Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Episode Date: March 18, 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, a top counterterrorism official resigns in protest over the war with Iran. The fallout as President Trump hits back. Sounding the alarm, the high-ranking official who says he can't support a war launched against a country, he says, posed no imminent threat. The fierce pushback from the White House tonight as Israeli forces take out a top Iranian official. And our new reporting, the State Department ordering all American embassies to immediately review security after new attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Winter's last stand. Stunning images of snow piled so high it's reaching the rooftops in Michigan. Drivers stranded in the snow.

Some passengers forced to sleep on Cots and airport terminals, and the major airport now closing multiple security checkpoints. New body cam video showing a deadly standoff between Dallas police and a member of Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett's security detail what we're learning about how he got hired. A nation on the brink. Our team, the first camera's in inside a Cuban hospital in a decade as doctors race to save patients amid blackouts and

gas shortages. Crashing down to earth, the moment a rare meteor streaks across the sky above Cleveland and the huge bang that shook the city. Wild moments a police officer jumping onto the hood of a car going after a suspect, how the dramatic chase ended. The woman at the center of the cold plate kiss cam controversy speaking out how she says the viral moment changed her life. Plus, the death threats one war reporter is getting from online gamblers looking for a big payout. We'll explain. Top story starts right now. And good evening, I'm Kristen Welker. In for Tom tonight. We begin with the major shake-up in the Trump administration, a top counter-terrorism official quitting in protest of the war with Iran. Joe Kent, the former director of the National

Counterterrorism Center, writing in his resignation letter, Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. President Trump slamming the move, calling Kent weak on security. Tonight he's also scolding European allies for not doing war to help defend the strait of her moves. He now says the U.S. can do it alone. It comes after another violent day in the Middle East. Israel relishing this footage of a strike on Tehran that they say targeted paramilitary forces there. Also announcing they killed the security chief last seen in public here, he worked closely with Iran's late Supreme Leader.

The mounting question tonight, who is left alive to lead Iran? We're also tracking the major attempts to attack the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a series of explosions reported close to the compound. We're covering it all tonight, but first, I do want to get right to NBC's Courtney Kubi with some breaking news. So, Courtney, you have new reporting about the U.S. taking out weapons systems along the Strait of Hormuz. What can you tell us? Yeah, and the Strait of Hormuz really has become such a focal point in this war, Kristen, as it has just bogged down. any commercial traffic that's trying to get through that narrow choke point, that waterway, particularly oil and gas. And what we've learned is the U.S. military today has taken a series of

strikes against one of the biggest threats to that waterway. It's the anti-ship cruise missiles that Iran has right along the coastline there that were directly threatening U.S. and other commercial vessels that haven't been able to move through. Now, in order to do this, these cruise missiles were often buried down deep or at least in hardened bunkers. The U.S. military employing multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrating bombs to be able to strike through and take out some of that cruise missile threat. But, Kristen, this does not mean the waterway is going to open anytime soon. Iran still has a number of other various serious threats that includes mines. It includes drones that can be launched against those ships, even in swarms. And then, of course, there's still

the fast attack ships or little boats that pose a direct threat to some of those commercial ships as well, Kristen. So, Courtney, given this, what are you going to be watching for? President Trump making it very clear he wants the United States NATO allies to join in the effort to try to secure the Strait of Ramos. So far, he has not announced that any of the U.S. allies have agreed to help. Yeah, I mean, today's strike is very significant. It is very operationally and even strategically important. But the reality is, Kristen, the threat to any ships that would be used for any kind of an escort purpose through there is not over.

It still exists. I don't see the U.S. Navy being involved in escorts anytime soon until this threat can be eliminated. And I don't see any other nation being willing to put their ships at risk to do the same. Now, there is always the possibility that they can use other things like unmanned systems in the water or even aircraft to help. But again, the threat still exists and it is significant. And the reality is, Kristen, even if Iran is not actively employing some of these threats, the very fact that they are willing to do so is enough to deter the maritime traffic. All right. Courtney QB on the breaking news tonight. Courtney, thank you so much for bringing us up to speed. We really appreciate it. And our Gabe Gutierrez has been following the updates from the Trump administration has this report from the White House.

Tonight, President Trump is slamming his former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, after Joe. Kent resigned in protest over the war with Iran. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. Kent, posting Iran, posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Kent is a retired Green Beret, a former CIA officer, and a longtime Trump supporter. When I read a statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that

Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. Kent's statement also drawing rebukes for alleged anti-Semitic overtones. Republican Congressman Don Bacon blasting Kent, posting good riddance. Antisemitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don't want it in our government. But former GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green calling Kent a great American hero. Today, the president also lashing out at European allies. with Ukraine. Yes. And they don't help with Iran.

