Assad flees as Syrian rebels take management
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ceded power and fled the country Sunday after insurgent forces captured the capital, Damascus, following a speedy 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’s nervousness concerning 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, stated in a put up 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 stated 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 exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, he additionally stated 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 stated he would go away selections to Pam Bondi, whom he has stated he’ll nominate for legal professional common, about whether or not to analyze particular counsel Jack Smith, who introduced two separate federal circumstances towards Trump that had been dropped after the election.
“I’m not wanting to return into the previous,” Trump stated when requested he was whether or not he would go after outgoing President Joe Biden. “I’m trying to make our nation profitable. Retribution shall be by success.”
Throughout the interview, he mentioned the key coverage priorities for his second time period and made several false, misleading or exaggerated claims alongside the way in which.
Watch the interview or read the full transcript here.
More interview protection:
- Trump says RFK Jr. will examine the discredited link between vaccines and autism.
- Trump says he won’t try to remove Fed chief Jerome Powell.
- Trump vows main immigration modifications, including ending birthright citizenship, discovering a approach to hold Dreamers within the U.S. and beginning mass deportations.
Politics in short
Like “Game of Thrones”: Trump has moved rapidly to determine high officers for his subsequent administration, however skipping careful vetting has led to surprise controversies and surprising bumps for a few of his picks.
Lone Star allies: Texas is preparing to work closely with the Trump administration on immigration in a reversal of its stance beneath 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 online show 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 lady in 2000 together with Sean Combs
Jay-Z, the star rapper and entrepreneur whose actual identify is Shawn Carter, was accused in a lawsuit on Sunday of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 allegedly together with Sean “Diddy” Combs. The nameless accuser, recognized solely as “Jane Doe,” stated 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 legal grievance, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such against the law towards a minor must be locked away, would you not agree?” Carter stated in an announcement to NBC News.
Search for CEO killer enters fifth day
New York police launched two new pictures of an individual being sought within the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The NYPD has stated 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 accustomed to the probe stated. Here is a detailed timeline of his known movements.
A mixed $60,000 in reward cash is being provided by the FBI, Crime Stoppers and the NYPD for info resulting in the gunman’s arrest.
The bells ring once more as Notre Dame reopens
Notre Dame reopened Saturday with a grand ceremony, five years after a fire nearly destroyed France’s famed landmark.
Foreign dignitaries in attendance included President-elect Donald Trump, first woman 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 employees painstakingly restored the cathedral to its former glory.
“It has been a fully lovely factor to witness and be part of,” stated a carpenter from Massachusetts who labored on the restoration. “Visitors shall be fully blown away by simply how lovely 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 regulation failed Saturday after lawmakers from his party 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 quick nationally televised handle, saying he regrets inflicting “nervousness and inconvenience to the general public.” The six-hour declaration ignited public anger towards him and requires his removing from workplace.
“I cannot evade the authorized and political accountability concerning this declaration of martial regulation,” Yoon continued.
Opposition lawmakers had stated that if the impeachment movement didn’t cross, they might come again to it Wednesday.
End of an Era(s)
Tears shall be ricocheting as Taylor Swift’s record-shattering world tour draws to a close Sunday evening with a ultimate 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 top of its opening weekend.
In case you missed it
- The Food and Drug Administration could lastly move to ban artificial red food dye, a coloring present in drinks, snacks, cereals and candies.
- The 12-team College Football Playoff, which can finally 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 lady is in essential situation after they fell through ice at a park Saturday in Albany, New York.
- Steve Mensch, president and common supervisor of Tyler Perry Studios, was killed when a single-engine plane he was piloting crashed Friday evening in Florida.
- Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., stated Saturday that she and her household had been targeted by a bomb threat. A police spokesperson stated it “seems to be one among a number of unfounded threats towards political figures throughout the nation.”
- Seven folks had been arrested and charged in reference to allegations of a social media drug ring at Rutgers University, uncovered by a sweeping narcotics operation referred to as “Operation RU Pharm.”
- A federal decide permitted a landmark class action settlement between Aetna and same-sex couples in New York who alleged the insurance coverage big discriminated towards LGBTQ clients looking for fertility therapy.
- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a staple of the vacation season, however new data shows Mariah Carey’s classic song would not have the maintain on October and November it as soon as did.
