well, as we've been reporting, bashar al—assad has probably fled the country. hawley looks back now on his rule. bashar al—assad took power in the year 2000, inheriting syria's police state from his father, hafez. but the old family way of ruling soon reasserted itself. all of a sudden, after the father, you started to see a different damascus, a different syria. a syria that is rich, that is open to the world, but only for a limited number of people, those who are around assad and those who were benefiting and supporting the regime. we thought that when the young assad would come into power, that things would change. soon after, everything went into crackdown — corruption, poverty, unemployment. and the resources of the country were concentrated into certain hands. damascus has always been, like, a vibrant city. for me, it's a city of different colours, of different flavours, of different smells. it's the city of the spice market, of the jasmine, of the river barada, of the umayyad mosque, of the history that goes back to thousands of years. and, you know, soc

well, as we've been reporting, bashar al—assad has probably fled the country. hawley looks back now on his rule. bashar al—assad took power in the year 2000, inheriting syria's police state from his father, hafez. but the old family way of ruling soon reasserted itself. all of a sudden, after the father, you started to see a different damascus, a different syria. a syria that is rich, that is open to the world, but only for a limited number of people, those who are around assad and those who were benefiting and supporting the regime. we thought that when the young assad would come into power, that things would change. soon after, everything went into crackdown — corruption, poverty, unemployment. and the resources of the country were concentrated into certain hands. damascus has always been, like, a vibrant city. for me, it's a city of different colours, of different flavours, of different smells. it's the city of the spice market, of the jasmine, of the river barada, of the umayyad mosque, of the history that goes back to thousands of years. and, you know, soc

it was because of bashar al—assad and his father, hafez al—assad.d for, that the syrian people advocated for in order to help the syrian people beat this tyrant, short of military intervention. and so what message does it send notjust syria but the whole world that western countries will make positive statements, will support people that are calling for democracy, liberty, freedom, and trying to get rid of their authoritarian regimes and tyrannies? and then when the tyrant goes away, when the authoritarian is gone, then we debate whether we lift these sanctions or not? it should be no questions asked. these sanctions must be lifted. the reason for those sanctions is now gone. and gone, by the way, without the help of the international community, minus some of these sanctions, gone by the people in syria that liberated themselves. and i asked you, finally, if the displaced syrians can safely return, and i guess it's a very personal question. i mean, yourfamily were forced out of syria. you left when you were nine years old. you're clearly a man very

"single one of those responsible, "starting with bashar al—assad," and you mentioned iraq in your lastce. to see bashar al—assad brought to justice. face a court? and with the doors of the international criminal court, the icc, closed off to syria because syria wasn't a signatory to the rome statute, and every time we tried to get the un security council to refer syria and then, even in... syrian civil society, syrian revolutionaries, so universaljurisdiction, dual nationals, all these things were used. general... are going to give him up. again, i'm thinking of the future of syria and the sense of accountability. brought to justice? so, number one, you know, what happened in iraq court in terms of... i'm not a legal, you know, super expert on this. assad is a liability for vladimir putin. he no longer gives him his warm water port in syria, he no longer buys his weapons or backs his worldview, and somehow russia is not imperialist and it is just trying to protect itself. assad up is something that is very realistic and can be done. apartment in moscow. i want to see him come back to d

and you mentioned iraq in your last answer. and a form ofjustice was meted out to him. to see bashar al—assadught to justice. so why are you so confident that assad himself because what the syrians have learned in the past 14 years, the icc, closed off to syria because syria wasn't a signatory to the rome statute, and then, even in... get steps towards justice without a court that was available like the icc. in the united states, setf, our organisation, worked with law and the sense of accountability. so it's a very different situation. assad is a liability he no longer buys his weapons or backs his worldview, you know, that it'sjust the imperialist west and it is just trying to protect itself. and assad has lost all the value that putin and can be done. i don't want to see assad poisoned off i want to see him come back to damascus, where, in damascus, a syrian court can try this dictator ahmed al—sharaa, the leader of hay�*at tahrir al—sham, was, islamic state—style militancy. well, first of all, it's not just now, all of a sudden, and i want to reiterate that we cannot reduce the entire who

