generation. because grit and vision working in lockstep puts you on the path to your fullto

together. that's what muesli did for me i'm elizabeth wagmeister in los angeles, and this is cnn this is cnn breaking news. >> you are in the cnn newsroom, and i'm jessica dean in new york. the brutal half century assad family regime in syria is over rebels have taken hold of the capital of damascus, one of several major cities. they took control of in a lightning advance. bashar al-assad fled the presidential palace that residence, a symbol of his ruthless reign, has now been burned and ransacked. at this moment, assad and his family are in moscow. after being granted asylum in russia. that's according to a source. and the entire world now waits to see what happens next in

syria. cnn's chief international security correspondent, nick paton walsh has more on assaults. assad's fall from power. reporter after decades of savage horrific rule over in a matter of days thousands of syrians celebrated in the streets of damascus after rebel forces advanced on the capital early sunday morning declaring it free of president bashar al-assad we announced to you from the syrian news channel the victory of the great syrian revolution, after 13 years of patience and sacrifice, we won the bet and toppled the criminal assad regime. >> facing crumbling resistance from regime forces, rebels launched a stunning lightning offensive. russia undermining its long term ally by announcing he had fled the country and was granted asylum in moscow. hours of jubilation followed as civilians and rebels entered the presidential palace, looting furniture with children running about. a sign of how every day the suffering

he inflicted had been. some even touring the presidential kitchen in a land where starvation was once a weapon what would you like? one woman says while filming. ah, people are hungry. take whatever you want. traces of assad were being dismantled across the country this statue of the man who had children gassed in a ghouta basement 11 years ago, toppled in the eastern city of tartus. his image torn down from buildings in damascus. and on top of the gates of homs city center. symbolically, where protesters tore apart his image more than a decade ago in a scene that defined the civil war's early days. inspired by the seismic shifts of the arab spring syrians rose up in 2011, demanding democracy but were met with live rounds and eventually jet planes chemical weapons and mass executions and torture. hundreds of thousands were killed millions displaced as rebels swept through the capital. on sunday, images surfaced of prisoners being

released from the notorious saydnaya prison from which so few emerged. dubbed the human slaughterhouse by amnesty international, the militant figure leading this rebel offensive is abu mohammad al-jolani seen here prostrating in prayer upon entering damascus once affiliated with al qaeda. jilani has been suggesting he has matured from his extremist roots though there are deep concerns about what kind of new syria may now emerge. at one of the oldest mosques in the world, in damascus, he was received with applause and jeers as he hailed total victory this victory, my brothers, is a victory for the entire islamic nation. >> this new triumph, my brothers, marks a new chapter in the history of the region. >> without doubt a new chapter, but with the joy of change comes anxiety at the future, and surely a reckoning of sorts for the decades of horror past that could mire the hope of the

days ahead that was nick paton walsh reporting. >> thank you so much for that and tonight, cnn is getting a rare look inside damascus. our clarissa ward, the first western journalist to report from syria since bashar al-assad's fall, takes us through the city just hours after he fled with his family. she spoke with wolf blitzer shortly after arriving in the syrian capital. here's that exchange well wolf, i have to say the moment is just utterly surreal for those of us who have been covering this story for more than 14 years. >> it never seemed possible that it would end like this. i want to say that the streets are incredibly calm, incredibly quiet, but you can see just behind me a few cars have been going through the street. there's actually a curfew in place from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. that is a security measure. of course, there has been some

looting in damascus earlier on, some chaotic scenes. and so as a precaution, as we saw in aleppo, they have put this curfew into place. i want to show you though, wolf, a clip of the moment that we crossed the border because this is a border that i crossed many times when i used to live in lebanon, when i used to cover syria at the very, very beginning of the uprising and the contrast from what it was and what we experienced tonight is just startling. so take a look at this. >> so we are just crossing now into syria. it's astonishing to see. >> it's absolutely empty. the border points before there would have been soldiers that would have been border guards. >> now there is absolutely nobody from the syrian regime friendly people waving us through. and honestly, the last time i came down this road was back in 2011. i was leaving syria. i had been undercover in

damascus, posing as a tourist, went back into lebanon, and i never imagined this moment would come when we would be driving through this border with no one from the regime to stop us the scene at that border crossing, as we pass through it again, it was already dark, already past curfew. >> very very quiet and just nothing like we've seen it before. the only real evidence we saw wolf of any struggle to finally take damascus, to finally ouster bashar al-assad was a tank in the road below a torn poster of president or i should say, former president bashar al-assad. and wolf, my cameraman, scott mcwhinnie, just found this on the ground, literally, as we were listening to that clip. this is the old

