Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, March 20, 2026

Episode Date: March 21, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, our exclusive new reporting, the Pentagon presenting President Trump with plans to send ground troops into Iran as the stock market tumbles on fears the war will drag on. Plus, the explosion inside Jerusalem's old city as part of an Iranian missile nearly crashes into some of the holiest sites on Earth. And new details on the thousands more U.S. troops now rushing to the region. The options presented to the president to possibly send in ground troops to reopen the ship. straight of Hormuz. Stock market meltdown. Wall Street plummeting. Not only gas prices rise again, but mortgage rates too. Catastrophic flooding in paradise. Thousands told to evacuate in Hawaii. Cars underwater, roads washed away. And the urgent warning that a dam may soon break. The worst day yet for long lines at airports, passengers forced to wait as long as three hours.

And we'll tell you which major airports have private security and aren't affected at all. Campus in Fear. An 18-year-old student shot and killed just steps from her Chicago College. The killer still on the loose. A school bus bursting into flames, a girls' flag football team escaping just in time. And remembering an icon, Chuck Norris, the martial arts master who sparred with Bruce Lee and inspired a thousand memes passing away at 86. Plus, the multi-million dollar jury payout

after a pregnant woman pleaded to work from home. Top story starts right now. Good evening. I'm Gabe Gutierrez in for Tom. We begin tonight with new exclusive reporting in what could be a major shift in the war with Iran. Sources telling NBC News, the Pentagon has presented President Trump with options for boots on the ground inside the region.

According to five people familiar with the discussions, there are several options being floated, including deploying troops to small islands in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump, for his part, says he is not sending in troops, as experts warn all scenarios are highly risky for American soldiers. This all comes after another violent day in the Middle East, video showing the moment an Iranian missile fragment explodes in Jerusalem's old city. The impact just yards away from some of the holiest sites in the world. And the chilling warning from Tehran tonight, tourist centers around the world will not be safe. According to Cuba is following it all and leads us off with that new reporting. Tonight, the potential boots on the ground. For 21 days, the U.S. has been hitting the Iranian regime with airstrikes.

We can have dialogue, but I don't want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side. Now, in an effort to quickly end the war, NBC News Learning President Trump is weighing whether to send hundreds or even thousands of ground troops into Iran, according to five people familiar with the discussions. Several options are under consideration, those sources tell us. One aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz includes deploying troops to several small islands in the Persian Gulf to stop Iranian attack boats from targeting oil tankers. Another option, take the oil facilities on Karg Island, depriving the Iranian regime of revenue. And potentially the most dangerous option, sending troops to secure and retrieve Iran's highly enriched uranium. President Trump overnight saying he would not send ground troops.

No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. Tonight, he was pressed again. If I told you the answer to that question, my military people would be very happy. But we have a lot of troops. We have unlimited ammunition. We have the greatest equipment in the world. And we are decimating Iran. It's about time. And frankly, it should have been done long before me. And just moments ago, the president posting, we are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East. And Courtney Kupy joins us now. Courtney, how many troops can be involved here?

So we're talking hundreds and potentially even thousands, depending on which option the president decides to go with here. And, you know, when you look at the most immediate threat right now, that is the Strait of Hormuz. That's what we are all talking about getting that reopened. And the reality is the threats to the Strait of Hormuz persist. We've talked about the anti-ship cruise missiles that the U.S. has already targeted. They still have more. We've talked about the mines that the U.S. is targeted. Iran still has more.

We've talked about drones, still have more. So all of those threats persist. But the critical part about this potential plan for going into these small islands that are just on the edge of the Persian Gulf as you enter the Strait of Hormuz is Iran has military equipment on those islands and they have spotters. And those spotters will watch as a ship goes through because of the depth of the Gulf. have to go through those islands. They'll watch, they'll alert some people in the Iranian Navy, whether they're up at a port in Bondar Abbas or something, and the mosquito fleet, these small fast boats will be able to come out, they'll know exactly where those ships are, and they can swarm them and target them

if they want to. That's a huge threat to shipping, so if the U.S. goes with this option, that could help towards reopening the straight. The president with a lot to consider, Courtney Kuby, our senior national security correspondent with that exclusive report in Courtney, thank you. Thanks. And the war almost took an entirely dangerous. turned today with a strike hitting Jerusalem's old city near some of the holiest religious

sites in the world. NBC's Richard Engel is there for us. This was the moment when this war with Iran was just meters away from escalating, perhaps to a point of no return. Around 4.10 p.m., an Iranian missile launched at Israel, broke apart in mid-air, apparently hit by an Israeli interceptor. The warhead, according to Israeli police, dropped on the warhead. old city in Jerusalem, blasting a hole. Israeli police recovered pieces of the warhead, saying it was filled with dozens of kilograms of explosives. This is exactly where the explosion took place.