Who are declining to help defend the crucial strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks on oil tankers. We don't need too much help. We don't need any help, actually. You would have thought they would have said, we'd love to send a couple of minesweepers. It's not a big deal. It doesn't cost very much money. But they didn't do that. President Trump also confirming his meeting with China's president Xi Jinping will be delayed.

Is Iran now a bigger foreign policy? priority for you than China. Iran is just a military operation to me. Iran is something that was essentially largely over in two or three days. There's nothing they can do right now because everything is knocked out. And Gabe Gutierrez joins me now from the White House. So Gabe, there are new signs of the impact of all of this on travelers and quite frankly people's bottom line as well, right? Yes, Kristen. The Delta Airline CEO said today, airfares have already gone up. over the last two weeks because of the rising cost of jet fuel. Also today, the average price of diesel in the U.S. surged past $5 a gallon for the first time since 2022. Christen. Yet another flashpoint at the

White House. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you so much. Our political pros are here for more on the fallout of this resignation. Megan Hayes is former special assistant and director of message planning for President Biden. And T.W. Rehi is the vice president of the push digital group and former press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Thanks to both of you for being here, starting us off. T.W., I want to start with you tonight. A lot of people may not be familiar with Joe Kent, but he was the right hand to Tulsi Gabbard. Certainly someone who, President Trump made it clear, he had a high opinion of initially. Talk about the significance of this resignation. Well, I'm not so certain it will have that huge of an impact. First of all, Joe Kent is a, you know,

American combat veteran. He lost his wife in combat. He has the freedom to do as speak as he wishes to make any move he thinks is right in terms of leaving the administration. But President Trump doesn't have that luxury. The buck stops with him. The weight of these decisions falls to him. And what I found so interesting about what Joe Kent said was it was very unpersuasive. He talks about that there is no imminent threat from Iran, even though we've heard directly from Steve Whitkoff, that there was that they had the ability to make weapons. He talks about Israeli misinformation and people meddling, which has brought anti-Semitism charges. And I think we already see 85% of Republicans support this, and I think the party's with the president. You think they're going to stay with the

president. Megan, you know, it's interesting to the point that TW is making, Don Bacon, congressman raised that very point about the anti-Semitism charges. He says that this note basically underscores the anti-Semitism of Joe Kent. How do you think this will all play? I mean, look, two things can be true here. He's a clearly and a neo-Nazi. He's a conspiracy theorist. He's clearly an anti-Semitic from his past things that he has said out loud in his past

podcast appearances, et cetera, and who he aligns himself with. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the American people believe that we are in Iran for the right reasons. But I don't think that people should be defending him. But that doesn't mean that he is wrong. And what he is saying, I just think that it needs to be taken further under evaluation. And people need to investigate what he is saying. But whether or not he is resigning, I do not think we'll have a large impact on the American people. They don't know who he is, and I don't think they have any clue of what he plays in the president's cabinet.

TW, if you take all of this together, this resignation comes on a day when President Trump lashed out at NATO, said, we don't need NATO. We can go it alone. The reality is he reached out to a number of NATO allies, asked for their help in securing the strait of war moves. Was it a mistake for the president not to form a coalition of the willing on the front end of this war, is dragging on a bit. Well, if we are to believe what is coming out of the White House and what is coming from Steve Wickoff, we didn't have a whole lot of time to put that together. But the point does remain. We are going to need our European allies to make sure the straight gets fixed.

We need it. The world needs it. And we're seeing the effects of that. And I do think that eventually we will come to an agreement here on how to protect that. But I think the bigger problem is, when we were just talking about Joe Kent, you know, forever, However, the party and Joe Kent as well has long supported making sure that Iran can't have nuclear weapons, that we degrade their weapons capabilities, that we make sure they can't fund projects. We have achieved that in a great amount here.

And yes, the straight remains a problem, but that will come around. Megan, to that point, how should Democrats, how would you advise them to talk about this right now? Because there is bipartisan agreement that Iran posed a threat, not just to the United States, but to the global order. Do Democrats run a risk of going too far against this war? Look, I think you can talk about the war and the sense of affordability and what's doing to gas prices and what it will do to jet fuel and people won't be able to afford basic. You know, that's going to have an impact on the economy overall. But I do think that we need to be careful here. We do have American lives at risk and we are putting our soldiers in harm's way.

But I also think that Democrats need to be really cautious. We do need our allies. Everybody knows we need our allies. And it is a mistake that we did not go for them. But Democrats should stick to an affordability message and how this. is creating an affordability crisis even more so than we already in. Well, T.W., how concerned our Republicans about gas prices? They surged yet again overnight.