flag of the syrian regime, which has two green stars, the rebel's flag has three green stars, but this one has now been literally we just found it on the floor. i guess a real moment where you see how much things have changed just in the past 24 hours in terms of the security situation on the streets, i would just add, we anticipated that we might see quite a lot of checkpoints as we came into the city. we didn't. we did see a group of men. they did not appear to be armed, but they asked us what we were doing, where we were going, and now that we are sort of ensconced in our place where we're staying for the night, we have seen a couple of patrols. i saw two men armed and i went up to them and asked them where they were from. they told me they were from idlib which is in the northern part of the country, and we saw a man on the street go up and wanted to pose for a

photograph of them, which i think sort of speaks to the moment. there is obviously jubilation, elation but also this sense of you can't compute. it was so fast, so breathtaking. it's astonishing. and i think people are taking some time to try to process the magnitude, keep in mind, wolf, we're talking about 53 years of assad rule, 53 years of a brutal police state. and i can't tell you how many syrians have said to me wolf, that, you know, we understand that there are concerns about the rebels and the makeup of the rebels and the fact that some of them are islamists and some of them are even jihadists, or have been affiliated with al qaeda or a proscribed organization. but let us have this moment let us celebrate the fact that this brutal dictator who has ruthlessly killed hundreds of thousands of people who has gassed children with lethal

nerve agents, who has locked people in prisons and tortured and beaten them to death, that he is finally gone and that whatever may come and whatever the anxiety, this is a new chapter for syria, wolf clarissa ward there. >> thank you so much for that reporting. joining us now is cnn military analyst retired lieutenant general mark hertling. and steven cook, senior fellow for middle eastern studies at the council on foreign relations and author of the end of ambition america's past, present and future in the middle east. good to have both of you here with us on such a momentous night here as we start to to see what will come next in syria. general, i do want to start with you. you were actually in baghdad when saddam hussein was found. you understand the complex nature of a regime change. what are you expecting in syria? as we look at the days and months ahead? >> yeah, that's a great question, jessica. >> and clarissa's report just now was very good because

anytime you have regime change, especially in regimes within the middle east, there's always going to be dynamics and chaos and dysfunction afterwards. i wasn't surprised that she didn't see border guards as she traveled from lebanon into syria, because the security forces have dissolved not only the syrian army, but all of their police forces. the border forces have likely just gone away so that is going to contribute to chaos. we saw the looting of the presidential palace in the film that you showed earlier. that's another indicator of what happens in regime change. and it will be the next few days that will tell the tale of what is going to happen next. you know, it was certainly a lightning quick offensive operation by the freedom fighters, by the rebels and it was a collapse of the syrian army as well as the syrian government. all of those things contribute. but, you know, tomorrow people are going to be looking for the trains to run on time after they get past the

celebration, they're going to look for government to function. and in a regime change initiative like this, it's going to take a long time to get a new government up operating and serving the people. >> yeah. and stephen, i kind of want to get your your take on all of that as well because i think to mark's point, clarissa's reporting is so is so right on in that this is such a moment for syrians to so many of them may be able to go home who have had to be refugees for many, many years. this was such a brutal regime and at the same time, these rebels have telegraphed they want to rule a certain way. they are still designated as a terror group by many nations, including the u.s., so it's complicated, it's nuanced it is indeed one of the most complicated situations that anyone will face. >> this is 53 years of the assad regime. >> those posters that were being pulled down were not just of bashar al-assad, but his

father hafez, who brought a repressive stability to syria after many decades of instability and coup and counter coup in syria now, now people are looking forward to a new era but what exactly will it look like abu mohammed al-jolani is a jihadist. >> he is someone who is affiliated with al qaeda. he's been telegraphing to the world that he and the group he leads, hayat tahrir al sham has changed. but how much have they changed? the reports coming out of idlib which they have administered for the better part of the last decade, are not necessarily encouraging. but of course, syrians want this moment to celebrate. i know syrian refugees who are holding their breath in washington, d.c. at this moment, hoping that everything turns out well. but they understand how difficult this is going to be. and, of course, for the united states, iraq casts a very, very long shadow. this was a regime change by syrians themselves. but those scenes of looting in damascus may not are not a

harbinger of of a constructive future. if they're allowed to continue and how hdfs handles this in abu mohammed al-jolani handles this power vacuum will tell us much about what the trajectory of post-assad syria will be. >> yes. and general, i want to play a clip from what president biden said earlier today about all of this. and then we can talk about it let's listen to what the president said some of the rebel groups that took down assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses. >> we've taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days and they're saying the right things now. but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions we'll assess not just their words, but their actions. >> general that's that's what they're going to have to go on at this point. >> yeah and i think stephen just brought up a very good

