‘Apprehensive and fearful’: Federal workers await a dismantling under Trump President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to “dismantle government bureaucracy,” enlisting the help of billionaires to achieve his goals. Federal workers with memories of Trump’s first term are scared. Read more on NPR

Biden and Xi will meet on Saturday, the 3rd and likely final time during Biden’s term This is likely to be their final meeting before President Biden leaves office. Biden sees it as a chance to reflect on the “tough relationship” between the two countries, an official said. Read more on NPR

Republicans choose John Thune as next Senate majority leader Senate Republicans have chosen Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as the next party leader, launching a new era for the GOP after nearly two decades with Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leading the party in the Senate. Read more on NPR

From high tariffs to isolation, what a 2nd Trump term might mean for foreign policy With wars raging around the world and high tariffs looming, Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes says Trump’s agenda may be chaotic — but she remains optimistic about possible good elements. Read more on NPR

Watch Live: Experts testify at UFO hearing in Congress A similar hearing last year brought extraordinary moments, including a retired intelligence officer alleging that the U.S. government has recovered nonhuman “biologics” from crash sites. Read more on NPR

Small fossil has big implications for bird brain evolution Birds descended from the dinosaurs, but researchers have known relatively little about how the bird’s brain took shape over millions of years. A new fossil sheds light on that mystery. Read more on NPR

Trump would like to bring back mental institutions, but experts are skeptical Permanent tent cities are another idea Trump has for dealing with people who are unhoused. Sequestering people with mental illness or substance abuse in one place has been tried, an expert says, and “it turns into hell on earth.” Read more on NPR

Analyzing Trump’s cabinet picks so far. And, Biden’s intimate view of the White House President-elect Donald Trump has made a flurry of announcements about key cabinet members, at least one of which has come as a shock. And, President Biden provides an intimate view of the White House. Read more on NPR

Pakistan’s smog is visible from space. This activist is ‘frustrated’ but won’t give up The government in Lahore has closed schools and public spaces and shut down factories. Environmental lawyer Ahmad Rafay Alam shares his perspective: “frustrated” but still fighting. Read more on NPR

What happens when a vaccine skeptic leads health policy? Ask Florida Among the names being floated to head the Department of Health and Human Services are RFK Jr. and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. Both are vaccine skeptics, which worries pediatricians. Read more on NPR