The president says they're going to come down when the war is over. He says he's not worried about it. Should the administration be? Prices are always going to be a massive problem. It's always the economy, stupid, will be. And if this isn't rectified in short order, we will see bad ramifications come November. I don't think it will be. I do think President Trump has accomplished a great deal in just,

three weeks in Iran. It looks like there's not a whole lot more to accomplish in terms of actual military targets. So I do expect gas prices to come down. But when people go to the pump, they will be angry. When they see the prices go up, and Iran is still dragging on. Yeah, we will watch it all very closely. T.W. and Megan, thank you so much. I appreciate you both being here. Not of those strikes that killed a top Iranian security chief responsible for recent brutal crackdowns on Iranian protesters. Here's Richard Engel. Ali Larijani was last seen in public on Friday during a government rally in Tehran. Proof to Iranians that their government was still functioning and unafraid.

Today, Israel killed him. Prime Minister Netanyahu announcing it, saying we are undermining the regime with the hope of giving the Iranian people a chance to remove it. Larijani was a hardliner with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. He was close to Iran's supreme leader, and he oversaw much of January's crackdown when state enforcers known as the besiege killed thousands of Iranian protesters. The top besiege commander was also assassinated. It's an evil group.

I mean, they've killed much more than 32,000 people, and the man who is responsible for that was also killed yesterday. But Iran is still fighting back, including firing cluster bombs at Israel. This train station was hit by a cluster bomb. You can see where the little bomblet penetrated the roof right there and caused a lot of damage down onto the staircase. These cluster bombs are not very large. It didn't destroy this station.

It didn't even cause any casualties, but it has a psychological effect because they're very hard to stop. So for a moment, as the weapons are dropping, it feels like the sky is raining hand grenades. More Iranian bombs rained down on Baghdad. The U.S. Embassy compound took a hit. There were no serious injuries or damage.

And Richard joins us now from Tel Aviv. So, Richard, I understand there was just an attack there that you saw overhead. What did you witness? So in the piece, I was talking about these cluster munitions that Iran is using. And the way they work is there's a warhead. It opens up and it drops these little bomblets. And what you're showing right now is exactly what we saw and captured with our camera just a short while ago. Each one of those little dots is a bomblet, is a grenade.

I talked about how it feels in this city when this happens that grenades are falling from the sky. And just a short while ago, we saw that from right where I'm standing right now as a cluster bomb was dropped on Tel Aviv. Yeah, just a terrifying image. Please stay safe. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. We do want to turn now to our other major story. That crippling severe weather, homes across the Midwest, still trapped under feet of snow. And the new air travel chaos, passengers forced to sleep on cats in one airport. Here's Maggie Vespa. Tonight, stunning new video shows this Michigan neighborhood completely submerged under mountains of snow, here reaching as high as roofs. Now, sub-zero wind chills, freezing piles, twice as tall as parked cars. This family's front door, impassable. In Wisconsin, car after car stranded along this Green Bay Highway.

Entire cities buried. Storms raging out east two, with more than a dozen semis and cars wrecked in upstate New York and severe winds toppling massive trees in Massachusetts and Maryland. This week's wild weather, exacerbating America's travel mess. Strong winds grounding flights at Houston's Bush International Airport, stranded passengers sleeping on cots, United Airlines sending hundreds to hotels and transforming Terminal C into sleeping quarters. Atlanta's airport seeing long lines as TSA callouts mount amid the government shutdown. At Philadelphia International, TSA closing additional security checkpoints starting tomorrow due to staffing woes. Today, more than a thousand flights canceled nationwide.

Mother Nature's wrath also felt out west. With triple-digit temps roasting, Arizona, Nevada, and California, and windy, dry conditions fueling historic wildfires in Nebraska, leaving one person dead and more than 700,000 acres burned. The days ahead are really, really high risk. A brutal combination of fire and ice wreaking havoc coast to coast. And Maggie joins us now from Waukesha. Maggie, we see that huge pile of snow behind you, just how long could cleanup take? Yeah, Kristen, we're hearing days, really, across the Midwest, which when you see those images in the piece, it makes sense, right? And same story here. I mean, this massive, like 20-foot-tall mountain of snow. This was all gathered from the streets of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where we are tonight.

Cleanup here is ongoing, too. So even for this snow-weathered part of the country, this storm this week was massive and paralyzing. All right, Maggie, thank you for braving the frigid temperatures for us. We appreciate it. And we have new body camera footage showing a deadly police shootout with a man who served on U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett's security team. And there are new questions being raised about how the suspect ever got the job. Here's Ryan Nobles. Tonight, new police footage of the lead-up to the death of a man who once served as a member of Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett's security detail. Hey, stop the car.