tulsi, i knew her and i was friends with her up until the day she visited bashar al-assad who think godhing talking points -- rushing talking points. i knew she had a little bit of affection for bashar al-assad but to visit and see russian talking points, the russian television station has called her basically "our girlfriend." that's frightening to me. >> stephen: this new documentary called the last republican which covers the last year and half of your career. a bunch of requests, people want to make documentaries about you. why say yes to director steve pink who might be best known as some people in the audience as the director of the movie "hot tub time machine." >> mr. kinzinger: true story. i love "hot tub time machine." >> stephen: it's a fine movie, not the most policy-based. >> mr. kinzinger: when he came to me, i had a lot of offers. they were interested in the human story of what i was going through. it was less about the horse race. are you going to run again? it was more the human element. that's when i love about the film. it shows first off he's very far left. it shows u

bashar al assad, vladimir putin, justin baldoni, heartburn, upset stomach, diarrhea! it's too much!he least qualified trump nominee. >> what are you talking about, desi? first, my hair looks fantastic! and tulsi was at least in congress! she spent time in the government. the only thing patel has spent time in is the comments section of the pizza-gate subreddit. he's the most unqualified. >> no. no way. you cannot trust tulsi with state secrets. i wouldn't even trust her with secret brand deodorant. cvs locks it up now because of her! >> i'm sorry, can i hop in here? >> michael: yes, josh. you're covering rfk jr.'s hearing. >> yeah. and obviously, he is the least qualified candidate, because he is rfk jr. he wants to run the department of health and human services. he's not qualified for health. he's barely qualified for human. he's basically a leather bag full of coughs. for someone who might be in charge of all the drugs, he acts like someone in charge of all the side effects: nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea [cheers and applause] baldoni. >> no, no. my guy w

putting an end to the regime of bashar al-assad. assad, famously, just awful.ropping bombs and using chemical weapons on his own people. so it's no surprise that after he fled to moscow, those people took to the streets, joyfully riding a torn-down statue of assad's father like a parade float. pride month is different there. okay? what else did they do? do we have this? they also took a giant bust of assad's father and left it in a dumpster. no, no, syrian rebels. i get that you're happy, end of tyranny, blah, blah. but metal tyrant heads go in a separate bin and are only picked up on the fourth tuesday of the month. plus, did you wash it out first? 'cause if there's any peanut butter still in there, they will not take it! so, the blood-thirsty dictator is gone, and the people of syria have been liberated. that's good news. [applause] i guess, i dunno. because the rebels are a group called hayat tahrir al-sham that was formerly linked to al qaeda, but since 2016, has been working to distance itself from its extremist roots. to make the case that they've changed

rebel forces toppled longtime ruler bashar al—assad last month and while syria's leadership has highed under the previous regime, are hindering progress. jean—noel barrot told french public radio on wednesday that there were ongoing discussions with eu partners about the possibility of lifting some sanctions. it comes as international flights resumed at damascus airport on tuesday for the first time since the fall of bashar al—assad, including the first direct flight from doha in 13 years. passengers were met by a party atmosphere in the arrivals hall. staff from the country's airlines syrianair and cham wings, both of which are still under us treasury sanctions for transporting mercenaries and weapons, and for other forms of trafficking under assad, told reporters they are optimistic that new flight routes could soon open up. so is this an early sign that the country's economy can be rebuilt post—assad ? dr shamel azmeh is senior lecturer in international development at the university of manchester welcome to bbc news. now as we mentioned there the new government, the new leadership

