Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, March 9, 2026

Episode Date: March 10, 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.

Breaking news tonight, the update from President Trump just moments ago saying the U.S. has made major strides towards achieving its military objectives in Iran as strikes in the country do not let up. The fiery eruption after Israel strikes an oil depot in Tehran, sending toxic oil raining down. President Trump now signaling U.S. strikes could soon wrap up. The reasons why. And his new reaction to the newly selected Supreme Leader. Plus how the White House is taking its war tactics to social. media with controversial memes. Also, tonight gas prices skyrocket more than five bucks in some

states. What President Trump said late today about the pain at the palm. Plus, members of the Iranian women's soccer team pleading for asylum outside their country after state media branded them traitors the decision late today. Teams arrested in an ISIS-inspired attack, the explosives launched while protesters faced off outside the mayor of New York City's house, what they told police about wanting an attack bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing. Air travel meltdown hours-long lines at major airports over TSA shortages, this line all the way to the parking garage, and it could get worse as spring break ramps up. Rihanna's Beverly Hills Mansion shot up, a woman with an AR-15-style rifle firing multiple rounds into the home,

the chilling new details about the suspects pass. Trapped on thin ice, the dramatic moment in ice shelf broke apart, leaving nearly two dozen strand at sea. How are they rescued? Plus, Uber's new women-only driver option rolling out across the country, how it works and why not everyone is on board. Top story. It starts right now. Good evening. We begin tonight with the new timeline for the war in Iran. President Trump signaling the end of this deadly conflict may be near, saying he expects the war to finish, quote, pretty quickly. The president's saying just moments ago the U.S. has wiped out Iranian forces, reducing their missile capacity to just 10 percent,

saying the U.S. military has struck more than 5,000 targets to date and that they're ahead of schedule. This all comes after Israel destroyed an oil depot in Iran. The fuel station erupting into a massive fireball. You see it right there, turning the streets of Tehran into walls of flames and filling the skies with thick black smoke. Iran firing back targeting an oil refinery in Bahrain, and this government building in Kuwait engulfed in flames

after a reported drone strike. Security footage capturing the moment in Iranian missile hits a street in central Israel. You see it right there. Look at that person, how close they were. The blast in Beirut turning a building into rubble as Israeli forces ramp up attacks against Hezbollah. This war causing chaos in the oil industry. The national average for a gallon of gas soaring about 50 cents in just the past week. California averaging $5.20 a gallon.

The president saying tonight he knew prices would surge because of this conflict. We'll have more on what Trump said moments ago, but we begin tonight in Tel Aviv with Richard Engel. After more, U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, including on oil depots in Tehran, blanketing the city of 10 million in smoke and fumes, and new strikes on Iran's military, weapons, government, and leaders. President Trump says he believes the war could be over soon, telling CBS, I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no names. Navy, no communications, no Air Force, adding the U.S. is very far ahead of its initial four-to-five-week timeline.

We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion. It comes a day after Iran announced its new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Moshteba Hamani, son of the 86-year-old Ayatollah, the U.S. and Israel assassinated on the first day of the war. The new Ayatollah has fewer religious credentials than his father and is also considered a hardliner. We think they should put a president in or the head of the country in that's going to be able to do something peacefully for a change. They've been doing this for 47 years, killing people for 47 years.

While there are no signs in Iran of the popular uprising, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called for outside the country, the Iranian women's soccer team caught the world's attention for refusing to sing the Iranian national anthem at a match in Australia. Iranian state TV branded them traitors. As they were set to return home, people on the team bus were seen flashing the sign for help. Crowds chanted, save our girls around the vehicle. Tonight, five members of the team who'd fled their hotel have been granted asylum in Australia. And while President Trump is predicting a quick victory, Iran is continuing to launch attacks at Israel and Gulf nations.

This video showing Saudi air defenses destroying Iranian drones. In Kuwait, another drone hitting a high rise. And with huge consequences for world markets, both Iran and Israel are now targeting oil. Israeli forces destroying those oil depots in Tehran, saying they were used by Iran's military. A U.S. official tells NBC News, the United States was unhappy with the strikes because it legitimized making oil a target. Iran attacking refineries in Bahrain as well. Arab officials telling NBC News, Iran's strategy is to drive up oil prices to create pressure for a ceasefire.

