him. as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine. he was like, no, no, no, and even to the point where i said, rock, let them finish. they said, would you like us to take any action? and he said, no. he said, no. and i didn't have any conversation with will. >> reporter: but the academy says they asked smith to leave, which he refused. a lot of folks immediately were wondering why he got up, walked that far, assaulted someone, went back to his seat and was allowed to stay. >> right. >> what was the conversation behind the scenes? >> it happened to be right before the best actor award. shayla told me that they were about to physically remove will smith and i had not been a part of those

holmes. >> the lapd came and needed to talk to chris. and so they came into my office.y were laying out very clearly what chris' rights were. and they were saying, this is battery. we will go get him, we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you can press charges, we can arrest him. as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. and they said, you know, would you like us to take any action? and he said no. he said no. >> reporter: the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences, said in a statement wednesday they asked smith to leave but he refused. >> i said, rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse. that was chris' energy. i cannot speak for chris. his tone was not retaliatory, his tone was not aggressive or angry. >> reporter: a source familiar with the matter tells abc news the final decision whether smith was going to be removed from the ceremony or not rested with the academy. smith, of course, stayed and went on to win best actor. >> i want to be a vessel for love. >> reporter: ton

it's gotten so bad lately, lapd captain says he's never seen this kind of behavior.t halfway through the year yet. lapd sent out an alert notifying residents to be aware of their surroundings and follow-home robberies. some blame george gascon saying he won't seek gang enhancement. street gangs are mostly based in south central los angeles and staged 200 robberies and five happened this week. back to you. >> todd: ashley strohmier, thank you. man accused of opening fire on brooklyn subway train appearing in court. frank james arraigned on federal terrorism charge, judge ordering him held without bail. head of m.t.a. blames -- at the time of the attack. cameras were working, the internet connection failed, costing authorities man time during the manhunt. >> todd: driving home with his daughter in florida, he was shot dead after getting out of his car to move a tire in the middle of the road. two months later, his wife is searching for answers as the killer remains on the loose. i am so sorry for your loss, i know jared had four children, two nine year old twins and tw

holmes, saying the lapd came to his office and spoke to rock. >> they were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment. they said, we will go get him. we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you can press charges, we can arrest him. you have -- they were laying out the options. and as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine. he was like, no, no, no. and even to the point where i said, "rock, let them finish." the lapd officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, you know, would you like us to take any action? and he said no. he said no. >> reporter: packer telling abc news he did not speak to will smith directly at all the night of the oscars. in boston last night, rock addressing the incident publicly for the first time before a soldout audience. fans giving him a standing ovation. >> how was your weekend? >> reporter: in video shot from the upper balcony, the comedian telling the crowd he has not prepared any jokes about the slap. >> i don't have, like, a b

the lapd is investigating similar flyers found in westwood. the leaflets blame for the pandemic. these were scattered along veteran and sunset. >> when it happens to your neighbors and friends especially on the eve of passover and easter it is unsettling. >> reporter: he says he was contacted by several people who received them >> the fact is continuing and people are brazen enough to do it over and over again is deeply troubling. >> reporter: the beverly hills police department is working with lapd to find out who is responsible. >> weather is the jewish community today or the jewish community tomorrow, it is imperative we speak up loudly and in a united way about hate. >>> a growing number of states have passed off new abortion laws and you can add florida to that. the only exception is if the mother's life is in danger. here's the latest on the legal battle. >> reporter: using their voices and voicing their freedoms. caitlin and sarah lead women's voices of southwest florida. a nonprofit to defend reproductive freedoms. the group help raise awareness when the board of commissi