And if ever, there was a symbol of how difficult wars are to control and predict once they begin, this is it. This is only a few hundred yards from the holiest sights in the world. Luckily, none of them were damaged. But had they been destroyed? This would be a totally different conflict. The crater is 300 yards from the wailing wall, the most sacred place for Jews. And the Alaksa Mosque, which sits on top of the wailing wall.

And tonight is Eid, a Muslim holiday. And it was very close to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. A single broken missile could have escalated this war into a religious one of global proportions. And as oil fields continue to burn, a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces directly threatened new targets, saying to American and Israeli military personnel that recreational areas, resorts, and tourist centers around the world will not be safe for you. And Richard joins me now live from Jerusalem's old city. Richard, if one of those holy sites had been hit, as you mentioned in your story, how much could this have changed things? We'd be having a very different conversation tonight.

This could have gone from a war that began just a few weeks ago based on this imminent threat of Iran developing and potentially using immediately nuclear weapons, although no evidence was ever presented to suggest that Iran had that technical capacity or was about to do it. Then it became a war, as it is now, over oil. about sending in American troops to protect the Strait of Hormuz and to control the flow of oil and gas. This could have made it a religious war. And that just highlights how volatile things are.

Once so much firepower is being used in a sensitive area, you can get an emotional event. This would have been an emotional event. And once you have one of those, it's a different kind of conflict that takes on its own momentum gate. Richard Engel live for us in Jerusalem. Richard, thank you. And as the war enters its fourth week, we're seeing a major impact on markets here at home.

The S&P 500 closing at its lowest point in six months. Christine Romans joins me now. And Christine, it's been a rough stretch lately. We know that. People likely seeing some real damage in their 401 case. Yeah, a four-week stretch here of loss. As you look at the Dow, for example, it had topped 50,000 just in early February and has now lost almost 5,000 points. That is a real big move here. Closing in on what the pros called a correction.

That's when a stock index is down 10% from a most recent peak. 10% correction. Sometimes those can get worse and they move into something called a bear market. Sometimes, though, they find buyers. Hard to say what's going to happen here, but it has been a pretty, pretty tough few weeks here. And Christine, we also have some new reporting that the U.S. is lifting some more oil sanctions? That's right. The Treasury Secretary had hinted at this earlier in a Fox business broadcast earlier this week, but the Treasury Department actually lifting some sanctions on Iranian oil here, which would mean that Iranian oil on ships would be able to be sold. And, of course, that money goes back to fund the Iranian regime. So there's a lot of questions and confusion about what the strategy is by the administration.

to punish Iran, but at the same time letting it sell oil. Obviously, the White House is trying to do whatever it can to put a lid on rapidly increasing gas and oil prices. I mean, you have oil prices, West Texas intermediate crude reaching $98 a barrel here today. Experts telling me tonight, within the next 72 hours, you could see $4 a gallon average gas in the U.S. So White House trying to pull any string that it can to try to limit what has been a pretty rapid increase in the price of gasoline and oil. around the world. But again, the strategy here to actually allow Iran to be able to sell oil, much like it allowed Russia, which have been sanctioned, to sell some oil as well. Raising questions about just the strategy and how, whether this was part of the original White House plan in the beginning. $4 could be quite a milestone. Christine Romans, our senior business correspondent, Christine, thank you. And now to the other major headline we're following tonight, the travel nightmare unfolding across the country. Long TSA lines still stretching for hours with no solution in sight. Here's Tom Costella.

At critical choke point airports, those long TSA lines are going from bad to worse to even worse. I mean, we're all the way back to the fool court, so this is a lot. Three hour lines in Atlanta. How long are you waiting in line? I think it's been like forever to my feet. NBC's Aaron Gilchrist is there. The advice has been to check online for TSA wait times, but they don't take into account the line before the line, which could double your weight. Two to three hour lines at both Houston airports, NBC's Priscilla Thompson.

Here at Bush Intercontinental, the line snaking through the terminal downstairs almost to the parking garage. Same in New York and Miami. 35 days without a full paycheck, 5,000 of the 50,000 TSA officers are calling out often working second jobs. More than 30% calling out in Atlanta and Houston trying to pay the rent, mortgage, car loans, food, gas, and meds. A couple of days ago, I had to ask my 15-year-old daughter for gas money. Tatiana Finlay and her husband are both TSA officers. I shouldn't have to go and ask my child to use her birthday money for gas. In Atlanta, the world's busiest airport is under stress. What is your advice to travelers who are going to be flying out of Atlanta?