All right, Richard Engel joins us live from Tel Aviv. Richard, we heard a bit more from the president about the reasons why he says he launched this war. He did. And in that press conference that ended a short while ago, he justified the war. He laid out his case for war retroactively, because we're going to be. already at war. And he said that there was an imminent threat. He said that if the United States didn't attack and Israel didn't attack that Iran would have attacked the United States or would have attacked U.S. allies first. He also said that Iran was very close just weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon and even said that potentially they would have used

that nuclear weapon and the press conference wouldn't have even happened because there would have been some sort of nuclear Armageddon. I've seen no intelligence. or analysis suggesting that Iran was about to attack first, was about to have a nuclear weapon. When the U.S. and Israel launched this war, describing it as a preemptive strike, Iran and the U.S. were in the midst of negotiations. Negotiators told me they were making some progress, and Iran was at its weakest stage in decades. Okay. Richard Engel, live for us in Tel Aviv. Richard, we thank you. I want to bring in Ryan Nobles, who was at the president's news conference in Dural, Florida.

late today. Ryan, the president was pressed about how much longer this war will last. He said it will be overquote soon, but Pete Hegeseth has also said this is just the beginning. How did the president explain that? Well, Tom, he was very inconsistent throughout this entire press conference. You're right. He said that the war will end soon, but he also said that it wasn't going to be done until the job is finished. He said that they have a number of sites throughout Iran that they could potentially hit if need be, and they're willing to do so, and they could potentially be even more devastating. So while the president on one hand is promising a quick end to this conflict, he's at the same time keeping the door wide open to taking this as long as it possibly takes

to finish the job. He was also very inconsistent on how this is going to impact Americans at home, specifically with oil prices and the price at the pump. He talked about how he has a number of mechanisms in place or that he could put in place to try and bring the cost of oil down, but he didn't specify exactly what those were, aside from suggesting that perhaps he may send naval vessels into the region to try and escort tankers as they leave the strait of Hormuz or other places that could put them vulnerable to Iranian attacks. So the president said a lot over the course of this press conference, but not a lot of specifics about where this war could be headed, Tom.

Yeah, we're going to talk about those oil prices in a moment. Ryan, we thank you for that. And as we track the latest developments in the war with Iran, I want to bring in retired U.S. Army major and military analyst Mike Lyons, to help us sort of understand where things stand. Major Lions, thanks so much for joining us here on Top Story. We've been breaking down every day of the war here on the broadcast. So the president says we're close to finishing, but adding that there's still targets they haven't hit.

From a military perspective, what is left to be accomplished, you think? I don't think we're close to being finished, frankly. These kinds of air campaigns go on for weeks at a time. We saw them in Kosovo back in the 90s and then Desert Storm, almost six weeks of air bombings. There's lots of military targets that we could still go after. And you heard the Secretary of Defense said that the other night, that they're definitely going to keep going until they have them all. Yeah, I think there's this new weapon that we've been using.

One of the assets, it's called a compass call, which is described as an airborne electronic warfare weapon system. Break down what that means and how it works. You know, these kinds of conflicts take everything off the shelf and deploy them to the battlefields. And what these kinds of things do is send EMP and electromagnetic pulse and knock out drones because of their GPS guidance. This is the innovative technology advantage that the United States has in these kinds of conflicts. There's a lot of these kinds of weapons. This one here, for example, delivered by air, makes sure that the Iranians can't talk, can't see, knocks out all those drones. I got it. So we've been seeing the video of the Iranian Oil Depot gets struck by Israel.

Why do you think Israel did that? You know, it's the first time Israel has been a partner with us in a conflict, and sometimes commander's intent gets lost. Very clearly, the United States does not want to attack the oil infrastructure there. But in this case, they attacked four legitimate tactical targets, oil depot and storage places. It's that fifth one. It's that one in the south of Tehran that has concern, because that's an actual refinery, and that one has probably killed some civilians. Why do you think there are different pages here, though? Well, this is the first time they've been acting together. Israel does what it's in their best interest sometimes. In the United States, we work with other partners in NATO, for example, and these things are all usually fleshed out.

So I'd like to think that target list won't get conflicted again. The president is sort of, I don't want to say, teased. Maybe he signaled boots on the ground that says there's not going to be boots on the He's gone back and forth. What do you think the next phase of this war is? So this whole thing about regime change from the air is that's really likely. I think it's going to be regime compliance, looking for a regime that'll be comply. And what that will mean, though, is eventually United States troops will have to go on the ground to make sure, for example, that the nuclear facilities have been destroyed. And they are doing and they're saying what they're doing. I don't see large troop formations. I don't see the first armored division, tanks,

Bradleys. I don't see hundreds of thousands of troops. But at some point, there will be troops on the ground. But we saw in Iran over the weekend. You had the Iranian president come out, apologize to the Gulf States, saying that they shouldn't have done that. The Ayatollah son gets elected, and now these hardliners are back, and they launch, again, missiles at the Gulf State. So it feels like Iran's in a little bit of a chaotic situation right now. And regime change, I mean, maybe they're close, but it doesn't look like it's happened yet. No, not even close. And to me, the revolutionary guards are still dictating the option here.

