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National

President-elect Trump sat for his first network interview Sunday since winning the 2024 election — where he reaffirmed his intention to pardon Jan. 6 defendants, end birthright citizenship and implement his sweeping deportation plans. 

Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, December 8.

President-elect Trump speaks during an interview aired Sunday with NBC's "Meet the Press."

President-elect Trump speaks during an interview aired Dec. 8 with NBC's "Meet the Press."

President-elect Trump dismissed the idea of pardoning himself in a "Meet the Press" interview, saying he didn't need to do it as he's winning "almost all" of his legal cases.

Driving the news: Pardons have become a hot topic amid reporting that President Biden might issue them pre-emptively for individuals who have drawn the ire of Trump and his allies, including former Rep. Liz Cheney, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

The idea for Trump to pardon himself was also floated during his previous presidential term, something which the president-elect said in the pre-taped interview that he "didn't want to do."

Trump said he had the option to pardon himself, but a "very specific lawyer" in his administration advised him that doing so would imply guilt. "I could have saved myself a lot of legal fees," Trump said about a pardon.

What they're saying: Trump said he never considered if Biden would offer him a pardon, but added that he didn't think the president would do it.

"He's the one that started this whole thing," Trump said. "He got the Justice Department to go after me."

Trump also accused the Justice Department of running the two cases where he's facing violations of state laws — his hush-money case in New York and the election interference case in Georgia.

Read the full transcript of Trump's "Meet the Press" interview.

Rep. Mike Turner during an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation."

House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) during a Dec. 8 interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation."

The upheaval of leadership in Syria has thrust the region and several world powers into an unexpected period of uncertainty. 

The big picture: 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria, where they have been conducting counterterrorism operations against ISIS.

The U.S. has condemned Assad's brutal regime, which has been supported by Iran, Russia and Hezbollah. But Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has also been labeled a terrorist by the U.S.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he expects there will be an "assessment as to whether or not the (U.S.) troops should remain" in Syria.

"This is going to be an area that's going to be volatile and in transition," he said, pointing to Russian bases in the region that are both at risk for Russia in the face of the rebel offensive and a lingering threat to the Syrian people.

Zoom out: Trump began his withdrawal of U.S. troops from Northern Syria in 2019, abandoning Kurdish partners in the region and earning him condemnation from fellow Republicans (including Marco Rubio, who he's tapped to serve as his secretary of state).

"He [Trump] does absolutely support the Kurds," Turner said Sunday, predicting the president-elect is "going to look for a diplomatic solution."

Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, the former commander of CENTCOM, told ABC's Martha Raddatz Sunday he thinks there is "less danger" in the region for U.S. troops at the present moment, as Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are on their "back heels."

But he noted that while the fall of Assad leaves U.S. enemies without a partner and is "bad news for them," it's not obvious "who it's good news for."

He continued: "I'm not sure it's ultimately going to be good news for the people of Syria .... we could have an Islamic state arise there, which will have profound negative implications across the region."

Yes, but: While the future is murky, Syrians and others have rejoiced at the downfall of a regime that gassed its people and clung to power over more than a decade of civil war.

Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, said on "Face the Nation" he is feeling "an indescribable feeling of happiness" at Assad's defeat. 

Asked what comes next as rebels take over political prisons, Moustafa told Brennan the "first thing that we are working really hard and ... all the rebel factions are working really hard to do is find Austin Tice."

Tice, an American journalist who has been missing in Syria for 12 years, is believed to be alive, President Biden told reporters Sunday.

3. Congress wants answers on assassination attempts

Reps. Jason Crow and Mike Kelly speak during a prerecorded interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan.

Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) speak during a prerecorded interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), the ranking member on the bipartisan Trump Assassination Attempt Task Force, said in an interview aired Sunday that the Justice Department and FBI's lack of transparency with Congress over the two attempted assassinations of then-candidate Trump is "an unacceptable position."