Try to get to the airport at least three hours in advance. You'd rather be They're too early than to be too late and increase your risk of missing a flight. Meanwhile, four Delta flight attendants taken to the hospital in Sydney, Australia, after hitting turbulence on a flight from L.A. No serious injuries. Meanwhile, some airports are using private security instead of the TSA. And so they're really not experiencing these TSA meltdowns. We have 20 airports and all using private security. That includes San Francisco, Kansas City, and Sarasota.

Again, these airports not using TSA, and so for the most part, people are going right through. Gabe. Tom Costell, thank you. And as the toll of the war builds, communities across America are struggling to come to terms with its costs. More than a dozen families are planning funerals for their sons and daughters who signed up to serve. One of those fathers sat down with Maggie Vespa.

Tonight, America's troops are coming home as the cost of war hits the nation's heartland. 28-year-old Master Sergeant Tyler Simmons was quarterback for his Columbus, Ohio high school football team and a lifelong aviation enthusiast. His father, Charles, says he loved being an airman. Tyler should have been burying me instead of the reverse. Instead of you burying your... Correct. Your only child? My only child.

Yes, my only child. Simmons was one of six crew members killed when their refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq last week during Operation. Epic Fury. He knew no strangers. I mean, literally he could walk into this room and his presence just illuminated. His remains were returned to the U.S. in a dignified transfer ceremony this week. Tyler's father met with President Trump. We embraced and he told me I was a strong man. I said, my son was a strong man. And he said that he could respect. the man that could look the president in the eye and tell him exactly what he thinks. The president said that to you. Yes.

13 U.S. service members have been killed in action since the war began. The majority hailing from or deployed with units stationed in the Midwest, including 26-year-old staff sergeant Benjamin Pennington, finally back with his family in Kentucky. In Iowa, crowds lined the streets as the bodies of Major Jeffrey O'Brien and Sergeant Declan Cody were driven to local funeral. homes. The feeling of loss that those family members are experiencing right now is what really, really gets me in the heart. In the crowd, many military families. It could have been me. There's really nothing that is stopping that it could have been us. Tonight, 13 American families are grieving unimaginable loss. We all give something that Tyler gave everything. I'll never be a grandfather.

And remembering their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice. I want everyone to know Tyler Simmons wasn't just an enlisted person. He was an individual. He was a great American and not just one of the casualties, but he was my son. Just today, there was a funeral in Minnesota and a procession in Kentucky, and tomorrow two funerals are planned in Iowa. Of the 13 service members killed in combat since the war in Iran began, Nine are from the Midwest. Gabe. Such profound loss, our thoughts are with all of those families tonight.

Maggie Vespa, thank you. And still to come tonight, remembering Chuck Norris, the martial arts master and action star, whose tough guy persona became the stuff of legend, both on screen and in those viral memes. Plus, the terrifying scene on a highway in Hawaii, a high school flagged football team's bus bursting into flames. Stay with us.

We're back with a look at the life of Chuck Norris, a martial arts master action hero, and someone whose legacy is now immortalized on the internet. Here's Tom with Moore. Who wants the first one? On screen, Chuck Norris was a man of few words. But for audiences, it didn't matter. His roundhouse kicks and punches made him one of Hollywood's biggest action stars. Send me a postcard.

But before audiences' news, knew him. Norris was best known for being a master in martial arts, a black belt and karate world champion, and even came up with his own style. One of his first film roles came thanks to an old training partner, legend, Bruce Lee. So he called me up and said, you know, I want to do a movie with a fight scene that everyone will remember. He said, would you come over and do the fight scene with me? And I said, well, do I have to lose? He says, yeah, you have to lose. Considered to be one of the quintessential fight scenes in cinema, the way of the dragon showed off Lee and Norris's high-flying moves with the Coliseum as the backdrop.

With encouragement from his real-life student, actor Steve McQueen, Norris turned his attention to acting, leading to a box office run in the 80s. He became a marquee name in films like Lone Wolf McQuaid, missing in action, and the Delta Force. Well, welcome to the Texas Rangers, Trivet. In the 90s, Norris became one of television's most popular good guys with a badge, Walker, Texas Ranger, ran for nine seasons. Yeah, it's all in the day's work.

But even after his Walker run, Norris still found a place in the pop culture lexicon. Fans posting memes, a riff on his physicality with Chuck Norris facts like, The Flu gets a Chuck Norris shot once a year. And Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect 4 in only three moves. The actor always seeming to take it in good stride. Today, his family announced his sudden patterns. saying he lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved. Through his work, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.