it turned out it was not. >> the lapd made it clear, we will do whatever you want us to do and one ofy were saying, this is battery. we will go get him. we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you could press charges and we could arrest him. as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. he's like no, i'm fine. he's like no, no, no. and even to the point where i said, i said, rock let finish. and would you like us to take any action. and he said, no. he said no. i didn't have any conversation with will. shalea told me that they were about to physically remove will smith. and i had not been a part of those conversations. and so i immediately went to the academy leadership that was on site and i said chris rock doesn't want that. i said rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse. that was chris's energy. his tone was not retaliatory or aggressive or angry. and so i was advocating what rock wanted in that time. which was not to physically remove will smith at that time. because as it is now been explained to

bad situation worse. >> the lapd came and needed to talk to chris.nd they were laying out very clearly what chris' rights were. and they were saying this is battery. we will go get him. we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you can press charges. you can arrest him. as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine. he was like, no, no, no. and eve on the point where i said, rock, let them finish. they said would you like us to take any action? he said no. he said no. i didn't have any conversation with will. >> joining us now is matthew bellamy, founding partner of puck news. matthew, what does this resignation mean for will smith and what other consequences could he face when the academy meets later this month? i guess some people are wondering if they'll let him keep his oscar. >> right. the actual consequences of this are not much. this is mostly a symbolic gesture. he will not be able to vote on future oscars and loses some academy privileges but he can still attend the os

the lapd officers finish laying out what his options were.o us take in action? and he said no. >> now, packer did say that will smith reached out the day after and apologized for essentially over overshadowing his success. unfortunately many others feel their success was overshadowed. >> camila bernal with the latest, appreciate it. thank you. our next hour starts right now. >>> so we're in a bomb shelter in odessa where they are making bullet proof vests. >> all of the vehicles have been branded with the red cross. so try to ensure that they corn be attacked on the road. i interviewed a young girl shot

zohreen: also touching on lapd approaching rock about options. >> absolute fact.d made it clear we will do whatever you want us to do and one of the options is that we will go and arrest him right now. zohreen: the academy states packard is speaking for himself. the next meeting to discuss will smith will be april 18. a lot of options could be discussed at that next meeting. the academy could ban will smith from being nominated ever again and ban him from attending the oscars again, although no one expects them to walk through those doors next year. zohreen shah, abc news, los angeles. liz: you can see plenty of oscars coverage on demand through the abc 7 connected tv app available for apple, android, amazon fire and roku. still ahead, breaking down the recall. would talk with the news reporter who had a one-on-one with san francisco's embattled district attorney. live look outside this morning. looking out at the golden gate bridge. nice clear when it comes to cybersecurity, the biggest threats don't always strike the biggest targets. so help safeguard your small

we will learn what the lapd told all of them. also, his reaction to everything that happened on what should have been a crowning achievement. tj gets all those answers. and then to the move by president biden to help ease the pain at the pump. immediate impact already this morning. and the new social media safety push. attorneys general and washington, d.c. are calling for more parental controls on tiktok and snapchat. and one couple shed more than $125,000 in debt in under four years. and we are rising and shining, this time from missouri. that and more on good morning america. reggie: have you ever been at the st. louis arch? lisa: i was just there a couple of weeks ago, actually, storm chasing. it is up there. it is kind of an amazing modern marvel. think about how they built that in the 1950's or 1960's. reggie: when i was a kid, i thought it was super exciting. but if you are claustrophobic at all, it is a real -- ginger: it is not for you. reggie: you might need to have a whole relaxation thing after it. ginger: yes. reggie

the lapd came, we're prepared to get him right now, you can press charges, we can arrest him. >> so howing will smith during the oscars? the show's producer will packer reveals it all came down to one critical moment. >> he was telling me -- ♪ >> how much is hair rai styles' new music video about girlfriend olivia wilde? well, after he puts his shirt back on harry explains who else we hear from on the song. >> come on, harry, we want to say good night to you. >> she was asking for a big fee. >> from the trends to the sy

