Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
The director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has resigned to protest the war in Iran.
“And here's Greg Myri reports, Kent had been a staunch supporter of President Trump, because”
Trump said he opposed Middle East 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 Buray 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. When nominated 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." Greg Myri, NPR News, Washington. Persians are marking their new year with an ancient tradition dubbed the Festival of Fire.
“But this year after a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests and amid U.S. and Israeli”
airstrikes, Iranians say they're scared to celebrate. And here's Emily Fang has more. While the festival of fire is celebrated with firecrackers, bonfires, and dancing. This year, some Iranians are managing to get texts out of Iran despite in your total
government blackout of the country's internet and phone lines, and they say a powerful
paramilitary group, the besiege, is warning people to stay home for the holidays. One shopkeeper in Tehran sent text to NPR saying he's too scared to visit a friend for the festival fearing detention at newly set up paramilitary trip points. In the young woman in Tehran wrote to NPR saying she'd bought firecrackers and was planning to set them off in defiance of the informal ban on celebrating.
Emily Fang and Pernus Istanbul. The Senate is beginning a marathon debate on what the administration is calling the "Save America Act." And here's Barbara's front reports. The election's bill is a top priority of President Trump, and it's unlikely to pass.
The Senate voted to begin to bait and exercise that may take several days or even longer. The legislation would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote. President Trump has said he won't sign most other bills until Congress passes this legislation. Republicans need support from Democrats in order to reach the 60 vote threshold to get the bill over the finish line.
Democrats do not support this bill. Uncitizens cannot legally vote in federal elections and officials in other experts say instances of them doing so anyway are rare. Barbara Sprint and Pernus, the capital. U.S. futures contracts are trading lower at the sour, you're listening to NPR news from
Washington. The major heat wave is headed to the southwest. Phoenix is expecting highs above 100 degrees, which will be the hottest march temperatures of a record of their.
“Remember, station KJ, ZZ, Catherine Davis, young, has more.”
Meteorologist Sean Benedict with the National Weather Service says Phoenix has only ever hit 100 degrees in March one time before, but this week multiple days are likely to reach 105 or hotter. So not even just touching one under where we're pushing well past it. Phoenix typically doesn't have its first 100 degree day until May.
This week would be the earliest the city has ever reached the triple digits, a strong high pressure system is driving the extreme heat across the west. The climate research organization climate central reports the record shattering temperatures have been made much likelier due to human-caused carbon pollution. For NPR news, I'm Catherine Davis, young in Phoenix.
Thousands of flights are canceled or delayed after powerful storms went through the upper
Midwest and the east coast. The flight tracking site, flight aware, says more than 1,000 U.S. flights were canceled today and 7,000 others have been delayed. Meanwhile travelers are facing long delays at airports as more TSA workers call out sick. They're working without pay as the partial government shutdown continues with funding for
the Department of Homeland Security blocked in a dispute over its immigration tactics. History was hired by the closing bell today the Dow up 46 NASDAQ up 105,000 S&P 500 up 16. I'm Janine Herbst and PR News. Alex Rosenthal has a Fantasia, meaning he can't visualize things like... Fraction of a microsecond and then it's gone and for some people it's just total blank
slate. That's on the Ted radio hour podcast, listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast.