point before that clip jessica. and that has to do with the fact that there is such a dynamic of culture in all of these middle eastern countries. iraq iran, syria. but especially syria. you know, you have so many different cults, so many different religions. the hashemites, the alawites, the sunnis, the shia, the kurds are in the area. the the you know, you just have the potential for the kind of chaos that we saw in iraq when they began their own civil war between the sunni and the shia, when the samarra mosque was bombed. you could have that same kind of action what the what president biden was talking about specifically is when you have a terrorist group one of many gangs that are in the area, i'll call them gangs. there are different groups. they go by different names. this one, the the translation of hts actually stands for the liberation of the levant which not only includes syria but also lebanon and israel so you're talking about a group

that has wider perspectives, even though they right now are, you know bathing in their glory of liberating syria. what comes next? and will they take into consideration the rest of the population of syria? how do they pull it together? it's very difficult in these kinds of societies and stephen, as we wait and see how that unfolds it seems there's no denying that the middle east is a very different middle east today than it was even six months ago yeah, six months ago. >> the betting was that the assad regime had weathered the worst of it. and despite not controlling significant portions of the country, would come out at the end of this and remain in place and here we are with as general hertling points out, a terrorist organization that is now in power in damascus. i want to put a finer point on something that he said, um, if we look at syria's closest neighbor it's

lebanon, and syria has a very similar type of ethnic and religious structure as lebanon and lebanon has been a failed state for quite some time. and this is the real danger of what's happening. no one will ever miss the assad regime. and i think that's what president biden was getting at. no one would miss the assad regime. but there are very serious questions about the people who are now claim power in damascus all right. >> general mark hertling and steven cook, thanks to both of you. really appreciate it. >> thanks jessica. thank you. >> still ahead more of our breaking news coverage. the u.s. conducting more than 75 new airstrikes inside syria today. what we know about those targets, we're going to talk about that here in the cnn newsroom cnn heroes, an all star tribute meet and celebrate the honorees. >> then find out who will be hero of the year. plus, a special tribute to michael j. fox cnn heroes, an all star

tribute tonight at eight on cnn giving you got to give a little take a little giving without expecting something in return giving that's possible through the power of ai with intel. >> so those who receive can find the joy of giving back that's the glory of love this holiday season. >> kevin. catherine all aboard! >> the freedom unlimited. kevin. kevin. >> kevin kevin and kevin. i mean macaulay. take a very special trip to the mall where anything your little kid is born really? >> yeah. anything is cashback able. >> i'm sorry.

>> tis the season to cash back with chase freedom unlimited. >> how do you cashback? >> chase make more of what's yours? >> i still love to surf snowboard, and of course skate. so i take magnesium to support my muscle and bone health kunal's high absorption magnesium glycinate helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. kunal, the brand i trust. >> i knew that something was different. i knew it i called it and look what i found today. it's bluechew secret if you don't know. now you know you can get it on a subscription model so men can get delivered every month and for the ladies, let your man know. >> and you're welcome in advance hooray, hooray! >> lumi launched a spray. i'm doctor shannon clingman, the ob gyn that created lumi. >> and this spray will once again change the deodorant game. unlike other spray deodorants made with mostly alcohol, lumi water based empowered by mandelic acid gets so gentle that during clinical testing, not one woman experienced burning or

irritation on pitt's feet or privates. plus, it's quick drying. way to go, lumi. clinically proven to control odor for 72 hours. spray it up down, all around the truly touchless way to lumi. for the best deals, go to lumi dotcom. >> everyone's running to subway for three. all new spicy footlongs. wait. subway did what? that's right. they're bringing the heat with creamy sriracha jalapenos and all new ghost pepper bread. but hurry, these subs are only here for a limited time at harbor freight. >> we do business differently from the other guys we design and test our own tools and sell them directly to you. no middlemen, just quality tools you can trust at prices you'll love what is the dumbest thing you've ever wasted money on? >> i wish you'll love what is the dumbest thing you've ever wasted money on? >> i was paying for two netflix accounts over like three years. >> that's like, if

1400 thousand dollars. how'd you figure that out? >> i saw an app that shows you all the monthly subscriptions you have and how much you're paying. >> so what'd you do then? just like, call and cancel or. >> i have a phobia of making calls, so. absolutely, i did not do that. the app you can cancel through the app. >> what is the app called? >> rocket money i feel like new sunglasses, like a brand new pair of jeans. >> i feel like taking chances. >> i feel alive brand new oh oh to learn more about celebrity cruises latest offers getting older is part of the journey. >> even with worsening heart failure. >> so when i had carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain and shortness of breath, i thought

that's what getting older felt like thank goodness i called my cardiologist. >> i have atcm a rare but serious disease and getting diagnosed early made a difference if you have any of these warning signs, don't wait. ask your cardiologist about atkmb today new year's eve live with anderson and andy. >> live coverage starts at eight on cnn from moscow. >> according to a source the world is watching to see how the rebels seizure of power will impact the wider middle east. president biden saying the fall of the assad regime is a moment of both risk and opportunity for the people of syria. let's bring in priscila alvarez, who is at the white house, and katie lillis, who's at the pentagon for us. priscila let's go first to you and just how the white house is taking in all of this, this information. and obviously monitoring it quite closely. >> well senior administration officials acknowledged to reporters that this came abruptly. it was a swift fall, one that they again concede

