Life at the Israel-Lebanon border and Sen. Thom Tillis critiques Trump's Cabinet: Morning Rundown

Morning RundownLife at the Israel-Lebanon border and Sen. Thom Tillis critiques Trump's Cabinet: Morning RundownPlus, a look at how online romance scams play out — from the perspective of both a victim and a former scammer.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 16, 2026, 7:05 AM EDTBy Elizabeth RobinsonHow the towns along the Israel-Lebanon border have changed drastically in the face ongoing attacks. Take a deep dive into AI romance scams from the perspectives of a victim — and a former scammer. Plus, retiring Sen. Thom Tillis shares his unfiltered opinions about some of Trump’s Cabinet. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Here’s what to know today.One border, two stories: How Israel's attacks on Lebanon are affecting daily lifeAlong the border of Israel and Lebanon, once-thriving towns feel eerily abandoned and some places are reduced to rubble.FORSUBSCRIBERS00:0000:00Richard Engel on why he's reporting at the Israel-Lebanon border02:10This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.The quiet in Kfar Giladi in northern Israel is occasionally punctuated by the noise of outgoing Israeli munitions headed for Lebanon. But just 12 miles away, across the border in southern Lebanon, the conditions in Bint Jbeil have become dire, Amnesty International warned, as civilians are “increasingly isolated and unable to access basic necessities” such as medical care, food, water and fuel. Israeli ground troops have encircled the town, part of its invasion of southern Lebanon as they seek to carve out a sprawling “security zone.”The conflict between Israel and Lebanon is separate from the Iran war — but the two are deeply entangled. More than 1 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Lebanon, mainly in the south, amid an aerial and ground assault by Israeli forces after Tehran-backed Hez...