It's really not the leadership, the civilian leadership. It's the military that has... the name in the game. Major Lyons, so great to talk to you. Thanks for being here on the show tonight. The war with Iran, as I mentioned, setting gas prices skyrocketing here at home. Drivers already paying more than $4, $5 a gallon in several states. But the president's declaration the war would be over soon. It sent the stock market soaring. NBC's Christine Romans is tracking it all. The president tonight promising relief at the pump. Well, we're looking to keep the oil prices down. We went artificially up because of this excursion. I knew oil prices would go up if I

did this and they've gone up probably less than I thought they'd go up. This as the war with Iran sends prices skyrocketing at gas stations thousands of miles away. Price of gas is ridiculous. And filling up a truck like this, it's just been taking a toll on me. The national average for a gallon of regular soaring about 50 cents in just the past week. A surge not seen since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago when the national average, hit an all-time high above $5 a gallon. Oh, I don't like it, not at all. Gas prices already topping $4 in several states and $520 in California.

Spring and summer is when you have the highest gas prices out of the year anyway. So when you have a geopolitical conflict coinciding with the fact that it's a busy time of year for drivers, you're going to see higher gas prices. It's because crude oil prices have spiked from $67 a barrel before the U.S. and Israel struck Iran to 119 earlier today, though they later dipped to 85. Crude, the main ingredient for gas, jet fuel, and diesel, meaning more expensive plane tickets and higher costs for anything that moves by truck. That's more than 70% of goods in the U.S., including food, clothing, and furniture.

The critical strait of Hormuz, a thoroughfare for 20% of the world's oil, effectively closed to shipping. And Cutter now warning, oil could hit $150,000. a barrel. Energy analysts say this war is already the biggest oil supply disruption in history. And with that, Christine Romans joins us now. Christine, let's go back to the Strait of Vermeuse for a second. So has there been any progress at all? I mean, not really. You look at graphic of the traffic from marine traffic, and you can see that barely anything is going through there. Maybe a cargo ship, maybe two cargo ships. You can see all those dots. The red ones are the tankers, Tom. And the

tankers are not moving here. And you've got the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warning tonight that they will, anything that's American or Israeli, they're going to hit. So that's the problem there. And then, you know, I was just reading stock market. It went up a little bit today before the close. Now I'm seeing futures are down again because the president's sort of being a little wishy-wash down the timeline. Maybe that's strategic. He wants to keep the enemy guessing, but the traders seem to be guessing too. You know, it was a bonkers day. I'm going to be, that's a technical term in the markets, right? It was down a lot, then it was up, and then now trying to find its footing here. I would say for the regular investor, the buy and hold mom and pop

investor, you want to stay clear of trading on these headlines because there's just so much uncertainty. And as I said in that piece, you know, energy traders or energy analysts are telling us, there's never really been a disruption like this in global oil supply. So we don't really have a playbook for what's going to happen next. Okay. Christine Roman, it's always great to have you. We thank you. For more on all this. Let's bring in Patrick DeHan. He's a head of petroleum analysis at gas buddy. Patrick's so great to see you. It's been a minute. But I'm glad to have it. have you on the broadcast. We've seen gas prices react pretty quickly after the war started. If these oil tankers start moving again and again, we just saw it, there's a look like,

doesn't look like a lot of them are moving. How quickly does it take for the gas prices to come back down? Well, as soon as we start to see more of those tankers moving, it's more about confirmation. Are we hearing secondary stories about these tankers getting through? What is the data look like? It could be rather quick, Tom, that gas prices could start inching down, but they are going to inch, not plummet. Oil prices all over the map right now. Conceivably, we could start to see improvement in four to five days with gas prices starting to inch down if there is concrete proof that this is happening. Of course, that's the trick right now, is seeing if oil prices, or I should say oil movements will eventually resume. A lot of being, a lot being set on

both sides, the U.S., Iran, talking about potentially watching vessels very carefully, especially U.S. and Israeli vessels. For now, though, gas prices jumping by over 50 cents a gallon in 14 states. And the more dramatic part, diesel prices rising over a dollar a gallon in seven states. Yeah, that's important because of all the shipping, as Christina's pointed out. I do want to ask you, what is being made of the Strategic Oil Reserve, right? Because it's been talked about a lot. There were some reports maybe would be tapped. Where are we on that? And how long does it take for that gas to get into the system and then maybe bring prices down? Yeah, Tom, it's something that the president is apparently mulling over.

We've heard various cabinet members potentially alluding to looking at the SPR. Chuck Schumer has mentioned potentially using it. To put it into context, though, this oil is down in Texas, Louisiana, and saltwater caverns. We have 412 million barrels right now in the SPR. That would represent only about three weeks of normal flows that go through the Strait of Form moves. So keep in mind, this is a bit of a drop. in the bucket, I think what is being looked at right now by the G7 and potentially by U.S. politicians is potentially cooling off markets, having them step back, recollect themselves

by the potential of offering oil from the SPR. But the real question is, is this going to be utilized again as a strategic price reduction instead of a strategic patrolling reserve? Politicians have been doing this more frequently. Yeah, I do want to ask you. We heard President Trump talk again about the 100 million barrels of Venezuela in oil. that the U.S. is getting after ousting Nicolas Maduro. Will that have any impact? Is it affecting our market at all? It will have negligible, if any, impact. The problem in making these comparisons or the problem with Venezuelan oil is it's extremely heavy.

Only certain refineries, especially in the U.S. Gulf Coast, are set up to process this very heavy crude oil. Global refineries that generally receive crude oil from the Middle East, generally lurking for a lighter or medium-weight oil. is kind of like going into an auto parts store. They're all different types of oil. The same is holding true here. Venezuela oil can't easily be acted as a substitute

for what's stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, and that's why it's vital that the Strait could reopen to shipping traffic. This is more sort of a question if you can kind of explain it to our viewers. We know the U.S. produces a lot of its own oil. So explain for viewers why a conflict 7,000 miles away affects how much we pay for gas.

Yeah, Tom, this is a little bit one that's a long-winded response, but essentially it's a global mechanism, global system for supply and demand. We cannot fence ourselves off from these types of instances. U.S. refineries import and they export. If we were to build that fence around us, it would have catastrophic impacts. It would result in the shutdown of our own refineries. It would result in the shutdown of our own oil production because much of our oil ends up getting exported. So if we were to completely take every other country and fence the U.S. off, it would be only a matter of time before it would have catastrophic consequences. That is a step the president's looking at potentially limiting oil companies and refineries from

exporting, but that would be detrimental in the long run to U.S. refineries. All right, Patrick, good to see you again, and I'm sure we'll talk in the coming days. Tonight, there's been chaos at airports nationwide travelers waiting in hours-long lines due to TSA shortages as the partial government shutdown shows no sign of ending soon. NBC's Tom Costello has that report. The start of a record-breaking spring break season and again long lines at some big airports. In Atlanta, the world's busiest. In Philly, time-lamps capture the long lines.

In New Orleans, a packed terminal with lines extending to the parking garage and hours-long lines yet again in Houston. TSA line starts downstairs in baggage. I've been waiting in line for about two hours now. When we were outside, way far away from the door, that was a little frightening. We're still hopeful because we're moving at this point. NBC's Priscilla Thompson is there. This is the CNN Hobby Airport in Houston. Security lines stretch across the entire top floor through baggage claim and snaking out onto the curb.

The reason for the long lines, the DHS shutdown over ICE policies caught in the middle, TSA officers and passengers. They're just political footballs, basically, that are using. as leverage points for political battles that they have nothing to do it. After receiving half a paycheck two weeks ago, TSA officers will miss a full check this week with most working paycheck to paycheck and now some taking part-time work. They have their fuel tanks and they need to fill up their stomachs. They have little kids that need to go to daycare. The TSA waiting time app is currently down.

So if you're traveling, watch your local airport's website for the TSA waiting times and get there early. All right, great advice once again for us. Tom Costello. Still ahead, members of the Iranian women's soccer team labeled as traitors after refusing to sing their national anthem, how one country is now stepping into help. Plus, an explosive thrown near the home of the New York City mayor now being investigated as ISIS-inspired terrorism. What we're learning about the incident. And an alleged shooter opening fire on Rihanna's home, the Grammy Award winner inside with ASAP rocking their children. what we know about the suspect now in custody. Stay with us.

We're back now with the investigation to a homemade bomb thrown into a crowd outside the home of the New York City Mayor. The two teens allegedly behind the attack making pro-IS statements to police. NBC Sam Brock has the latest. Tonight a chilling terror attack thwarted in the backyard of New York City's mayor. Chaos unfolding as demonstrators clashed and ran for safety. This was not random violence. This was a planned attack motivated by extremist. ideology. The FBI says these two teenage suspects in counter protesters stand accused of igniting two improvised explosive devices or IEDs and trying to detonate them in a crowd of anti-Islam

demonstrators and counter protesters outside the mayor's residence. One suspect is seen here, leapfrogging a man and hurling an object which failed to detonate. Had these IEDs functioned the way the perpetrators allegedly wanted them to, they could have caused death, destruction. The NYPD says the nuts, bolts and shrapnel were packed into the devices, at least one of which contained a highly explosive material that is extremely sensitive to impact friction and heat. Both men were immediately taken into custody and the devices they brought taken off of our streets. 19-year-old Ibrahim Kuyami and 18-year-old Amir Balat appearing in court this morning. Just prior, Balat holding up his finger in a gesture often used to show ISIS support. As the FBI and NYPD said both suspects repeatedly referenced the terror group after their arrest.