they wouldn't have expected even just a week ago but here they are. and the president acknowledging that there is so much uncertainty, as you just said, he said in his remarks, it was, quote, a moment of historic opportunity, but also, quote, a moment of risk and uncertainty and while he laid out a roadmap, he also took a bit of a victory lap by acknowledging that u.s. policy played a role in the weakening of iran and russia that facilitated, in part the situation in syria but what he did make clear over the course of those remarks was, as you see there, that he would, that the u.s. will support syria's neighbors, lebanon jordan, iraq and israel, that he would speak to his counterparts and send senior administration officials to the region. who and when however, still unclear that he would prevent the resurgence of isis and that he would engage with syrian groups in this

transition, essentially encouraging them to speak out over the course of this transition, but also that it is ultimately up to syria. while the u.s. is going to play a helping hand in this transition, the president and u.s. officials, over the course of the afternoon making clear that it is ultimately syria that will determine its future. jess. >> all right. priscilla thank you. i want to go to the pentagon, where katie lillis is, and just get the reaction from the pentagon. just a reminder to everyone. there are u.s. forces that remain inside syria, right now. >> so, yeah, that's exactly right. >> there's about 900 american troops still in syria. their job is to continue to take the fight to isis. they are there on a counter-isis mission. they are not sort of directly involved in any way in the events that led to the downfall of bashar al-assad. right now, our sense from the both the biden administration and the pentagon is that these troops aren't going anywhere, at least for the foreseeable future. but that could, of course change on january 20th,

when president-elect donald trump comes into office. trump, during his first administration, sought to completely withdraw all american troops from syria. he was eventually persuaded to leave this sort of smaller footprint of about 900 troops that that rotate in and out and are there to basically try to keep the lid on isis to prevent isis from reconstituting inside syria to continue to back the syrian democratic forces, who are directly engaged in that fight, whether or not he will continue in his second administration to agree to keep these 900 troops there, big unanswered question going forward. yeah and, priscilla, i do want to go back to you and ask you about the american journalist austin tice, who's been held captive in syria for more than 12 years now. today the fbi saying it's still offering that million dollar reward for information leading to his safe return. how does the white house think if they do that? this regime change could potentially help get him home created his commitment to bringing austin

tice home when he concluded his remarks earlier this afternoon. >> we also know that u.s. officials have reached out to the syrian opposition force to last week about tice, but notably, this is what the president said, that he believes that austin tice is still alive, and they think that they can get him back. those of course, just really notable. and significant words by the president although u.s. officials have indicated that they are unsure of his whereabouts, but certainly they are using this opportunity to try to bring him home after, as you mentioned, there more than a decade of him being held in syria. >> i know they are so very ready to have him home. all right. priscilla alvarez and katie lillis thank you both very much. still ahead what's being done to keep her son's weapon? arsenal from falling into the wrong hands? we're going to talk more about that here in the cnn newsroom cnn heroes an all-star tribute tonight at eight on cnn at harbor freight, we design and

test our own tools and sell them directly to you no middleman, just quality tools you can trust at prices you'll love whenever you do. >> do it for less. at harbor freight this is a keepsake frame. >> this is actually a photo from my wedding i'm adam weiss, founder and ceo of keepsake, the mobile app that makes it easy to have your photos printed, framed, and shipped to your doorstep. >> you just choose a photo that you love. you can preview it in over 100 frames, and in a couple of days you're going to receive your photo in a beautiful handmade frame. so if you've got a special photo on your phone install the free keepsake app. we would love a chance to frame it for you. >> hi, i'm greg, i live in bloomington, illinois i'm not an actor, i'm just a regular person. >> after working 25 years in the automotive industry, i retired eight years ago. i just didn't feel like i was on my game. i started taking prevagen and i want people to know that

prevagen has worked for me. give it a try. i want it to help you just like it has helped me. i've been taking prevagen for eight years now and it's still helping me tremendously. >> prevagen at stores everywhere without a prescription known for pursuing your passions no one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. >> keytruda is known to treat cancer. fda approved for 17 types of cancer, including certain early stage and advanced cancers. one of those cancers is early stage non-small cell lung cancer. >> keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies before surgery. >> when you have early stage lung cancer, which can be removed by surgery and then continued alone after surgery to help prevent your lung cancer from coming back, keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. >> this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity eye problems, irregular heartbeat extreme

