NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, August 15, 2026

Episode Date: August 16, 2026

Hawaii braces for impact from Lala; Hundreds evacuated as Indiana flood threat expands; Dozens killed after powerful Indonesia earthquake; 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, two major weather emergencies unfolding across the U.S. right now in Hawaii. Lala bringing gale force winds and dangerous surf to the big island. The once-in-a-generation storm could bring as much as two feet of rain in some areas and the threat of landslides. We are live in the storm zone. Plus, the growing disaster in the Midwest, flooding blamed for at least six debts, now expanding. One major city hit hard by those rising waters. Rescue crews fanning out, saving people from their homes. as hundreds are evacuated.

Our team is on the ground with the threat of more rain on the way. And terrifying new video, buildings crumbling, people running for their lives. Some thrown into the sea after a powerful earthquake in Indonesia, the urgent search for survivors tonight. The new message from Iran to the United States to accept defeat as President Trump brushes off concerns about the long deployment for the USS Lincoln. And developing now five people killed in a Michigan shirt. shooting spree and the hero team wounded by the gunmen who called police.

And the search for a trio of real-life tomb raiders accused of stealing from cemeteries across the country. Unplugging in the classroom, the nation's second biggest school district cracking down on screen time. Could it set a trend across the country? And the new health concerns for Dolly Parton, the beloved legend, cancels a scheduled appearance. Also, there is good news tonight about setting sail and the special summer camp. changing lives. This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz Ballard.

Good evening. I'm Gotti Schwartz in for Jose tonight. We are tracking two major weather emergencies as we come on the air. The deadly flooding threat in the Midwest while in the Pacific, Lala is taking aim at Hawaii. Right now, Hawaii's big island, seeing heavy rain and picking up as Lala churns, and in the hours ahead, conditions are expected to deteriorate. At the same time, days of strong rainstorms in the Midwest, with Indianapolis now seeing the most severe flooding they've seen in decades. And hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate. Rescue efforts are ramping up, but crews are being stretched thin. We've got teams following both these stories tonight.

We start with Morgan Chesky in the storm zone of Hawaii. Tonight, Lala striking Hawaii's big island, unleashing damaging winds and drenching rains. The storm's outer bands are already turning rivers into. a powerful torrent and a frightening sign of what's to come. The urgent message goes out to Hawaii Island. Do not travel if you can help it. The storm now starting a dangerous march across the Hawaiian islands where hurricanes are rare. This is a very serious storm. We have not had a hurricane make landfall in quite some time. So none of us really have experienced this in the last couple decades. Landfall or not, authority stressed Lala's proximity is close enough to cause major issues.

Storm search remains a serious concern here on the Big Island, but with Lala, the biggest threat is a potentially devastating amount of rain. Some areas forecast to get as much as 25 inches. Multiple Kona low storms struck the state this spring, and officials say lessons learned from them, helping everyone prepare. We learned from the extreme weather that we expect. We learned from the extreme weather that we experienced in the spring. And we went to go and adjust those streams specifically that were given us the most problems.

Tonight, the National Hurricane Center, warning of the potential for life-threatening flooding and mudslides and large and dangerous waves. A lot of times that, you know, we don't get hit, but it just takes that one time that you're not prepared for stuff to go wrong. And then you're out of luck. You're

scrambling. Elisha's Star has called the Big Island home for more than 20 years and feels prepared. What's your biggest concern with this one. Power going out, honestly. Tonight, travelers now scrambling to make it off the island. We're just hoping we can get back to our families, you know, and not be stuck here. And Morgan joins us live from Hilo.

Morgan, the big island is clearly taking the brunt of it right now. What's expected to happen as Lala moves west? Yeah, Ghani emergency officials across the entire state are remaining on high alert. And because Lala is currently tracking to the south, We know that Maui could see its impact tomorrow, followed by Oahu and Kauai, late Sunday and into Monday. The biggest threat here, Gaudi remains that potential for absolutely devastating flash floods. Gadi. Morgan Chesky in Hawaii, Morgan, thank you.

