Leila Fadal

Six of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees face confirmation hearings today.

NPR political correspondent Susan Davis joins us now to discuss. Hey, Sue. Hey, Leila. So before we get into hearings that are ahead today, what were the big takeaways from yesterday's hearing with Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth?

It's interesting because he's seen as... Among the more controversial Trump picks, given his past comments on things like women serving in combat and the allegation of sexual assault, which he's denied. What did his hearing show about the path to confirmation for Trump's nominees? Will they be easy, as Senator Barrasso is calling for?

OK, and which nominees could get a little more pushback from senators?

Now, it's rare for the Senate to not confirm presidential picks. Do you expect all these nominees to get a green light in the end?

And anti-corruption authorities have arrested South Korea's president. Officials say President Yoon Song-yol is being detained for questioning the historic arrest of a sitting president come six weeks after Yoon's failed attempt to declare martial law. Stay with us. We've got the news. You need to start your day. Bye.

That's NPR political correspondent Susan Davis. Thank you so much. You're welcome. The winds that stoked two massive wildfires in Los Angeles last week have been calmer since yesterday.

Good morning, Martin.

So does it look like Los Angeles is catching a break here?

And what about the neighborhoods that have already burned? Are those areas still off limits?

is looting something that's happening?

Okay, so assuming Los Angeles gets through today's red flag warning without major new fires, what's in store for the next few days?

South Korean police today arrested the country's impeached president, Yoon Sang-yeol, after a standoff with his security detail.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn was outside the president's residence this morning, and he joins me now from Seoul. Hi, Anthony.

So what's happening at the president's home?

That's good to hear. You were talking to protesters out there. What'd they say?

I was really worried about that situation. I was worried that I might get shot.

You know, we mentioned how unprecedented this is, and police did attempt to arrest Yoon before, but his security detail blocked them. What was different this time?

Wow, that's quite dramatic. What's the political significance of this arrest?

NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Seoul. Thank you so much, Anthony.

And that's Up First for Wednesday, January 15th. I'm Layla Faldin.

Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rylan Barton, Jason Breslow, Gigi Dubon, Ali Schweitzer, and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, Iman Mahani, and Lily Quiroz. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Join us again tomorrow. We'll be right back.