tiredness, constipation dizziness or fainting. changes in appetite, thirst or you're in confusion memory problems persistent or severe muscle pain or weakness. muscle cramps fever, rash, itching or flushing there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all medical conditions, including immune system problems such as crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or lupus. if you've had or planned to have an organ, tissue or stem cell transplant receive chest radiation, or have a nervous system condition such as myasthenia gravis or guillain-barré syndrome, keytruda is an immunotherapy and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. >> it's true keytruda from merck. >> see all the types of cancer

nutrafol is life changing for me. >> get growing at nutrafol comm coming back he's not going to make it. >> he might make it this could happen oh my god. >> oh the tbs original wipeout. >> all new tonight at nine on tbs. >> closed captioning is brought

to you by tableau. watch, pause and record live tv. subscription free. watch live tv for free with tableau. >> access over 93 channels, plus record pause and replay, all with zero monthly fees or contracts. >> order a tableau total system today syrian rebels claiming victory after the fall of damascus in the fall of syrian leader bashar al-assad. >> and tonight, new concerns about who will fill that power vacuum and what comes next for the people of syria. we turn to an expert on this cnn military analyst and retired u.s. air force colonel cedric leighton colonel, thanks so much for being here. i know you have a lot of information. you're going to try to walk us through. let's start first, though, with these u.s. airstrikes against isis in syria today. a lot of them about 75. give us a sense of where those targets were. and the types of weapons being used here absolutely, jessica, it's great to be with you again. >> basically, what we're talking about is this area

right in here. this is part of the eastern syrian desert and it's fairly near the at-tanf u.s. base. and the basic idea is that the targets were isis areas that we had probably a meeting of isis leaders and they that had where we had the intelligence indicators that they were doing this. they also were looking at the possible melding of various isis groups to then take advantage of the situation in the rest of syria where the rebels were going and the types of weapons that we use, the weapons platforms included the a-10, the b-52 and the f-15 all of these highly capable aircraft, the types of weapons that they used would include joint direct attack munitions and various other bombs and missiles that could be used in a very precise way. >> another concern tonight colonel, is assad's weapons arsenal, which potentially contains chemical weapons falling into the wrong hands. we do have video that we'll show everyone of the

aftermath of one of those alleged chemical attacks in 2013, and it shows just a horrific scene of victims, including children who had been gassed by their own government. what can you tell us about that? do we know where the arsenals could be stored? >> so we have some idea where those arsenals are jessica. and there are about six sites throughout history. some of them were originally located this about this far from aleppo. so about 5060 miles from aleppo. there are some others that are in the homs region. there's one site in damascus. there's another one on the coast, and the types of weapons that we're talking about are gases, like vcs and sarin as well as mustard gas. so these are the kinds of things that could be used and could have the effects that you just saw in that very terrible video from several years ago. >> yeah, it could be very, very bad if those were to get out. i also want to ask you about bashar al-assad fleeing to

russia according to officials, there he is there he has been given asylum. rebel rebels never made contact with him directly. but they did do some very serious damage to the presidential palace in damascus. walk us through that. >> yeah. one of the key things, jessica, is this very opulent palace looks like this. now they've basically gone through this. the crowds, the rebels, who you know, were in this area, did a lot of damage. they would also go into some of the kitchen areas. they would destroy some of the other parts of of these palaces. and it became basically a public spectacle, very similar to some of the things we saw in other countries where leaders have been deposed. in this particular case assad got away. some of the other leaders have not been so lucky. >> certainly. all right colonel cedric leighton, thank you very much. joining us now we have cnn military analyst general mark hertling, and i kind of want to pick up where we just left off there with colonel layton there seems to be a theme here with these strong

men dictators, as you well know saddam hussein found hiding underground in a hole. gadhafi, the leader of libya, was captured and killed after being pulled from a drainage pipe. bashar al-assad fled to moscow. the bottom line is when the walls are closing in, they run they hide, they try to escape and they leave places like cedric just outlined. >> jessica, these opulent palaces, marble floors, gold plated fixtures, beautiful furniture. while their people are starving and living in just horrible conditions. the other thing, and what you're showing now is the hole that saddam hussein was found in just outside of tikrit, uh, where soldiers, special operators and then soldiers from the fourth infantry division found him. and he had been hiding underground for many days. uh, you're saying it exactly right. these authoritarian dictators gain their power, and they live in opulence. while the rest of the population just suffers.

