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.
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.
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.
Syrian rebel groups seized control of Damascus on Sunday and declared the country to be "free," following the capture of several major cities in a lightning offensive over the past several weeks.
Why it matters: The rebels' move into Damascus with no meaningful resistance is proof of the de facto collapse of the Assad regime, which has clung to power through 14 years of civil war.
Federal probes into alleged civil rights abuses by a dozen cities' police departments haven't led to any reform agreements during the Biden administration — and are unlikely to do so in Donald Trump's second term.
Why it matters: The investigations by President Biden's Justice Department came in response to allegations of systemic, unconstitutional misconduct by the police departments, such as using excessive force and conducting illegal traffic stops.
President-elect Trump held a trilateral meeting on Saturday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed the war in Ukraine and ways to end it.
Why it matters: This is the first time Trump has met with Zelensky since the president-elect's victory in the election.
An Axios review of a new National Archives portal found just three digitized unsolved cases of lynchings, racial violence and murders of Black Americans, spawning several decades.
The big picture: The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection portal is the federal agency's latest attempt to index civil rights violations and provide a subject guide, part of an aim spelled out by law to bring justice to the victims in those cases.
Several different Syrian rebel factions were closing in on Damascus Saturday as President Bashar al-Assad's forces continued to collapse around the country.
Why it matters: Rapid advances by the rebels over the last 24 hours have significantly increased the chances of the Assad regime collapsing, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me — a stunning development after 14 years of civil war.
The U.S. government has approved the export of advanced AI chips to a Microsoft-operated facility in the UAE as part of the company's highly-scrutinized partnership with Emirati AI firm G42, two sources familiar with the deal told Axios.
Why it matters: The agreement between the tech giants is part of a U.S. effort to elbow China out of the UAE's rapidly expanding tech industry and disperse U.S.-developed AI technology around the world to counter China's Digital Silk Road.
President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided being impeached on Saturday when his ruling People Power Party boycotted a vote in the South Korean National Assembly four days after his surprise martial law declaration sparked deep constitutional concerns.
The big picture: With the impeachment vote tabled until next week, Yoon will for now, continue his already deeply unpopular political career, cast further into controversy by his swiftly overturned, emergency martial law decree, per Yonhap News Agency.
President-elect Trump is threatening to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians when he takes office in January, echoing actions he tried to take during his first term.
Why it matters: Roughly 834,000 immigrants from 16 countries who entered the U.S. without authorization or overstayed visas are shielded from deportation and can legally work here because of TPS. Thousands more are eligible.
