NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Trump to tap strategic oil reserve to bring down gas prices; When will gas prices come down?; U.S. likely responsible for strike on Iranian school; 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.

Breaking news tonight, President Trump's saying he will tap the nation's strategic petroleum reserve to stop gas prices from climbing as the war with Iran chokes global oil supplies. Right now, a new barrage of strikes lighting up Beirut as oil warfare escalates. The fiery explosion at an oil depot. New strikes on ships in the Strait of Ormuz, Iran holding the critical trade route captive tonight. Countries agree to a historic release of stockpom. oil, will it slow surging prices here in the U.S. and why you should fill up sooner than later? Plus, what a preliminary U.S. military investigation into the deadly school strike in Iran

reveals was old intelligence to blame for the U.S. likely hitting that school. Deadly tornado outbreak, a monster twister tearing across this highway, entire neighborhoods flattened. Baseball-sized hail shattering windshields. Right now, millions at risk from Texas to New York, Al Roker, standing by tonight. The new warning from a top TSA official that those brutally long security lines could get even worse just as spring break kicks into high gear. Our series, the cost of denial and hundreds suing state farm alleging the company is systematically denying their homeowner claims, why one state's attorney general is comparing them to the mob. Dangerous standoff, a group of car wash employees tackling a man armed with an act,

What led to that confrontation? History on the Harwood, Miami-Heets, Bam Adebio shoots his way into the record books, 83 points in one game, even surpassing Copey. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We begin tonight with the president's emergency move to slow the surging gas prices in America. President Trump late today announcing he plans to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,

which is essentially fuel the U.S. stores up for dire situations. It comes just as Iran crosses a new line, attacking at least three ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passageway for oil. This is a Thai tanker burning, a fire smoldering inside its hall. Iran apparently hitting energy infrastructure on land as well. You see it here. New video showing the moment a drone slams into an oil depot in Oman,

causing that massive explosion. Oil is now clearly a major front and Iran's preferred target in this war, with a new commitment today from dozens of countries to release a record-setting amount of oil into the marketplace hoping to ease the prices. We'll break down how much impact that will have for drivers here in the U.S. All that as war rages on several Middle East fronts. This new video showing Israeli bombs dropping relentlessly on southern Lebanon tonight targeting Hezbollah. We've got this covered from all angles. tonight, and we start with Garrett Haig at the White House. You can see the drone above the oil depot in Oman before it makes impact.

As the Iranian regime unleashes new attacks on ships in the Strait of Ormuz, including this Thai cargo vessel, Iran vowing to drive oil prices to $200 a barrel by stopping tankers from using the strait. And now, in an urgent effort to keep oil prices down, the International Energy Agency and its member countries, including the U.S. U.S. agreeing to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stocks. Tonight, oil prices holding steady around $87 a barrel, with the president explaining why he's tapping into the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve. Well, we do sit a little bit, and that brings the prices down. We have to get rid of the evil. There's great evil taking place in Iran, as you know, and our military

has been unbelievable. The president recently warning the Iranian regime against blocking the strait. Just miles wide at its narrowest point, a critical corridor for more than 20 percent of the world's oil. If Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level. Iran, turning to unleashing these new attacks on oil after the Pentagon says it has decimated the Iranian military. To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran. President Trump saying he will end the war, quote, soon, because there's practically nothing left to target. NBC's Peter Alexander with the president today. What more do you need to do militarily for this operation to end?

More are the same, and we'll see how that all comes out. Right now, they are, they've lost their Navy, they've lost their air force, they have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all, they have no radar, their leaders are gone. Most Republicans support the operation. The president's been very clear about those goals, about destroy. the missiles and the drones, destroying the nuclear program. But the president facing pressure from some allies. He ran on no more wars and these stupid senseless wars, and then we have one that we can't even really clearly define why we did it. All as inside Iran, a top security official now threatening

that police are ready to shoot anyone who protest the Iranian regime after a deadly crackdown in January. Though tonight, a key advisor to Israel's prime minister is hopeful Iranians will take to the streets again. Over 85% of the Iranian people detest the Ayatollah regime. All of these people have the once-in-lifetime opportunity to do the right thing, and I'm sure they'll do it. Garrett joins us now live from the White House, and Garrett, another headline we still have not seen or heard from Iran's new supreme leader, and the reason may not just be a security. Yeah, Tom, another factor is that he was apparently injured on the opening day of the conflict. That's according to Tehran's ambassador to Cyprus and the son of Iran's president. At a government rally on Monday, he was

represented by just a photo on stage. Tom. All right, Garrett Hake for us tonight, Garrett, we thank you for that with the promise of major releases of emergency oil supplies. I want to bring in Christine Romance. And Christine, what will this mean for gas prices? And what's the advice for drivers? Tom, oil analysts tonight tell me gas prices are likely to go up anyway. Best case scenario here, prices rise more slowly than they have been. The price of a barrel of U.S. crude rose almost $5 today. Gas already up 60 cents a gallon nationwide since the war began. And the analysts I spoke with, say, $4 a gallon is still possible. Now, the world consumes more than 100 million barrels of oil every day.