one of the other things i'd mentioned, jessica, because you were talking about the gassing of the syrian citizens. the same thing occurred with, uh, saddam hussein when he gassed thousands of kurdish citizens, part of the iraqi state at halabja uh, a massacre that is celebrated every year commemorated i should say, in the kurdish region so again, it's similarities. fancy places to live, living off the the spoils of the land multiple cars in their garages. and then when the people see all this, they not only take the the furniture like you're seeing here, this, this individual looting the place, but they're also seeing more and more how their authoritarian leaders treated them. if they didn't know it already. i'd add one more thing, if i may jessica. the speed of the operation by the rebels by the so-called freedom fighters down the road from homs to hamas to damascus

happened. so quickly. because if you look at the history of all of those cities along the route massacres have occurred in hamas. 40,000 people were killed by assad's father in 1982. they have long grievances against the assad regime, and i think these citizens within these cities, along the m5 and m1 routes that the rebels took, certainly were very helpful in allowing them to not only proceed, but also to tell them where the syrian forces were and how they could conduct their operations a little bit faster. >> what do you think happens to assad as our colleague nic robertson was reporting? i believe it was last night. he was making the point that so much has been documented. and to your point about what assad did to his own people would he face the question being would he face any sort of, you know, criminal trial, what might happen? obviously, he's in russia. the russian government

and vladimir putin has has granted him asylum. what do you think happens next? >> well, isn't it interesting, too, that you now have assad a war criminal, as you say, with multiple charges against him now fleeing into the arms of another war criminal. uh, president putin, who has committed literally thousands of war crimes in ukraine. so you're seeing the kinds of people that that flow together. the iranian regime, north korea syria, russia to a degree, china are all the axis of the people who have these authoritarian dictators who treat their citizenry very poorly while building up their own power. what do i think will happen i don't know. will the the hague or the international criminal court be able to process and charge, uh, bashar assad? i certainly hope so uh, we have not seen that kind of action since the balkans. but i tell you, it would be a very wonderful occurrence if some of

these war criminals were actually prosecuted by the international criminal court. and i hope that happens with assad. >> general mark hertling, thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you jessica. >> still ahead, how israel is responding tonight to the fall of the assad regime. breaking news continues next you can't fool myself. >> it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther. never too much new year's day on cnn. >> okay, everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy ensure with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health, and ensure complete with 30g of protein everyone's running to subway for three. >> all new spicy footlongs. wait, subway did what? that's

right. they're bringing the heat with creamy sriracha jalapenos and all new ghost pepper bread. but hurry! these subs are only here for a limited time. >> this is no ordinary scallop distinguished by its juicy texture deep umami flavor, and elegant finish. >> this scallop is meatier and sweeter than what you might expect. raised in the crystal cold waters of japan, rich in minerals and sea life, they are packed with vitamins and nutrients, and you can even eat them raw. this japanese scallop is special. it is one of the most coveted seafoods to taste when you live with diabetes, progress is having your coffee like you like it without an audience the freestyle libre three plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time, so everyone else doesn't have to. >> and over time, it can help lower your a-1c confident

choices for more control of your life this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us he's coming in the driveway daddy! >> hi goodness, my daughter is being treated for leukemia i hope that she lives a long great, happy life and that she will never forget how mom and daddy love her. >> saint jude i mean, this is what's keeping my baby girl alive you can join the battle to save lives by supporting saint jude children's research hospital for just $19 a month. >> you'll help us continue the life saving research and treatment these kids need now and in the future. >> cancer makes me feel angry. like it not in the like feel on the outside, just the inside. i'm angry at it.

>> when your kid is hurting and there's nothing you can do about it that's the worst feeling in the world 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer in the u.s. >> will not survive those that donate to saint jude i hope that you will continue to give. >> they have done so much for me and my family join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt or for a limited time only join for $39 a month to receive this exclusive saint jude jacket. >> you can proudly wear to show your support. are you ready to go have some fun yeah. >> when we came here, we didn't know what tomorrow would hold. saint jude showed us that tomorrow there's hope for our little girl to survive. >> great job. >> let's cure childhood cancer

together. >> please donate now i avoided the mirror. >> i felt alone for a long time. i remember going home and praying for it to go away. >> not thinking it was something wrong with me. >> i go into a lot of things thinking it's not going to work, and i thought muesli would be the same thing but it actually worked. >> more than 700,000 patients have regained their confidence with mueslis prescription treatments. >> when you're hopeless and then you find other women who are in the same boat as you you suddenly feel, okay, we're going to get out of it together. that's what muesli did for me sometimes it takes a different approach to see the possibilities all around you at capella university, you'll learn the advanced skills you need to face the nursing challenges of today and tomorrow. >> i'm bill weir on the california coast and this is cnn

prime minister benjamin netanyahu today calling the fall of syria's assad regime a direct result of israel's military campaigns against iran and hezbollah. >> netanyahu is now sending troops north to the border that separates the israeli occupied golan heights from the rest of syria. cnn's jeremy diamond reports now from tel aviv well, israeli troops on sunday began moving into that demilitarized buffer zone that has separated israeli and syrian forces for just over 50 years. >> this will position those israeli troops between these newly victorious rebel forces and the communities inside the israeli held golan heights. now, this buffer zone is syrian territory, but the israeli prime minister said that he ordered troops into that zone after the syrian troops on the other end of that buffer zone abandoned their positions. the israeli prime minister, speaking from the golan heights, also said that he views the collapse of the assad regime as a quote, great opportunity. but he also warned

