Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Start with these stories:
Nicole Fallert here, bringing you the news to know on Wednesday, from a Trump administration official stepping down to Team USA’s sadness following a World Baseball Classic loss.
The first top Trump administration official has quit over the U.S. war in Iran.
After less than a year on the job, Joe Kent, head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center resigned March 17, saying he “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, a decorated former Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary officer, wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump, who slammed Kent for his words.
In the letter, Kent invoked the death of his wife, Shannon Kent, who was killed in an ISIS suicide bombing in Syria in 2019, saying: “I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
2026 midterm elections
Democrat Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the Illinois Senate primary to fill longtime Sen. Dick Durbin’s open seat. The progressive now heads to the November election and could become the sixth Black woman to serve in the Senate.
World Baseball Classic
Team USA lost 3-2 to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic title game Tuesday night. Several players were so angry that when they were given their silver medals on the field, they yanked them off their neck before even getting back to the locker room. The USA players conceded afterwards that as badly as they wanted to win, they didn’t deserve to. USA TODAY Sports columnists think either way, this was the best WBC tourney ever.
Have feedback on the Daily Briefing? Shoot Nicole an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.