Last U.S. Forces Leave Iraq; Supreme Court Revives Deportation Policy; Trump Backs AI Self-Regulation

NPR's Jane Arraf told Up First that the Kurdish region of Iraq has been hit hard during the U.S. war with Iran, leaving its leaders concerned about their defenses. This is not the first U.S. withdrawal from Iraq: troops also left in 2011, before returning three years later to help fight ISIS. Iran-backed militias are celebrating the withdrawal, Arraf said, while many Iraqis enjoying the holiday want what they have long wanted for their families: a normal, peaceful life.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to resume, for now, deporting migrants to countries not listed in their removal orders, NPR News reported. The court will hear full arguments in December. It did not explain why it paused a lower-court ruling blocking the policy, but it asked both sides whether lower courts had authority to intervene and whether the policy violates due process or protections against torture.

Third-country removals allow the government to send immigrants elsewhere when their home countries refuse to accept them, NPR's Linda Kenyon said. Immigration advocates warn the policy could cause irreparable damage. One immigrant challenging the policy said he fears being sent to a country where he would not receive treatment for his severe mental illness. Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent face of Columbia University's pro-Palestinian movement who is also fighting the Trump administration's effort to deport him, told Fresh Air that 104 days in immigration detention strengthened his resolve to challenge the case.

President Trump said tech companies can largely self-regulate when it comes to artificial intelligence. After meeting with top AI executives Tuesday, he signed an executive order referring to the technology as 'superintelligence' for government agencies and launched an AI-powered website, America.gov. Trump said the Justice Department or FBI could step in if companies break the law, but NPR's Emily Feng noted there are no new AI laws behind the meeting. Executives from six major AI companies signed a one-page document pledging to monitor their models and prevent harmful uses such as hacking. Asked whether the agreement was enforceable, Trump called it 'morally binding' and said the companies would be 'policing each other.'

Separately, NPR published a photo essay on young shepherds in Lesotho, a small mountainous country surrounded by South Africa, who can spend months tending livestock in remote areas and often miss school. The Good Shepherd School offers flexible evening classes in reading, writing and counting. NPR also reported on the growth of programs that send unarmed responders to some 911 calls instead of police, from six in 2020 to nearly 100 today. In Durham, North Carolina, responders handled calls about trespassing and panhandling, handed out bottled water, snacks and fresh socks, and defused tense situations, though they often had few long-term solutions to offer. Researchers told NPR the goal after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd was to avoid more police killings, not to solve problems like homelessness, and cities are now debating whether success means resolving the crisis or offering a path to stability.