that it is one that is also fraught with significant dangers. >> this is a historic day for the middle east. the collapse of the assad regime, the tyranny in damascus offers great opportunity, but also is fraught with significant dangers. one of them is the collapse of the separation of forces agreement from 1974 between israel and syria. this agreement, held for 50 years. last night it collapsed the syrian army abandoned its positions. we gave the israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself. right next to the border of israel. this is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found. >> and in addition to taking positions inside that buffer zone, israeli troops are also working to reinforce that border area as well. you can see in these images provided by the israeli military, these vehicles moving the earth in that area to build up a barrier

between israeli held and syrian held territory. now we also know that the israeli military has warned the residents of that buffer zone, syrian residents, to remain in their homes as israeli troops operate in the area. the israeli prime minister in that video message also sought to take some credit for what has happened inside of syria, saying that the fall of the assad regime here by these rebels is a, quote direct result of israel's actions against iran and its proxy in the region, hezbollah. both hezbollah and iran have, of course propped up the assad regime throughout the course of this 13 year civil war. and israel, we know, has significantly weakened hezbollah's capabilities, both in lebanon. but also inside of syria. as for the iranian regime, perhaps distracted by the other events in the region, distracted by israel itself, and of course we know that the fall of the assad regime will amount to a significant blow

for iran as well. and so that's where the question leads in terms of the future of syria. and the future of its relations with israel netanyahu said that he is extending a, quote, hand of peace to all syrians across the border and that he would like to establish, quote, neighborly and peaceful relations. the real question, though, is going to be what kind of government actually emerges inside of syria? and will it be one that will preserve what has effectively been a 50 year detente between israel and syria? or will it take another tack? and critically, for israeli officials, will be the question of what happens to the weapons that have flowed from iran via syria into hezbollah's hands inside of lebanon? there had been some hope inside the israeli government that perhaps the assad regime would cut off that flow of weapons, secure its border with lebanon. that, of course is off the table now. and so the question is, will these rebel forces now secure

the border with lebanon and prevent iranian weapons from getting to hezbollah via syria? jeremy diamond, cnn tel aviv. >> jeremy, thank you. and we'll be right back new year's eve live with anderson and andy. >> live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> take a breath of fresh air with a stanley steemer air duct cleaning. we clean over 10,000,000ft of air ducts each year with our specialized trucks built by us, removing the contaminants from your home. >> your air ducts aren't clean until they're stanley steemer clean your home cleaner 48% of americans don't get enough magnesium which is vital for bone nerve and muscle health. >> i recommend gwen walz magnesium glycinate it's formulated for high absorption and is gentle on the stomach. kunal the brand i trust before taking breztri for my copd, i had bad days. >> days ruined by flare ups that could permanently damage my lungs then i talked to my

doctor about breztri and i noticed things changed breztri gave me better breathing starting within five minutes, my lung function improved breztri also helped improve my symptoms and was even proven to reduce flare ups including those that could send me to the hospital. now i worry less about bad days and enjoy more good days. >> breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. >> don't take breztri more than prescribed breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened. breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling problems, urinating, vision changes or eye pain occur. can't afford your medication? astrazeneca may be able to help. >> ask your doctor about breztri for copd the keepsake frames app makes it ridiculously easy to frame your favorite photos. >> just choose a photo that you love. select the perfect frame and you'll have your framed print delivered and ready to

hang. download the free keepsake frames app and start framing today. fire it up, randy yeah that's how you make like it never even happened. >> happened? servpro. see you tomorrow at harbor freight. >> we do business differently from the other guys. >> we design and test our own tools and sell them directly to you. >> no middlemen, just quality tools. you can trust at prices you'll love take a pea sized amount. >> apply it like a lotion. pitt's underboob thigh folds, butt cracks feet. this water based cream i'm telling you, it's invisible on the skin. it works like a dream. why didn't someone think of this sooner? >> everyone's running to subway for three. all new spicy footlongs. wait. subway did what? that's right. they're bringing the heat with cream of sriracha jalapenos and all new

ghost pepper bread. but hurry! these subs are only here for a limited time. >> red lobster's across the nation. got a new menu celebration. look, we got a lobster pasta crab, bacon, shrimp for the taking. >> 500 l

it's a gift i know they'll love every time. visit hickory farms.com to get your holiday shopping done. >> it's knockout time in the nba emirates cup quarter finals. >> buckle up folks. >> win or go home. the magic take on the bucks. >> then the mavericks face the thunder. >> the emirates nba cup coverage begins tuesday at 630 on tnt closed captioning brought to you by book.com if you or a loved one have mesothelioma we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have. >> call now and we'll come to you. >> 800 821 4000. >> it is the end of an era. after crisscrossing five continents, 21 countries, and performing 149 concerts, taylor swift's iconic eras tour wraps