. >> lapd says criminals are targeting people leaving high end restaurants, stores and night clubs. expensive jewelry or carrying designer bags. the man driving this car was robbed at gunpoint after leaving a hollywood nightclub in december. >> they tell me if you are not going to shut up, i'm going to give bullet in the face. >> 46 suspects have been arrested since last year. all but one are repeat offenders and more than half are no longer in custody. >> these are extremely violent crimes. >> the head of lapd newly formed follow-home robbery task force says it would help if more of these criminals face stiffer penalties like gang and gun sentencing enhancement. >> these are additional charges that can be applied to an individual that commits another felony while is on bail as well. and these are all things that are not being done to the capacity that it could be done. >> while the district attorney's office filed a gun enhancement for at least one suspect, l.a. county's progressive d.a. george gascon is sticking to his current criminal justice reform poehlers. >> soft on crime whe

nothing about whether will smith should stay or go from the ceremony packer also told nbc news that the lapd was prepared to arrest will smith after the incident, but that chris rock was dismissive of the idea. >> the lapd came and needed to talk to chris. we will go get him we are prepared. we are prepared to get him right now. you can press charges. we can arrest him. as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine. >> the producer said will smith later apologized to him, saying he was embarrassed the academy reports it's still planning to hold a meeting in just a few weeks to determine any punishment for will smith. but, again, the news tonight, will smith apologized and resigned from the academy. >>> the feds are accusing three army soldiers of funneling guns to a notorious street gang in chicago. the justice department unsealed a gun trafficking indictment today against 12 people, 3 of them soldiers. the others, members of the gangster disciples gang. according to the indictment, the soldiers were stationed at fort campbell in

lapd's police chief said they're stepping up their efforts.ck. that is not happening yet and it's a major cause for concern. this morning the lapd warning of what they call follow-home robberies. this dramatic video released by police showing one woman racing away from robbery suspects after officials say one smashed her car window after she left a jewelry store. seconds later they mowed her down with their car. the suspecting running off with the watch she then throws across the street. officials say l.a. has been plagued with at least 55 follow-home robbery cases this year, set to break the 164 incidents reported last year. >> many times these offenders are scouting out locations. sending in advance people. may even have relationships with parking valets or store employees. we're not clear on that. >> reporter: add smash and grab robberies to the type of crimes police are still urgently responding to. friday night police say two suspects used sledge hammers at a kay jewellers. taking off with handfuls of gold chains. l.a. seeing a year to da

lapd is saying more than a dozen la gangs are behind this.ng target are targeting people with high-end jewelry. they're getting even more brazen like we see here. the latest incident was just yesterday after a pair of thieves allegedly followed a woman who would just come out of a jewelry store. they chased her down and then took her watch. >> broad daylight downtown los angeles for how it could be more brazen and open the you know, something has got to be done on paying extra money to live in a safer neighborhood in la. but then again. >> i still don't feel 100% safe. >> lapd says there have been more than 200 follow home robberies since last november. actor cuba gooding junior has pleaded not guilty. excuse me has pleaded guilty. to forcibly touching a woman at a new york city nightclub back in 2018. the oscar-winning star is also accused of sexually assaulting 2 other women at various night spots around the same time the 54 year-old had previously pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor counts. and tonight, all the allegations of wrongdoing

lapd says criminals are targeting people leaving high end restaurants, stores and nightclubs wearingry or carrying designer bags. the man driving this car was robbed at gunpoint after leaving a hollywood nightclub in december. they tell me if you are not going to shut up. i'm going to give a bullet in your face. 46 suspects have been arrested since last year. all but one are repeat offenders and more than half are no longer in custody. these are extremely violent crimes head of lapd's newly formed follow home robbery task force says it would help if more of these criminals face stiffer penalties like gang and gun sentencing enhancements. these are additional charges that can be applied to an individual that convince another felony well. um is on bell as well. and these are all things that are not, uh, being done to the capacity that it could be done while the district attorney's office filed a gun enhancement for at least one suspect l, a county's progressive d. a. george gascon is sticking to his current criminal justice reform policies , including not prosecuting juveniles as adult

