Today's Top Stories from NBC News

TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2026

In today's newsletter: The Illinois primaries are putting Democratic divides on display. Military officials have been providing Trump with Iran war off-ramps. And Russia's mobile internet blackouts have now hit the capital.

Here's what to know today.

▼ The Lead

Illinois primary puts Democratic divides on display up and down the ballot

(Chicago Tribune via Getty Images)

Virtually all the battles simmering inside the Democratic Party this year are on display in Illinois primaries, where retirements by four key House Democrats and Dick Durbin, the state's senior senator, have opened new theaters for intra-party hostilities in the deep-blue state.

Today's primaries involve deep disagreements over issues like immigration and Israel policy, tactical battles over how best to take on the Trump administration, questions about age and whether to empower a new generation of leaders, and the enduring tug of war between progressives and moderates for influence in the party.

Meanwhile, tens of millions of dollars in outside spending have shaped these contests, particularly from groups with cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence ties. Several have successfully leveraged a gap in campaign finance rules to keep their funders anonymous until after the primary.

What's at stake in today's primaries.

More politics news:

President Donald Trump says the U.S. requested a delay to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by "a month or so" due to the Iran war.

TSA's callout rate surged over the weekend as the DHS shutdown continues.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she said it was detected "early" and is "encouraged by a strong prognosis."

Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol head who became the face of Trump's immigration crackdown, will retire at the end of the month.

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Military officials have included options in regular war planning for Trump to end the conflict in Iran should he decide to do so, six people familiar with the plans told NBC News. So far, he hasn't.

The timeline for the war's duration "could change every day," one source said. As the conflict widens, America's stated terms for ending the war have varied wildly, and aides and allies have sought to pull the president in different directions.

The off-ramps are built into daily war planning, along with options for escalation if the White House seeks to increase the pressure on Iran. Some in communication with Trump who favor an exit strategy are concerned about global economic instability, while others are focused on the opportunity to erode the regime's influence in the region by staying.

Trump said one of his predecessors told him he wished he had been the one to bomb Iran, but denials from four former presidents' staffs say otherwise.

Separately, Israeli defense minister Israel Katz claimed this morning that Israeli military had killed Iran's powerful security chief, Ali Larijani. Iran offered no immediate response, but a handwritten note commemorating Iran's dead sailors was posted on Larijani's X account, shortly afterwards. It was not immediately clear what Israel was basing its assessment on. Larijani would be the highest-ranking Iranian official to be killed after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's death at the very start of the war.

The Israeli military also said today that it had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij, an all-volunteer force of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard that is key in suppressing protests around the country.

Follow NBC News' live blog for more updates.

Russia's mobile internet blackouts leave residents feeling 'powerless'

Moscow is in the throes of a major mobile internet blackout as the Russian government tightens restrictions it has touted as necessary to ensure "security" of its citizens and counter the threat of Ukrainian drones.

The capital had been more or less spared from waves of systematic outages. But since the first week of March, Muscovites have also found themselves without connectivity on their phones. The restrictions have disrupted the daily lives of millions of residents, hitting businesses that rely on mobile internet and leading some to revert to cash. Now, some residents are questioning whether their government is doing it deliberately.

The outages are part of a widening crackdown on free speech since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most recently including a slowing of the Telegram messaging service, which is widely used for the spread of news and everyday information. Residents have been directed to use a state-backed alternative, which some fear could be used for surveillance.

How the blackouts are affecting Moscow residents.

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Cuba will allow nationals living abroad to invest in and own businesses on the island amid the U.S. "blockade" restricting trade. Meanwhile, Cubans say there is little food, power, fuel or relief under worsening conditions.

Afghanistan accused Pakistan of killing at least 400 people in an airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital.

Utah grief author Kouri Richins was convicted of murder in her husband's poisoning death.

The FDA is investigating a multistate E. coli outbreak linked to raw cheddar cheese products from a California farm.

Some older women may not need blood pressure medication just yet.

A Palestinian woman was released from a detention center more than a year after being arrested after her participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

▼ Staff Pick

Asylum-seekers increasingly face detention while their cases proceed, in a departure from the past

Over the last few months, I had been hearing from attorneys, advocates and immigrants themselves about asylum-seekers around the country who have no criminal histories being detained after encountering ICE during their daily activities. Some were going to and from work, running errands, one was driving to get their infant a U.S. passport.

Suddenly, people who had been allowed to build lives in the U.S. while their immigration cases made their way through court backlogs were taken away from their families and communities, often after being in this country for years.

The son of one asylum-seeker and the wife of another shared emotional stories with me about how their lives and families were upended, having to work 11-to-12 hour days to try to keep up with rent and basic necessities and worrying about the difficult conditions their loved ones faced in ICE detention.

— Daniella Silva, national reporter

▼ NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Spring is just around the corner, but changes in weather can often cause acne to flare up. This year, Select editors got ahead of any surprise pimples by investigating the difference between skin purging and breakouts, researching the best over-the-counter topicals for teen acne, and asking dermatologists the best blackhead treatments for acne-prone skin.

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Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today's newsletter was curated for you by Marissa Martinez.

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