Behind Israel’s ‘Forward Defense’ Strategy and Inside Cuba’s Economic Crisis

Summary

Here's the Scoop — Episode Summary

Podcast: Here's the Scoop

Host: Yasmin Vossoughian (NBC News)

Date: March 17, 2026

Episode: “Behind Israel’s ‘Forward Defense’ Strategy and Inside Cuba’s Economic Crisis”

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Overview

This episode of Here's the Scoop zeroes in on two global hotspots: Israel’s escalating military strategy against Iran and Lebanon, and Cuba’s crippling economic crisis driven by nationwide blackouts. Through on-the-ground reporting, interviews with correspondents, and exclusive insights from Cuban officials, the episode unpacks the latest developments, local reactions, and the global implications of these unfolding stories.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Israel’s "Forward Defense" Strategy and Regional Escalation

(00:03—08:53)

Killing of Top Iranian Officials

• Israel confirmed targeting and killing Gholam Reza Soleimani (head of the Basij Force) and Ali Larijani (Iran's security chief), who was “the highest ranking Iranian official to be killed since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the beginning of this war.” (Yasmin Vossoughian, 00:17)
• Matt Bradley elaborates that Larijani “was, while not necessarily a reformer, ... a pragmatist," (02:09) and his death “means there is no longer a real senior level connective tissue” in Iran's leadership (02:48).

“This whole idea that there could be somebody who Israel, the United States could pluck out of the wreckage of Iran and anoint as a leader, well, that just got a little bit more distant with the killing of Ali Larijani.”
— Matt Bradley (03:33)

Israeli-U.S. Military Coordination

• American and Israeli military leaders are described as being in “unprecedented” strategic alignment.
• Matt Bradley: “There’s a war room here in Israel where we’re seeing top level Israeli and American officials working hand in hand.” (04:23)

Escalation & Nuclear Weapons Red Line

• No official red line has been articulated regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
• Bradley notes, “The idea that the Israelis would use nuclear weapons seems rather foolhardy ... the Israelis, the Americans do enjoy military dominance in Iran.” (05:37)

Operations in Lebanon: “Forward Defense”

• Israel expanding ground operations in southern Lebanon, seeking to "turn southern Lebanon into the Gaza Strip if Hezbollah doesn't give up its weapons." (06:37)
• This is seen partly as an opportunity: “Some ... people have been saying, look, this was a gift that Hezbollah gave to the Israelis... Now the Israelis have a chance to take care of them once and for all...” (06:56)

Public Sentiment in Israel

“Israelis are happy. And you can see this in the polling numbers. Actually, the overwhelming majority of Israelis believe that attacking Iran was the right thing to do.”
— Matt Bradley (07:33)

• Despite ongoing war, daily life largely continues thanks to infrastructure like bomb shelters ("mamads") and advanced warning systems.
• Casualty rates are low, contributing to public support and national confidence.

U.S. Domestic Impact

• Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned, stating, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.” (08:59)

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2. Cuba’s Economic Crisis and the Prospect of Foreign Investment

(11:47—20:38)

Nationwide Blackout & Living Conditions

• 11 million Cubans without power due to a total grid collapse (11:47).
• Reporting from Havana, George Solis describes widespread adaptation: “We found ... a woman ... with a bike light ... now what's illuminating her home at night. … You can't just go to the grocery store ... if the power goes out ... all of our food's going to spoil.” (12:50)

Change Since Previous Years

• Solis contrasts current hardship with previous vibrancy in Havana, noting visible “despair” and a more “deteriorated” atmosphere. (13:50)

Government’s Shift Toward Foreign Investment

• Exclusive interview with Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez Oliva Farraga: Cuba is considering a major opening to “titans of industry, real your Walmart, your Targets, your Home Depots” to attract foreign business. (15:09)
• Real progress is contingent on lifting of the longstanding U.S. embargo — U.S. law currently prohibits American investment in Cuban government projects (16:22).