. >> reporter: packer also touching on lapd approaching rock about his options. >> that's an absolute fact. the lapd made it clear, we will do whatever you want us to do, and one of the options is that we will go and arrest him right now. >> reporter: the academy states packer is speaking for himself. their next meeting to discuss will smith will be on april 18th. a lot of options could be discussed at that next meeting. the academy could ban will smith from ever being nominated again. they could ban him from ever attending the oscars again. although, look, most people don't expect him to walk up those stairs again next year, gio. >> all right, zohreen shah in los angeles, thank you. >>> in our next half hour here, many americans, they are divided in their reaction to that slap at the oscars. we're going to dive deeper into that coming up. whit. >>> gio, now to the war in ukraine. ukrainian forces regaining control of multiple towns and new videos posted online show air strikes at a fuel depot in russian territory. officials in moscow saying the attacks were carried out by ukraine as

now producer for the oscars telecast tells abc news that lapd officers wanted to arrest will smith after the show. but chris rock talk them out of it. they said we will go get him. we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you can press charges. we can arrest him. you have they were laying out the options and as they were talking, chris was he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine. he was like, no, no, no. they said, you know, would you like us to take any action? and he said no. but a new report from tmz claims will smith was not asked to leave after the incident, which would contradict with the academy of motion picture arts and sciences said in a statement tuesday, according to the report. and oscar's producer told the king richard star they did not want him to leave. however, a source at the academy tells fox news they stand by their statement that smith was asked to leave and refused. the academy board of governors is weighing disciplinary actions against the best actor winner with their next meeting set for april 18th. much more ahead on

. >> oscar producer spoke saying the lapd came to his office and was prepared to make an arrest.tery was the word she used in that moment. they said we will go get him, we are prepared to get him right now, you can press charges, we can arrest him. they were laying out the options. >> reporter: options, he said, rock said no to. >> he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine, no, no, no. and even to the point where i said, rock, let them finish. >> reporter: now there's a new video showing the aftermath of the slap from a different angle. it appears it shows jada pinkett smith laughing after chris rock makes mention of the slap, but it's hard to really tell exactly what her reaction was. san jose state public relations professor shawn fletcher says there's a lot we still don't know. >> we really don't know what his relationship is with will smith. >> there's conflicting narratives now emerging about what happened next. the academy says smith was asked to leave the oscars, but refused. a source present at the ceremony tells nbc news, while there were c

four people were hospitalized, including two lapd officers. the pursuit suspect did get away and is still on the run. >>> take a live look now at the san francisco skyline where today, city supervisors are taking up the issue of dna from rape kits being used in criminal cases. now, it comes after the victim of a sexual crime was recently arrested in connection to a property crime in san francisco based on her rape kit dna. today, supervisors will consider a new ordinance that will protect victims of sexual assault by limiting how rape kit dna is stored and handled. state lawmakers introduced a similar bill last month. >>> happening now, marin county leaders are considering a new response aimed at helping our climate in crisis. if approved, all plastic you'd enls i wills and other takeout food that are not reusable or compostable will be banned. if given the green light, it would affect food vendors only in one incorporated parts of the county. today supervisors plan to introduce the ordinance and consider placing it on its agenda next month. >

lapd says they arrested him after the 8th robbery, but he was later released. prosecutors say the da's office didn't file charges because there wasn't enough evidence at the time. officials say he'd meet the victims that their homes are different hotels patterson has been connected to possibly dozens of robberies. 15 in los angeles, 4 in west hollywood and 2 in beverly hills between november 2019 up to march this year. the fbi says patterson also use the beverly hilton has a meet-up location. we're told most of the crimes had the same pattern. according to the u.s. attorney's office. we just talked to assistant u.s. attorney, jeremiah levine. >> mister paterson. will it happen? like i said, he'd been stabbed one victim in the chest. he often threatens them with a taser. he's used pepper spray on victims. sometimes he just gets his victim with his fists. he makes off with the phone transfers as much money as you can to the plate before that person can shut their counts down. >> levine says patterson allegedly contacted victims through the grinder app and met up