Now to that other major weather threat we are tracking tonight and the flood zone expanding in Indiana. Rescuers ramping up today as hundreds of people have already been evacuated there. Maggie Vespa reports. Tonight, the flood threat on the move. With rescue crews fanning out and families in parts of a major American city being urged to evacuate. On the north side of Indianapolis, these guys showed up to rescue me, and I had to go. We watched as Cruz pulled resident David Trennipole and his dog Bubby to safety. It's been around my house before, but never in it.

Later, we spotted this man walking in chest deep water, neighbors in a canoe paddling over to help. With first responders stretched thin, volunteers are patrolling flooded areas. So that's not something I've seen before. Finding homes and cars submerged. Here, our drone shows that same neighborhood from above. Throughout the day, we saw multiple heavy downpours and lightning strikes. It's pouring again, like heavy rain again, coming down in buckets. This is the last thing people here need.

The mayor declaring a disaster emergency, telling people in affected neighborhoods, Please leave your homes now. This is not a time to wait. And tragically, that flooding claiming multiple lives, including Matthew Morey. Authorities tonight confirming they found the 19-year-old's body in the Mississinua River days after he and three friends jumped off a bridge into the water. In a statement, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office writing, there are no words that can ease the pain of losing a child. Our hearts are with Matthew's family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved him. Maggie joins us live from Indianapolis. Maggie, we see that flooded neighborhood behind you, and there's even more rain on the way, right?

Yeah, Gotti, that's right, overnight tonight. Right now, as you can imagine, officials are encouraging people in areas like this with its flooded homes and submerged cars to evacuate. This with river levels in some spots already at historic highs up some 13 feet in three days. Gotty. Wow. Maggie, in the flood zone. Thank you so much. Overseas, a powerful deadly earthquake has killed dozens in Indonesia with buildings crumbling,

forcing people to run for their lives. Danielle Hamamjan, as the latest. This is the moment parts of a building collapsed in the Indonesian port of MoMAire early Saturday morning. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake causing large. chunks of concrete to come crashing down as passengers ran into the streets. Some even thrown into the sea as the ramp to their ship collapsed. Dozens have been killed as rescuers now raised to locate and pull out those still trapped. The earthquake striking the popular island of Flores, where 21-year-old Gladys Victoria of the Netherlands is now living.

Gladys, can you just walk us through what happened this morning? I was trying to hide under my kitchen table, which is what I've always been thought as a kid on primary school. I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream, I couldn't do anything, I just froze. Up on the rocks on the volcanic island of Padar. Don't panic, guys. One guide trying to reassure tourists moments after the quake. A tsunami warning was issued, but later lifted. Tonight, many are sleeping in evacuation camps or simply refusing to return home, fearing the

aftershocks. Danielle Hamamgen, NBC News. And now to the war with Iran and that country's new warning to the U.S. to accept the reality of defeat. It comes as President Trump raised eyebrows saying he would declare the Strait of Hormuz, an American territory. Julie Circuit is traveling with the president. Tonight, Iran is calling on the United States to accept defeat and, quote, stop indulging in delusions. The country's new demands nearly six months into fighting, coming after President Trump claimed, the opposite is true.

After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated. He says the country is so weak he would soon claim the Strait of Hormuz for the U.S. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to. But Iran not backing down, declaring the strait will stay in its control. And on Friday, the president brushing off concerns about a key vessel supporting the war with Iran at sea for a record nine months. The appointment's gone off too long.

No, no, no. Not nearly long enough. The USS George Washington is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, after relatives of some service members complained about plumbing issues and food. And parents of two sailors told NBC News, their children said a fellow service member jumped overboard. A U.S. official says that sailor was quickly rescued and treated. Another concern the president is downplaying rising gas prices, which are still averaging above $4 a gallon.

When you have to pay a little bit more, you're at $4, it's okay. I mean, I'm not, I'll never apologize. I did the right thing. And with Iran holding firm for now, the White House in a holding pattern. If they hit, we would hit back a hundred times harder. What if it's right before the midterms? Do you care? Well, it could be.