“It's not just something that they're going to snap their fingers and is going to happen overnight. There's still so much more at play here. But to announce it clearly shows some type of intention to do more.”
— George Solis (17:00)

Hospitals Under Strain

• Visits to local hospitals reveal dire shortages and transportation woes: doctors walking miles due to lack of fuel, medicines in short supply, and critical medication threatened by power outages (17:46).
• Medical staff feel each avoidable loss “like losing a war.” (19:09)

Cuban Public’s Reaction

“One man told me it’d be a breath of fresh air. … Many [people] saying … there could be a positive dialogue between the US and Cuba and it means a better life for them ... But of course ... what if it doesn’t happen?”
— George Solis (19:55)

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3. Headlines & Additional Stories

(22:26—25:25)

Russian Mobile Internet Crackdown

• Russia faces major mobile Internet outages, with the government citing security against Ukrainian attacks, but citizens view it as further suppression of free speech. (22:26)

U.S-China Diplomacy & Iran Tensions

• President Trump postpones China trip due to Iran war; Urges Xi Jinping to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (23:33)

Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Guidelines

• Judge halts Health Secretary RFK Jr's reduced vaccine schedule for children; established medical groups call for maintaining vaccinations for 18 diseases. HHS plans to appeal. (23:39)

Illinois Democratic Senate Primary

• Key test of Governor Pritzker's influence and party divides; significant outside money in play, including from the crypto industry. (24:37)

World Baseball Classic Final: USA vs Venezuela

• Team USA faces Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final amid political undertones ("will they be looking to avenge the capture of their former president Nicolas Maduro...?") (25:13)

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Notable Quotes & Highlights

• "This was a man who had really tended to the reins of government for the last several weeks." — Matt Bradley, on Ali Larijani’s importance in Iran (02:36)
• "Their defense is their offense. They know that they can parry the attacks by Iran, by Hezbollah, by the Houthis, by Hamas. And that's why they can take their case on the offensive with allies like the U.S." — Matt Bradley (08:44)
• “If it means more businesses, ... more economic opportunity, ... more food on the table, they welcome it with open arms as long as the intentions are good." — George Solis, on Cuban public reaction (19:55)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |-------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Israel-Iran conflict & deaths of Iranian officials | 00:03–07:24 | | Israeli public reaction/US coordination | 07:24–08:53 | | US Counterterrorism Chief Resigns | 08:59 | | Cuba blackout and daily life | 11:47–13:50 | | Cuba Deputy PM on foreign investment | 14:43–17:33 | | Hospital/healthcare crisis in Cuba | 17:33–19:36 | | Cuban public's hopes & skepticism | 19:36–20:38 | | Russian Internet crackdown | 22:26 | | Trump postpones China trip, Strait of Hormuz | 23:33 | | Federal judge halts vaccine policy | 23:39 | | Illinois Democratic Senate primary | 24:37 | | World Baseball Classic: USA vs Venezuela | 25:13 |

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Episode Tone

Conversational yet urgent, grounded by live, firsthand reporting and frank expert analysis. Critical humanitarian and political crises are presented with empathy, local voice, and sharp journalistic context.

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Conclusion

This episode deftly blends breaking international developments with deep, on-the-ground perspectives, highlighting both the geopolitical chess game in the Middle East and the daily struggles — and cautious hopes — of ordinary Cubans amid systemic collapse. The reporting is incisive, direct, and accessible, providing listeners with both clarity and nuance on complex global issues.

Transcript

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vasugin. So today on the show, as Cuba is facing widespread blackouts amidst their ongoing energy crisis, could foreign investments actually reignite their economy? We're going to hear from our team on the ground in Havana. Plus, we have a federal judge who has dealt a major blow to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's agenda, what that means for vaccines and kids and play ball. Team USA faces Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final tonight. Will it get awkward? But first, Israel and Iran say two top Iranian officials, Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Basij Force, and Iran's security chief, Ali Ladejani, were killed in strikes overnight. Laudejani is the highest ranking Iranian official to be killed since the since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the beginning of this war. He was essentially the de facto successor already leading a lot of the operations inside Iran even before Khamenei's death. Meanwhile, you have Israeli troops who are expanding their ground operations in southern Lebanon in what Israel is calling their, quote, unquote, forward defense strategy against Hezbollah. So what do these latest moves tell us about Israel's strategy and ultimate objective in the region? And how are Israelis reacting to both a war with Lebanon now and Iran? For that, I want to bring in NBC News foreign correspondent Matt Bradley, who is on the ground for us in Tel Aviv. Hey, Matt.

