valerie castro with what you need to know. >> do not touch me. >> reporter: they're the house guests no one invited. >> you're trespassing, and you're harassing me. >> reporter: squatters making themselves right at home. >> get out of my house. >> it's not your house. >> reporter: they're people that take over mostly vacant properties that aren't theirs. one new york case even turning deadly. police now believe the 52-year-old was killed by squatters. patty peoples said she discovered two women and kids in a florida property she was preparing to sell and filmed her intense conversations with them. >> i had squatters that did $40,000 worth of damage, stole appliances. >> reporter: at one point, even threatening her with atire iron. she said it took more than a month to get them out. how did you feel? >> it is quite frankly one of the most frustrating unfair experiences and frightening experiences of my life. the burden of proof was on me, not the renters. it's unfair. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: unfair because squatters take advantage of laws meant to protect renters, often leaving ho

valerie castro, nbc news. >>> here's the simple truth, you can't love your country only whe

valerie castro has more. >>> i do love this old town. >> reporter: for 75-year-old katherine weaver the town of aberdeen, washington, two hours west of seattle, has always felt like home sweet home. >> and my kids took karate lessons over in the next block. >> reporter: that is until she was forcibly removed from hers. >> they started hauling our stuff out and stacking it in the street. and people were coming by and dig through it and take what they wanted. >> reporter: katherine says she and her daughter moved into an apartment a few years ago and quickly started having problems with the landlord. >> we had been there almost no time at all when they jumped the rent up some more. the cupboards and the drawers in the kitchen were off the rails. >> reporter: despite always paying her rent on time, in february they received an eviction notice citing demolition of the building as the reason she had to leave. >> if they were going to tear it down, why would they have been renting it the same day we got the eviction papers? >> there's a lot of pressure on some of these houses for landlords to

valerie castro has been following this story for us.e been reporting on for quite a while. you spent time in oregon tracking this. >> reporter: ellison, back in 2020 more than 50% of voters in the state actually voted for measure 110 decriminalize drugs in the state and it was supposed to funnel more funding toward drug treatment programs and the way it was supposed to work, instead of sending someone to jail they could get a citation, choose to pay it or call a hotline and be screened for a drug treatment program. people weren't using those resources and the funding going to those drug treatment programs. when we were portland we spoke to local business owners, local community leaders said what resulted was rampant open drug use. take a listen to what one business owner told us. >> the city commissioner asked me what percent of the day do i see people using drugs? i said is there a number bigger than 100. >> reporter: again, so a lot of people who voted for that measure now changing their mind even before this measure was passed the nu

nbc news correspondent valerie castro has been following this case. we know about brandon paul and what do investigators say about how he might factor into this. >> reporter: several lawsuits have been filed against sean combs and brandon paul is named in one of those suits. he's described as his alleged drug mule. now the same day as those federal raids at combs' different properties paul was arrested by miami police. he was charged with possession with cocaine. his attorney released a statement in regards to that -- we don't plan on trying this case in the media. what's unclear is if that arrest. miami has anything to do with that federal investigation at combs' various properties. but we do know firearms were recovered from those properties and cellphones. >> can we talk about where is combs. he wasn't at either home during the raise. >> reporter: sources say at time of those raids he was scheduled to go to the bahamas with his family. reports that his private plane was later spotted in antigua, unclear where he is. his lawyer issued a statement --

and joining me now to explain is valerie castro. spoke to teens about what they are seeing and hearing in their circles. >> and they say this is becoming ubiquitous especially when it comes to the fantasy league apps. you only have to be 18 to play. and the teens say they feel like gambling has become normalized and when you watch on any sporting event, it is not hard to see why. the ads are everywhere. >> mgm is for everyone that loves sports betting. >> reporter: march madness mania now a sports betting craze with americans estimated to legally wager more than $2.7 billion on the college basketball tournament. but with sports betting legal in 38 states and d.c. and more apps than ever making it easy to sign up, critics worry putting money on a game is going too far. >> it is normalized at such a young age that we're seeing high schoolers get hooked. >> reporter: rodman said he learned the hard way as an avid philadelphia sports fan. >> there were wins, but never a win that was satisfactory enough to say, okay, that is enough. that