🎧 Noem’s firing comes after both Republicans and Democrats questioned her leadership during two separate hearings this week, NPR’s Ximena Bustillo tells Up First. They asked about the agency’s efficiency in distributing disaster relief funds and how it spent its money. Throughout her time in the role, Noem has defended the agency’s actions, but that backfired after January's events in Minnesota, where immigration officers killed two U.S. citizens. The events in that state are instrumental in why the agency is now in its third week without funding. If approved, one of Mullins’ first tasks will be to address the lack of trustin immigration enforcement.
As the war in Iran enters day seven, Israel's military says it detected missiles launched from Iran, and its air defense systems were operating to intercept them. Iran's retaliation comes after Israel said it began a “broad wave” of air strikes on Tehran, with additional attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs. Israel has issued an evacuation order for that area of Beirut. The Iranian Red Crescent reports that since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, more than 1,300 people there have been killed. Check out some of the key updates that NPR is reporting on. 🎧 NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi, who is in Beirut, says the city is crowded with displaced people, and she found it hard to find a hotel room for herself because they are all full. People who cannot find a place to stay are sleeping in their cars or on the streets. More than 95,000 people are currently displaced, according to Lebanese officials. The attacks in Lebanon come after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, launched rockets into Israel earlier this week. Al-Shalchi says the Lebanese government wants to distance itself from the militant group. Yesterday, Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar told Al-Shalchi that he instructed the country’s security authorities to issue arrest warrants for the Hezbollah members who launched the rockets. ➡️ Oscar-nominated Iranian dissident Mehdi Mahmoudian fears his country faces an endless cycle of violence. He joins Morning Edition host Leila Fadel to discuss his thoughts on this precarious chapter of Iran's history. ➡️ Israel and Iran have clashed for nearly 50 years. But before that, there was cooperation between the countries. Throughline explores the countries' complex history through the life of Jewish Iranian Habib Elghanian.
It has been two months since U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In that time, the U.S. and Venezuela have quickly mended their relationship. Officials from the two countries have struck oil deals. Now, they are discussing critical minerals and have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations. 🎧 This week, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had a meeting with Venezuelan officials, including Venezuelan Interior Secretary Diosdado Cabello. Cabello is wanted in the U.S. for narco-terrorism. NPR’s Eyder Peralta, who is in Caracas, says the meeting could have been awkward, but instead, there were many smiles. Burgum says the Venezuelan government will soon make it easier for the U.S. to do mining in its country. Burgum has said that China’s control of critical minerals, which are used for things like computer chips, is one of the highest strategic national security threats. Venezuela is likely to have those same minerals, and the country could be key in breaking the U.S.’ reliance on China.
The Justice Department has released additional Epstein files involving sexual abuse allegations against Trump after an NPR investigation found officials withheld dozens of pages. The new 16-page drop includes FBI interview summaries with a woman who accused the president of abusing her when she was a minor. Now that these documents are public, there are still 37 pages that remain missing from the database, according to NPR’s calculation. | 
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