[Matt Bradley]

Hey. How are you?

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Good. So this morning we all woke up to the news that you broke for our network here. The Israeli government releasing a photo of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly showing him ordering the strikes on these top Iranian officials. Israel saying that it's taken out two top leaders, Gholam Reza Soleimani and Iran's security chief, Ali Larajani. Ali Laharanjani, especially an incredibly big deal when we're talking about leadership here. Walk us through what we know about them and how this went down.

[Matt Bradley]

Yeah, I mean, what we're hearing about Larajani is that again, that he was killed. And this is not necessarily good news for those who were looking for a more pragmatic leadership, somebody to take over who would guide Iran out of its own own crisis and guide it out of its war. Lara Gianni was, while he did really manage the crackdown on a lot of the protesters back in December, before all this started, remember when President Trump really started threatening Iran in earnest, he was the architect of that crackdown and he directed it. And in many Ways he has been running the country not just since Khamenei was killed, who was assassinated and the opening shots of this invasion, but even before that he was very much the man running the day to day oper. Now he's dead. So that means that there is no longer a real senior level connective tissue between Mujtab Al Khamenei, the son and the father, the assassinated leader of Iran. And that means that really there is no leadership as far as the west or Israel would understand it. This was a man who had really tended to the reins of government for the last several weeks. And in many ways he was, while not necessarily a reformer, he was a conservative, he was a pragmatist. So this whole idea that there could be somebody who Israel, the United States could pluck out of the wreckage of Iran and anoint as a leader, well, that just got a little bit more distant with the killing of Ali Laranjani.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Yeah, I mean he was essentially the

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

successor to Khamenei, but couldn't be the actual successor because he was not a cleric, he was not a religious leader. So he was kind of seen as this military and political successor of Khamenei and had been quite close to him over the last few years. Let's talk about Israeli strategy going forward, Matt, and what you're hearing from the Prime Minister's office. So you have the Israeli Defense Minister essentially saying that they're going to go for all the leaders.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Right.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

They are targeting every single leader inside Iran of those that are left, of course.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

How much in lockstep do we know

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

the United States and Israel to be when it comes to strategic coordination with this ongoing war and a potential off ramp.

[Matt Bradley]

Everybody that I've spoken to here in Israel has said and has continued to say that the coordination, the alliance, has been unprecedented in its effectiveness, in its intimacy even, you know, in the way that these, the Americans and the Israelis are sitting next to each other plotting out where they're going to be attacking. And you know, this is because there's a war room here in Israel where we're seeing top level Israeli and American officials working hand in hand. I just got back from a view of Israel's aero system. This is their anti missile system that they've been using to great effect here to swat down those Iranian missiles. And they were saying that they are working hand in hand with the Americans with their weapons systems trying to prevent Iranian counterattacks.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

So if they're coordinating, I'm wondering if they're also coordinating on a red line and what I mean by that is one of President Trump's advisers, David Sachs, who's an artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, are recently said, quote, unquote, Israel could get seriously destroyed. And then you have to worry about Israel escalating the war by contemplating using a nuclear weapon. The president was asked this yesterday. He said it's not going to happen. He seemed pretty confident. Have you heard anything from the prime minister's office that that, in fact, is a red line for them? It's not somewhere they're willing to go?

[Matt Bradley]

No, we haven't heard that. I mean, you know, the idea that the Israelis would use nuclear weapons seems rather foolhardy considering the circumstances and considering the fact that, I mean, let's just be honest, the Israelis, the Americans do enjoy military dominance in Iran. And over its proxies, really, the Israelis have succeeded in reshaping the entire region by military force. So the question is not necessarily which weapons they're going to be using. And we hope that this isn't going to escalate any further. The fact is, is that, you know, we haven't actually seen the Israelis ever use this, ever acknowledge that they have possession of it. And for them to do this would be undercutting the gains that they've made on the battlefield, which are very real.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

If we're speaking of proxies, I also want to talk about what's happening on the ground in Lebanon with Israel expanding its ground operations there, sending more troops in to, quote, establish the forward defensive posture. What is the objective of what is happening in Lebanon?

