Assad flees Syria, Trump vows pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, hunt for CEO killer goes on: Weekend Rundown

Assad flees as Syrian rebels take control

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ceded power and fled the country Sunday after rebel forces captured the capital, Damascus, following a rapid advance across the country. Russian state media later reported that Assad arrived in Moscow, where he is seeking asylum.

Celebrations broke out across Syria over the weekend, with statues depicting his father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, pulled down from their pedestals.

But in the West, there is nervousness about the rebel Islamist group that led the assault, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has historic ties to Al Qaeda and is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. It has recently appeared to renounce more extremist elements.

Hassan Abdul-Ghani, HTS’ senior commander, said in a post on WhatsApp: “To the displaced people around the world, Free Syria awaits you.”

President Joe Biden lauded the regime’s fall Sunday, saying this is “a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country.” He outlined continued U.S. involvement in Syria, including in the transition process led by the U.N.

Follow our live coverage here.

President-elect Trump sits down for his first postelection broadcast interview

President-elect Donald Trump said he is looking to pardon supporters involved in the attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as soon as his first day in office, saying those incarcerated are “living in hell.” 

In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, he also said that he will not seek to turn the Justice Department on his political foes and that some members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack “should go to jail.”

Trump said he would leave decisions to Pam Bondi, whom he has said he will nominate for attorney general, about whether to investigate special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two separate federal cases against Trump that were dropped after the election.

“I’m not looking to go back into the past,” Trump said when asked he was whether he would go after outgoing President Joe Biden. “I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success.”

Throughout the interview, he discussed the major policy priorities for his second term and made several false, misleading or exaggerated claims along the way.

Watch the interview or read the full transcript here.

More interview coverage:

• Trump says RFK Jr. will investigate the discredited link between vaccines and autism.
• Trump says he won’t try to remove Fed chief Jerome Powell.
• Trump vows major immigration changes, including ending birthright citizenship, finding a way to keep Dreamers in the U.S. and starting mass deportations.

Politics in brief

Like “Game of Thrones”: Trump has moved quickly to identify top officials for his next administration, but skipping careful vetting has led to surprise controversies and unexpected bumps for some of his picks.

Lone Star allies: Texas is preparing to work closely with the Trump administration on immigration in a reversal of its stance under Biden, with work underway to find sites that could assist deportation efforts.

45 hours in Kash’s Corner: NBC News reviewed 45 hours of an online show co-hosted by Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, during which he spun unfounded claims involving government officials’ and the media’s aiming to rig elections, silence conservatives and undermine Trump’s re-election.

Jay-Z accused in a lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 along with Sean Combs

Jay-Z, the star rapper and entrepreneur whose real name is Shawn Carter, was accused in a lawsuit on Sunday of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 allegedly along with Sean “Diddy” Combs. The anonymous accuser, identified only as “Jane Doe,” said the assault happened after she was driven to an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty.

The lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant. It was refiled Sunday to include Carter. Jay-Z responded with a lengthy statement calling the allegations “idiotic.”

“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?” he said in a statement to NBC News.

Search for CEO killer enters fifth day

New York police released two new photos of a person being sought in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The NYPD has said investigators have been able to track some of his movements by taxi as the investigation and the manhunt continue. There was still no identification of the person of interest as of Saturday, three sources familiar with the probe said. Here is a detailed timeline of his known movements.

A combined $60,000 in reward money is being offered by the FBI, Crime Stoppers and the NYPD for information leading to the gunman’s arrest.

The bells ring again as Notre Dame reopens

Notre Dame reopened Saturday with a grand ceremony, five years after a fire nearly destroyed France’s famed landmark.

Foreign dignitaries in attendance included President-elect Donald Trump, first lady Jill Biden, Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Zelenskyy and Trump before the ceremony.

Hundreds flocked to Notre Dame’s first Sunday Mass to mark its rebirth and witness the consecration of its altar. Score of workers painstakingly restored the cathedral to its former glory.

“It has been an absolutely beautiful thing to witness and be a part of,” said a carpenter from Massachusetts who worked on the restoration. “Visitors will be completely blown away by just how beautiful it is inside.”

South Korean president’s impeachment fails

The effort to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law failed Saturday after lawmakers from his party left parliament on masse, leaving the opposition eight votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for the impeachment motion to succeed.

Earlier Saturday, Yoon apologized for his actions in a brief nationally televised address, saying he regrets causing “anxiety and inconvenience to the public.” The six-hour declaration ignited public anger against him and calls for his removal from office.

“I will not evade the legal and political responsibility regarding this declaration of martial law,” Yoon continued.

Opposition lawmakers had said that if the impeachment motion didn’t pass, they would come back to it Wednesday.

End of an Era(s)

Tears will be ricocheting as Taylor Swift’s record-shattering world tour draws to a close Sunday night with a final stop in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Since it kicked off in March 2023, the Eras Tour has spanned 149 shows in 53 cities around the world, attracting more than 10 million fans.

The Federal Reserve has credited the tour with boosting the U.S. economy by fueling tourism, while a filmed version of the concert, released in October, became the highest-grossing domestic concert film ever by the end of its opening weekend.

In case you missed it

• The Food and Drug Administration may finally move to ban artificial red food dye, a coloring found in beverages, snacks, cereals and candies.
• The 12-team College Football Playoff, which will eventually crown a national champion, was unveiled Sunday, with top-seeded Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State earning the top four seeds and first-round byes in the bracket.
• A 12-year-old boy is dead and an 11-year-old girl is in critical condition after they fell through ice at a park Saturday in Albany, New York.
• Steve Mensch, president and general manager of Tyler Perry Studios, was killed when a single-engine plane he was piloting crashed Friday night in Florida.
• Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., said Saturday that she and her family had been targeted by a bomb threat. A police spokesperson said it “appears to be one of several unfounded threats against political figures across the country.”
• Seven people were arrested and charged in connection with allegations of a social media drug ring at Rutgers University, uncovered by a sweeping narcotics operation known as “Operation RU Pharm.”
• A federal judge approved a landmark class action settlement between Aetna and same-sex couples in New York who alleged the insurance giant discriminated against LGBTQ customers seeking fertility treatment.
• “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a staple of the holiday season, but new data shows Mariah Carey’s classic song doesn’t have the hold on October and November it once did.