Catch up quick: The Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting that left one rally-goer dead sparked a series of investigations into the security failures that day, eventually leading to a change of Secret Service leadership. 

But Crow and others still have questions: "Why did the shooter do this? What drove him to do it? Was he a lone wolf shooter? Did he have associates or affiliates? What was his motivation? How was he radicalized?"

He said the agencies' safeguarding of information differs from what he's encountered in his past committee work.

"You can't tell me there isn't a way to put us into a secure facility and get us information about an ongoing criminal investigation when I regularly am receiving briefs on what our spies and our military special operators are doing regularly around the world," he said.

Trump sticks by tariffs, but no guarantees on inflation

Trump suggests deporting families with mixed immigration status

Takeaways from Trump's "Meet the Press" interview

Sunday Snapshot: Trump doesn't need a pardon

President-elect Trump and NBC's Kristen Welker speak.

Kristen Welker Interviews President-elect Trump. Photo: Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images

2020 election

Donald Trump

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

President Biden told reporters Sunday that the U.S. believes American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for 12 years, is alive and that "we think we can get him back."

State of play: The collapse of the Assad regime and the emptying of political prisons in Syria has raised new hope for the release of Tice, a freelance journalist who was abducted while reporting on the civil war in 2012.

"We remain committed to returning him to his family," Biden said, though he cautioned that the U.S. does not have "direct evidence" of his condition.

"We are reaching out to all contacts in government and the region. We encourage everyone to help us in our search for Austin. As a family, we are all in D.C. working for his fast and safe return," the Tice family told Axios in a statement.

Driving the news: Thousands of prisoners have poured out onto the streets of Damascus and other cities as Syrian rebels declared the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, who oversaw one of the most brutal police states in the world.

Among the facilities being emptied is the notorious Sednaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus — known as the "human slaughterhouse" for its use of torture and mass hangings.

Countless political prisoners and Syrians disappeared into the country's vast and shadowy detention system over the Assad family's five-decade rule. Many are now being reunited with their families.

Tice's mother, Debra, had said at a press conference in D.C. Friday that she believes her son is alive, citing a "significant source" that has been "vetted all over our government."

Debra Tice did not identify the source, but said she has "no doubt" that Austin is alive and being "treated well." The family met with Biden administration officials earlier in the day.

Tice's father, Marc, said the family has "fielded a lot of false propositions and statements" about Tice's whereabouts and condition over the years — but that this is "very different."

Flashback: Tice, a Marine Corps veteran and one of the few American journalists inside Syria, was abducted while reporting on the country's civil war on Aug. 12, 2012. 

A month later, a video was released showing a blindfolded Tice being held by armed and masked men. He was 31 at the time of his disappearance.

On the 10th anniversary of Tice's captivity, President Biden said in a statement that "we know with certainty that he has been held by the Government of Syria."

The Assad regime — which collapsed Sunday as Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus — has never acknowledged Tice's detention.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from President Biden.

Biden says U.S. government believes Austin Tice is alive in Syria

Thousands of prisoners have poured out onto the streets of Syria as Assad's regime collapsed.

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled to Moscow and has been granted political asylum along with his family, a Kremlin official told the Russian media.

Why it matters: Russia has been a key ally of the Assad regime for decades.

Ten days ago, when the rebels launched their surprise attack, Assad was in Moscow for a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The ousted president's wife, Asma al-Assad, has been staying in Russia for medical treatment over the last few weeks, Israeli officials said.

Behind the scenes: Israeli and U.S. officials said that Assad left his palace in Damascus around midnight Saturday and flew to the Russian air base in Khmeimim in western Syria, near the coastal city of Latakia.

Israeli and U.S. officials said that Assad flew from there to Moscow a few hours later.

What they are saying: On Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Assad had left Syria, but declined to confirm he was in Russia.  

The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed Assad decided to resign from the presidency and gave instructions to the Syrian Prime Minister for a peaceful transition of power.

