NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Friday, February 20, 2026

Episode Date: February 21, 2026

Trump vows 10% global tariff after Supreme Court ruling; Severe weather hits parts of Midwest; Suspected terror attack on power substation; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, the stunning clash between President Trump and the Supreme Court, a majority of justices striking down his sweeping tariffs. The president slamming the court in a fiery news conference, even suggesting some justices are swayed by foreign interests, then vowing a workaround to impose a 10% tariff on all countries. Will that hold up in the courts? Plus, the company's now demanding refunds, and what about the prices we pay? Also tonight, millions bracing for a powerful Northeaster set to pound the East Coast from D.C. to New York to Boston. Al Roker standing by with how much snow is coming, plus the twisters tearing through the Midwest. The suspected terror attack, a driver ramming into a power substation outside Las Vegas, will show you the arsenal he had inside of his car.

U.S. men's hockey punching their ticket to the gold medal match against rival Canada. plus the American athlete with a wild gold metal run in the free ski halfpipe. Will former Prince Andrew be removed from the royal line of succession? What the British government is now considering. Deadly truck explosion at gas cloud consuming the highway, then erupting into flames. The UFO files, President Trump calling for the release of government documents related to extraterrestrials as more videos like these emerge. So, what's in the files?

And the exclusive gold medal club. We talked to the legendary American skaters welcoming Alyssa Liu to that club. And yes, there's a group chat she's now invited to. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We begin tonight with that blockbuster ruling from the Supreme Court. And President Trump's unprecedented response lashing out at the day.

justices themselves. The highest court in the land striking down most of the president's tariffs saying he needs congressional approval to enact them. The president blasting some of the justices as a disgrace to our nation. That's a quote, even suggesting without evidence they were swayed by foreign interests. Among those who voted down the tariffs, three of the court's conservative justices, you see them right here, including two of them, appointed by President Trump. Now businesses are demanding refunds after more than $130 billion was taken in by those tariffs. But the president today said he'll use a different policy tool to impose a global 10% tariff on all goods coming into this country. We'll walk you through what it means for the prices you pay, keeping jobs here in the U.S. and the stock market.

But we begin with Laura Jarrett on that landmark decision from the Supreme Court. Tonight, President Donald Trump unloading on members of this. the U.S. Supreme Court. I'm ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed. They're just being fools and lapdogs. Even suggesting, without evidence, a deeper conspiracy at play. It's my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests. The president taking particularly sharp aim at the very justices he appointed after the

high court struck down most of the tariffs he imposed on virtually every U.S. trading partner. This was an important case to me. More is a symbol of economic national security. To show you how ridiculous the opinion is, however, the court said that I'm not allowed to charge even one dollar. I can't charge one dollar. Not a single dollar because of the specific law he relied on to enact a sweeping series of tariffs last year. The ruling authored by Chief Justice Roberts, with Justice Barrett and Justice Gorsuch joining the liberals today, finding the power to impose tariffs is a taxing power generally for Congress, not the president

in this case, writing, when Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so clearly and with careful constraints. It did neither hear. The majority opinion, however, silent about what should happen to the more than $130 billion in estimated tariff revenue already collected from U.S. companies to date. Justice Kavanaugh in dissent, warning of an imminent mess. saying the United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others. I guess it has to get litigated for the next two years. For companies like VOS selections, a family-owned wine business, and one of the lead plaintiffs

that sued over these tariffs, the legal battle is far from over. Do you plan to seek a refund? Absolutely. We all are. While tonight, the president already taking a different route announcing he signed a new global 10% tariff on all countries, bowing it will take effect almost immediately. All right with that, Laura Jared and Christine Romans, join us now to break down what comes next. Laura, let's pick it up right there. What is this 10% global tax?

What do we know about this tariff? Tom, this was plan B for a reason. If he goes this route, there are time constraints. He can only impose the tariffs for 150 days. Then he needs congressional approval. He has other avenues at his disposal. They too have drawbacks and other constraints. All right, Christine, we know the market's finished up today.