how did lapd connect all these guys? how did they get these guys?reporter: that's the least-favorite question police like to get asked because they don't like to give out too many details. but comparing to other things i've been told before. i think the key is that numerous agencies provide but numerous resources. so it gives numerous agencies a chance to compare surveillance video from crime sprees in different areas, and they can track down or figure out one crew from another. that become as big thing, because you might be able to determine important factors like what's their home base area, where do they operate from, that gives a chance to talk to people, people in masks might be hard to recognize for those of us looking at them as strangers or picking them out of a lineup, but acquaintances can recognize people. if you go to the area where they are, that gives you a better chance of tracking them down. >> this is not just a big deal for the jewelry store owners but those of us who go to shopping malls, because our lives can be at risk as well.

. >>> a well-known rapper arrested by lapd. officers take asap rocky into custody. the arrest is in connection to a shooting in november. the rapper is accused of shooting at an acquaintance who suffered a minor injury. asap rocky was with his girlfriend rhianna at the time of the arrest. >>> new mexico issued a citation and fine connected to the accidental shooting on the set of "rust". the state conducted an investigation into the death. it found the production company knew firearm safety procedures were not being followed and demonstrated, quote, plain indifference to employee safety. alec baldwin was holding the gun during a rehearal when it fired a live round. >>> the brother of michelle obama is suing a milwaukee prep school after it canceled his two sons' enrollment. it claims the university school of milwaukee dropped the children in retaliation from complaints made by him and his wife. during the pandemic, while their sons were learning from home the couple says they overheard lessons that gave them serious concern. >> what we saw was a repeated use of raci

rodney king riots in los angeles, the city's residents were >> enraged following the acquittal of 4 lapdm were white in the beating of rodney king, a black man. the savage attack was captured on video and sparked a national conversation about race and policing that is still continuing today. the community's anger over the verdict, a spilled over onto the streets resulting in 5 days of rioting. and this morning la leaders gathered on the steps of city hall to kick off a month-long campaign of awareness about the riots lasting impact on the korean community. it's called campaign, which translates to april 29th. the day the rioting began. thousands of businesses were destroyed, causing over a billion dollars in property damage. 40% of that damage was done in the korean community. campaign leaders say the anniversary of the riot is an opportunity to unify learn from painful past events. >> all right. time for another look at the forecast. just we're looking live at the transamerica pyramid. always an iconic shot, not a cloud in the sky. at least there. >> they don't not even go on here, too.

. >> packer says lapd officers were on standby to arrest smith for battery. chris rock told them he did not want to press charges. he said he didn't want to make a bad situation worse. the next day smith apologized to rock and instagram post and smith apologized to the oscars producers on a zoom call. changing subjects here for a moment. >> alas, no survey of the season is in and the verdict, not much snow. it was the 4th survey at phillips station confirming a dry year overall. some think we all have witnessed april 1st is usually when snow pack is the highest. but the survey found the statewide snowpack lightly. pete, early last march and the sierra peak back in january. the latest snow melt forecast was only 44% average. chief meteorologist lawrence karnow with us now. did we get enough snow survey says yeah, no, we did. in fact this drought period the last 3 years looking very similar to what we have in the 70's, the 70's, maybe a little bit drier than now. but still. >> this is what we want to see. we want to see all this here is full of snow right now a

