NPR News: 03-17-2026 1PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has resigned in protests against the war in Iran. NPR's Greg Myri reports Kent had been a staunch supporter of President Trump because, he says Trump said he opposed been least wars. Joe Kent addressed his blunt resignation letter to President Trump in a post on X. He wrote, quote, I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Kent is a former Green Beret deployed 11 times in the Middle East. His wife was a senior chief petty officer in the Navy. She was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019. Denominated for his position last year, Kent faced sharp criticism from Democrats, including Senator Patty Murray. She called Kent, quote, a conspiracy theorist who espouses white supremacist views.

1:05Greg Myri, NPR News, Washington President Trump addressed Kent's resignation a short time ago. I didn't know him well, but I thought it seemed like a pretty nice guy. But when I ran a statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat every country realized what a threat Iran was. Trump speaking with reporters while hosting Ireland's T-shirt, Michal Martin, in recognition of St. Patrick's State. The Irish Examiner reported that ahead of Martin's White House visit, the Prime Minister ruled out Irish involvement in any EU mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump had asked US allies to deploy warships to help get oil vessels through the key waterway. Today Trump said most NATO allies said they don't want to help even though he says the US has supported them. Trump then said the US does not need NATO. Today is primary election day in Illinois.

2:05From Reversation WBEZ, Mariah Wolf reports, one Senate and four House races are considered wide open. The retirements of longtime heavyweights, including Congressman Danny Davis and Senator Dick Durbin, have prompted an avalanche of candidates vying for open seats. As four wide open House Democratic primaries, there are 46 candidates on the ballots. Jake Lewis is a Democratic strategist working in the 9th congressional district race. The Democratic primary for Durbin's seat has been the highest profile with three front runners. US representatives Roger Krishnamorthy and Robin Kelly and Illinois lieutenant governor Julianna Stratton. In the blue state of Illinois, the winner of the Democratic primary often soars to victory in November's general election. That's Mariah Wolf will reporting, this is NPR News. The federal appeals court has ruled that the administration can for now deport immigrants

3:06to countries they are not from. Here's NPR's human abustillo. In a two to one decision and appeals panel for the first target reversed a lower courts block on what are known as third country deportations. These are deportations to a country that an immigrant is not from and does not have connections to. In the last year, the administration has increased the use of these deportations, sending migrants to other countries like South Sudan or Eswatini. Immigration attorneys have tried to stop these deportations, arguing that they can happen with little opportunity to argue against them. The appeals panel said that the court would hold oral arguments later this spring. Human abustillo and Pair News, Washington. Three Tennessee teenagers are suing Elon Musk's AI company, XAI, NPR's, Ojinan reports a plaintiff's alleged XAI allowed someone to make sexually explicit images of them. According to the civil complaint, the perpetrator used photos when plaintiffs sent to him, as well as photos in a yearbook and on social media, to make images and videos in which the plaintiffs appear to be nude.

4:08He then used the material he generated to trade for more child sexual abuse material in online communities. The plaintiffs alleged, partly based on law enforcement assessment, that the model the perpetrator used was made by XAI. The class action lawsuit is the first suit filed by minor victims of CSM against X, since its image generation tool, GROC, produced millions of sexualized images last year and early this year. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org, that's plus.npr.org.