5 things to know for March 17: Storms, Russia-Ukraine, Deportations, Government overhaul, Syria massacre

By CNN

Published March 17, 2025 3:09 am

CNN

By Tricia Escobedo, CNN

(CNN) — Matt Richtman won the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, making him the first American man to do so in more than three decades.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

1. Storms

A powerful storm system that tore across the US over the weekend has devastated communities across multiple states with violent tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms spun off by the massive system. At least 39 people died in storm-related incidents in seven states, according to officials. Missouri has the highest death toll on record with 12 fatalities, followed by Kansas with eight. Most of Alabama was severely impacted, and at least three died in the state. The storm unleashed a deadly wave of tornadoes across the central and Southern US since Friday. There have been around 80 tornado reports, with dozens confirmed. The National Weather Service said two EF4 tornadoes tore through Arkansas on Friday, marking the first time in over 25 years that the state has experienced multiple EF4 tornadoes in a single day.

2. Russia-Ukraine

Negotiators working to end the Russia-Ukraine war have already discussed “dividing up certain assets,” President Donald Trump said Sunday as he announced he planned to speak to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Trump’s comments come after Ukraine accepted a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire, putting the ball in Russia’s court as to whether it would accept the proposal to swiftly end the war. Putin’s response so far to the Trump-backed ceasefire proposal has been ambiguous. He said that Moscow agreed with the proposal in theory. But he also set out tough conditions and demanded concessions from Kyiv, and repeated his claim that the current Ukrainian government was part of the “root cause” of the war. Meetings between American negotiators with representatives from Ukraine and Russia will continue this week.

3. Deportations

Hundreds of mostly Venezuelan alleged gang members were deported from the US to a prison in El Salvador on Sunday, with the Trump administration invoking wartime powers to speed up removals despite a court ruling halting the move. The White House has denied that it violated the court order. Meanwhile, last weekend’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee whose green card was revoked over his involvement in demonstrations at Columbia University, is having a chilling effect on college campuses across America as students say they’re being careful before exercising their right to free speech. Today, a federal court will hear the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school, who was deported to Lebanon despite a judge’s order blocking the US visa holder’s immediate removal from the country, according to court papers.

4. Government overhaul

Chinese nationalists and state media are cheering President Donald Trump’s dismantling of Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA) and other US government-funded media organizations that broadcast to authoritarian regimes. For years, Beijing has relentlessly attacked VOA and RFA for their critical coverage of China, particularly on human rights and religious freedom. VOA, a global news outlet with stations and websites in local languages around the world, abruptly stopped publishing new stories Saturday when virtually the entire staff was placed on administrative leave. It’s part of the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government, which economists at Moody’s are warning could push Washington, DC’s economy into a recession as soon as this year.

5. Syria massacre

A CNN investigation zeroes in on the events in Sanobar, a town of several thousand members of Syria’s minority Alawite community in Latakia governorate. The attacks on the village, where swathes of farmland surround small clusters of buildings, reveal fresh details about the intensity of some of the sectarian violence that swept Syria’s coast earlier this month. Drawing on interviews with seven survivors, satellite imagery and verified footage from the ground, CNN was able to shed light on the scale of the carnage in the town, where government-aligned forces subjected largely unarmed villagers to summary executions, looting, arson and sectarian slurs, and bodies were piled up in two mass graves.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

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Michael Fassbender on how he likely blew his James Bond audition
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Mysterious radio pulses from the Milky Way
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Human remains on display
It can be quite a shock to see a mummified body in a museum. One group wants to end those displays in the UK, pointing to the colonial origins of the practice.

TODAY’S NUMBER

57%
That’s the percentage of Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents who believe the party should mainly work to stop the Republican agenda, according to a recent CNN poll. The survey was taken days before Democratic senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted with Republicans to advance a GOP-authored spending bill to avert a government shutdown — much to the chagrin of many other Democratic lawmakers and progressive critics.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“I’m really proud of these dogs and I love them … They deserve all the credit.”

Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, who won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, crossing the finish line on Friday in the northern town of Nome after a record 1,129-mile journey across Alaska. The race began on March 3 in Fairbanks. A lack of snow forced mushers to take a new route, adding 129 miles to this year’s race.

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY …

A St. Patrick’s Day tradition
Every St. Patrick’s Day, Chicago dyes the city’s river a vibrant green, a tradition since 1962. Check it out.

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