And our thanks to Tom for that. And as we mentioned there, younger generations really came to know Chuck Norris through those memes. Like Chuck Norris doesn't wear a watch, he decides what time it is. Back in 2005, those Chuck Norris facts spread like, wildfire on social media thanks to an online generator created by our next guest. Ian Specter, at its peak, his Chuck Norris fax generator drew tens of millions of monthly views. And Ian joins us now. Thank you so much for being here on this day. I want to go back to 2005. You were still in high school. How in the world did you come up with this idea?

Oh, boy. I mean, I think, well, for pleasure to be here, and, you know, my heart goes out to Chonores, you know, family and all of the fans. I mean, I'd say this project, you know, is very much a creature of the internet. I was a bored teenager on a Friday night and started a little project that took off, like you said, like wildfire. And I guess between, you know, my curiosity and interest in humor and wanting to have friends, decided to keep seeing where that went. And, you know, I've always been so amazed at, you know, both the fans and the creativity around what they've been able to come up with and how incredible Chuck Norris was as a real person. Yeah. So, and to that point, you know, Ian, what do you think it was about Chuck Norris in particular that drew so many

people to these memes? I mean, he's incredibly authentic, and he's, you know, walk to walk. You know, none of this works if, you know, Chuck Norris isn't Chuck Norris, right? The guy behind it was actually remarkable, and, you know, I was lucky enough to be along for the ride for that. Yeah, and I also understand you actually got the chance to meet him. So what sticks out to you from that moment? I mean, it was a, I mean, in hindsight, it was pretty surreal.

And, you know, it's just been a weird day thinking about it because, you know, we, we kind of know, we kind of know, we know each other, but we also don't know each other. But we also both kind of changed our lives completely. And so, you know, that day, you know, it was a, a. really interesting meeting. We were actually, can go into more details about it. Before we go, because we're running a long time, I do want to ask you, do you have a favorite Chuck Norris fact? Mine personally is Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits. But is there one you'd like to dedicate to him tonight?

Oh, that's a great one. You know, I'll say there's so many that are my favorite. I think one that's coming to mind now is, you know, Chuck Norris' 10 horses have a combined 150 horsepower. Well, we will dedicate that to him. Our thoughts are with his family tonight. And Ian, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you.

And still to come. The major verdict tonight involving Elon Musk. Did he mislead investors by driving down Twitter's stock price? Would a jury just decided? And we're back now in tracking a potentially catastrophic situation in Hawaii. Thousands forced to evacuate as floodwaters swept through the island of Oahu. Now there are fears a major dam might give way. Billy V from Hawaii News now is there for us. From above, you can see the devastation. Entire street blocks on the Hawaiian

island of Oahu completely underwater. Stalled cars submerged and stretches of farmland gone. Below, a desperate scramble to safety. The water here rising above the windows. Some attempting to wade through chest high flood waters. And across the north shore, there's a thousands forced to evacuate in the dark. The Coast Guard will be out there to do search and rescue. If God forbid any of our loved ones have been washed away with housing, it's going to be a very, very touching go day. Tonight, the Wahiawa Dam at risk of failure, hundreds of homes below it forced to evacuate. The dam, which has been safe, was getting close to 85 feet. That's why we sounded the alarms and made sure people could get over out of harm's way. The rain has been relentless.

storm system pounding the islands this week. Months worth of rain causing dangerous conditions and significant damage. This home ripped away in heavy winds, crashing into the stream below. Tanner Morrow woke up to the sirens. He had minutes to choose what to save. It was pretty much what you could fit in your arms and then go. It's definitely just been kind of harrowing. I mean, we're not used to bad weather. I mean, Hawaii's famously one of the on these places in the world. And that was Billy V from Hawaii News now reporting, our thanks to him. And staying in Hawaii, another heart-stopping moment last night.

A girls' flag football team evacuating a school bus that went up in flames. Here's NBC's Dana Griffin. Tonight, terrifying moments on a Honolulu freeway. This bus carrying members of the Kahuku High School Girls Flack Football Team goes up in smoke, then flames. Mia Lobes was on the bus. smoked and got off. Was it more like an explosion? Because you mentioned popping. Yeah, it was like more of an explosion. It almost sounded like a gunshot almost to me. But I think it was also because

we were in a tunnel so it sounded much more louder and it echoed in the tunnel. But it just sounded like super loud. Like it all like startled us and we all like got up here like what the heck just happened because we didn't know what happened. And then all of a sudden you could just start smelling a whole bunch of smoke. It was like a rubbery smell almost. In this video for one of the players, you see the team walking away from the engulfed bus. I was in shock. I was like, there's no way this is happening right now. Watching from a safe distance as the bus with all their belongings goes up in flames. Then all of a sudden, like we heard something else pop and then the flames just started in the back of the bus. And then like less within a minute, like the whole bus

caught on fire. The school principal telling our NBC affiliate, KHNL, that it all started when the coach smelled something burning, possibly a tire, forcing the driver to pull over. Because the fire was getting bigger, they were like, start walking on the highway, start walking down the highway. So we jumped the wall and all of the girls were slowly making their way down. But as we were making our way down, you could hear the fire like just getting bigger and you could hear the windows breaking. Luckily, everyone escaped with no injuries. After extinguishing the flames, firefighters inspect the smoky charred bus frame. Our coaches were amazing. They helped us stay calm. I think that was like one of the most amazing coaching staff that I think we could have asked for it.

