McMahon Ed Secretary, FEMA Chief Testifies, X-odus Fuels Bluesky, Gaza Sniper Drones

President-elect Donald Trump taps WWE executive Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, sparking questions about her qualifications and Trump's promise to close the agency. Republicans accuse FEMA of political bias in disaster response as its chief testifies before Congress amid a funding request for the agency. Dissatisfaction with Elon Musk's platform X fuels the rise of Bluesky as a social media alternative. And, Eyewitness accounts allege the Israeli military is using sniper drones to target civilians in Gaza, raising questions about the human toll of advanced warfare.
Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Nicole Cohen, Russell Lewis, Kara Platoni, Lauren Migaki, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Ally Schweitzer.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Milton Guevara.
We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent.
And our technical director is Zac Coleman.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy