Assad flees as Syrian rebels take management
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ceded energy and fled the nation Sunday after insurgent forces captured the capital, Damascus, following a fast advance throughout the nation. Russian state media later reported that Assad arrived in Moscow, the place he’s looking for asylum.
Celebrations broke out throughout Syria over the weekend, with statues depicting his father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, pulled down from their pedestals.
But within the West, there may be nervousness in regards to the insurgent Islamist group that led the assault, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has historic ties to Al Qaeda and is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and the United Nations. It has lately appeared to surrender extra extremist components.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, HTS’ senior commander, mentioned in a publish on WhatsApp: “To the displaced folks world wide, Free Syria awaits you.”
President Joe Biden lauded the regime’s fall Sunday, saying that is “a second of historic alternative for the long-suffering folks of Syria to construct a greater future for his or her proud nation.” He outlined continued U.S. involvement in Syria, together with within the transition course of led by the U.N.
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President-elect Trump sits down for his first postelection broadcast interview
President-elect Donald Trump mentioned he’s trying to pardon supporters concerned within the assaults on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as quickly as his first day in workplace, saying these incarcerated are “residing in hell.”
In an unique interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, he additionally mentioned that he won’t search to show the Justice Department on his political foes and that some members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 assault “ought to go to jail.”
Trump mentioned he would depart choices to Pam Bondi, whom he has mentioned he’ll nominate for legal professional normal, about whether or not to research particular counsel Jack Smith, who introduced two separate federal circumstances towards Trump that have been dropped after the election.
“I’m not wanting to return into the previous,” Trump mentioned when requested he was whether or not he would go after outgoing President Joe Biden. “I’m trying to make our nation profitable. Retribution will likely be by way of success.”
Throughout the interview, he mentioned the foremost coverage priorities for his second time period and made a number of false, deceptive or exaggerated claims alongside the best way.
Watch the interview or learn the complete transcript right here.
More interview protection:
- Trump says RFK Jr. will examine the discredited hyperlink between vaccines and autism.
- Trump says he received’t attempt to take away Fed chief Jerome Powell.
- Trump vows main immigration modifications, together with ending birthright citizenship, discovering a method to preserve Dreamers within the U.S. and beginning mass deportations.
Politics in short
Like “Game of Thrones”: Trump has moved rapidly to determine prime officers for his subsequent administration, however skipping cautious vetting has led to shock controversies and surprising bumps for a few of his picks.
Lone Star allies: Texas is making ready to work carefully with the Trump administration on immigration in a reversal of its stance underneath Biden, with work underway to seek out websites that would help deportation efforts.
45 hours in Kash’s Corner: NBC News reviewed 45 hours of an on-line present co-hosted by Kash Patel, Trump’s decide to steer the FBI, throughout which he spun unfounded claims involving authorities officers’ and the media’s aiming to rig elections, silence conservatives and undermine Trump’s re-election.
Jay-Z accused in a lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old woman in 2000 together with Sean Combs
Jay-Z, the star rapper and entrepreneur whose actual title is Shawn Carter, was accused in a lawsuit on Sunday of raping a 13-year-old woman in 2000 allegedly together with Sean “Diddy” Combs. The nameless accuser, recognized solely as “Jane Doe,” mentioned the assault occurred after she was pushed to an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty.
The lawsuit was initially filed in October within the Southern District of New York, itemizing Combs as a defendant. It was refiled Sunday to incorporate Carter.
“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a prison grievance, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a criminal offense towards a minor ought to be locked away, would you not agree?” Carter mentioned in an announcement to NBC News.
Search for CEO killer enters fifth day
New York police launched two new images of an individual being sought within the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The NYPD has mentioned investigators have been in a position to observe a few of his actions by taxi because the investigation and the manhunt proceed. There was nonetheless no identification of the particular person of curiosity as of Saturday, three sources acquainted with the probe mentioned. Here is an in depth timeline of his identified actions.
A mixed $60,000 in reward cash is being provided by the FBI, Crime Stoppers and the NYPD for data resulting in the gunman’s arrest.
The bells ring once more as Notre Dame reopens
Notre Dame reopened Saturday with a grand ceremony, 5 years after a fireplace practically destroyed France’s famed landmark.
Foreign dignitaries in attendance included President-elect Donald Trump, first girl Jill Biden, Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Zelenskyy and Trump earlier than the ceremony.
Hundreds flocked to Notre Dame’s first Sunday Mass to mark its rebirth and witness the consecration of its altar. Score of staff painstakingly restored the cathedral to its former glory.
“It has been a fully stunning factor to witness and be part of,” mentioned a carpenter from Massachusetts who labored on the restoration. “Visitors will likely be fully blown away by simply how stunning it’s inside.”
South Korean president’s impeachment fails
The effort to question South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial legislation failed Saturday after lawmakers from his occasion left parliament on masse, leaving the opposition eight votes in need of the two-thirds majority wanted for the impeachment movement to succeed.
Earlier Saturday, Yoon apologized for his actions in a short nationally televised handle, saying he regrets inflicting “anxiousness and inconvenience to the general public.” The six-hour declaration ignited public anger towards him and requires his elimination from workplace.
“I cannot evade the authorized and political accountability relating to this declaration of martial legislation,” Yoon continued.
Opposition lawmakers had mentioned that if the impeachment movement didn’t move, they might come again to it Wednesday.
End of an Era(s)
Tears will likely be ricocheting as Taylor Swift’s record-shattering world tour attracts to a detailed Sunday evening with a last cease in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Since it kicked off in March 2023, the Eras Tour has spanned 149 reveals in 53 cities world wide, attracting greater than 10 million followers.
The Federal Reserve has credited the tour with boosting the U.S. economic system by fueling tourism, whereas a filmed model of the live performance, launched in October, grew to become the highest-grossing home live performance movie ever by the tip of its opening weekend.
In case you missed it
- The Food and Drug Administration could lastly transfer to ban synthetic pink meals dye, a coloring present in drinks, snacks, cereals and candies.
- The 12-team College Football Playoff, which is able to ultimately crown a nationwide champion, was unveiled Sunday, with top-seeded Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State incomes the highest 4 seeds and first-round byes within the bracket.
- A 12-year-old boy is useless and an 11-year-old woman is in essential situation after they fell by way of ice at a park Saturday in Albany, New York.
- Steve Mensch, president and normal supervisor of Tyler Perry Studios, was killed when a single-engine aircraft he was piloting crashed Friday evening in Florida.
- Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., mentioned Saturday that she and her household had been focused by a bomb risk. A police spokesperson mentioned it “seems to be one in all a number of unfounded threats towards political figures throughout the nation.”
- Seven folks have been arrested and charged in reference to allegations of a social media drug ring at Rutgers University, uncovered by a sweeping narcotics operation generally known as “Operation RU Pharm.”
- A federal decide authorized a landmark class motion settlement between Aetna and same-sex {couples} in New York who alleged the insurance coverage big discriminated towards LGBTQ clients looking for fertility remedy.
- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a staple of the vacation season, however new information reveals Mariah Carey’s traditional tune does not have the maintain on October and November it as soon as did.