Following a spectacular lightning-strike rout across the nation, rebel troops on Sunday abruptly ended the Assad family's decades-long rule in Syria by seizing Damascus. Senior commander of the terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, declared triumph for the rebel forces that had swept through Syria in a few days and overnight seized Damascus. In a WhatsApp post, he declared, "We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad." Free Syria is waiting for the world's displaced people. Syrians looked to be rejoicing throughout Damascus overnight and into the day, according to videos that went viral on social media and were confirmed by NBC News. Crowds were seen honking horns, waving flags, and firing their weapons into the air, while others stood ...

The top-four seeds and first-round byes in the 12-team College Football Playoff, which will ultimately determine a national champion, were awarded to top-seeded Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State on Sunday. This season's playoffs expanded from four to twelve teams, and the 13-member selection committee chose the top five conference winners in addition to seven at-large teams. A top-four seed and the benefit of a bye into the quarterfinals were only available to the top four conference winners. The committee's final top-25 rankings deviated from its seedings as a result of that regulation. Seedings for the 12-team bracket: 1. Oregon (13-0) 2. Georgia (11-2) 3. (12-1) Boise State 4. Arizona State (11-2) 5. Texas (11-2) 6. Penn State (11-2) 7. 11-1 Notre Dame 8. Ohio State (10-2)...

In his extensive interview with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, which aired on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump discussed nearly every significant proposal he has put forth for his second term, including mass deportations, addressing inflation, and enacting new tariffs. In his first network interview after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, Trump provided the most lucid glimpse of his post-election governance plans to far. However, Trump occasionally strayed from the truth, making inflated, deceptive, or inaccurate assertions, just as he did during his first term and during the campaign. Here are a few of the more notable examples. Crime, border security and family separation Trump blamed migrants for the significant increase in crime in the Un...

By holding off main competitor Ferrari in the season's last race, McLaren secured the Formula 1 manufacturers' title on Sunday for the first time in almost 25 years. Lando Norris's resounding lights-to-flag victory in Abu Dhabi gave the legendary British team its first championship since Mika H. Kinen, a former McLaren driver, won one of his two driver's titles in 1998. Congratulations to all of you! Amazing. Bravo to all of you. I'm really proud of everyone. After taking the checkered flag, Norris exclaimed over team radio, "You all deserve this." It will also be my year next year. It was also a victory for McLaren's cheerful and media-friendly American CEO, Zak Brown, who took over the team's transformation from a struggling midfield squad in 2018. In addition to bragging rights, the co...