the lapd was there at the academy awards reportedly ready and willing to arrest smith if chris rock pressed charges chris did not. now lawrence jones went to the chris rock show last night in boston and he hit t the streets to find out what americans think about that slap heardwhat around the world. >>the here's a preview. okay, what do you think aboutou what we love chris rock, who is hysterical, didn't get into the whole thing with crtvit with will smith. i was a little disappointed he didn't bring up the whole wilesmith likeh e't scenario. >> we got the full tape that's coming up. lj s will join us with more . but first, we are just seven months away from the midtermrm elections that will be upon us very quickly. the biden white house is in onee crisis after another and yet , a key inflation gauge just set another 40 year high. this impacts every singleea american, every americanev household, a whopping six point four percentermeri increase. and according to bloomberg news, the average american family now can expect to spend five thousand two hundred dollars more this year or four hundre

robberies in los angeles this year are up 17.5% from the same time last year a 2021 lapd crime report showing that violent crime is also on the rise, up almost 4% from 2020 to 2021 although it's still much lower than a few decades ago home video, cameras, that kind of thing certainly has helped law enforcement to be able to identify people. >> how common is it for a homeowner or person to actually be home when something like this happens? >> yeah, it's a very low percentage, you know, when it's occupied it's so much more dangerous to the person in the residence. >> i always, always thought that my life was going to be peaceful for the rest of my life up here. last night i thought maybe it's time for me to leave los angeles. >> ooh, that video is chilling thanks to isa gutierrez for that report >>> after a quick break bad news for everyone on the parent's netflix account or their friends. or> and going back for the histy books. the women blazing new trails in baseball inflammation in your eye might be to blame. time for ache and burn! over-the-counter eye drops typically work by lubric

april 29th, 1992, a jury acquits four white lapd officers for the beating of rodney king, sparking tremendouser and violence in south central l.a. when the riots was over, 50 people were dead. more than 2,000 businesses were destroyed. more than half of those businesses were korean-owned. the damage totaled about one billion. tonight local leaders in the black and asian communities are uniting in four communities, including l.a. and san francisco. it means april 29th in korean. the goal is to talk about the racial tension that surrounded the riots and the progress we've made in the past 30 years. joining us this evening is charles jung, a lawyer and executive director of apa's versus hate. nice to have you on the program. charles, why do this? why relive this for everyone? >> thanks, raj. this is -- saigu is important to remember because the ghosts of that event, these tragic events exist today in both the black and asian communities. and it's a scar that has never really healed. >> charles, we talk so much about black and white tension, but there are a lot of people who just don't know much

. >>> my exclusive inside the lapd's cutting edge program training the next generation of officers inreality. >>> love is in the air.

it was an act of violence, there�*s a suggestion the lapd were ready to arrest him.nd in the way it did? definitely. we�*ve seen various conflicting reports about whether or not he was asked to leave. the academy said they�*d asked him to leave through a representative. and he declined. that�*s their version. the producer of the show, will hacker, said he spoke to will smith and said he did want him to leave because he didn�*t think chris rock would want that. wanda sykes, a co—host, said that leaving him there to accept the reward was the wrong message and she described it as gross. there were people who were very opposed to him having stayed there. what does he lose by being expelled from the academy? forgive me, by resigning. he might have been suspended by them if he�*d stayed. right, i mean, some people, critics are saying he�*sjumping before he was pushed and that he�*s getting ahead of any kind of repercussion. and to some degree, you know, that is true although the academy said they would continue with their process and on april 18 they are going to issue som

. >> reporter: the lapd already on the scene for security then speaking to chris rock in packer's office>> they were saying, this is battery. we will go get him. we are prepared. we're prepared to get him right now. you can press charges. we can arrest him. as they were talking, chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. he was like, no, i'm fine. he was like, no, no, no. >> reporter: the academy says will smith was asked to leave, but that he refused. but once there was no arrest, it would have been the academy's decision to physically remove smith. a lot of folks immediately wondered why he got up, walked that far, assaulted somebody, went back to a seat and was allowed to stay. what was the conversation behind the scenes? >> shayla told me that they were about to physically remove will smith, and i had not been a part of those conversations. >> reporter: packer says he didn't speak directly to will smith that night, but he did talk to his publicist. >> i said to the publicist, the academy is not going to remove him. and she looked at me and said, thank god. >> reporte