putin and bashar al assad, what's happened with the hegseth nomination was that the trump transitiond not share the entire fbi background investigation with the key members of the senate. i fear that's what's going on right now. both of them are disqualified for these positions, for these positions. >> and what's at stake then, because it sounds like both are likely to be confirmed. >> yeah. we've got we've got two candidates, as we've seen with the other nominees who simply are more loyal to trump than to the constitution or to the institution they're being allowed to lead. so at the fbi, we can see the kind of severe abuses of power. drop that case, don't open this case. go after this person that we saw under j. >> edgar hoover. horrible abuses. and i fear we're going to see that again, particularly when paired with the attorney general pick who oversees the fbi. with regard to dni, i don't think she can be trusted with classified information. i don't think she's qualified. she has zero qualifications with prior intelligence work. and i think that's scary, particularly with regard.

iran lost out in syria too when its ally, the dictator bashar al assad was toppled by islamist fighterse main cities and declared victory. the political shifts in the middle east over 2024 have been seismic, and it's safe to say the region will never be the same again. add to the mix in 2025 donald trump, whose foreign policy will be at the very least disruptive. so anything's possible, from a fragile peace to disaster. >>> this is robert costa in washington, which is bracing for the return of president-elect donald trump, who seems ready to rumble. >> woke is [ bleep ]. >> reporter: but change isn't easy as carl hulce knows. we met the him on capitol hill. where the butchers have an easier time than the legislators down the street. how hard is it to make the sausage in washington these days? >> it's tough. the country is polarized. so congress is polarized. and hw do you get anything done? people are dug in. >> reporter: that was made clear this month when congress averted a shutdown. could it be governing by crisis in 2025? >> it's totally the way it's going to be. >> reporter: at the

as bashar al-assad's tightly controlled empire unravels, we are visiting the very heart of it, the assad's family village, thrown open the heavy iron gates of the family home. there were signs it was hastily abandoned, but the house is not empty. this is the once palatial garden of the house where bashar al-assad was born, and all people realized he is not coming back. they have taken some of the furniture for firewood. >> in every room, locals have come to strip away whatever can be burned. the window frames, shutters, pitch and cupboards ripped to pieces and piled into a waiting taxi. a young boy watches as his father and uncle pat branches off the leafy trees in the ruins of the garden. this place has the error of martial law about it. neighbors watch on curiously from the streets as the now useless web of security cameras sits idle. down the road, the once illustrious tomb of bashar's father is a symbol of the rebel advance. by the entrance, a message, damning assad to the trash pile of history. the legacy of the decades of misrule marks every aspect of daily life here. as we drive alo

who disappeared. >> in the prisons. >> of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. after assad's ouster. deborah is now going back to damascus, joined. >> by the head of. hostage aid worldwide. nizar zakka, who. >> was coordinating the search. >> almost ten years. >> when was the last time.? >> which was the last time i. >> was here. >> was in 2015. >> in may. >> wow. >> at the hotel in damascus, a group of journalists eagerly await. >> her arrival. >> but for now, there are more questions than answers. it's hard for me to think about how how what is my way forward. >> here? >> you know, austin has been ld all this time. who who is holding him now? where is he? how what is the approach? i mean, it's like it's first grade again. and where where. do you think. >> he is? >> what do. >> you know? what can. >> you share? i feel like he is still in syria. and i do think it's most likely he's in a safe house. are you saying that based. >> on. what you. >> feel or what you know? there's some of each. there's some of each. faith has played a vital role in deborah's journey. f

and by summer of 2013, bashar al-assad was bombing his own people in syria. and this was sort of the will would be the red lines speech that barack obama gave, which i still remember hearing on the radio that congress may have to vote to authorize military strikes against his forces in syria. and, you know, i was a i was a local government person. i was an observer, a consumer of political news. but there's a big difference between having that role than actually having to cast a vote that would authorize the use of military force. that vote never came. but that was one of those moments where it occurred to me, i know a lot, but i don't know everything. and i really got to talk to somebody i trust about how to process this decision that would lead to lethal force being used against, you know. an army. that was quite a moment for me. how did he tell you to process it? what was his advice? he used the he was a teacher. he used the socratic method. he did not give me advice as to what i should do. he just asked me a lot of questions and helped me process what my

