The White House said Tuesday the drones spotted flying over New Jersey late last year were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration for “research and various other reasons.” Before taking questions at her first news briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced she had an update on the drones to relay “directly” from recently sworn in President Donald Trump. “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons, Trump claims, Musk disagrees.