But, you know, people are looking at gasoline prices. That's all they're looking at. They like the fact that I'm stopping this lunatic nation from having an atomic bomb. Julie Circon is in Bridgewater, New Jersey, traveling with the president and Julie on the USS Lincoln. Some members of Congress are demanding investigations into conditions on board, right? Yeah, Gotti. And concerns are bipartisan about the longer-than-usual deployment. Some key lawmakers are demanding answers from top Pentagon officials and are even weighing a formal investigation.

Guy. Julie Serkin, thank you. And don't miss Kristen Welker's big lineup on Meet the Press tomorrow morning right here on NBC. Now to Michigan, where we are learning more about a deadly shooting spree where five people were killed and the hero teen who called police. Valerie Castro has the latest. Tonight, the search for a motive after five people were shot and killed in Northern Michigan on Friday. The chain of events setting off just before noon in Missauke County when emergency dispatchers got a call. for help from a 13-year-old girl. I have a 13-year-old on the phone, saying she was shot in the arm.

I'm having a hard time communicating with her. Police finding the teenage girl alive, along with three bodies, a man and woman in their 40s, and a 16-year-old boy, according to Michigan State Police. David Everett, confirming on social media, his daughter Amanda Everett and grandson Eric

were among the victims, along with his granddaughter Bella, who survived, writing, God be with you, Amanda and Eric, and prayers for Bella, who while shot four times, still managed to call 911 and identify the shooter. She is a hero. She currently remains hospitalized and has moved to stable condition. Through their investigation, police identifying 39-year-old Chad Hickman as the suspect, their search bringing them to a second home, finding a 53-year-old man dead. Five seven to eight and possible sighting of the suspect. Investigators finally locating Hickman's vehicle near a wooded area, discovering his body and that of a 29-year-old woman.

Authorities looking into what connection there might have been between Hickman and the victims and say the mass shooting has left the small community in shock. They're looking for answers and they want to know why, and we are committed to conduct a thorough investigation. Valerie Castro, NBC News. And we are learning more about another shooting. This one at Virginia State University early this morning. Officials say that five people were shot and hurt, including one critically outside that school's dorms today.

That incident prompting a campus-wide lockdown, which was lifted shortly after. So far, no arrests, but the school says there are several suspects. And tonight, there's an urgent manhunt underway right now to track down a trio of so-called tomb raiders accused of stealing from cemeteries in at least nine states. Ryan Chandler reports. Tonight, an urgent interstate manhunt for modern-day tomb raiders. Authorities in Florida say this trio, consisting of a mother, daughter, and the daughter's boyfriend has robbed cemeteries in at least nine states.

What a horrible person you are if you decide to steal from the dead. Authorities accuse the trio of stealing irreplaceable family heirlooms. And these mausoleums inside of a niche, their urn is inside of it. Their loved ones will leave like some jewelry that met something to them. Investigators say the three suspects are from Indianapolis, but warn they could be anywhere in the eastern U.S. on a grand theft spree spanning a massive multi-state area, allegedly targeting victims from Florida to Oklahoma City and as far north north north as Buffalo, New York, in addition to Texas, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Carolina. In Florida, they're suspected in at least 20 cases, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

In the Orlando area, authorities say Woodlawn Funeral Home was one of the targets. They tell our affiliate, WESH, they've added new security measures, and adding, theft is always wrong, but stealing items of family left to memorialize a loved one is particularly appurant. The Orange County Sheriff's Office estimates the value of the stolen heirlooms totals more than $35,000 in Florida alone, urging the public to be on the lookout for the suspects. Ryan Chandler, NBC News. And still ahead tonight, the dramatic house fire rescue, a police officer rushing into a burning home to save a man trapped inside. Plus the battle heating up over screen time in schools, the major school district that's taken big steps to skisks.

Neil it back. That's coming up next. And we are back with the battle over technology in schools heating up tonight. The Los Angeles School District, the second largest in the country, is taking a big step to scale back screen time. And as Dana Griffin reports, it could set a trend across the country. He threw up both arms and gasped, I'm beat. For Los Angeles' third grader Kiara, less time in front of a screen, means more quality time doing activities like these. The fiddle and the noise of the dancing. With her dad, Aaron Craig, relieved his daughter's class won't spend so much time on devices this year.