And Dana Griffin joins us now from L.A. Dana, any clue on what caused the fire? And what's the update on the team? So Gabe, at this hour, no clue as to what causes fire. We reached out to the fire department and we are waiting to hear back. But Mia, the girl that we interviewed in our piece, she says that they noticed the bus kind of dipped to the left of, it kind of went down on the left side, indicating that it may be something involving the tire as far as the team, they do have a game coming up next week, but most of the girls that were sitting in the front of the bus, they left all of their gear on that bus, including their helmet, jersey, cleats. So now they're trying to figure out how they're going to replace all of those items before their next upcoming game. But for the most part, they tell me they're just grateful

to be alive and that everyone got off that bus safely. So remarkable, they all escaped. Dana Griffin, thank you. And now to Top Story's news feed, starting with the verdict just in against Elon Musk, a jury finding him liable for misleading investors when he bought Twitter back in 2022. The jurors deciding that Musk deliberately drove down the company's stock price in the months leading up to the purchase. But that jury also absolved him of some allegations, saying he did not scheme to mislead those investors. Right now, it is unclear how much he has to pay in damages. And the urgent manhunt for a killer in Chicago, 18-year-old college freshman Sheridan Gorman, gunned down, less than a mile from the Loyola Chicago campus on a walk with friends Thursday morning.

Police say no one else was injured and they have not identified a motive as the shooter remains at large. Gorman's family remembering Sheridan tonight, saying she made people feel seen, safe, and loved. And it's the end of an era at CBS News. network shutting down its storied radio news service after almost 100 years on the air. Editor-in-chief, Barry Weiss, saying they couldn't find a viable solution to sustain the radio operation given the economic challenges right now. CBS News Radio is set to officially end in May. And now to a legal win for one Ohio mother dealing with an unthinkable tragedy, A jury deciding Chelsea Walsh's former employer, TQL, must pay her more than $22 million after denying her the ability to work from home during her high-risk pregnancy.

In February 2021, Walsh underwent emergency surgery to prevent early labor. She requested to work from home following the advice from her doctor to remain on bed rest. The lawsuit alleges Walsh's manager gave her two options. remain on unpaid leave until she gave birth or work in the office against medical advice. Walsh said that she couldn't afford to lose income or health insurance. So she made the difficult decision to return to work. Just days later, though, Walsh went into labor, giving birth to her daughter, Magnolia, at just 20 weeks and six days.

Magnolia died in her arms an hour and a half later. And now I want to bring in our NBC News legal analyst, Misty Maris, to help us understand this case. Misty clearly is such a difficult case in tragic circumstances. The jury found enough evidence in the mother's case to side with her. So walk us through what they decided. Yeah, Gabe, this is obviously a tragic case, and it's a very unique legal theory. This was brought under a wrongful death statute. So this is seeking damages relating to the death.

that is to compensate the family, the loved ones, who have lost their loved ones. So this is about negligence. It's whether or not there was a foreseeable risk that this terrible tragedy would occur. So what the jury was focusing on and what was presented at trial was what the employer knew and when about the high-risk pregnancy in those circumstances. And when they did not grant the plaintiff the ability to work from home, was that the cause of this tragic. outcome. So the jury ultimately found in favor of the plaintiff, meaning that the plaintiffs were able to get that evidence over the net. The jury found it credible and ultimately gave this $20-plus million award. And look, let's see. Something that stood out to us in the suit. Lawyers for Walsh,

they say that her husband spoke with his employer's HR manager who told him the work from home denial his wife got was wrong. That manager contacted an executive at TQL to. tell him they were making a mistake to which the exec responded, quote, thank you, you just saved us a lawsuit. How much did that likely help Walsh's case here? This is really a central part of the case, and it's a really just convoluted fact pattern because you have this piece of information that's so critical coming from outside the company.