Car! Move your car, move your car. 39-year-old Diamond Robinson was shot and killed after appearing to point a gun at police during a standoff. That video shows police chasing after the car he was driving, which had been flagged for having stolen plates. He's going through a red light. They followed him into a garage where he refused to get out of his car. Officers offered him opportunities to speak with family members to resolve the situation peacefully. Police fired tear gas to force Robinson out of his car. When he emerged, he put his hands to his weight.

and police say eventually pointed a gun. Police freezing the video and circling what appears to be a weapon. That is when officers opened fire. Robinson was killed by the gunfire. Police say Robinson, who was known as Mike King to Congresswoman Crockett and her staff, had multiple aliases and accused him of wearing police-style uniforms to falsely represent himself as a federal agent. Congresswoman Crockett, who recently lost a primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, said that Robinson's past, quote, doesn't fit.

the person we came to know as Mike King. Congressman Crockett wants to know how Robinson got through the vetting process to make it on her security detail, calling the situation incredibly alarming. Kristen? Ryan Nobles, thank you. Now to Cuba, we go and a rare look inside a hospital there. Doctors are struggling to treat patients during a dire power and energy crisis. Our George Solis is the first journalist given access to any Cuban hospital by the government

in more than a decade. Yonerkis-Polo Garcia is fighting for her life at this hospital in Havana. The mother of two young boys has leukemia. Administering what in most places would be routine cancer treatments is almost impossible here. Garcia lives about 20 miles away from the hospital. Too far to walk. She tells me without fuel or affordable transportation. Life has only gotten harder.

We are fighting every day, she says. My biggest fear is going to bed and not waking up next morning. This is a supply room where all of the medicine is stored, but power can go up for up to eight hours at a time, which is enough to make the refrigerated medication spoil. They've had to come up with other ways to keep it cold. You try to save it. Of course. Doctors here say across the country, people are dying because of the fuel crisis.

So far they tell me this hospital has been lucky. Yadda Kola, his 11-year-old son got here today in an ambulance. She says she feels grateful for that because transportation is so scarce. Ambulance is not on the road. in places just like this one, some broken, some in need of repair, others just in need of gas. That's so hard to come by. In fact, 300 ambulances are sitting idle. There are only 25 being used for the entire country, all electric.

Everywhere you turn, Cubans are suffering. The streets have been dark and homes, dangerously hot. Garbage is piling up on every street corner. Carlos Montez-Nosa says he tries to stay calm, but it's overwhelming. The stress gets to you. You could have a heart attack, he says. Families huddle around in the dark. It makes you want to cry, Yisabelle Garcia tells me.

They feel devastated. And George Salis joins me live from Havana. So, George, when could the power come back on? The question on everyone's mind. Yeah, Christian government officials saying the power is actually back on. But the powers here persist beyond the power of it. Not every Cuban has access to medical care. And at that hospital we visited today, staff there telling me sometimes they choose not to eat to make sure their patients get meals, just some of the adjustments they've had to make.

One doctor telling me he actually had to walk from his home in central to Havana about three miles to make it to work today. Just a sign of that fuel crisis that's worsening here. Kristen? Well, thank you for that extraordinary look inside Cuba. George Solis. Thank you. And we are back in just a moment with the meteoric mystery, a loud boom leaving communities around. Cleveland shaken up and confused. What caused it? Plus, a journalist facing death threats after reporting a missile strike, why online gamblers could be to blame. A new video just into us tonight from a deadly fire at an oil refinery in Mexico. We'll show you that scene ahead on Top Story. We are back with the surprise in the sky, a loud boom rattling residents in Ohio and leaving so

many asking, what was that? NBC's San Brock has more on the rare phenomenon. captured on camera. Tonight, meteoric levels of confusion in Cleveland. After a loud boom rang through the region, frightening the pets in this person's backyard and stopping drivers in their tracks. The fireball also spotted as far away as Pittsburgh streaking through the sky. Anyone that's in Northeast Ohio, did you hear the loud boom? It sounded like a freaking bomb went off in the Cleveland area. NASA says it was. A meteor fracturing into small pieces when an asteroid nearly six feet in diameter and weighing around seven tons entered the atmosphere. The ground beneath my feet was no longer stable.

Ralph Harvey studies planetary materials like these at Case Western Reserve in Ohio. We're just basically talking about space debris. Yeah, it's falling into the Earth's atmosphere, right? Why don't we hear about this kind of thing more? Well, the main reason is it's actually more common than most people think. What's different about this one is it came during daylight hours. right over a major metropolitan area. So it turns out.

What are we dinosaurs? It's nothing prehistoric or even life-threatening. There is a huge comet headed towards Earth. Just a fiery moment shaking up some shocked Ohioans. And Sam joins us now. What a great report, Sam. What are scientists doing to track these? Sure.

So NASA, Kristen, and thank you, has this defense planet defense strategy, which includes telescopes and mapping technologies to figure out exactly when there is an asteroid that is larger than, say, the diameter of a car. So they can follow it days, months, weeks, potentially even years in advance. And about once every generation or even century, you do have an event where the asteroid is extremely large and potentially harmful. The last one actually came in 2013. It ended up detonating about 30 kilometers above Russia, so way above the ground, but still powerful enough, where 1,500. 100 plus people were injured, largely, Kristen, from the glass that was shattered from that sonic boom. Here's the good news for anyone worried that there could be an existential crisis coming to the United States. Back in 2022, NASA tested its dart system, basically an asteroid redirection test.

