Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026 | Recent News

Start your day informed with today’s must-read headlines from around Wisconsin and the world. And don’t forget to check out our Meme of the Day at the end for a little humor to go with your news!

U.S. and World Headlines

Israel Says It Has Killed Iranian Security Chief, Militia Leader

Israel’s military announced Tuesday that top Iranian security official Ali Larijani was killed by an overnight strike, as Gulf Arab nations came under renewed missile and drone fire from Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz made the announcement. The Israeli military also said it killed the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ all-volunteer Basij militia.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani’s death.

Federal Judge Halts RFK Jr.'s Changes To Children's Vaccine Policies

A federal judge Monday dealt a major blow to the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul the nation's vaccine policies, including the controversial decision to slash the number of federally recommended vaccinations for children.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Boston put a hold on the decisions made by an influential Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee, ruling that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had improperly replaced the entire committee.

5 Things To Watch For In Illinois’s Primary Elections

The Prairie State is holding a series of primary elections Tuesday that will reshape the Illinois congressional delegation, with voters weighing in on the contest to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and five Democrats leaving the House.

Here are five things to watch for in Illinois’s primaries:

Amazon Rolls Out 1-Hour, 3-Hour Delivery As Ultrafast Shipping Trend Grows In The U.S.

Amazon is rolling out one-hour and three-hour delivery in some parts of the U.S.

The company is speeding up deliveries even further after investing significant money and resources to make same-day shipping the standard.

It has experimented with ultrafast delivery through a variety of programs over the years, some of which were discontinued.

NVIDIA DLSS 5 Delivers AI-Powered Breakthrough In Visual Fidelity For Games

NVIDIA today unveiled NVIDIA DLSS 5, the company’s most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of real-time ray tracing in 2018.

DLSS 5 introduces a real-time neural rendering model that infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials. Bridging the divide between rendering and reality, DLSS 5 empowers game developers to deliver a new level of photoreal computer graphics previously only achieved in Hollywood visual effects.

Wisconsin Senate Releases Packed Agenda For What Could Be Last Session Day Before Midterms

The Wisconsin Senate will hold what could be its last floor session of the year Tuesday. Included within the sprawling agenda are bills legalizing online sports betting and subsidizing “name, image, likeness,” or NIL, deals that have split Republicans’ slim 17-vote majority and could require Democratic votes to pass.

It’s unclear what fate will meet the 18 pages of bills and resolutions on the Senate’s Tuesday calendar, but odds are it will be a marathon floor period to round out the chamber’s 2025-26 legislative session.

Here’s a sampling of the legislation before senators.

Senate Committee Signs Off On Data Center Bills

Two bills regulating data centers passed out of a Senate committee Friday ahead of the final Senate floor period of the year.

AB 840, which promises ratepayers protections from data center development costs, passed the Assembly largely along party lines in January.

Democrats fought for legislation with a defined regulatory framework for the Public Service Commission to enforce rate controls and against a provision in the GOP-authored AB 840 restricting the development of new renewable energy resources tied to the data center.

Wisconsin Legislator Pleads No Contest To Disorderly Conduct In Feud Over Hispanic Resolutions

A Wisconsin legislator has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in connection with a bitter feud with her caucus over being excluded from resolutions honoring Hispanics and breaking with her party on state budget and legislative district boundary votes.

Prosecutors in Milwaukee County charged state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez in February. The Milwaukee Democrat pleaded no contest during a hearing Friday, and Judge Paul Malloy ordered her to pay a $300 fine and submit a DNA sample. She could have faced up to 90 days in jail.

Website Crash Disrupts Wisconsin Turkey License Sales

A technical glitch disrupted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Go Wild website on Monday, causing inconvenience for residents attempting to purchase turkey licenses.

"This morning the Go Wild website experienced an error related to payment processing," said Molly Meister, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin DNR. "Go Wild and the payment processing system are back to working as expected."

Blatnik Bridge Funding Uncertainty Rattles Twin Ports Business Plans

Preparations for the replacement of the Blatnik Bridge that connects Superior and Duluth have defined much of the Twin Ports’ political and business landscape over the past few years.

But now those plans are up in the air with the revelation that the Trump administration may block more than a billion dollars in federal funding approved as part of his predecessor’s Infrastructure Act. The uncertainty particularly impacts businesses who have already been planning on how to run their operations during the construction, and now must figure out how to do so if it doesn’t happen.