And then the response really being about saving a lawsuit, Gabe, that speaks to that issue of whether or not there was a foreseeable risk. The response really indicates that it was known by the company, or that's the argument that it was known by the company that there could be a tragic outcome if, in fact, they did not act. So that's certainly something that was focused upon and clearly the jury finding in favor of the plaintiff

saw it that way and applied it in that sense. And, Misty, quickly, this is obviously a very specific situation, but have we seen any other rulings like this? And at one point do people have the right to remote work protection? So there's no right to working from home, but there's other legal standards like accommodations for medical conditions that could be at play,

and that's under federal and state law. It's interesting because this case was not brought under those statutes. Instead, it was brought under this wrongful death statute based in negligence. So really, when you're talking about a negligence case, it's all the factors that are known to that defendant and whether or not a risk was foreseeable that could result in the damages. So that's the analysis at play here.

A really, really unique way to bring the case, but other laws could be at play when it comes to work from home. Our legal analyst, Misty Maris, Misty, thank you so much. And coming up more on the escalating war with Iran, our closer look at Iran's potentially dangerous stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Next. Turning back to the war with Iran, as we reported earlier, multiple sources tell NBC News. President Trump is considering plans to send U.S. troops into Iran. Among the plans he's weighing an operation to retrieve Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The United Nations believes Iran likely has nearly 1,000 pounds of the nuclear material, but securing it could mean putting American troops in harm's way. Matt Bradley has more from Tel Aviv. As America's war against Iran ends its third week, A big question remains unanswered. How to secure Iran's highly enriched uranium? The UN's nuclear watchdog estimates Iran has nearly a thousand pounds of highly enriched uranium. Experts say could take as little as a week to enrich it to weapons-grade levels, and there's enough for 11 nuclear weapons.

We've got to get that material at some point. John Bolton, President Trump's former national security advisor, turned outspoken critic, has long been among Washington's most hawkish voices on Iran. It would not be a success under any circumstances if we left the material in Iran, where it could be transferred to terrorist groups to other rogue states or other malicious actors. The Iranians say the highly enriched uranium is right where they left it before American airstrikes last year. Our nuclear facilities were attacked and everything is under the rebels. Of course, you know, there is the possibility to retreat them. For the time being, we have no program, we have no plan to recover them from under the rubble.

Iran may be doing just that. According to the New York Times, citing multiple officials familiar with classified reports, American intelligence believes Iran could be able to access the buried uranium, which Avner Vilan, a former Israeli intelligence official and Iran expert, said is easily movable, stored in powder form at room temperature in canisters. You take it with a backpack and then you, you know, it doesn't have to be in these canisters. You could turn it into other forms as well. Any potential ground incursion to go after the enriched uranium would likely involve a

week's long excavation effort in the middle of a war zone. Do you think that some of the troops that are on their way to the Middle East right now could be used in such an operation? They seem to be from the public descriptions I've heard. But even the riskiest American operation might only be a temporary solution. Because even if the uranium is out and the regime still wants to have a nuclear weapon, they could get it. A dangerous possibility shaping a deadly war. Matt Bradley, NBC News, Israel.

Our thanks to Matt Bradley. And now to Top Stories Global Watch, the Crown Princess of Norway, speaking out for the first time about her ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In an interview today, she said that she was manipulative. and deceived by the late sex offender, adding she never saw anything illegal. The Crown Princess has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Files released by the Justice Department show frequent communication between her and Epstein, even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting an underage girl. In the UK, health officials are now warning about a deadly outbreak of meningitis spreading through schools.

They say they've confirmed 29,000. 29 cases in that two people have died. So far, cases have been detected in students at four schools in Kent as well as one in London. Infection spreads through close contact and can lead to symptoms including high fever, rash and vomiting. Officials are now offering vaccines against the strain, but insist the risk to the public is still low. Journalists in France were able to pinpoint the location of an aircraft carrier after a naval

officer accidentally shared details about his workout on an exercise app. The French newspaper Le Monde claims it found the information on Strava, appearing to show the sailor jogging on a ship as it sailed through the Mediterranean. The carrier's location was not necessarily a secret, but a French military spokesman says the officer did not follow guidelines and that appropriate measures are being taken. Now are the alleged scheme to smuggle advanced AI chips into China. The Justice Department charging three people with conspiracy to send billions of dollars worth of servers with Navidia chips into China in violation of U.S. export laws.