up tonight in vancouver. it's estimated her tour made more than $2 billion since starting the tour back in march of 2023. she has won two grammys, released three albums, a concert film and a book. joining us now, cnn's camila bernal camila. how are swift fans reacting to the end of this era? >> well, look, jess, a lot of them are so sad, but also so grateful for the memories. we're talking about thousands and thousands of people who went to the shows, or who even stood outside of the stadium just to listen to her. many of them going on social media to watch the streams almost every time she would take the stage, and even waking up in the middle of the night when she was playing in asia or overseas. so really just meaningful for a lot of these fans. look this is a more than three hour long show with 44 songs in this set list. it really shows you the span of her 18 year career but it's been a huge impact for so many

people. for the local economies. it's even caused earthquakes in certain places and if you ask a lot of the swifties, they're going to tell you that it is about the love that it is about the friendship, that it is about the songs and really coming together. a lot of them saying that it really helped them forget about the problems, forget about the world and just focus on something that they commonly love and enjoy together. i met one of the fans, one of the superfans, as i've been covering different aspects of this story. her name is julie bart and i asked her what it's like to see this coming to an end. take a listen to what she told me there's so much community and connection with this group of people, the swifties that are out there, and it has kind of restored my hope and faith in humanity a little bit. >> i definitely am going to miss it in some ways, but also it is going to just sit on the shelf in my mind as this just really bright happy memory of time and like i said i will eternally be grateful to taylor

for giving this to us because really, what a gift it has been. >> and julie will be watching tonight on those streams now, it is important to point out that taylor swift's team, they have not released official numbers in terms of the grossing, how much this tour has made. but you mentioned it. it's estimated to be over $2 billion. this is a record setting number. you know there's many other artists who are getting close, but really nothing like taylor swift. you're not even getting anywhere near those 2 billion. you see coldplay and elton john high up there, but just nothing compared to taylor swift the u.s. travel association, they estimate that fans between travel, hotel food, they spent about $1,300 wanting to go to these concerts. it has impacted so many economies and it's not just the fans that are going to miss this tour jess. >> yeah, no, no doubt about it. and it happened right. coming out of covid, it was kind of everyone's first chance to get back together. i got to go to london this summer. there's a lot of joy in those stadiums.

it was a good time. all right. camila bernal thanks so much. and thank you for joining me this evening. i'm jessica dean. we're going to see you again right here next weekend cnn heroes is next. have a great night i feel like new sunglasses, like a brand new pair of jeans. >> i feel like taking chances. >> i feel alive brand new oh learn more about celebrity cruises latest offers. >> your best defense against

erosion and cavities is strong enamel. >> nothing beats it. i recommend pronamel active shield because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. >> i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. it really works. >> everyone's running to subway for three all new spicy footlongs wait, subway did what? that's right. they're bringing the heat with creamy sriracha jalapenos and all new ghost pepper bread. but hurry, these subs are only here for a limited time. >> growing old is part of the journey even when you have heart failure but when he had shortness of breath carpal tunnel syndrome and lower back pain, we wondered, could these be warning signs of something bigger thank goodness we called his cardiologist because these were signs of atkmb a rare and serious disease that gets worse over time. >> if you see any of the warning signs, don't wait. ask your cardiologist about atkmb today. >> so what are you thinking?

>> i'm thinking about our honeymoon what about africa safari? >> hot air balloon ride. swim with elephants. wait can we afford a safari? >> great question like everything takes a little planning or put the money towards a down payment on a ranch in montana with horses let's take a look at those scenarios jp morgan wealth management has advisors in chase branches and tools like wealth plan to help keep you on track when you're planning for it all. >> the answer is jp morgan wealth management i am tony hawk and like many of you, i take a statin to reduce cholesterol. >> but statins can also deplete coq10 levels. that's what my doctor recommended. kunal coq10 kunal has the number one cardiologist recommended form of coq10. kunal the brand i trust. >> skull shaper. the power of a smooth, clean shave in a palm of your hand. >> the pit bull skull shaver has a battery life of 90 minutes. >> its blades conform perfectly to your head to ensure no nicks or cuts, and they give you up to 90 shaves. all this in a smoothly shaven head in just

seconds you can do that. and the cleanup. it's nice and easy because it catches all the hair without getting everywhere, and it rinses just like that. don't be rough. be smooth with the pit bull skull shaver. >> listen, i might not be a relationship expert, but i do have some hacks. they say, what's the secret to a long sustained relationship? >> it's bluechew bluechew bluechew bluechew bluechew bluechew bluechew bluechew baby bluechew is an online subscription based service that sends these affordable tablets directly to your home. >> no one even has to know except for me

( 800) 269-9522. >> that's one ( 800) 269-9522. >> cnn heroes an all star tribute meet and celebrate the honorees then find out who will be hero of the