📌 Syria, Notre Dame, More

Syrians woke up today to a hopeful, if uncertain, future after rebels seized Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia.

The lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations. Assad's fall wiped out a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world.

The storming of al-Assad’s palace marks 13 years of civil war and over 50 years of his family's brutal rule. Moscow gave asylum to Assad and his family, Russian media reported and Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, said on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

International governments welcomed the end of the Assads' autocratic government as they sought to take stock of a new-look Middle East. HTS is still designated as a terrorist group by the US, Turkey and the United Nations.

Assad's overthrow limits Iran's ability to spread weapons to its allies and could cost Russia its Mediterranean naval base. It could also allow millions of refugees scattered for more than a decade in camps across Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan to return home.

The rebels face a monumental task of rebuilding and running a country after a war that left hundreds of thousands dead, cities pounded to dust, and an economy hollowed by global sanctions. Syria will need billions of dollars in aid.

Notre Dame’s reopening ceremonies celebrated the saviors as well as the cathedral’s resurrection from fire.

Fire officers proudly soaked up a standing ovation from the congregation and French President Emmanuel Macron’s thanks from a grateful nation.

Largely unheralded workers and artisans who resurrected skills from medieval times made it all possible, laboring day and night to meet what had seemed an impossible five-year deadline set by Macron to get Notre Dame back on its feet.

From 340,000 donors, big and small, 846 million euros (US$895 million) poured in from more than 150 countries after the 2019 inferno to fund the rebuild.

“Impossible.” That was American carpenter Hank Silver’s first thought when he joined the reconstruction effort in a workshop in Normandy, northern France, that was working on the rebuild of the cathedral’s huge roof that burned.

“I saw the pile of oak logs at our workshop. I started laughing,” he said. “We had 600 logs just for our part in the nave.” Yet, working with hand tools and woodworking techniques that medieval-era carpenters pioneered in building Notre Dame more than 800 years ago, the job got done.

When Ouaziz Abrous was hired after the blaze to work as a fire safety officer on the reconstruction site, Notre Dame was “in a catastrophic state.” On the transformation, Abrous said, “Eight thousand people played their part, each of them leaving their little touch. For us, it’s extraordinarily satisfying.”

President-elect Donald Trump stated in an interview that he plans to deport all individuals illegally in the US.

Trump intends to end birthright citizenship, protected by the 14th Amendment, through executive action, which is expected to face immediate legal challenges. Trump expressed willingness to work with Democrats to create legislation allowing Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children, to remain in the country.

Trump's mass deportation plan will start with undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes and then expand to others, though he did not specify which crimes. Trump emphasized the need to enforce immigration laws and regulations, stating those who entered illegally must be deported.

He mentioned that US citizens may choose to be deported with their undocumented family members to avoid family separation. Trump clarified that he does not want to break up families and would deport families with mixed immigration status together.

He ruled out reviving the zero-tolerance policy that separated families at the border during his first term. He acknowledged the need to address the situation of Dreamers, many of whom have lived in the US for decades and have established successful lives.

People are not taking kindly to data centers and electrical substations locating to their neighborhood.

The rise of data centers in the US is driven by the growth of cloud computing and AI, leading to conflicts with local communities over economic, social, and environmental concerns. Local governments see data centers as financial boons, with Virginia's existing data centers generating significant tax revenue.

Tyler Ray, a critic of the Virginia data center project, argues that the incentives offered do not outweigh the negative impacts on residents. Northern Virginia hosts over 300 data centers, with new projects like Plaza 500 encroaching on residential areas.

Fairfax County officials approved the Plaza 500 project, promising economic benefits despite community opposition and concerns about power grid stress, water usage, and air quality.

In Oregon, Amazon Web Services’ data centers have brought substantial financial benefits to Morrow County, funding infrastructure and community services. However, there is skepticism about the scale of tax breaks and concerns about the relationships between companies and local officials.

Former officials in Morrow County have expressed unease about negotiations with AWS, feeling outmatched by the company's legal team. Despite these concerns, local leaders in Boardman, Oregon, believe their direct relationship with AWS helps maximize community benefits.

A breakthrough to shock the AI industry into hyper-speed development again will take time, said Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

“I think the progress is going to get harder. When I look at [2025], the low-hanging fruit is gone,” said Pichai, adding: "The hill is steeper ... You're going to need deeper breakthroughs as we get to the next stage.”

Language models — like ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, or Meta's Llama — will keep getting incrementally better, particularly “at reasoning, completing a sequence of actions more reliably,” generating profits for corporate users — which isn't happening yet, despite investments expected to surpass $1 trillion.

Pichai said that even incremental development will help hone the technology, making it increasingly more useful. “Ten years from now, [computer programming] will be accessible to millions more people.”

President Joe Biden has created six national monuments and modified boundaries for several others during his term.

The Antiquities Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, allows presidents to designate national monuments to protect cultural and natural resources. Biden's designations include areas significant to Native American tribes, historic black neighborhoods, and sites of scientific interest.

Biden restored protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah (pictured), initially reduced by President Donald Trump. Biden's administration has worked with tribes to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into public land management.

Opposition to some designations has arisen due to concerns over blocked development projects, such as clean energy and mining. Conservationists advocate for more strategic use of the Antiquities Act to protect lands from renewable energy development proposals.

Biden's designations include sites of historical significance, such as the 1908 Springfield race and a monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother. Emmett Till was the black teenager from Chicago who was abducted, tortured, and killed in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.

A petition is on the table for designating the Greenwood area of North Tulsa, Oklahoma — the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. So is a proposal for a monument along the Maah Daah Hey Trail in the North Dakota Badlands. Tribes want to shift the narrative to include stories about the land's original inhabitants.

Flight passengers were waiting for well over an hour when they were told the replacement flight crew was stuck in traffic.

The beleaguered flight attendants on a Delta flight from Atlanta were trying hard to keep people comfortable and calm on the plane, but the travelers were hot, tired, and cramped like sardines.

A man stood up and began assembling his saxophone. Soon, he started playing Christmas carols, wandering up and down the aisle. The mood on the plane was immediately elevated, but the aircraft was still on the ground.

The sax player was Wayne Hoey, who served in the US Army band for 20 years, performing and traveling the world during the Vietnam War to boost troop morale. A passenger said he even played Baby Shark for the kids and made everyone laugh with his teasing horn.

After retiring from the Army, Hoey got his master's in music education and taught a middle school band in Colorado Springs. He lives in Augusta, Georgia, serving as a substitute music teacher and jamming for audiences with his Wayne Hoey Big Band.