[Matt Bradley]

Well, if you listen to Israel, Kass, who's the defense minister, he said that it's not just to make a repeat of the operation they did in November of 2024 and a month before that. Basically, they want to, as he said, turn southern Lebanon into the Gaza Strip if Hezbollah doesn't give up its weapons. So there seems to be a bit of a real moment here in the Israeli leadership when it comes to Lebanon. And some of the folks that I've been speaking to have been saying, look, this was a gift that Hezbollah gave to the Israelis. They fired on the Israelis unprovoked, they said, in solidarity with the Iranians. And now the Israelis have a chance to take care of them once and for all that they've been trying to do for decades. Whether or not they take that chance or whether or not they take that chance without completely destroying southern Lebanon, that's yet to.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

So now that Israel is at war with Iran and they're at war it seems with Lebanon as well. What are Israelis thinking about that?

[Matt Bradley]

Israelis are happy. And you can see this in the polling numbers. Actually, the overwhelming majority of Israelis believe that attacking Iran was the right thing to do. And, you know, when we talk about this, Yasmin, it's really important to remember the position that the Israelis find themselves in. We're talking about a blistering cross continental war. But for Israelis, they're going back to school. They have advanced warning systems throughout the country. They have what they call, you know, mamads, safe rooms or bomb shelters in almost every building. They have a reliable means of taking cover and protecting themselves. That's why the casualty rate is still relatively very low. Only about a dozen people have been killed so far. Hundreds have been injured, most of them very lightly. So for the Israelis, it takes an extraordinary amount of confidence, being in such proximity to Iran, to launch the kind of attacks that they did both back last June and again at the end of last month. You have to have the confidence that what comes back at you is going to be something that you can handle, which is why when we see the Israelis, how they behave in the Middle east, their defense is their offense. They know that they can parry the attacks by Iran, by Hezbollah, by the Houthis, by Hamas. And that's why they can take their case on the offensive with allies like

[Yasmin Vasugin]

the U.S. matt Bradley, thank you.

[Matt Bradley]

Thank you, Yasmin.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Here in the US the director of the National Counterterrorism center has resigned over the war in Iran. Joe Kent, who was a retired Green Beret and a longtime supporter of President Trump, posted a statement on X Tuesday writing in part this I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. The national counterterrorism center oversees U.S. government intelligence on terrorist threats and retains a database of all known and suspected terrorists. All right, we're going to take a very quick break, but when we come back, lights out across Cuba again. Could opening the country to foreign investments help turn things around? A report from inside Havana up next. And while you're waiting, why don't you just go ahead and go to your favorite podcast app and make sure that you subscribe to Here's a scoop. That way you will never miss a day with us. And if you have already subscribed, thank you. Now leave us a comment. Tell us what you liked and rate and review.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

If you wouldn't mind.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

It would really help us with that algorithm. We'll be right back.

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[Yasmin Vasugin]

and we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So 11 million Cubans were plunged into darkness on Monday when the island's electrical grid collapsed. It is just the latest chapter in an ongoing energy crisis sparked by a

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

US Blockade that cut the country off from Venezuelan oil.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

And it's coming on the heels of a surprise announcement from Cuba's deputy PR minister about a potential opening of the country's economy to foreign investment. So for this I want to bring in NBC News correspondent George Solis, who's on the ground for us in Havana. We actually tried to talk to you yesterday, but while we were getting ready, about to launch into the interview, Cuba lost power, which is representative, emblematic, I should say, of some of the issues the island is dealing with. It seems to be now partially back up today, the power that is. But talk about what happened to the power grid there and how the situation on the ground compares to what you experienced when you visited Cuba a few years ago.

[George Solis]