Effectively, they took a spacecraft, moved it into an asteroid and changed the trajectory of that asteroid, which shows that we can do that if there's something that is so incredibly dangerous that it requires these sort of extraordinary steps that is at NASA's really, disposal, hopefully doesn't come to that anytime soon. Well, I guess we will take that as a reassurance. Sam Brock, thank you so much. We appreciate it. And still to come on top story, the wild ride for one officer who hopped on the hood of a stranger's car to track down a suspect.

Plus, the woman behind the cold play kiss cam controversy sitting down with Oprah for her first on-camera interview. But first, top story's top moment. And on this St. Patrick's day, some lucky passengers at an airport in Rhode Island were treated to an Irish step dance performance before boarding their flights. Take a look. Incredible footwork there. That was the Ternanag Irish Dance Troop, bringing a little Irish cheer to travelers. Stay with us. More Top Story on the way. We are back now and keeping an eye on the critical primary election underway in Illinois. Voters heading to the polls today for several

highly competitive congressional races. Campaigns underscoring the deep divisions within a Democratic party that's usually dominant in the state. All eyes on the race to replace longtime Senator Dick Durbin, who is retiring at the end of his term. NBC, Shaquil Brewster joins us now from Roger Christmorti's headquarters in Chicago. So Shaq, thanks so much for being here. He is one of three candidates in the Democratic Senate primary up against Representative Robin Kelly and the state's lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton. You've spoken to all three of the candidates. What's their pitch to voters? Really, you hear them trying to make the case that they're the toughest fighter against President Trump and specifically his policy. So you hear that on a couple different tracks.

One, they talk about affordability, those kitchen table issues, things like health care, cost of groceries, the cost of gasoline. But then you also hear them making that very clear immigration push, saying that they're the strongest to take on President Trump to stop ICE in their words. I want you to listen to a little bit of my conversations with these candidates when I asked them specifically about their fight against Trump's immigration policies. What he has spent around ICE, what he has spent around the National Guard coming into our cities. So I guess it just further proves his incompetence and the people around him. I want to abolish ICE because I don't believe that this agency can be reformed.

And of course, we need security at the border. That should happen at the border. and ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods in Chicago. That's why I'm not going to send another nickel the CBP and ICE right now. And look, this is going to be a test that's going to be watched from other campaigns, other consultants in other states around this country. You hear subtle differences with how these candidates talk about the agency, whether or not they want to dismantle it or dismantle Trump's ICE.

You have different phrases that are being used. And this is something that's going to be watched closely with future elections. and what Democratic voters want to hear from their candidates when they're sending them to Washington, Kristen. Well, Shaq, fantastic interviews with the candidates. I know you've been talking to voters throughout the day as well. What are they telling you is their top issue? What's driving them to the polls? Yeah, no, great question.

I think I'll preface it by saying, remember, these are Democratic voters I was talking to. This is a Democratic primary. The people who win, especially in the congressional race, especially when you look at the Senate, they're going to be heavily favored when you get to November in that fight against Republicans. So when talking to voters, many of them saying, I don't want a moderate candidate here. I want someone who's going to push back against Trump, who's going to be effective in Washington, D.C. I had one gentleman who told me essentially that if a candidate was even funded by a Trump donor, that was an automatic no for them. Another candidate, or excuse me, another voter telling me that if they weren't strong enough on the issues when fighting Trump,

that was an automatic note. And by the way, those two people voted for different candidates at the end of the day. So you get a sense, that's why you're hearing that tone from candidates when you're talking with them, when I was having those conversations with them. They know their voters want to hear a tough and aggressive stance against what they're seeing in Washington, D.C. Yeah, the voters always have the final say. And, Shaq, we saw record ad spending in that Texas primary a few weeks back. A lot of money pouring into this primary in Illinois as well.

I think it's a trend that we have been seeing that is only going to continue. When James Tellerico, when he won his campaign against Jasmine Crockett in Texas, he spent about $19 million on the television airwaves. Here, that number was easily surpassed $29 million by Congressman Roger Chrysman Northe. So you get a sense that more and more money is being spent in these elections. This is only going to be a pattern. And look, that doesn't even factor in the outlook. outside groups, the outside spending, the super pecks that have poured millions of dollars into

these races. I think you're going to see that come when you get beyond Illinois but to other states later in the calendar. Yeah, Shaq, I think you're right. It's a sign of things to come. Shaq Brewster on the campaign trail, as always. Thanks so much. And now to Top Stories News Feed, Attorney General Pam Bondi subpoenaed today over the Justice Department's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The House Oversight Committee calling on Bondi to appear for a deposition next month. It comes after five Republicans joined Democrats to support the move. In a statement to NBC news, a DOJ spokesperson calling the subpoena, quote, completely unnecessary, saying Bondi has already been talking with lawmakers about the Epstein files. And just in to us tonight video of a massive