So even a record-setting release of 400 million, that's only four days supply. Experts tell me nothing matters more than getting ships moving again through the Strait of Hormuz. that used to carry 20 million barrels a day. So the advice for drivers is, if you're at the gas station, fill it up to the top. You got to fill it up. All right, Christine, we thank you for that. And we have some new reporting tonight in that deadly strike on a school in Iran that killed 170 people. A preliminary Pentagon investigation revealing the U.S. is likely to blame.

Our Courtney, Q.B. has the latest. And Courtney, what did they find? Yeah, that's right, Tom. An ongoing U.S. military investigation into that deadly strike on an Iranian school now shows that the U.S. was likely behind it and relying on old intelligence when selecting that target. This according to four sources familiar with those preliminary findings. Now, so far it appears the munitions struck where it intended because it was outdated intelligence showing that it was a military facility previously.

The school was on the same compound as an old Iranian military base. The defense intelligence agency gathered intel, including from the Israelis, and found the target to be valid. So now, information is typically double-checked by other U.S. agencies before. before any strike is improved, approved. It's not clear where there was a breakdown in this process, though, Tom. Okay, Courtney, we thank you for that. Now to our other major breaking news tonight, a tornado outbreak ripping through the Midwest,

killing two people, and destroying entire neighborhoods. And that dangerous weather is not letting up. Maggie Vespa reports tonight from the storm zone. Tonight, John dropping video of this monster tornado barreling across an Illinois highway. part of a deadly tornado outbreak. Tornado down. It's on the ground. That ravaged America's midsection overnight, ripping down power lines. Watch again as this power line appears to spark.

And just seconds later, Here you can see hail pummeling parts of Illinois. This photo proof some pieces as big as a baseball. These cars left smashed and dented. with windows blown out. At least 17 reported twisters carving a devastating trail from Texas through Illinois to Indiana

where drone video in the small community of Lake Village shows home after home completely destroyed. I just wanted to hold onto my mom. It was scary. What was going through your mind? Just keep my mom right by me. Mia walked her and her family huddled

in their cinder block laundry room as a massive twister raced toward them. It looked like black dirt just spinning. Now, much of their home and the neighborhood around them gone. It's just the only place it's ever felt like a home. It's just weird to see it all now. I don't recognize it. Authorities say at least 10 people across multiple states were injured and two killed.

Family confirming Ed and Arlene Kozlowski died when a reported tornado hit their home. The couple, married more than 60 years. Tonight, their memories and the memories of so many others in pieces. And you can see the heartbreaking damage behind me, just piles of homes in pieces, including that of Ed and Arlene Kozlowski. Their grandson telling us their home, or what's left of it, is in that pile. Tom.

Maggie Vespa with those devastating images, the threat of tornadoes and severe storms continues into the dark again tonight. Out Roker's joining us live here in studio. and now will be as bad as last night? Yeah, well, Tom, we're going to be watching this. In fact, we've got tornado warnings right now in parts of Louisiana. These watches and warnings extend all the way up into Pennsylvania until 8 o'clock this evening, Eastern time, 7 o'clock down to the south.

And we're going to be watching these storms pushing through. And in fact, 51 million people at risk from Pittsburgh down to New Orleans and just to the east of Houston. And in fact, these areas in pink from Pittsburgh, Charleston, Washington, EF2 tornadoes possible, Montgomery, Alabama, New Orleans, and Alexandria also in those crosshairs. Overnight tornadoes twice as deadly. We'll be watching them. And the flooding, Tom, possible still down through the lower Mississippi.

So much severe weather. All right, Al, we thank you for that. We have a new warning tonight, just as spring break travels ramping up, that those painfully long lines at airport security earlier this week may be about to get even worse. Tom Costello spoke with a top TSA official sounding the alarm tonight. The concern tonight, those long TSA lines, could soon turn spring break travel plans into a travel nightmare, with TSA officers set to miss their second paycheck on Friday. Out of 50,000 TSA officers, the agency says 300 have quit since the

start of the shutdown, and 6% are now calling out. But on Sunday, more than half the TSA officers failed to show up for work at Houston Hobby, leading to a three-and-a-half-hour delay with lines snaking through the terminal. For people worried about spring break, should they be expecting three-hour lines. It depends on where you're coming from, and we're going to have to adjust operationally depending on what we see. We want folks to come to the checkpoint early, prepared, and please do be respectful to the TSA officers. All of it, as Democrats say, they're open to funding TSA, but are demanding ICE policing reforms. Yet again, front-line TSA workers are struggling to pay the rent, gas, and groceries. Today, Denver

Airport asked travelers to donate 10 and $20 gas and grocery cards to TSA officers. Angelita Reed is already behind on her rent. Some bills might be put on pause until I get my check. Gas has gone up, so that's another expense. It does get old. This is our third shutdown, so it's very frustrating and is stressful at the same time. Now with spring break about to kick into high gear, concerned that more officers will call out or simply quit.