Yeah. My apologies. This is part of just the realities here of being in Havana, being in Cuba. At any moment, you do have power, and then it might just go out when that affects comms and all sorts of other issues. When we went out last night after sunset, we stopped by someone's home and just really wanted to get a sense of what the realities are on the ground. And the first thing we found was a woman who was very reticent to speak with us. Her name was Yesabel Garcia. But over time, she let us in once she knew that we were there, to find out what it's really like for people living in communities that are just dealing with, at times, rolling blackouts, or in this case, a complete island that is without power. And she said, we've had to adjust. We've had to adapt to these realities. She took us into her living room. It was small, it was quaint, it was humble, with a bike light that you would ordinarily use on your bicycle, obviously. But that is now what's illuminating her home at night. She was there cooking a very small meal. They're rationing, of course, the food. Right. She said, we can't just go to the grocery store or to the market and get food for the week, because if the power goes out for any indefinite number of days or hours, all of our food's going to spoil. So it's hard for me as a parent, she says, to think about that next meal for my child, how I get to and from work. When I visited in 2015, the city was still a lot more active. There's a lot more tourism. You saw places in Havana in the area known as El Malecon, which is very scenic, where people were happy, they were jovial. There seems to be a lot more deterioration here on the ground. Clearly, you could see that there's just a lot of despair and a lot of people just hoping, especially as we talk about these potential conversations between the US and Cuba, a cautious optimism that this might actually lead to economic prosperity for so many people hoping for a better tomorrow.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

So you were actually in Havana for

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

an exclusive interview with the Deputy Prime

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Minister, Oscar Perez Oliva Farraga. And he made a pretty major announcement that Cuba could open up to more foreign investment, including from Cubans living abroad. Tell us more about what the deputy prime minister said to you and how you even got that interview.

[George Solis]

Yeah, I mean, NBC News has had a great relationship with Havana for a number of years. It's been a lot of coordination A lot of people clearly played a role in securing an interview of this scale in magnitude. What was really interesting to me speaking with him is just sort of how much he was ready to talk about this, this hope, this, this potential for businesses to come here. And we're not talking, to be clear, we're not talking about that family in Miami or Hialeah, for instance, who wants to open up or help, help grandma open up a shop here. We're talking about titans of industry, real your Walmart, your targets, your, your Home Depots of potentially having business here in Havana. I mean, that's what we talk about when we're talking about this opening of business. But obviously he's not mincing words and realizes and says so much of this is obviously dependent on what's happening with the blockade. These are conversations that need to happen. But obviously it just speaks to the larger picture of this dialogue that it seems that the Cuban government is ready to have with the US

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

I want

[Yasmin Vasugin]

to be clear here, though, as we talk about Cuba, essentially saying we're open for business or we are open to being open for business, that under the US Embargo, currently it is illegal for Americans to invest in projects related to the Cuban government. So just because the government is saying, let's go, let's do this, it doesn't mean that literally, Walmart can say, okay, let's buy up some real estate in Havana and open up a shop there. Right. It would take an act of Congress, Congress to actually get to the point in which US Businesses could be investing in Cuba.

[George Solis]

That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And that is part of the discussion and dialogue. And look, we wanted to ask him, look, why now have you had stakeholders come to Cuba and say, we're interested, potentially interested in opening up these stores of the future? And of course, he said, no comment on that at this point. So, again, it's not just something that they're going to snap their fingers and is going to happen overnight. There's still so much more at play here. But to announce it clearly shows some type of intention to do more.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

George, I know that you were just visiting a hospital there in Cuba, and

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

it speaks to the desperation that Cubans

[Yasmin Vasugin]

are feeling right now, the lack of resources. Right. What did you, what did you hear? What did you see?

[George Solis]

Yeah, and it doesn't just apply to patients. The doctor that we spoke with said he had to walk more than three miles from his home to the hospital because of the lack of fuel. And then we spoke to a patient there A leukemia patient who said she nearly missed her appointment because she couldn't get from a very far away place here in Cuba to this critical appointment that she needs. So it really just speaks to just the issues that they're having just in the transportation sector alone. And we talk about medicine. When I spoke to one of the directors there at the hospital, went into the room where all the medicine is and it's in short supply, they're saying even the good faith of families and organizations that used to help fulfill needs of medicine, that's even harder to come by. One of the things that probably struck me the most was the fridge, where there was critical medicine that needed to stay cool at all times. But she said at any given time we could lose power up to three times a day. So that could be a power outage for an hour, could be a power outage for eight hours. So they have to find creative solutions to make sure that medicine stays viable for that patient that urgently needs it. At this hospital that we visited, they told me very clearly, look, we've been fortunate, we have not lost any patients. But the doctors there say they have no doubt that with absolute certainty that there's people here that are dying, that don't need to die because they just can't get to a hospital they can't afford, they can't get medicine that they critically need. And for them, they're saying to lose one patient because of what's happening, it's like losing a war for them. And so that sits in the back of their minds as they're treating every single patient. And again, to have this access into a hospital and see this reality firsthand is so rare. And it was just such a powerful moment for us to witness this in real time.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

So the Deputy Prime Minister made this announcement yesterday.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

And considering what you have just laid

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

out for us as to what people are experiencing on the ground on a day to day basis, what has been their reaction to the possibility of foreign investment in Cuba, of American investment in

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Cuba, how could it change things for them?