What does this mean for the prices we pay and for manufacturing jobs the president was trying to bring back? For market that's a relief. Look, those tariffs were a big cost for companies for more than a year. And the hope is this takes some pressure off of family budgets. You're talking about much lower prices to import things like furniture and food and electronics and wine and apparel. Now, the goal of those big tariffs, of course, was to restore American needs. manufacturing. But actually, over the past year or so, since the president took office, you've actually lost 83,000 manufacturing jobs, Tom. So unclear what this particular Supreme

Court ruling will mean for the president's made in America agenda. All right, Christina and Laura, great to have you guys. We thank you for that. We have more major breaking news tonight. An update on that Northeastern now set to tear up the East Coast with the new forecast bringing even more snow to the region. Already some airlines are issuing flight waivers. Al Roker joins us now live and now the forecast has major cities right in the storm's track absolutely tom we're talking the i-95 corridor right now we have winter storm watches warnings uh through saturday for the northeast in new england sunday and monday the air is in blue from nantucket all the way down to dc you can see that snow pushing in now now here's what happens so sunday storm quickly intensifying off the

mid-atlantic coast developing from dc to new york some sunday night into monday we're talking travel delays, heavy wind and snow lashing New England all the way down into the mid-Atlantic states. We expect to see, again, winds 40 to 60 miles per hour, possible blizzard conditions coming in there. So we are going to be watching this very closely, Tom, as this system makes its way up the coast. All right, a major change in the forecast there. Al, we thank you for that. Now to the tornadoes that ripped through parts of the Midwest, leaving behind a trail of damaged homes, businesses as well. Maggie Vespa has the videos.

Tonight, new images of intense tornado damage marring Illinois and Indiana. After a monster supercell system brought at least seven reported twisters overnight. This massive funnel cloud hovering over drivers in Illinois. And in this video, another one forms in real time. Massive rotation, massive rotation. Look at that. Sirens echoing for miles. You also see lightning and pounding hail.

In Bloomington, Indiana, the storm ripping apart several homes and businesses, including this car dealership. Multiple cars are something picked up. At one point, thousands left without power, no injuries reported. Everything else can be replaced, and none of that really, none of that matters at the end of day. Farther east, snow falling in Albany, heavy rain in Charlotte. A new winter system expected to snarl air travel this weekend, late today forcing a temporary ground stop at Newark as delays nationwide soar into the thousands. In California, we're getting our first look from above at the area devastated by this week's deadly avalanche that killed at least eight people.

Severe weather wreaking havoc coast to coast, with millions bracing for more storms this weekend. Maggie Vespa, NBC News. Also tonight, Las Vegas police are investigating a possible terrorism incident. A man drove cross-country to intentionally crash into a power substation. in his car and arsenal of weapons and explosive materials. Camila Bernal has the latest. This is the moment a 23-year-old deliberately drives through a secure gate at a power facility in Las Vegas, and tonight authorities are describing it as possible terrorism.

The suspect referred to himself as a dead terrorist son and stated he felt he had an obligation to carry out his act. The suspect, who were not naming or showing, drove here from New York. These wire reels stopped him after breaking through perimeter fencing of the facility on Thursday. The sheriff believes he then shot and killed himself. In his rental car and hotel, authorities say they found these weapons, a number of explosive materials, pipes, gas, and these flamethrowers, and multiple books with extremist ideologies.

Additionally, we discovered the suspect was wearing soft body armor at the time of this incident. Authorities are unclear if the driver's goal was to knock out the subject. station. Investigators are still searching for a motive. Camila Bernal, NBC News, Los Angeles. We have new details tonight on the search for Nancy Guthrie with authorities saying not only is this not a cold case, but they're not ruling out the possibility. There's more than one suspect. Kelly O'Donnell has the latest. Day 20. The ribbon on the lamppost, a marker for where is Nancy Guthrie? Today, the Arizona Attorney General remains encouraged. I certainly don't consider it a cold case yet.

This is a ongoing, very active investigation. An FBI official tells NBC News, some agents and analysts are being rotated to keep fresh eyes on the case. While inside the Tucson FBI field office, the command post remains fully staffed and active and will continue to be. according to a second FBI official. Active right now, newly submitted security videos from neighbors are being reviewed. Cell phone data and DNA from the crime scene being analyzed. Today, Pima County Sheriff's officials noted they do not rule out the possibility that more than one person may be involved. Tucson Congresswoman Adelaide Grahalva.

There is cooperation and collaboration, and that's good news for the Guthrie family. and for Nancy Guthrie. You find that reassuring? Absolutely. We want everyone that has expertise to be working on this case. Including a different group with expertise, known as the searching mothers of Sonora. These women say they have a proven track record of finding missing persons back home in Mexico. Now they're here, offering their experience to this search. Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News, Tucson. Okay, we're going to take a turn now to the Olympics.