i knew at 11 tonight, the producer sunday's oscar ceremony says officers with the lapd were standing by and ready to arrest will smith for slapping chris rock during the awards show in a preview clips set to air tomorrow producer will packer says officers were prepared to remove smith from the audience and make an arrest for battery. but at the end rock waved them off, saying he was fine and decided against pressing charges. president biden today ordered the release of one million barrels a day for six months from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve. president says the release is aimed at reducing the price of oil and gas prices, which remain historically high. the oil will be made available over the next several months, and crude oil prices have already come down. prices already came down. when there was announced ahead of times. biden was going to release so much and so much energy from so many barrels of oil from the spro. they're already come down. my guess is we'll see it come down, continue to come down. um but how far down i don't think anyone can tell. crude oil prices f

this is a driver who led lapd on a wild chase last night.t black sedan doing several doughnuts in several intersections. the driver could be seen motioning to officers and flashing the vehicle's headlights at times. the suspect hit another car, came close to hitting several other vehicles but the chase finally came to an end at the driver's home. it's unclear what led to that pursuit or whether that person was taken into custody. >> also in southern california, a bizarre and unnerving crime caught on camera. this is what a family saw. this is a man who is in custody accused of breaking into a san bernadino home while that family was sleeping. the family posted this video on next door. showing that intruder rummaing through a bedroom back in february. they say he stole a wedding ring and some cash, but then things got really weird. >> some guy in our room while we were sleeping. >> i posted it on the next door app and a lot of people commented and they were like, i have seen this guy in my house. oh, my god, i woke up to this guy touching me.

an lapd task force convened to look into the following home or the follow home crimes and says there have been 56 such robberies this year alone 165 last year. we are learning more tonight about the mother and daughter killed last week by a hit and run driver in san jose ktvu elissa harrington tells us they were just about a block away from their home. when they were hit. this is a picture of 75 year old surinder core and 53 year old kuljit court, a mother and daughter, who were killed while crossing ochola avenue in south san jose. narendra lived just a block from where the deadly collision happened last thursday for a walk. then they came back. to try to cross crosswalk. that's it lives next door to the family, he said. he talked to narendra often, and he's very upset about what happened, lady yeah, mother. very nice lady or family was part of the sikh community sing ben wall is on the board of directors at the sikh gurdwara in san jose, he said. they are all grieving tradition is we do provide a lot of support. from the gurdwara and the community itself. of the families, friends,

. >>> my exclusive inside the lapd's cutting edge program training the next generation of officers in reality. >>> love is in the air. the surprise wedding at 37,000 feet >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone the pentagon tonight warning americans against travel to ukraine after the death of a 22-year-old u.s. marine veteran who went there to join the fight. the mother of willy joseph cancel saying he wanted to go over because he believed in what ukraine was fighting for that fight this

it was an act of violence, there's a suggestion the lapd were ready to arrest him.efinitely. we've seen various conflicting reports about whether or not he was asked to leave. the academy said they'd asked him to leave through a representative. and he declined. that's their version. the producer of the show, will hacker, said he spoke to will smith and said he didn't want him to leave because he didn't think chris rock would want that. another co—host said that leaving him there to accept the reward was the wrong message and she described it as gross. there were people who were very opposed to him having stayed there. ~ . ., , _ , there. what does he lose by being exelled there. what does he lose by being expelled from _ there. what does he lose by being expelled from the _ there. what does he lose by being expelled from the academy? - there. what does he lose by being expelled from the academy? and | there. what does he lose by being l expelled from the academy? and by resigning. he might have been suspended by them if he'd stayed. right, | suspended by them if he'

>> the lapd came and needed to talk to chris. >> so many seeing it so differently. >> this is on tv inw about her alopecia. this special edition of "nightline," "the slap," will be right