Why universities want international students to return before Inauguration Day. And, the last NPR news quiz of the year

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🎧 Syria allowed Iran to set up a critical land bridge to Lebanon to funnel weapons to Hezbollah for many years, NPR’s Jackie Northam tells Up First. With the antigovernment rebels in control of Syria, the strategic route is most likely off-limits to Iran, impacting its long-term goals in the region. Iran had two primary agendas: to destroy Israel as a Jewish state and to counter any influence the U.S. has in the Middle East. Iran’s regime may also be worried about a threat of upheaval from its population as they see what is happening in Syria, Northam says.

🎧 Kirk Carapezza from NPR network station GBH says he believes this decision is being made as school administrators and international students revisit Trump’s track record. During his first term, new foreign student enrollment dropped by 12%. Trump implemented a travel ban targeting majority-Muslim countries and briefly prohibited international students from remaining in the U.S. if they took only online classes during the pandemic. Trump is now promising stricter policies, but there are no concrete proposals. Carapezza says that behind closed doors, administrators and students are anxious. 

🎧 The FBI and other federal agencies say there is an active investigation into the matter, Giulia Heyward of NPR network station WNYC says. The federal government is sending specialized radar technology to local police departments in the state to help determine what is happening. Local New Jersey lawmakers have expressed concern over how safe people really are, a contrast to federal and state officials who have said residents should remain calm and the drones pose no threats. The drones are starting to pop up in other states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Connecticut.