fire outside an oil refinery in southern Mexico, leaving at least five people dead. Take a look at the flames raging around this facility. The Mexican Energy Company Pemex saying it has happened after oily waters at the refinery caught fire and that heavy rains might have played a role. Authorities now working to figure out the exact cause. And a dramatic scene out of Texas when an 18-wheeler collided with an Amtrak train. Here you can see the aftermath. The shipping container was thrown from the mangled truck while the train's windshield was shattered. Amtrak says more than 100 people were on board the passenger train, but no reports of any serious injuries. And the World Baseball Classic comes to an end tonight with a showdown between Venezuela and the U.S. Venezuela snapped Italy's undefeated run last night, sending them to the championship game for the first time.

For Team USA, this is its third straight trip to the finals as the Americans look to capture their second title after winning it all in 2017. Now to a body camera video that looks like a scene straight out of a movie. An Oklahoma City police officer jumping onto the hood of a strange. car and instructing them to chase after a teen suspect. NBC's Priscilla Thompson has the play-by-play of those heart-pounding moments. Go, go, go, go. A daring chase in Oklahoma City. Watch as this officer climbs onto the hood of a car and hangs on, directing the citizen driver to hit the gas. Go, go, go, go. The person they were pursuing a 17-year-old boy who the police say was operating a many-year-old. bike without headlights, creating a significant safety concern for motorists. The officer first following in his car with lights and sirens.

Then on foot, as police say the suspect cut through a yard. Back on the street, the officer says he spotted a car, made contact with the driver, and quickly determined that he was willing to assist. The officer hanging on for nearly two minutes as cars zip by. The benefit of apprehension must outweigh the risk of apprehension. Carmen Best is a former Seattle Police Chief. Well, a whole host of things could have gone wrong. The officer could have fallen off of the car and been injured.

A bystander could have been injured because we have a distracted driver who certainly isn't trained to drive a car with the person on top of it. The hot pursuit ending with an arrest and no reported injuries. Stop resisting. I'm not resisting. Yes, you are. Stop resisting. Can I at least call my mom?

You're not calling nobody. You went up for the police. I didn't. I didn't see you. The officer says he maintained due regard for the safety of the public, the assisting citizen, and the violator while attempting to bring the situation to a safe resolution. He heard on body cam, praising the driver for his actions. The Oklahoma City Police Department has not responded to our request for comment. I think it's hard to argue that that was good judgment.

and good discernment. This isn't Hollywood television. This is real life, real people. The teen is now charged with attempting to allude police and a slew of traffic violations. Oh, hello. After a wild ride. And Priscilla Thompson joins us live now. Priscilla, what video that is unbelievable. It's getting a lot of attention online. Just what are people saying about it? Yeah, Kristen, not a lot of sympathy for that teen online. I will tell you that a lot of people praising the driver for jumping into action and also praising the officer for his quick response. But you also have some people saying that that officer may have watched one too many action flicks with that move. And I will tell you that former police chief that you heard from there,

Carmen Bess, really emphasized the risk to the officer that this driver whose car he'd hopped on could have been someone looking to do an officer harm or deciding to do an officer harm. And so certainly this could have turned out far worse with, but thankfully, no injuries. here. Kristen? Yeah, heart-stopping moments indeed. Priscilla Thompson, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. We do want to turn back now to our coverage of the war with Iran, and this new wave of bets on sites like Polly Market and Kalshi, betters putting millions of dollars at stake on everything from regime change to ceasefires to oil prices and missile strikes. It's even starting to impact journalists covering the war. Take a look at this headline, Emmanuel Fabian, a reporter for the Times

of Israel, writing, quote, gamblers trying to win a bet on Polly market are vowing to kill me if I don't rewrite an Iran missile story. He says it was this blog post that caused the uproar. In it, he notes that an Iranian missile hit Israel on March 10th. He also posted this dash camera video shared by a witness, appearing to show the striking question. NBC News cannot independently verify this video. Now, after the story was posted, he says he got a series of messages asking him to change the article, some even threatening his life. Ultimately, he realized his article was at the center of a debate on Polly Market, where users had bet on whether or not an Iranian missile would hit Iran on that day. Now, in a statement, Polymarket said they, quote, condemn the harassment and threats directed at that reporter or anyone else, for that matter.