after a month since dictator bashar al-assad fled the country, syrians are slowly learning about the extent of devastation left behind after decades of cruelty, violence and inhumanity. residents of jabbar, a damascus suburb and opposition stronghold, have finally been allowed home. but the town is in ruins. that includes the local cemetery, where many are searching for graves of missing family members. syrian officials have urged the united states to lift sanctions during a meeting in doha sunday, according to the reuters news agency. the sanctions were imposed on the ousted president, bashar al-assad for a number of reasons, including the development and use of chemical weapons, often in barrel bombs dropped on civilian areas from helicopters. and as cnn's jomana karadsheh reports, since assad fled a number of possible chemical weapons laboratories have now been uncovered. >> they're gearing up for one of the most dangerous missions in syria. and they have to be prepared. exposure could be lethal. >> while we are searching for these secret prisons, we received information that ther

one of many thousands who disappeared in the prisons of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. six weeks after assad's ouster. deborah is now going back to damascus, joined by the head of hostage aid worldwide, nizar zakka, who is coordinating the search. >> almost ten years. >> since when was the last time, which. >> was the last time i was here was. >> in 2015. in may. >> wow. >> at the hotel in damascus, a group of journalists eagerly await her arrival. but for now, there are more questions than answers. >> it's hard for me to think about how. how what is my way forward here? you know? austin has been held by the syrian government. all this time who who is holding him now? where is he? how? what is the approach? i mean, it's like it's first grade again. >> and where where do you think he is? what do you know? what can you share? >> i feel like he is still in syria, and i do think it's most likely he's in a safe house. >> are you saying that based on what you feel or what you know. >> there's some of each. there's some of each. >> faith has played a vital role in deborah's jou

she twice visited with syrian dictator bashar al assad.er senate confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence still has not been scheduled. and this story doesn't help. house intelligence committee member jim himes will committee member jim himes will join us next. some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. it's gonna get nasty later. like you know, to check the weather first, before sailing. have fun on land. i'll go tell the coast guard. so check all state first for a quote that could save you hundreds. the future of cool, comfortable sleep is here. introducing the new sleep number climate cool smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools and effortlessly adjusts to both of you. sleep up to 15 degrees cooler on each side. it actively cools by drawing warm air away from your body, to keep you cool and comfortable throughout the night. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. and now, save 40% on our new special edition smart bed. shop a

russian state media says moscow's allegations to visit syria since its former ally of bashar al-assaded in damascus. members of the delegation are expected to meet syria's new leaders. russia said it will be the focus of talks. russia granted him refuge in december. a new study suggests climate change was a major factor in the recent devastating wildfires in los angeles. decades of drought followed by heavy rainfall made surrounding areas more vulnerable to burning, as justin rowlatt explains. just in: at last it has rained in l.a., and it brought mudslides that have blocked a major road but also means more people can return home, because after three long weeks, the wildfires are finally being brought under control. today's study, produced by imperial college london, found the hot and dry conditions that drove the fire were made one-third more likely by human caused climate change and said the chances of the low autumn and winter rainfall that preceded the fire had more than doubled since the preindustrial era. the scientists also found climate change means fire-prone conditions are n

she twice visited with syrian dictator bashar al assad. her senate confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence still has not been scheduled. and this story doesn't help. house intelligence committee member jim himes will join us next. >> who has more subscriptions? >> we're a package deal, baby. and your subscription. >> is my subscription. >> all right. we have about. >> 100, but. >> with experian app, they can help cancel those subscriptions that we don't even need. >> very helpful. >> download the experian app now. >> watch this witness. what happens to this woman's bags under her eyes in an actual time lapse? in just minutes, the problem will disappear before your eyes with a revolutionary topical formulation that works in just minutes and the effects will last for hours. over 1 million people are using this topical technique to visually reduce puffiness and bags even fine lines and wrinkles on the face and forehead. introducing plexaderm jump on board and say yes to this amazing 1495 plexaderm trial order right now we'l