were late today a victory for the U.S. men's hockey team advanced them to Sunday's gold medal game. Molly Hunter is in Cortina. Molly, the Americans really dominated today. Tom, that's right, completely dominated. It was so awesome to watch. Now, the U.S. controlled the pace from the very beginning, taking the lead within the first five minutes, soundly beating Slovakia 6-2. Jack Hughes was responsible for two of those goals, and now the U.S. will face arch-rival Canada in the gold medal match on Sunday. Now, Tom, the U.S. men have won gold since that 1980 miracle on ice team. And in Lavinio tonight, more good news in the freestyle skiing half pipe, American Alex Ferreira taking home gold with a massive run. Now, teammate Nick Geppert took a pretty scary fall. Take a look at this. But the good news, he walked off

the course, giving two thumbs up to a cheering crowd. Tom. All right, Molly, we thank you for that. All right, when we come back in 60 seconds, the president orders the release of files on extraterrestrial life. So what will they reveal? That's next. Tonight, President Trump says he's ordering the release of all government information on aliens and UFOs after former President Obama lit up the Internet speculating that aliens probably exist. So what does the government know? Here's Tom Costello. President Trump's Truth Social Post kind of suggests the government knows something,

ordering the Pentagon and other agencies to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, UFOs, and any and all other information. So does the government have hard data on aliens? Congress has held hearings amid a surge and reported sightings. But famed astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson is skeptical. Just because you see something and you don't know what it is, you can't then say it must be aliens visiting from outer space. Trump says he's acting because of the tremendous interest shown following President Obama's

Well, he gave place to right information. He's not supposed to be doing that. But this is what Obama actually said when asked in a lighthearted interview if aliens are real. They're real, but I haven't seen him. There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hit it from the president of the United States. Obama later said he was only speculating that aliens are real because the universe is so big. But what about all those UFOs that Navy pilots have reported? Some already resolved as birds. There's six billion photos uploaded to the Internet every day, as well as a million hours

of video. And none of them has a sharp image of an alien coming out of a spacecraft, abducting you. None of that. And I'm disappointed. Like many physicists Tyson says the laws of physics would make intra-universal space travel impossible, even for aliens. Unless they know something, we don't. Tom. Maybe they do. All right, Tom, we thank you. We're back in a moment with the push to remove former Prince Andrew from the royal line of succession. Plus, the deadly truck explosion sending flames shooting into the air and smoke

down an entire highway. What happened next? We'll show you. We're back now with new reporting on former Prince Andrews arrest in the UK. A source familiar with the matter telling us that Downing is considering removing him from the royal line of succession that could happen once police wrapped their investigation. Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the wake of new revelations from those Epstein files. He has been arrested and then released and not yet been charged. Also tonight, a new warning for some Trader Joe's shoppers, the company behind Traders

Joe's chicken fried rice. You see what the package looks like there, is now recalling more than 3 million pounds of it. There are concerns glass could be inside the packages. The Department of Agriculture says products impacted were shipped to grocery stores nationwide, but that so far nobody has been injured. And a truck explosion in Santiago, Chile, killing at least four people and injuring 17 others, a liquefied gas truck overturning.

Moments later, this happened, flames shooting into the air, sending people running just before the blast, black smoke billowing into the air, authorities say the explosion damaged more than 50 vehicles. All right, when we come back, we take you inside the Elite Olympic Club with skating legends Sarah Hughes and Christy Yamaguchi, and now Alyssa Liu on what it means to win gold. That's next. Tonight, as we take one last cruise through Milan, we're going to take you inside an exclusive club for only a few Olympians. They are the women of figure skating that have won individual gold medals. Here's Stephanie Gosk with the new inductee and the legend. who welcomed her in.

Newly crowned Olympic champ Alyssa Lou can't stop smiling. How would you describe yourself on the ice last night? Ooh. Hi. The win last night put Lou at the top of the podium and officially made her the newest member of a very exclusive club.

Olympic champions Christy Yamaguchi and Sarah Hughes were both in the arena last night. Is there that sense of we're passing on the batonies? and to be there in that moment, to see it passed on. I was thinking about that, but now I feel like we're embracing her into our little sorority. And it includes an invite to the group chat. It's only U.S. figure skating gold medalists, individual gold medalists. As the fellow champions watched Thursday night, emotions ran deep.

It just brought me back to thinking, you know, all the hours and all the days in my whole life up until that Olympic. moment. Today, the newest Olympic champion told me she felt confident from the moment she stepped on the ice. I felt like that was the best skate of my life. What advice would you give to Alyssa right now? Right the wave. She just came up to me and said, you didn't tell me how exhausting. I haven't slept. It's going to be a few months of this, but have fun. And now she's officially on the group chat. She is. She is on the group chat. Whatever comes next, those who skated to gold before her are there to help. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Malang. What a club. All right, primetime Olympics coverage kicks off tonight at 8 p.m.

right here on NBC and Peacock. That's nightly news for this Friday night. I'm Tom Yamas. Thanks so much for watching tonight. And always, we're here for you. Good night.