good morning You are reading the Up First newsletter. Subscription here to get it sent to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
top story of the day
President-elect Donald Trump is ramping up his Assembly team for a second term in the White House. He said he would nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, House Rep. Elise Stefanik to be U.N. Ambassador and Florida Rep. Mike Waltz to be national security adviser. Trump also tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new government agency called the Department of Government Efficiency. Some of his picks, such as TV host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, have raised eyebrows. Here’s who Trump has picked as cabinet members and top advisers so far.
Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 6, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
hide caption
change the caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
- 🎧 Trump’s choice reflects a focus on loyalty and shows a more nationalistic and transactional emphasis when it comes to policy priorities.NPR’s Franco Ordoñez tells us Go up first. A strong opposition to China, support for Israel and skepticism for Ukraine is expected. House Republican committee chairman expressed surprise after Hegseth was named defense secretary. The representative said Hegseth was not on the list of names under review. Hegseth is a decorated veteran but lacks the national security management experience and high profile expected for this role, Ordoñez said.
A US jury has awarded $42 million to three former prisoners of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The abuse received there by American forces is one of the lasting legacies of the invasion of Iraq. Photos of the abuse were published in 2004. Warning: This story contains graphic depictions of torture of prisoners.
- 🎧 The jury said US military contractor CACI could be blamed because the interrogators CACI provided to the prison conspired with the US military to torture the plaintiffs.NPR’s Ruth Sherlock said. CACI rejected that characterization and said its employees did not participate in the abuses perpetrated by military police at Abu Ghraib. This case specifically focuses on the three plaintiffs and does not pave the way for compensation for other victims. Sherlock said the verdict shows how difficult it is for victims of U.S. military abuse to get any kind of remedy.
- ➡️ Last year, Sherlock spoke to former Abu Ghraib prisoner Talib al-Majlwho is not one of the three plaintiffs in this latest case. He tells Sherlock that his 16 months in prison ruined his life.
British Prime Minister Kier Starmer has announced plans to reduce climate pollution at least 81% compared to 1990 levels by 2035. He made a pledge to fight global warming at the COP29 Climate Summit, which took place this week.
- 🎧 The UK plans to achieve this goal by investing climate solutions like wind energy, solar, large batteries and nuclear energy, NPR’s Julia Simon said. Starmer also made an economic argument for the change, saying it was a huge opportunity to invest in British businesses. There is no optimism for US leaders at this climate summit, Simon said. President-elect Trump has previously called climate change a hoax.
Special series
Money from fossil fuels is directly funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading climate scientists say.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
change the caption
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
Money from fossil fuels is directly funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading climate scientists say.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
Each day this week, Morning Edition will dive into one of the promises that President Donald Trump has made for the first day of his administration.
Trump has promised to boost America’s fossil fuel industry. As part of this plan, they intend to eliminate policies and regulations that support green technology, such as those found in the Inflation Reduction Act. In addition, he has expressed his desire to reduce energy prices and stop offshore wind projects. Brian Murray, director of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University, spoke with NPR’s A Martínez about what this means for US climate goals.
Exhibition of pictures
Christian Baiocco, Griffin Katz and Grant Weintrob take a movie photo with President Joseph Biden.
photo provided by Life on Film.
hide caption
change the caption
photo provided by Life on Film.
The creator of the viral TikTok account @lifeonfilm.27 is giving film cameras to strangers around the world and compile images into videos. They have even featured celebrities such as Ed Sheeran and Ice Spice. In September, one of the most powerful people in the world, President Biden, was given a camera. The resulting photographs provide a snapshot of his life, featuring views of the White House taken from the president’s limo, as well as newly signed bills and other documents in the Oval Office.
3 things to know before you go
Nicholas Hamlett, 45, was the subject of a weekslong manhunt after the October 18 murder of Steven Lloyd. Authorities said Hamlett befriended Lloyd and lured him to a wooded area in Tennessee, killing him in an attempt to identify the identity theft plot.
Monroe County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office
hide caption
change the caption
Monroe County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office
- Nicholas Hamlett was arrested after a week-long manhunt for murdering a man in Tennessee. Hamlett reported the killing to police as a bear attack in an attempt to steal the victim’s identity, according to authorities.
- In a recent interview, Denzel Washington said that he will retire after a few more projectsincluding the third Black Panther puppet. The film is yet to be confirmed.
- Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize for his science fiction novel, Orbitalwhich followed six astronauts around Earth during a single day of a nine-month mission.
This newsletter is edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