He requested paper and wrote a message declaring in part, I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State, die in your rage. The Pennsylvania pair facing five counts, including supporting a foreign terrorist organization. Balat's attorney telling NBC News, he's 18 and he doesn't have any idea what he's doing as attorneys for both men requested protective custody. All right, Sam joins us now on set. So, Sam, thanks for joining us here. We're also finding out more disturbing details about their intentions. One of the most haunting parts about this criminal complaint is we found out that these two men were asked, what about the Boston Marathon?

Was that something that bombing there that inspired you, that you thought about? They said, no, in the sense that we wanted something way bigger and more destructive than that. Only three people died in the Boston Marathon bombing. And you think about the comparisons here, the fact that you had two guys, homemade explosives, trying to inflict as much catastrophic damage as possible. There was a world in which hundreds of people, or certainly dozens of people, could have been injured or killed in this. It is purely by the luck of the fact that these devices didn't detonate. And we found out, at least according to authorities in the FBI and SDNY, that they did have the stated intention of inflicting that level of catastrophe.

And they just failed in their efforts. Sam Brock, for us, lucky those bombs didn't go off. Thank you. Coming up on Top Story, the high school prank taking a horrific turn, leaving a teacher dead, why his wife wants charges to be dropped against the teen accused. And the dramatic rescue on the ice after a group got stranded on a frozen lake, how they were finally lifted to safety that's next. We're back down with an update on the deadly school strike in Iran we've been covering closely. Tonight there's new evidence that a missile hit the school, killing more than 170 people.

It was possibly an American missile. Most of those killed were children. NBC's Molly Hunter has the new images. Tonight, this new video, geolocated and verified by NBC News, shows what experts say is a U.S. Tomahawk missile over the skies of Minab Iran. Adding evidence, the experts say that an American missile likely hit the Shadre Taipei Elementary School during the first hours of U.S. Israeli operations on February 28th. Iranian officials say the airstrikes, which also hit a neighboring Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps compound,

once home to a military base, killed more than 170 people, mostly children. The tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is used by, you know, is sold and used by other countries. That's being investigated right now. Weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis says this new video is clear. Oh, I think the munition that is visible in that video is clearly a tomahawk. It's long, cylindrical. It has a set of wings. And really no other country in this conflict has a munition that looks like that.

NBC News spoke with four other weapons experts who agree the video. which was published on Iranian state media shows a U.S. Tomahawk. The U.S. military has publicly said tomahawks were launched in the first hours of the war, even releasing this video. Over the weekend, a reporter asked President Trump if the U.S. was responsible. No, in my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran. Today, NBC News spoke on the phone with a father who said his eight-year-old daughter Zahra was killed in the strikes. There is no crime greater than this, he said, that so many children, boys and girls, innocent little ones, were torn apart.

Molly joins us now. And Molly, peel back the curtain for our viewers here, right? How is our team here able to verify the video you were showing your report? Yeah, Tom, and it's a really comprehensive verification process, I would stress. So the first step with our social news gathering team here is to geolocate it. Take a look at that video and make sure that it is where it says. So we could locate that in Manab, Iran, heading towards the compound. We could see smoke in the background. We know it is that compound with that school that we've been reporting on all week.

The second step, Tom, is I showed that video to five weapons experts today. And I spoke with them extensively. And what they could tell me from that very short video is two things. The first, they could map the trajectory. So by looking at that video, they could map the trajectory going over the compound and directly over two buildings that we know from satellite imagery were directly hit. And the second thing, Tom, they could tell me is that it was definitely a tomahawk missile. They also all confirmed to NBC News that the U.S. is the only country in this conflict with a tomahawk missile.

Tom. Okay, Molly Hunter and her team doing a lot of work on that story. Molly, we thank you. We want to return now to the Iranian women's soccer team we mentioned earlier in the broadcast. Several members of the team seeking asylum in Australia after the team was branded traitors for refusing to sing Iran's national anthem before a match. And as Kamila Bernal explains, it's not. not the first time the athletes have been caught up in conflict, have sought refuge abroad. The national anthem of Islamic Republic of Iran.

They stood silently as their national anthem played. A move from the Iranian women's soccer team during a match in Australia that immediately prompted backlash from hardliners back home. Now, Australia's prime minister says his country is providing humanitarian visas to five of the players. Late last night, we issued five humanitarian visas to members of the Iranian women's soccer team. The Australian federal police moved them to a safe location where they remain. After the team finished its final match of the tournament, fans were heard chanting, save our girls, and attempting to block a bus from transporting them.