Adding the accounts involved have been banned. I want to bring in a reporter for the Washington Post who's been covering this story tech reporter, Will Oremis, has been in touch with that reporter at the Times of Israel. enjoys us now. Well, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me. So walk us through exactly what the bet on Polly Market was and what the reporter was being asked to change that link there. So Pollymarket and Kalsi are these sites called prediction markets that have just exploded in popularity in the past year or two, and especially in recent months. And Polly Market in particular allows people to bet on just about anything, including world events. You can bet on who will win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

You can also bet on how many times Elon Musk will tweet next week. In this case, users of Polymarketer were betting on whether an Iranian missile would strike Israel on March 10th. And they had the same bet on March 9th, March 8th, March 7th. But the March 10th one turned into a big controversy. And that's because this Times of Israel reporter reported that a missile did strike Israel on that day. Nobody was hurt. It was in an open area. Not a big deal. He moved on. But people who had bet that there would be no missile strike that day took exception. They argued, well, I actually think this missile was intercepted. It was probably just shrapnel that hit the ground. They noted that the Israel Defense Force had not confirmed the strike. And so they were refusing

to pay up, basically, and saying, no, you can't prove that that was a full missile. Wow. It's just extraordinary how far that was taken. And notably, the reporter told you he actually did for a period consider changing his reporting to make the threat stop. But ultimately he didn't. But the bet has still not been resolved on polymarket, right? Right. So one of the concerns with these largely unregulated markets where you can bet on almost anything is that people will try to manipulate the market. They'll try to manipulate the outcome of a bet. They may even try to manipulate. manipulate reality to make it match the thing that they bet on. And that appears to be what happened here, according to this journalist's story. So we're worried that if you're relying on a journalist's report to decide the outcome of a bet with millions of dollars riding on it, this probably isn't the first time a journalist has been approached to say, you know, by somebody saying, hey, look, if you just change the details

here, we win, you know, a million bucks, we'll give you a few hundred thousand. And so the journalist I talked to said, look, I had to consider. because they're threatening my life and my family, but ultimately what he decided was, if I give in here, they're going to do it again. They're going to come back to me and ask me to change another story, and it's never going to end. So he withstood the death threats, he stood firm,

he went to police, he went public with his story, hoping that other journalists and that other betters wouldn't try the same thing in the future. But there is that concern out there. I mean, what if there are incidents we don't know about where reporters have changed the news in order to resolve the outcome of a bet like this. Well, incredibly brave of him indeed.

I want to talk about the legality of all of this will because prediction market sites are facing growing legal challenges here in the U.S. In fact, Arizona today became the very first state. Here's the headline to file criminal charges against Kalshi. And as you just said, that's another prediction market like Polly Market. Calci in response has called Arizona's argument, quote, thin, saying, sadly, a state can file criminal charges. charges on paper, states like Arizona want to individually regulate a nationwide financial exchange

and are trying every trick in the book to do it. What can you tell us about this legal battle? Yeah, I mean, the legality of it is really nuanced. So right now, Kalshi is being regulated in the United States as a commodity futures trading market. So it's being regulated in the same way that the commodities markets for like future prices of oil or corn or soybeans are being regulated. And that is a much, much lighter touch in terms of the regulation than the way, so let's say, sports gambling is regulated. Sports gambling is largely regulated at the state level. It's heavily regulated. They track who makes every bet so they can try to crack down on any attempt to manipulate the market. It doesn't mean it doesn't still happen. It does. But states regulate that.

What Kalshi wants is for the states to stay out of it and let the federal agency that's in charge of commodity futures do the regulation, and they have an ally in that in the Trump administration. So Donald Trump Jr. is an investor in Polly Market, and Trump's CFTC, that's the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, I believe, has asked states to stay out of this and say, look, we got it, we'll regulate this at the federal level. So it's really a dispute. Nevada is another state that really doesn't want these markets operating there because they're competing with its, it's sports books with its own gambling market. They say, look, this is gambling. Just you're calling it commodities future trading, but we all know it's really gambling. Will, just fascinating stuff.

We will continue to watch it because clearly this debate, the legal dispute's not going anywhere anytime soon. We really appreciate your reporting. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me on. And coming up, more on the escalating war with Iran and a rare look at Israel's new missile defense system, how it could reshape the modern battlefield. Plus, with Just months to go until the World Cup, Iran is now pushing to get its games moved out of the U.S. What FIFA is saying next. We're back now with our ongoing coverage of the war with Iran, with no signs of it letting up. Tonight, many questioning just how long countries in the region, especially Israel,

can withstand repeated Iranian counterattacks. International correspondent Matt Bradley got a rare up-close look at the new arrow missile defense systems that's been swatting missiles out of the sky. skies over Israel. The Israeli-American offensive against Iran depends on Israel's muscular defense. And we got a rare, up-close look at its flagship weapon. Now, Israel's Iron Dome often takes a lot of the credit, but this, the arrow system, is the tip of the spear of Israel's missile defense. It swats down the high-altitude projectiles, like the ones fired from Iran.