includes questions about her notorious 2017 trip to syria and where she met with the syrian dictator bashar al assad. we know senators, including warner, have questions about that trip, about why what gabbard said to bashar al-assad during that meeting, also about gabbard's views on things like government surveillance. we know gabbard has been sort of a unique skeptic and had some, you know, a unique level of distrust of the government agencies who do the surveillance. and those are the agencies that she would, in part, be leading as the head of the intelligence community, if she's confirmed. so a pivotal meeting potentially today with senator warner, the top democrat on the intelligence committee, as gabbard is trying to pave the way to a confirmation hearing and ultimately to confirmation. but look, at the end of the day, gabbard is really relying on and only needs republican votes to get confirmation, and that will largely be dictated by whether or not republicans fall in line behind the likely and expected chairman of the senate intel committee, tom cotton, a republican who gabbard will need his

the national security concerns, the concerns over her two meetings with syrian president bashar al assadly becoming a bit of a loyalty test for republicans in the senate. what are you hearing? >> well, remember, kristen, since the advent of the tea party the greatest fear for any congressional republican is a primary challenge. so this is a real problem for a lot of republicans. however, there is another threat out there which is the 2026 midterms and some of these senators will have tough reelection fights, i know in the house a lot of people are thinking about 2026 already. so the squeeze is on for republicans. sure, there's trump loyalty, but there's also how viable are they in general elections and tulsi gabbard, who i think will do well in terms of her temperament, the substance of her answers that might be a different question because she's going to get some very tough questions, but this might be an opportunity for some republican senators to distinguish themselves. >> ashley, what are you expect to go see from democrats? there is a big debate over whether democrats were robust en

however, the allegations that she's parroting bashar al assad's stuff and the kremlin propaganda, we've we've all known that for a long time. what would that what effect does all of that have on her potential elevation to dni in america's national security? what's what's the concern here? >> well, i think there are a number of concerns. and i think maybe the incoming trump administration is also worried about this, which is why the paperwork has not gone forward to the committee. but she has very dubious qualifications to play the role of the director of national intelligence because she doesn't have any intelligence experience. but also, as you pointed out, she has engaged in a number of statements or made statements, as well as engaged in actions such as the visit to syria during this period of time, when there was real concern about what assad was doing to his people and the use of chemical weapons. and so she carried out this visit to damascus in an unauthorized rogue fashion. she didn't work with members of congress or even inform the white house about this. and so, therefore, ther

the toppling of bashar al-assad's regime and now another regime that is backed by the -- by iran anding in lebanese politics is out of the picture. that supports the filling in the vacuum in these elections that happen today with the lebanese and the general. there are different views here in lebanon. many people are celebrating. because that means there is no more boycotts for lebanon. there will be more regional and international support for lebanon. this is a country that is struggling with its economy and a financial crisis. it has in suffering with war with israel with many parts of it destroyed. it means a lot to rebuild and stand up on its feet. it means also these regional players like saudi arabia may be able to give support. and finally, for the lebanese, to find a way to build in internally without one party, mainly hezbollah, blocking the political vacuum and blocking the political process. it is a country that needs to be friends again with the region and the west, to be able to get the right support to stand up on its feet. this is the right moment for it to gain the fr

that trip to syria that came in the wake of a chemical weapons attack carried out by dictator bashar al assadard told her, she said, that she didn't even know she was going to syria, that she intended to go to lebanon on the scheduled visit and ended up in syria. is that a credible answer? >> i talked to congresswoman gabbard this week, met with her in my office. we talked about the trip to syria. she didn't tell me that part. i think it's kind of unusual that you wind up in one place that wasn't part of the plan. but what concerns me more, especially about that trip, is it was common knowledge that assad was gassing the civilian population, using chemical weapons against the population multiple times and she didn't argue about those, but she took the time and the effort to make a case and she used experts that were not credible to try to prove that he was not using chemical weapons in those two instances and i have a hard time understanding why you would want to do that to use your political capital to try to prove something when there are multiple cases. and, you know, on top of that, when