Tom? You feel for those government workers not getting paid? All right, Tom, in 60 seconds, roof was badly damaged by hail. Now they're just one of hundreds of families suing state farm and getting the runaround. Why one state attorney general is saying the insurance company may be acting like the mob. That's next. We're back now with our series, the cost of denial where we investigate the challenges people face with insurance. Tonight, Laura Jared on why hundreds of people in Oklahoma are suing state farm and why the state's attorney general is comparing the insurance giant

to the mob. The roof is very steep. Billy Hirsch. couldn't believe what he was hearing from his insurance company. There's a hole in the roof. And State Farm comes out and it's in fair condition. We're like, there's a hole in the roof. The police officer and his wife, Lacey. Look, I'm losing to turn. Live with their five-year-old on a cul-de-sac just outside Tulsa, Oklahoma.

That hole in their roof, they say, the result of a vicious hailstorm in 2023. Billy says he spoke to multiple contractors and everyone agreed. If you need a full roof replacement. And for them, it seemed like a no-brainer. They would say, who's your insurance provider? We'd say State Farm, and their heads would drop. Despite having a policy that covered accidental damage to the home, State Farm denied their claim, finding the roof was in fair condition.

Eight months later, another hailstorm. And the Hershey say they found even more damage to the roof. This time, State Farm acknowledged it, but called it minor and refused to pay for any replacement. Did you feel like, well, wait a minute, I paid. I paid my premiums on time. Why am I not getting my roof fixed? Absolutely. It makes you feel like the entire system of insurance is rigged.

Afraid of what might happen when the next storm hit, the Hershey's put on a brand new roof. Every shingle up there is new. The cost? More than $22,000. We had to borrow against the equity in our house. You had to borrow against the equity in your house to get your roof replaced. Yeah. It forced us to reevaluate our financial planning by decades.

The Hershes are now suing, State Farm, alleging the company devised a fraudulent scheme to deny or underpay valid hail damage claims, saying State Farm knew its scheme would work only if it was kept secret. We've discovered and reached a conclusion that State Farm has a scheme of deception. The state's Attorney General Gettner Drummond now joining in this legal battle after a state court granted his office the power to investigate. I think that as we go deeper into this lawsuit, we'll discover that. State Farm has reaped billions of dollars of profits off of Oklahomaans, and that's not going to be

tolerated. The Hershey's aren't the only one suing. Law firms tell NBC News there are now more than 600 similar cases against State Farm in Oklahoma. The company, which is the number one property insurer in the state, declined our request for an interview, but in legal filings has denied any wrongdoing. State Farm telling us it has paid more than $1 billion to Oklahoma customers for wind and hail damage to their homes and property over the past two years. But Attorney General Drummond is investigating possible racketeering or RICO violations by the company. An allegation, State Farm calls frivolous. People think about RICO laws applying to the mob.

Is State Farm the mob? It may very well be. There may be a scheme inside of State Farm's leadership to intentionally defraud Oklahomaans. And if that can be proven, that RICO's, go, we'll cross into the criminal world. Whatever comes next, the Hershey say, a roof over your head is worth the fight. If I can help protect my family and maybe help protect someone else's family, it's worth everything.

All right, with that, Laura joins us now live in studio and Laura. There are so many of these cases. You have found some have actually already settled. Yes, Tom. We have found more than a hundred of these cases. Similar types of claims have actually settled. But the Attorney General wants to investigate why. And what exactly, if anything, State Farm has admitted about its practices as part of those deals?

All right. We know you'll stay on it. Laura, we thank you for that. We're back in a moment with the car wash employee who, you see it here, took down a man armed with an axe. That's next. We are back now with an update on the Georgia high school teacher killed in a prank gone wrong. The family of Jaden Wallace, who was charged in the teacher's death, releasing a statement expressing deep remorse to Jason Hughes family. The student vowed to live the rest of his life in his former. teacher's honor. Hughes's family has asked for charges against the teens to be dropped. In central Florida, a dramatic takedown caught on camera. Video shows a man in Marion County wielding an

axe. There he is in green confronting two employees at a car wash. One worker just takes him down, wrestling him to the ground while the other yanks the axe away. Other workers then run over to hold the man down until he's arrested by police. And also tonight, add Bam Adebio to the NBA's Mount Rushmore of shooting, draining 83 points last night for the heat. It puts him ahead of Kobe Bryant and behind only Wilk Chamberlain for most points scored in a single game. Afterwards on the court, he hugged WNBA star at girlfriend Asia Wilson, as well as his mom, wearing a Mama Bam jersey. We love that.

All right, that's nightly news for this Wednesday. I'm Tom Yamas. We thank you so much for watching tonight and always. We're here for you. Good night.