Major A operates the system, which was made in partnership between the U.S. and Israel. He couldn't give his full name or show his. face. What would you say is the intercept rate that you guys have with the air system? Exceeding our expectations. But challenges remain. The sheer number of Iranian missiles and drones means Israel's military has to burn through tons of interceptors. Now look at the size of these. These are what's left of each interceptor fired by the Israeli military. Israel has denied it's been running out of interceptors following a recent published report that said it had been running low. We are prepared for the long run. We are good to go for as long as we need.

and hopefully this will be over sooner rather than later. But Israel has an innovative solution, lasers instead of missiles. They call it the iron beam and it's already been put to some very limited combat use. We sat down exclusively with its creator. So U.S. is burn it like a laser pointed but it's much much more power. So you have to find the target, focus the beam on the target and burn or explode the missile or the rockets or the U.S. in the air. The iron beam could become a faster, cheaper, and more effective alternative to conventional air defense systems

and could radically change the future of war. Regarding air defense would be a major implication of air defense now and in the future. Until then, Israel's military is focused on winning this current war. So far, Iran can still retaliate against Israel, but that's something Israel's military says may soon change. This is not just a game of defense, it's also a game of offense. and as time progresses, it's only working in our favor. A war of wills fought with heavy weapon. Matt Bradley, NBC News, Israel.

Matt Bradley, thank you. Now to Top Story's Global Watch, starting with Afghanistan, accusing Pakistan of killing at least 400 people in an airstrike on a hospital. Afghan officials say it happened in the capital of Kabul, destroying much of the facility and leaving roughly 250 others hurt.

Pakistan is denying the accusations, claiming it did not target any civilian sites. This marks the latest escalation and the fighting between the two countries, which broke out late last month. And with just months to go until the World Cup, Iran says it's now talking with FIFA about moving the country's games from the U.S. to Mexico. It comes a week after President Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, saying player safety could be at risk. A FIFA spokesperson telling NBC News it's discussing plans for the World Cup within. Iran and is looking to move forward with the original match schedule. And in Kenya, two men are facing charges for illegally smuggling wildlife after they were found with hundreds of live ants.

You can see them right here stored in these special tubes. We're told one of the suspects is from Kenya. The other is a Chinese national. Prosecutors say they were arrested after getting caught with more than 2,000 ants. It's unclear what they plan to do with the insects, but authorities say they've seen a rise and people smuggling them to markets in Europe and Asia. Back here at home, the woman at the center of the Coldplay Kiss Cam controversy speaking out, sitting down with Oprah Winfrey in her first on-camera interview,

sharing new details about how the viral moment changed her life. NBC's Stephanie Goss, has more. Oh, look at these two. All right. A moment lasting less than 20 seconds. Either they're having an affair or that is very sharp. The Kiss Cam embraced at a cold play concert, last summer became an instant online sensation, watched by billions around the world. And Kristen Cabot's life would never be the same.

Well, there was paparazzi there for weeks. They wouldn't leave. There was, I had people trespassing and looking in my windows. We had people doing drive-bys and yelling and honking. We had my phone. With your children home. Yes, with my children home. Cabot speaking out for the first time on camera in an interview with Oprah. It wasn't even calculated where we thought to ourselves like, oh, no one's looking.

Cabot revealed her husband, who she had separated from, was at the concert, too, and that CEO Andy Byron told her he was going through a divorce himself. But the former head of HR says the vitriol was largely reserved for her. Andy Byron, your boss, were people coming up to him? No. Not at all. And women, she says, were the cruelest. How I looked, to how I was dressed, to how I behaved, to, you know, sleeping my way to the top, to the gold digger, the husband's

dealer. Both Byron and Cabot resigned from their jobs. People were united in their judgment. And I feel bad for us as human beings that that's what we did to you. Thank you. Cabot says she made a mistake that night, but did not deserve this. Stephanie Goss, NBC News. And our thanks to Stephanie, when we come back, match day magic. The emotional moments for med school students on their way to to becoming the next generation of doctors. Stay with us. And finally tonight, for thousands of medical students all across the country,

Match Week marks the beginning of their next chapter. And as they anxiously await their residency placement, many future doctors are celebrating the accomplishment and the hard work it took to get this far. We have two more minutes still, but should we see if it's there? For Addie Rosa, this is a moment years in the making. The single mom is also a med school student. And this notification revealing whether she matched into a residency program.

I started second semester when she was four weeks old. And it was definitely the hardest year of my life. It's just incredible how much my community has shown up for me and made it possible. I got the email. Congratulations. Addie is one of thousands of med school students across the country finding out if they matched. Can you see it? Can you see it?

Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Then on Friday, they'll find out where. You're going to be a doctor! I matched! I'm going to be a general surgeon. The next generation of doctors answering the call. I hope that people look at stories like mine

and other stories of mothers in medicine and know that it's hard, but it's absolutely possible. Thanks so much for watching Top Story. For Tom Yamis, I'm Kristen Welker in Washington. Stay right there. More news on the way.