foreign minister is warning syria's new leaders not to establish an islamist government after bashar al—assadyrian capital damascus alongside her french counterpart. they met syria's de facto leader ahmad al—sharaa and visited the notorious saydnaya prison where opponents of the assad regime were tortured and killed. it's the highest—level visit by western powers since the rebel group hayat tahrir al—sham, seized power. air pollution monitors say hanoi in vietnam is currently the most polluted city in the world. the city has been covered in thick smog over recent weeks. it is caused by a combination of atmospheric conditions and increased emissions, as more fuel is burnt for heating during the colder winter months. the government says it will encourage greater use of electric vehicles, to help address the problem. us presidentjoe biden has blocked the takeover of us steel by a largerjapanese firm as part of his campaign promise to keepjobs in the us. mr biden cited national security concerns while rejecting a bid by nippon steel. he said us ownership is important to keep the country's steel i

thanks for watching the >> now that rebels have forced bashar al-assad to flee to russia, oppositionseen that he has a large fleet of suvs,

bernie sanders rather than parties favorite hillary rod cleanser even met with syrian president bashar al assad. all of this earned her the rebuke of the establishment. but now donald trump has appointed her as his director of national intelligence. before she entered the u. s . congress, tulsa gathered, worked with her father to oppose the l. g b t agenda in the state of hawaii. this certainly didn't match the trend among the democratic party at the time supporters rally behind tulsa gabbert and seeing her as unafraid as saying things that might make her unpopular with the washington dc leads. democrats, republicans, the main stream media, the washington elite, essentially in the pocket of the military industrial complex. and rather than looking out for what's in the best interest of the american people, our national security, our country, they see dollar science when they look at ukraine, there are $25.00 to $30.00 us funded bio labs in ukraine. according to the us government. these bio labs are conducting research on dangers pathogens. ukraine is in an active or zone with widespread bombing,

she is expected to face some tough questions about her travels to syria to meet with bashar al assad. also tomorrow, kash patel, trump's nominee for fbi director will come before senators, too. he's expected to be pressed on his promise to go after trump's political enemies. david? >> david: rachel scott leading us off on the hill. a very busy week for you and our whole team there. rachel, thank you. >>> now, to president trump's immigration crackdown, and the breaking news tonight. the president is now planning to send tens of thousands of undocumented migrants to guantanamo bay. it comes as our pierre thomas witnessed a raid that began just before dawn this morning, in fact, raids from baltimore to aurora, colorado, tonight. and what our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas has just learned tonight about where those undocumented migrants will be held at guantanamo bay. we took you to the prison holding terrorists there right here on this broadcast. tonight, there are still terrorists there, and now undocumented migrants soon on the way. here's pierre. >> reporter: tonight, abc

and she even met with syrian president bashar al assad. all of this earned her the rebuke of the establishment, but now donald trump has appointed her as his director of national intelligence before she entered the us congress, tulsa gabbert, worked with her father to oppose the l. g b t agenda in the state of hawaii. this certainly didn't match the trend among the democratic party at the time supporters rally behind tulsa gabber and seeing her as unafraid as saying things that might make her unpopular with the washington dc leads. democrats, republicans, the main stream media, the washington elite, essentially in the pocket of the military industrial complex. and rather than looking out for what's in the best interest of the american people, our national security, our country, they see dollar science when they look at ukraine, there are $25.00 to $30.00 us funded bio labs and ukraine. according to the us government. these bio labs are conducting research on dangers pathogens. ukraine is in an active or zone with widespread bombing, or til