Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Today's top stories
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, would stop working with third-party fact-checkers. The company established these extensive partnerships after the 2016 presidential election in order to slow the spread of false information. Meta's move comes as Republicans on their way into power discuss cracking down on tech companies. The 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated backlash to this feature among conservatives, who expressed that it was a form of censorship.
- π§ Meta will replace its fact-checking with a "community notes" program similar to Elon Musk's X, where users write and rate notes that appear next to a specific post, NPR's Bobby Allyn tells Up First. Restrictions on topics like immigration and gender identity will also be lifted. It's an understatement to say these actions are a big reversal, Allyn says. Zuckerberg stated that speech is being censored on Meta's platforms, an allegation he had previously fought against. The more lax rules come after several developments, including Meta donating $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund.
The annual winter respiratory season is upon us in full force. People love to travel for the holidays, but the bad news is that they often come home with a nasty bug.
- π§ It isn't just the flu that's spiking, according to NPR's Rob Stein. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is spreading at high levels. COVID is also starting to creep up again. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says this winter will probably be like last year's unless a new COVID variant arises. Stein says that still isn't great as it means lots of kids missing school, parents absent from work and grandparents and other vulnerable people ending up in the hospital or possibly dying. The human metapneumovirus is gaining attention because of a surge of respiratory illnesses in China, but the World Health Organization says the increase is within the expected range for this time of year.
At least three wildfires have burned over 4,000 acres of land in Southern California, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate. The flames are driven by Santa Ana winds in the region. The city of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency last night as the winds spurred the rapid spread of wildfires. Here's what we know about the wildfires currently spreading.
- π§ "Right now, I can see a really eerie orange glow on the horizon up to the north, and that's the Palisades fire, which is the biggest one right now," says NPR's Liz Baker, who is in Los Angeles. There was one major fire going into yesterday evening, but it seemed as if a new fire would pop up every hour, Baker says. It has become a constant game of whack-a-mole for firefighters. Many structures have burned, including some beach lifeguard stations, showing how forcefully the winds drive toward the ocean.
- β‘οΈ Over 30,000 people in Los Angeles County have been ordered to evacuate as the Palisades Fire blazes through the community. See photos from the evacuation.
- β‘οΈ You can find the latest information about the wildfires' reach and damage from NPR's network station LAist.
Deep dive
President Biden has signed a new law aimed at increasing Social Security payments for nearly 3 million current and former public employees. The law, known as the Social Security Fairness Act, repeals provisions that had previously limited benefits for those receiving other pensions. Specifically, it eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, which were designed to prevent beneficiaries from "double-dipping" into retirement benefits when they collected state or local pensions.
- ποΈ Unions representing public service workers, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, say the provisions unfairly penalized them.
- ποΈ Individuals affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision can expect an average monthly increase of $360, while some spouses impacted by the Government Pension Offset may receive an average monthly increase of $700. Both increases are expected by December.
- ποΈ Benefits will grow with time in line with Social Security's cost-of-living adjustments.
- ποΈ No immediate action needs to be taken by beneficiaries. People who think they might be eligible should make sure their mailing address and direct deposit information are up to date with the government.
Life advice
When items go missing, looking harder isn't the answer; there is an art to it. The Life Kit audience knows this well. After a podcast episode on the subject, many messaged Life Kit's Malaka Gharib with useful techniques to hunt down lost objects. Here's a roundup of advice she was sent:
- π For a lost wallet: Look up your last transaction and then go to the last place you spent money to search.
- π Using a flashlight can help. The beam can force you to focus on a limited area at a time.
- π If you start cleaning up and putting things back into their proper place, you might find your missing item.
- π Look carefully in the most obvious area. You could be overlooking it.
See the full list of tips and tricks here.
3 things to know before you go
- A team of researchers discovered that ketamine can alter a zebrafish's brain circuit to persevere in adversity. That may help explain how the drug helps people with depression.
- William H. Dorsey's previously lost untitled watercolor, representing 19th-century Black wealth and high culture in Philadelphia, can now be viewed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The painting was found at a thrift store. (via WHYY)
- McDonald's says it's changing some inclusion standards and will no longer set "aspirational representation goals." The restaurant chain is the latest large company to roll back some of its diversity practices.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
Copyright 2025 NPR
