Linda McMahon Education Secretary; Bluesky: NPR

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Today’s top stories

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate Linda McMahon to lead the US Department of Education. During Trump’s first term, she was chosen to lead the US Small Business Administration. She is best known for building the professional wrestling company WWE into a powerhouse with her husband.

Linda McMahon speaks during the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Photo by Matt Rourke/AP

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Photo by Matt Rourke/AP

• McMahon is a surprise for the role, as she was not one of the education candidates with genuine conservative credentialsNPR’s Cory Turner reports First up. She served on the Connecticut State Board of Education for about a year. She told the committee after she was nominated that she had attended college with plans to become a teacher. She recently chaired the board of the America First Policy Institute, which supports school choice. When it comes to closing the education department, Turner says a bipartisan group informed him about it one wrestling match McMahon – or any education secretary – probably can’t win. The department was created by Congress and only Congress can abolish it.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was grilled by Congress yesterday over allegations that the agency was slow to respond disasters and discriminated against some hurricane victims for political reasons. Meanwhile, the Biden administration wants more money for disaster recovery after this year’s blitz of hurricanes, floods and wildfires.

• Criswell was pressed specifically on FEMA’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which hit the Southeast back-to-backsays NPR’s Debbie Elliott. In one particular incident that caused scrutiny, a now-fired FEMA supervisor referred workers to skipping houses in Florida with Trump campaign signs in the wake of Milton. The former crew chief claimed she was following standard protocol to avoid hostility workers faced in the field after misinformation spread in the wake of Helene. Criswell denied a broader issue in the way FEMA provides disaster relief and said the employee’s actions are not indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA.

At least 100,000 people have left the social media platform X since Trump won the presidential election in what has become known as the X-odus. X is owned by Elon Musk, a vocal Trump supporter and now one of his key advisers. The platform has been overrun with posts about Musk and Trump. Many looking for an alternative have turned to Bluesky.

• “After Trump won, many on X noticed an increase in Trump content,” NPR’s Bobby Allyn says. Leading up to the election, Musk tinkered with the algorithm to give his posts a boost. The app has always had conservative content, but users noted that it stopped being a mix of viewpoints. Bluesky is still a small social network, but its CEO, Jay Graber, says it has been growing by about a million users per day since the election. Allyn says it’s too early to say whether Bluesky will be the new Twitter, mostly because its infrastructure and staff are limited right now.

Looking for common ground

Over the past few years and through this year’s contentious campaign season, there has been a coarsening of the way people talk to each other. Journalists across the NPR network are looking for examples of people working through their differences. These stories explore how some people try to bridge divides.

As the holidays approach, many people are preparing to engage in conversations with loved ones who may have different viewpoints. Research in neuroscience and psychology shows that despite our differences, there are effective ways to bridge the divides. If you find yourself in a disagreement where mutual respect is present and you are interested in constructive dialogue, science offers several tools to help make the conversation more productive.

Today’s listen

Emily Watson, left, and Olivia Williams, right, play two Harkonnen sisters who form a sisterhood later known as the Bene Gesserit in the HBO prequel series Dune: Prophecy.

Marco Postigo Storel for NPR

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Marco Postigo Storel for NPR

In the new HBO series Dune: ProphecyEmily Watson and Olivia Williams play two sisters in the making a powerful sisterhood later known as the Bene Gesserit. The show takes place 10,000 years before the advent of the novel’s messianic figure, Paul Atreides. Watson and Williams jokingly refer to the period as 10,000 years BC. – before Timothée Chalamet, who plays Atreides in the Dune films. The sisterhood works to lead humanity on the right path after a massive war where humans beat machines. The six-episode season premiered Sunday. Morning edition host Michel Martin spoke with Watson and Williams about the show’s approach to tackling how women view and exercise power.

3 things you need to know before you go

Rep. Nancy Mace (right) has authored a bill that would ban trans women from women’s bathrooms in the US capital, just weeks before newly elected Sarah McBride (left) – the first openly trans person elected to Congress – is to be sworn in.

Andrew Harnik, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, via Getty Images

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Andrew Harnik, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, via Getty Images

1. Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina has authored a measure that would ban transgender women from women’s bathrooms in the US Capitol. This comes weeks before Democrat-elect Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, is expected to be sworn in.
2. Alex Jones filed a lawsuit against satirical news outlet The Onion on Monday to prevent it from gaining control of Infowars and its parent company.
3. Rust will have its world premiere today at a Polish film festival called Camerimage. It has been more than three years ago Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on set.

This newsletter is edited by Suzanne Nuyen.