The offer for protection in Australia coming after President Trump called on the country to help, saying the women would likely face death in Iran. We wanted to make it clear to the athletes that support was available to them. Bahar Ghandahari from the Center for Human Rights in Iran says concerns for family and friends likely weighed on all members of the team. Australia and the rest of the international community needs to make sure those who want to go back to Iran are not harmed when they arrive in Iran and also their family. are not harmed as a form of retaliation. They're facing pressure from both sides, whether they stay in Australia or not. And it's not the first time athletes choose to ask for protection in other countries. During the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, a sprinter from Belarus made a dash for

freedom at the airport after publicly criticizing her coaches and was ultimately granted a humanitarian visa from Poland. And the first woman to win an Olympic medal for Iran appeared to later defect, citing oppression at the hands of the regime there. It is unfortunately something that not just athletes, a lot of Iranian young people in Iran face the choice of whether to stay and live under the pressure or go outside the country where the opportunities are more and the safety is better. Safety, many in Iran, including women and athletes, still seek. Camila, Brunal, joins us tonight from L.A., so Camila, I understand the team played in two more

matches after the one that went viral and they ended up singing the anthem but there's likely a reason for that. Yeah, Tom, they were singing and the expert that I spoke to told me it's likely because of the pressure they were feeling after staying silent. She says that these women likely are very aware of the consequences of protesting in their country, which could translate to prison time or even deaths. So she says that it is the responsibility really of everyone, of the international community to continue to fight so that these women continue to be safe, no matter where they choose to go, and she called them brave. Tom. All right, Camila Bernal for us. Camila, thank you.

Now at Top Stories News Feed, a massive antitrust settlement rocking the music and concert world. Live Nation reaching a deal with the Justice Department to avoid a breakup with Ticketmaster. The company was sued over accusations. It had an illegal monopoly over the live entertainment industry. Ticketmaster agreed to several new requirements, including opening its plans. platform to other ticketing marketplaces. Two dozen states say they plan to keep fighting the complaint, the company's in court. And a major verdict just in tonight in the federal sex trafficking trial of two luxury real estate brokers and their brother.

The Alexander brothers found guilty on all charges after being accused of using drugs and their influence to sexually abuse women. They face up to life in prison and are set to be sentenced in August. And in Canada, video captured an urgent rescue out on the ice. Police say nearly two dozen people were on an ice shelf on late. Huron when it broke away from shore, leaving them stranded on the frozen water. The incident set off a mad dash to get them back to safety. Helicopters managed to reach them, airlifting them all back home.

And Uber is rolling out a new feature nationwide today, allowing both female riders and drivers to request trips with only women. Uber says the move is aimed at addressing concerns about safety on the app and making women feel more comfortable when they use it. But it's not without some controversy. Right now, Uber is facing a class action lawsuit filed by drivers who claim the policy discriminates against men. Okay, now to the new details we have in tonight

in that terrifying scene at the home of music stars Rihanna and ASAP Rocky. A woman firing shots using an AR-15-style rifle and striking the Beverly Hills mansion while they were inside. Dana Griffin has more. New details tonight in the shocking shooting targeting the home of one of the biggest names in music, Rihanna. 10 gunshots fired from the vehicle at the gate. I believe the shots came from across the street.

35-year-old Ivana Lissette Ortiz was booked on suspicion of attempted murder. Her bail set at $10 million. The woman tagging Rihanna in this cryptic social media post two weeks ago. Are you there? Because I was waiting for you to say something to me directly instead of sneaking around. Ortiz firing multiple rounds with an AR-15-style rifle from her car outside the mansion of the billionaire business mogul and her partner rapper ASAP Rocky on Sunday as the couple and their young kids were inside, according to NBC Los Angeles. Incredibly, no one was hurt. But neighbors were left rattled. Nobody should have to deal with being, you know, in fear in your own home. You know, that's terrible.

The motive for Sunday shooting in Los Angeles, unclear. All right, Dana Griffin, I understand you have some more reporting about what we've learned from her social media reports. Yeah, so there's been a lot of concerning videos. As you go through her social media, she's made some concerning posts mentioning other celebrities, including Rihanna. So there could be a concern or there could be questions about whether her mental health plays a role in how this case proceeds. Right now, the L.A. County DA is waiting to decide whether or not he will file charges that is expected. And Ortiz could have her first court appearance as early. Tuesday. All right, Dana Griffin for us, Dana, thank you. Now to a very difficult story out at Georgia, a beloved high school teacher killed Trina Prank Gone Wrong. And tonight, we're hearing from the teacher's family about what happened. NBC's Aaron Gilchrist has the latest. A growing memorial in Georgia outside this high school for a beloved teacher. 40-year-old Jason Hughes died Friday night when a common prank went horribly wrong. A group of students outside throwing toilet paper across his front yard, according to the sheriff's office. The Hughes family's

says Jason knew about the prank and he was coming out of his house just down the road here, excited to catch his students in the act. But he slipped and he fell right in front of one of the trucks as they pulled away. The family says the students tried to help Hughes until the paramedics arrived. Deputies arrested the driver, 18-year-old Jaden Wallace, along with four others, charging Wallace with vehicular homicide. The Hughes family telling NBC News, it supports dropping the charges against all of the students involved, saying ruining their lives goes against everything Jason Hughes wanted for his students. I think it's taken a toll on a lot of the community. He was very social with people and he was always at events and he was always just cheering people on.

Hughes taught math at North Hall High School where he had also been a golf coach. The school community shattered by his sudden death. And he was so passionate about teaching and how he made just the deepest impression on each and every student that he came by, but then also just the way that he cared about you. The 518-year-olds have been released from jail as the sheriff's office continues. used to investigate. Aaron Goe Krest joins us tonight from Gainesville, Georgia. Aaron, this is such a terribly sad story. What are you hearing from the family of the teacher?

Well, Tom, as you can imagine, this is incredibly difficult for the entire community here that's having to deal with this. The family, even through their grief, really has been extending some grace to the students who were involved in this case. The family did release a statement, and I'll read it to you here. It says, we are thankful for the outpouring of prayers and support as we grieve the loss of Jason. you continue to pray for our family and also for the students involved in the accident,

along with their families. Please join us in extending grace and mercy to them as Christ has done for us. This is a situation that's affecting this family in the sense that Jason's wife, Laura, is also a teacher here at North Hall High School. And so her extended family, the school family, are all having to deal with this tragedy and eventually she will have to come back to the school year. And it's going to be something. that I think Tom is going to impact this community at large for months at least to come. Yeah, no doubt, but an incredibly forgiving message there from the family. Aaron, we thank you. Coming up, the latest on the war with Iran,

what we're learning about the mysterious new supreme leader now at the top of the Iranian regime, plus the memes of war, the controversial videos posted by the White House, cutting together scenes of war with SpongeBob and video game clips. We'll take a closer look at what they're doing and why. That's next. All right, we are back now with our coverage of the war with Iran and the man named the country's new supreme leader. It's the late Ayatollah son chosen for the role a little over a week after his father was killed. Raf Sanchez now with a closer look at the newly named leader, now taking over a country in turmoil. Tonight, vast pro-regime crowds gathering in central Tehran to swear allegiance to their new supreme leader.

Mushita Bahamane, whose 56, is inheriting a government. country in crisis from his father. Former leader Ali Hamene, who was killed in an Israeli strike in the opening hours of the war. Mushdaba's wife and mother died in the same attack, Iranian state media says. He's basically coming into this position with a lot of hatred for the United States and Israel. The first time power in the Islamic Republic has gone from father to son. He was a child during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. But as a teenager served in the army during the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s, and later became a major behind-the-scenes player in his father's government.

A 2007 State Department cable, published by WikiLeaks, said he had extremist views and wields significant influence in the Supreme Leader's office. Mushcheba has never held public office before. This grainy video, one of the only known recordings of his voice. But he's close to the Revolutionary Guard, the elite force tasked with ensuring the regime's survival, fighting both external enemies and violently crushing dissent among the Iranian people. But a few daring to speak out, crying death to Mujah in Tehran. And the president today saying the U.S. won't accept his rule.

I was disappointed because we think it's going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country. Could you imagine any scenario where he and President Trump are able to do business? It is very hard to imagine that he would be able to do business with President Trump. So it would be very unpopular to try to right out of the gates go and appease the aggressor from the perspective of Iranian politics. Now, an old regime has a new face as it's under pressure and fighting for its survival. Ralph Sanchez joins us tonight from London. Raf, we still haven't actually heard from this new Ayatollah yet.

Yeah, Tom, it's really striking. He hasn't appeared publicly, and the regime hasn't released any video of him yet. Now, one possibility. There are unconfirmed reports from Iran. He may have been wounded in that same strike that killed so many members of his family, so possible that he just isn't physically able to appear in front of a camera right now. Another possible explanation, Israel has made very clear it plans to track him down and kill him the same way it did with his father. And so it may be that the regime just doesn't want to do anything right now that would give the Israelis any clues about his location.

Tom. Raf Sanchez for us tonight. Raf, we thank you. The war with Iran has been front and center on social media with the Trump administration leaning into pop culture, creating controversial memes with video taken by the U.S. military. Take a look at one video recently posted by the official White House account on X. In response to some criticism of posts like that one, the White House telling NBC news in part, the White House will continue showcasing the many examples of Iran's ballistic missiles,

production facilities, and dreams of owning a nuclear weapon being destroyed in real time. To dive deeper into this topic, I want to bring in a journalist who spends a lot of time thinking and writing on this topic. Charlie Worsell is a staff writer for The Atlantic. Charlie, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. Let's start with a simple question. Why is the White House doing this? They're doing it, so people like us will talk about it, honestly. And they're performing essentially what you would call fan service to their audience of people who are extremely online and love to see this type of gloating and shocking.

