Who’s in charge of protecting the country right now?

A lot of people are talking about President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud today, and for good reason, but he made another move that’s worth your attention. The president fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper via tweet, and there could be more personnel changes on the way at the FBI and CIA. Today, we’ll talk about these moves and what they mean for national security at the end of the Trump administration. Plus: new mask mandates, new revelations about Alexander Hamilton and a video that made us all cry.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today. If these links don’t work for you, you can also find them on our episode page at makemesmart.org:

Trump Fires Mark Esper, Defense Secretary Who Opposed Use of Troops on U.S. Streets” from The New York Times

Pritzker Again Hints at Possibility of Another Stay-at-Home Order” from NBC5 Chicago

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declares state of emergency, mandates masks to fight COVID” from ABC News

Here’s who’s on President-elect Biden’s newly formed Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board” from CNN

Alexander Hamilton, Enslaver? New Research Says Yes” from The New York Times

Former Ballerina with Alzheimer’s Recreates Her Swan Lake Choreography” from Kottke

TD Bank says it will not finance oil and gas activities in the Arctic” from Reuters

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