According to the indictment, these surveillance images show the defendants who work for server manufacturer Super Micro staging dummy replica servers to be inspected by the company's export compliance team, while the actual servers were illegally sent to China. Prosecutors also say they used hair dryers to swap serial numbers before the U.S. Commerce Department could additionally inspect the shipment. Shares of super micro plummeted more than 30% today after the indictment was released. I want to bring in NBC's Business and Data correspondent Brian Chung to break this all down for us. And Brian, the men are accused of selling servers that contain the VDivDia,

these chips. Explain to our viewers what are these kinds of chips and what they're used for and why the smuggling scheme is really such a huge deal. Yeah, well, the chips are called B-200s and H-200s, and all you need to know is that these are extremely high power, advanced artificial intelligence types of chips that are shipped as part of these servers that's Super Micro, which is a separate company from Nvidia, manufactures and sells around the world. Now, just to back up a little bit, the current laws are such that you can sell these types of servers, including those types of chips, to countries in Southeast Asia, but you cannot sell it to China without a license. And that is because of export controls that the U.S. government has put in place because of concerns over national security

should China be able to get their hands on these extremely powerful AI processing chips. Which brings us to the story of these three individuals that, as you mentioned, were indicted and charged by the Department of justice on the allegations that they sent these servers, including these high-power chips, to Southeast Asia, which they are allowed to do, but then illegally, as they alleged, ship them to China, doing this sort of hat-trick game where they had boxes in these warehouses that were supposed to be those servers, when in reality they had been illegally shipped to China, according to the indictment. Now, again, this is a big deal because bigger picture, the U.S. government does not want China to have these chips. The Department of Justice going after

these individuals now does suggest that they want to crack down on China's ability to get these types of artificial intelligence chips. And that is kind of the undercurrent that makes the story so interesting. And Brian, do we have any more details on who these people are, the ones that were charged? Yeah. So again, I should point out that Supermicor, even though it might not be a familiar household name, it was a $12 billion company as of today. Actually, it was worth more than that before the stock plummeted by 33 percent today. But the three individuals were all affiliated with this company. One of them, Wally, Liyah was actually a co-founder of this company. The other two are Taiwanese nationals. One of them

was a contractor that was working with Supermicro, and the other one was working out of the Supermicro's Taiwanese office. Now, I should point out, the Department of Justice says that two of them were arrested yesterday. One of them, as the Department of Justice describes, is currently a fugitive. But now, I should mention Supermicro did have a statement responding to the Department of Justice indictment, saying, quote, the conduct by these individuals alleged in the indictment is a contravention of the company's policy and compliance controls. And they say that they've been cooperating fully with the government's investigation. Just today, by the way, Supermicro said that that co-founder, Wali Liao, had resigned from the company's

board of directors where he had been sitting prior to this indictment coming out. I should mention that NVIDIA also responded to the indictment in a comment. They said, unlawful diversion of controlled U.S. computers to China is a losing proposition across the board. The company pointing out that they do not provide service or support for such systems. and that their enforcement mechanisms gave are rigorous and effective in their words. Brian Chung, our business and data correspondent. Brian, thank you. And when we come back, everything worth binge watching and listening to this weekend.

The hit series Jury Duty returns for another season, this time about a company retreat. And new music from BTS as they gear up for a big concert comeback. Stay with us. We're back now with Bingeworthy. at the best things to watch and listen to you this weekend. And joining us tonight is Access Hollywood Entertainment correspondent, Emily Orozco. Emily, thank you so much for being here. Any big plans this weekend? Gabe, thanks for being here. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Okay, what are my plans binging, obviously? Getting the popcorn out. Well, you know, it's funny.

You say that because I'm down here in D.C. It's been a while since I've filled in on Top Story on a Friday night, but it brought the popcorn down for me. I got mine here. And you know what? I got some big plans this weekend, too, going down to Miami, see my mom going to have a couple hours on the plane each way. So what better thing to do than watch some new series on, you know, maybe Netflix or maybe on Peacock. All right. So we have, let's start with a new series from the team that brought us jury duty. Company Retreat is a show that is almost completely improv by actors except for one unsuspecting person who thinks that he signed up for a real temp job.

Now, it's on Amazon Prime, and let's watch a clip. I work remote, but Doug's last retreat before he dies. No, he's not sick. He's retiring. Not because he's dying? No. Well, that's good. Someone has filed an anonymous complaint with HR.

I anonymously made the complaint. It's not anonymous. So, Emily, look, looks pretty good. It's basically reality TV, where Everyone is in on the joke, everybody in the audience, except that one guy, what'd you make of it? Oh, my gosh. Okay, so we all remember season one with James Mars, and it was so good. He is back as an EP of this show. As you said, everyone's a paid actor, except for sweet Anthony Norman, a handsome 25-year-old man from Nashville. He thinks he's getting hired at this company, but it's actually a fictional company. It's called Rockin' Grandma's Hot Sauce. And this poor guy is just getting pot. the whole time. I have to say, these actors that they cast are so funny. The chaos ensues. They say ridiculous thing. And poor Anthony thinks he's a new hire, and his face is like,