I think it is a step in the right direction. Craig is part of schools beyond screens, a parent and teacher-based coalition that helped convince the second largest school district in the nation, Los Angeles Unified, to limit screen time for students. It will signal a new era of responsible tech use in schools, the new resolution, ensuring there's zero screen time. until students are in second grade. Social media and streaming websites will be blocked on campus and students won't automatically be assigned take-home devices, though parents can still request one. I hope this really starts a trend. L.A. School board member Nick Melvoin says tech can be a powerful tool, but he wants to see schools use it responsibly. We can't put our head in the sand and pretend

it doesn't exist, but the promise of Ed Tech of revolutionizing things for kids is just not there. Instead, we see kids who are glued to their screens, who are addicted to social media. So it was important for me to recalibrate and get kids back to the basics. About nine and ten public schools nationwide give students tech like laptops or tablets. Christina Grant is the executive director for education policy research at Harvard University. If you limit the screen time, but the classrooms are not rich and engaging in places where kids want to learn, we still aren't going to see the progress we want to make. And the converse is true as well. The debate over tech and classrooms highlighting an ever-changing learning landscape, with some schools, like private,

run Alpha schools leaving teaching and curriculum to AI, Alpha currently enrolling at dozens of campuses across the country, or this proposed project in the Salamanga City Central School District in rural New York to deploy a humanoid teacher from Rehobotics AI to teach high school seniors. Student logins are... The company tells us the pilot program is temporarily paused to address data privacy concerns. NBC News reached out to the district for comment, but have not heard back. That's great, honey. Back in L.A., Aaron Craig says he's happy his district made changes.

I have yet to have a parent that's like, no, I really want my child spending all day on an iPad. Families and educators charting a path through a digital world still being written. Dana Griffin, NBC News. And we are back in a moment with new health concerns for Dolly Parton as the legendary singer cancels a scheduled appearance. And we are back with a dramatic. rescue caught on camera. This body cam video from upstate New York showing a police officer running up to a burning home with flames shooting out the window. The officer runs up to the back deck and gets in the door with that thick smoke billowing out, eventually saving an

80-year-old man who is trapped inside. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. And in the sports world, St. Louis Cardinals' rookie Joshua Baez entering the MLB with quite the bang by hitting not one, not two, but three home runs in his first three at-bats. The first major league player ever to do that. The Cardinals went on to beat the Cubs, eight to four. And country superstar Dolly Parton canceled a planned appearance at her Dollywood theme park last night, saying in a video that she wasn't there due to health issues. She said that she sometimes gets dizzy and dehydrated and that her doctors discouraged her

from traveling, but she also said all is going well on the matter of the matter of the matter of front. And when we come back, there is good news tonight about making new memories for the summer camp that's helping these kids chart bright futures ahead. And finally, there is good news tonight about setting sail and the man helping kids feel included and valued. Her 13-year-old Charlotte Steffen, being out on the water feels like rolling the world. Here off the coast of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, she's one of several kids learning the ropes. Give it a good yank. And she's already a natural, thanks in part to Spectrum sailing. Look how far we are. A free sailing camp for kids on the autism spectrum. Anything I can do to make

easier for other families as they move forward is really rewarding for us. That's good. Lifelong sailor Scott Herman founded the program after facing dozens of rejections from camps that couldn't accommodate his own autistic son Daniel. So in 2018, he started his camp to help other families totally for free. Good job. And in the year since, he's expanded to more than a dozen camps across the country. The most important thing here is that we're helping

them learn those life lessons, building self-esteem, making friends, and I'm able to move forward in a better place. Life lessons like clear communication, staying calm during the unexpected. That was terrible.

Awesome. You did awesome. And being brave enough to try something new. Good job. Charlotte's mom, Amelia, says she saw them all for herself. She can come into a program and be seen for who she is, and not just seen, but, like, loved and accepted for who she is and what she brings to the table. Love and acceptance charting the course for bright futures ahead. Every child, every sailor has a chance to be successful here, and the parents get to see that.

They see they drop them off, and they're nervous, and they pick them up with smiles. That's NBC Nightly News for. this Saturday. Hally Jackson will be here tomorrow night. I'm Gotti Schwartz. For all of us here at NBC News, thanks for watching and have a great night.