And, you know, there's a lot of content in there that they, you know, didn't pay for the rights to use. So that's another transgression there. They love this type of braggadocious, very in your face. You'd call it engagement bait or rage bait. And so that's who they're performing for. They're performing to make us mad who don't like it and to thrill the people who do. And in some cases, try to make people laugh as well about war.

We have another clip. I want to show our viewers. Here it is. Want to see me do it again? Want to see me do it again? So you have SpongeBob there. And again, we're talking about war. Seven service members of the United States military have done.

died, hundreds of Iranians have been killed as well. Is there a sense that they're trying to downplay the cruelty of war, the realities of war with these beams? I don't think that they are thinking about it that way with that much foresight. I think they, the people who are doing the, I'm going to call it propaganda, others will just call it messaging strategy for the White House. The people who are doing that, I think, have this very flattened idea that is brought about by spending far too much time online, that every single thing that happens in the world, it's not necessarily news or politics. It doesn't have, you know, humanity behind it. It's just flattened down into one thing, and that is content, content that can be used to, you know, to enrage people and do all the things that we just talked about. So I think that really what's happening here is a kind of dehumanization. that the internet makes very easy. Some people say that the quote, nothing matters.

Maybe that's part of the philosophy here. I do want to ask you, is this playing just for a particular audience, like you mentioned earlier? I mean, we're talking about it now. Some of this stuff, it's gotten to our news reports with Richard Engel as well. But I wonder if they are just catering to maybe, you know, young MAGA voters,

young men in the MAGA universe who would think this stuff is kind of interesting or fun or would want to share it, or do you think it's for everybody? They are catering to that audience. very aggressively. But I think that there's a message in all of this that it kind of lurks underneath the surface of it.

The subtext of this is for all the people out there who are concerned by the second Trump presidency or even the first Trump presidency. And the message there is that there are, no one is coming to save you. There's no adults in the room, this stuff that you think is juvenile or beneath the office, right?

part of the reason they're doing it is to show that they can, right? It is, there is a power inherent in just the messaging there. Yes, we can do this and no one's going to stop us. Charlie, you know, I want to get a little deep with you, if I can, even though we're talking about SpongeBob memes, because if you use the word propaganda, and this is not the first war where governments use propaganda, and we have seen Uncle Sam used in propaganda,

and cartoonish-like propaganda posters, even going back to World War I to send messages, is this essentially the same thing? just for a modern audience? Yeah, I think it is a flavor of this. The propaganda that is necessary on the internet has to be incessant, right? And it has to be coming from a thousand different channels

in order to get amplified and retweeted and put into all of this. But I think we are seeing the limitations of this as well. The Trump administration is extremely online. They love to play to these different audiences. They really delight in trolling people. But as we're seeing right now, with servicemen and women dying overseas, with the economy in a tailspin over the price of oil, with just geopolitical chaos, we're seeing the limits of this, right? This looks very small.

These, you know, little memes about SpongeBob and the NFL or Halo or whatever look very small next to actual geopolitical turmoil. So I think we may be budding up against the effectiveness of this kind of, you know, online trolling. We'll see. It's been going on every day of the war. We'll see if it continues. Charlie Worsell, you can read them in the Atlantic. Charlie, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. When we come back, the incredible photo finish, did you see this one? Meet the high school cross-country coach who just pulled off one of the most dramatic marathon finishes you'll ever see. Stay with us.

Finally tonight, we hear from the man who won the L.A. Marathon in one of the closest finishes on record. After hours of racing, it all came down to a fraction of a second. What the coach and teacher hopes his students take away from his stunning win. It all came down to a single step in a race more than 26 miles long. Oh my gosh. American Nathan Martin winning the L.A. Marathon by a hundredth of a second, the closest finish in race history. Closes like a freight train, and that's exactly who is doing it. The 36-year-old surging from behind, beating out Kenyan Michael Kamau, who appeared to briefly.

stray off course in the final mile. But this newly crowned marathon champ isn't just a runner. When he's not training, you can find him inside a classroom as a substitute teacher or coaching high school track and cross country in southern Michigan preparing the next generation of runners. He hopes this win inspires his students that anything is possible. Just a good example to them. You never know what's going to happen. And if you put yourself in those opportunities, you don't know what door is going to open up. A photo finish, a historic win, and a moment he'll never forget. It was one of those moments where I was like trying to absorb it and just being able

to just kind of show what I'm capable of, ultimately to myself, but obviously to kind of showcase that for others and represent, you know, what the U.S. can do, what you can do if you fight and give all you have. It was awesome. All right, that does it for us tonight. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yomis in New York. Stay right there.

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