what is going on? We all need a laugh right now. This is the one. Those actors, I can't wait to see it because, you know, it's one thing for a scripted show. It's another thing to just improv the whole thing and not to break character. So it's pretty amazing. So, all right, next we're going to look at Peaky Blinders, The Immoral Man. It's out on Netflix right now, and it's a movie continuation of the popular series. Let's take a look at a clip. You live in a house haunted with ghosts of people who died because of you. You abandoned your kingdom and you abandoned your son. It looks pretty intense. What'd you think? I love when a hot series decides to do a film because it's what the fans want and they've waited so long for

this. Killian Murphy is back as you see as the 1930s crime boss. We do jump a decade and pick up in a new era. As you see, one of my favorite actresses, Rebecca Ferguson, is on the show. Barry Keogan joins as Killian's son. So they've added some really great cast members. There's a big spoiler coming out of this. So fans are going to be shocked. This is one that you're going to get, kind of what you've invested in all these years. Oh, all right, all right. Well, we're going to keep moving along because we've got a lot to get to.

A decade after the season two finale, the comeback starring Lisa Kudrow is back, and this time it's about a sitcom powered by AI. Now, season three is streaming on HBO Max. Let's look. Ready for our first production meeting, executive producer? Fun, see how the donuts get made. Mary, Josh, first episode is wonderful.

Yeah, that's on us. That's Al. Is there a third writer? That's the best part. You're not going to have to deal with any writers. It's being written by AI. Uh-huh. Look, I love me some Lisa Kudra.

This looks like a fresh take, right? AI, you know, very timely, right? And it's something that's affecting the industry. This show likes to take on hot button issues and really turn it into just comedy. This has a cult comedy following. Lisa plays a washed-up sitcom star trying to revive her career. name is Valerie Cherish. And she's just fun. This is so funny. They did say this is the third and final season. Also, this was created by Michael Patrick King, who we can't forget created

sex in the city. So you know you're getting good content with this. Okay. Well, next, a thriller series on Apple TV Plus, starring Elizabeth Moss, Carrie Washington, and Kate Mara. Now, those are three friends whose bond is tested during a murder investigation. This is imperfect women. Let's take a look. I'm so happy to be here with the two people that I love most, who I feel most loved by and all. A body was found early this morning that we have reason to believe as your wife's. I've done things. You may have been the last person to talk to your friend.

Pretty good cast. Looks pretty good. It's a fantastic cast. These three women together alone are just so fantastic. There's a murder. They have to figure out kind of who done it. Carrie Washington is very suspicious in this. She plays the character so well. It's giving big little lies. If you were a fan of big little lies, it's kind of these female friendships that you're like,

are these real friendships the whole time? Plus, I keep telling everyone, Carrie's fashion in this, her character has the best fashion. So you've got to watch for that. Well, I just realized I have failed to eat any of the popcorn right here, but we're going to turn now to music while a bunch of my popcorn.

And Nile Horan, he's out with the new album. And here's the song, Dinner Party. Let's take a listen. You know, nice, laid back, just in time for spring. I love this song. It's reminiscent of One Direction vibes. It's kind of nostalgic if you were a One Direction fan. He wrote this song about his girlfriend and how he knew she was the one at a dinner party. I know. I mean, if that doesn't get you, it's so sweet. And again, it's hopeful just in time for spring. I had to be reminded it was the first day of spring here, You know, it's warmer, its love is in the air, it's great.

Yes, so this is a good one. His album's out June 5th, and he said that there's a song dedicated to the late Liam Payne on the new album. So you know it's going to be an emotional moving album. All right. And finally, Emily, BTS, they're back. Use their song, Swim. Army is excited. Obviously, BTS, so huge around the world.

But there's a huge concert, right, in Seoul this weekend? Oh, yeah. How big a deal is this, you know, not just here, obviously, but around the world. Okay, I'll tell you how big a deal it is. This video came out this morning. Last I looked, it had over 30 million views already on YouTube. So fans are getting a new album after a three-year hiatus, which they're so excited for. But then tomorrow Netflix, as you said, is streaming a live concert in Seoul.

So it is a weekend for the Army, which is what the BTS fans call themselves. And, of course, Lily Reinhart is starring in the music video. She's so beautiful, and we love her from Riverdale. So this is a big, it's a big weekend. It is a big weekend, and I'm glad we got through all of us, Emily. It is so good to have you here. Emily Roscoe, Access Hollywood Entertainment correspondent. You know, it's a pleasure to wrap up binge-worthy with you on this busy week.

You've got to share this with Mama this weekend. Oh, I definitely do. I definitely do. I can't wait. All right. Well, thank you so much for watching Top Story as well. For Tom Yamas, I'm Gabe Gutierrez here in Washington. Stay right there.

More news now is on the way.