Kremlin officials told Russian media that Russia is in touch with the rebels who have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic facilities in Syria. 

Syria's Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, Kremlin says

The ousted Syrian president and his family have been granted political asylum.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the Signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria on May 03, 2023 in Damascus, Syria. (Photo by Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images)

Russia

The Israeli military captured territory on the Syrian side of the border in the Golan Heights on Sunday after the Assad regime collapsed, the IDF said in a statement. 

Why it matters: This is the first time Israel has captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973. 

Israel notified the U.S. in advance about its operation to take control of the buffer zone on the border with Syria and several other key locations on the Syrian side of the border, an Israeli official told me.

Israel told the Biden administration this is a temporary move that will last a few days to a few weeks, until the security situation along the border stabilizes, Israeli and U.S. officials said. 

Flashback: The 1974 separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria created a buffer zone on the border in the Golan Heights. 

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has been deployed on both sides of the buffer zone since then. 

Driving the news: Israeli and U.S. officials said that rebel groups attacked at least four UNDOF positions on the Syrian side of the buffer zone in recent days. 

The IDF helped the UN Observer Force to repel the attacks. 

In recent days, Israel has conveyed messages to several rebel groups in Syria, including HTS, warning them that if they move close to the border in a way that violates the Israeli-Syrian truce agreement, the IDF will take action, two Israeli officials said.

State of play: The IDF also took control over the strategic Syrian military outpost on Mount Hermon - the highest point on the border between the countries, Israeli officials said. 

Those in Syrian villages and towns along the border were asked by the IDF to stay in their homes until further notice as it conducted dozens of air strikes against Syrian military bases, facilities and weapon depots.

Israeli officials said the strikes targeted Syrian army air defense systems, artillery batteries and facilities that were connected in the past to Syria's chemical weapons program. 

"We have a responsibility to make sure strategic weapon system doesn't fall into the wrong hands," an Israeli official said. 

Israeli officials said the deployment of Israeli forces on the Syrian side of the border is temporary and was done to make sure there is no attempt to attack Israel from the Syrian side.

The Israeli official said the aim is to stabilize the situation until the intentions of the new key players in Syria become clearer.  

"We are not looking to permanently occupy more parts of Syria," an Israeli official said.  

What they are saying: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Israel Katz visited the border on Sunday and were briefed by IDF commanders. 

Netanyahu said the collapse of the Assad regime offers a great opportunity and claimed it was "the direct result" of Israel's action against Hezbollah and Iran.

"We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that's our desire", he said. 

Israel captures Syrian territory after Assad regime collapse

Israel told the Biden administration this is a temporary move that will last a few days to a few weeks.

Israeli tanks take position on the border with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 8, 2024.

Israeli tanks take position on the border with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

China

Israel

A bar chart that displays the combined name, image, and likeness (NIL) valuation and roster value of college football players as of Dec. 8. Shedeur Sanders leads at $6.2 million, followed by Travis Hunter at $5.1 million. Notable values include Arch Manning at $5 million and Jalen Milroe at $2.7 million.

College football NIL and roster value rankings

Data: On3 NIL Valuations; Note: On3 actively updates its valuations; Chart: Axios Visuals

Fans across the country learned Sunday which teams are making up the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff bracket.

The big picture: Beyond an updated playoff structure, a new era of collegiate and high school athletics is here. Name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have remolded the NCAA's competitive landscape in just a few short years.

Who's leading the NIL game as the College Football Playoff field is set

Beyond an updated playoff structure, a new era of collegiate and high school athletics is here.

Axios

Sunday's top stories

Sunday Snapshot: Trump doesn't need a pardon

Biden says U.S. government believes Austin Tice is alive in Syria

Syria's Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, Kremlin says

Israel captures Syrian territory after Assad regime collapse

Who's leading the NIL game as the College Football Playoff field is set

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Assad regime collapses as Syrian rebels seize control of Damascus