Today's Top Stories from NBC News

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2026

In today's newsletter: Trump privately expresses interest in deploying U.S. troops on the ground inside Iran. The FDA's vaccine chief will leave the agency for a second time in a year. And Venezuela's national team is putting politics aside in the World Baseball Classic.

Here's what to know today.

▼ The Lead

Trump has privately shown serious interest in U.S. ground troops in Iran

President Donald Trump has privately expressed serious interest in deploying U.S. troops on the ground inside of Iran.

His comments did not focus on a large-scale ground invasion, but rather the idea that a small contingent of soldiers would be used for specific strategic purposes.

Sources said Trump has not made any decisions or given any orders on the matter. The war so far has consisted of an air campaign.

In discussions with aides and Republican officials, he outlined his vision for a post-war Iran in which the county's uranium is secure and the U.S. and a new Iranian regime cooperate on oil production similar to the current situation in Venezuela.

A week after an Iranian school was bombed, killing more than 170, sources say the U.S. military was at the time targeting a nearby area, which formerly housed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base that closed 15 years ago. The U.S. has not claimed responsibility, but the administration's preliminary findings show it is increasingly likely that a U.S. munition was used in the bombing.

More about Trump's private discussions here.

More Iran news:

Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on the location of U.S. forces in a boost for Tehran as it launches missile and drone attacks on American bases.

"Either freedom or death": A young Iranian man says he's willing to die for democracy.

Camouflage and crudites: Trump has waged war and hosted parties at his Florida home Mar-a-Lago, where he's spent more time this term.

U.S. crude oil saw its largest weekly price jump on record.

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▼ Top Stories

FDA vaccine chief to leave the agency for a second time

The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad, will depart the agency next month.

Prasad was appointed last year as director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research — a position with heavy influence over the regulation of medical products, including vaccines. But his tenure had been dogged by controversy.

He briefly stepped down in July — after less than three months on the job — following disputes over the FDA's decision to pause shipments of a neuromuscular disorder gene therapy. He returned to his role roughly two weeks later.

Prasad then faced criticism over the FDA's delay or rejection of several treatments for rare diseases, including for a rare blood cancer. He also sent a memo to staff in which he wrote that Covid shots had killed at least 10 children and that "we do not have reliable data" on the vaccines' benefits in healthy kids, without providing evidence.

Read more about Prasad's tenure.

More politics news:

As Trump says Cuba "is going to fall," his administration is exploring criminal charges for members of the country's government.

Democratic lawmakers are probing companies awarded a $220 million ad contract for their ties to Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski.

In a reversal, the Florida Bar says it is not investigating Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan over allegations she committed ethical violations by falsely claiming to be a U.S. attorney.

A federal judge appears skeptical of the Pentagon's press restrictions, which prohibit gathering or publishing any information that isn't authorized by the government.

Billionaire Rick Jackson is shaking up Georgia's gubernatorial race with a play for the state's MAGA base — and millions in spending.

Team Venezuela putting politics aside ahead of World Baseball Classic

Team Venezuela manager Omar López almost cried seeing the flag of his country raised above the baseball diamond earlier this week. For the majority of the men that make up the World Baseball Classic team, it is much more than just a tournament.

Life in the country has returned to a sense of normalcy since January, with more Venezuelans emboldened to speak out publicly without fear of retribution — but for players on the World Baseball Classic team, the political situation is not of concern. They say their focus is entirely on the sport and making their fans proud.

"We don't talk about that. We just worry about baseball," Victor Martínez, a former MLB All-Star and assistant coach, said. "We just worry about the game in baseball and trying to win games and trying to win the (championship)."

More from the Venezuelan team here.

▼ Staff Pick

A drunken driver's car crash left him paralyzed. Now he's a Paralympian.

Steve Emt was a star high school athlete, and even walked on to the University of Connecticut's basketball team under legendary coach Jim Calhoun.

But his athletic career was cut short when, at 25, he drove drunk and crashed, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Nearly half a year later, he agreed to be interviewed by a reporter, and a weight was lifted off his chest.

Emt came to accept the label of "drunk driver" and put it to good use. He began touring the country, speaking at high schools and warning teenagers about the dangers of the mistake he made.

For most people, this would be the end of the story, but for Emt, it was only the beginning.

Seventeen years later, a chance encounter set him on a new athletic path - and he is now a wheelchair curler for the United States Paralympic team.

This isn't your typical overcoming adversity tale. This is a story about someone trying to turn the biggest mistake of his life into Paralympic gold.

— Rohan Nadkarni, sports reporter

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▼ Quiz Time

Which American gold medalist revealed she competed at the Milan Cortina Olympics with a torn MCL?

Breezy Johnson
Hilary Knight
Alysa Liu
Mikaela Shiffrin

Find out the answer and test your knowledge of this week's most-read stories. (The answer to the question is also at the bottom of this newsletter.)

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▼ Read All About It

Six people are dead in Michigan and Oklahoma after an apparent tornado ripped across the states.

Investigators in the Nancy Guthrie case questioned neighbors about any internet issues on the night she disappeared.

Measles is "worse than expected" in Utah, officials say. Meanwhile, patients are developing severe complications.

Two women were "bonding over the beauty of a hike" when they were killed in Utah, their relatives said.

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Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today's newsletter was curated for you by Marissa Martinez. The answer to the quiz question above is ... B) Hilary Knight.

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