[George Solis]

One man told me it'd be a breath of fresh air. One man saying if it means more businesses, if it means more economic opportunity, if it means more food on the table, they welcome it with open arms as long as the intentions are good. Many saying this is, you know, they've sort of been here before where they have this, this idea that there could be a positive dialogue between the US and Cuba and it means a better life for them, for their descendants, for their family. They're excited by it. But of course they have that potential. Well, what if it doesn't happen? Or what, what else could be around the corner? So, you know, it's really just sort of a mixed bag of reaction from people here who are also just trying to make a living and live their day to day.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

George Solis, thank you.

[George Solis]

Thank you.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Coming up, a federal judge has dealt a blow to the administration's vaccine agenda. And the US And Venezuela are facing off at the World Baseball Classic tonight. Is it going to get awkward? Stay with us for the headlines.

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[Yasmin Vasugin]

and we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. Moscow is in the throes of a major mobile Internet blackout. It's an expansion of outages that have plagued the rest of the since last May. Most recently the Telegram messaging app, which is widely used for both news and everyday information, has been slowed down. The Russian government has said that the outages are for the quote, unquote, security of its citizens against attacks from Ukraine. But Russians interviewed by NBC News say they come against the backdrop of increasing restrictions on what Russians can and cannot do online and a widening crackdown on free speech in the country. President Trump says he's postponing his trip to China, saying he needs to stay in the US because of the Iran war. The bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month was supposed to focus on the trade war, truce and tariffs. But the war in Iran has become a new point of tension. China gets about half of its oil from the Middle east and has condemned the attacks on Iran as a violation of international law.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

Meanwhile, President Trump has asked for Xi's help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

In a major blow to the Trump administration's health agenda, a federal judge has blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's new childhood vaccine schedule. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services, saying that the new vaccine recommendations violated federal law. Those groups have continued to recommend that kids be vaccinated against 18 diseases, not just the 11 laid out in HHS's new guidelines. An HHS official said the agency will appeal the ruling. Voters in Illinois are heading to the polls in a primary that could shape control of the U.S. senate. With longtime Senator Dick Durbin stepping down, Democrats are choosing a new nominee, and the race is seen as a major test of Governor J.B. pritzker's political influence. NBC News's Bridget Bowman says there are more reasons Democrats will be watching the outcome very closely.

[Bridget Bowman]

Many of the divides in the Democratic Party are on display in primaries up and down the ballot in Illinois today, including differences in ideology, generation, strategy and approaches to issues like Israel and abolishing ice. That includes the Senate primary featuring Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy, Congresswoman Robin Kelly and lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton, who's been endorsed by Governor Pritzker, who's also running for a third term. There is a lot of money pouring into this race, including from the crypto industry, which is opposing Stratton. And there's been a ton of outside money spent on competitive House primaries, too. So there will be lots of races to watch tonight.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

And finally, so you know, the World Series, but the World Baseball Classic is the series that the world is actually watching.

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

The finals are tonight with Team USA taking the field against Venezuela.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

The US Almost didn't make it after a first game loss, but then with some complicated math, the American players, they got back in the series. They punched their ticket on Sunday with a win over the doctor, the Dominican Republic. When Venezuela beat Italy in the semifinals Monday night, they danced in their dugout and then they pranced past the Italian team, showing off their moves. Both teams have got a lot of star power. So fans are expecting a very good game. But for those politics junkies, there might be something for you in there, too. Well, waiting to see just how this showdown plays out for some of those other reasons, right? Will they be looking to avenge the capture of their former president Nicolas Maduro, or High 5 Team USA. That is going to do it for us. And here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes

[Unnamed NBC News Host/Interviewer]

out every weeknight straight to your inbox.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid [e-mail] we'll see you tomorrow. And by the way, happy St. Patrick's Day.

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