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Today’s top stories
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fled to Moscow yesterday as rebels seized control of  Damascus, Syria’s capital. Today, people in the country woke up for the first time in decades without being ruled by the Assad regime. The Assad family came to power in 1970.
Syrians celebrate the arrival of opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday.
Omar Sanadiki/AP
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Omar Sanadiki/AP
- 🎧 Syrians broke out in intense celebrations after news spread of the regime’s collapse. The fall of Assad’s regime comes after 54 years of dictatorship and 13 years of civil war, NPR’s Ruth Sherlock tells Up First. Syrians have accessed the Assad family palace, which they had never seen before. The opulence of the Assad home shows the lavishness in which they lived compared to the country’s people. The civil war plunged over 90% of the population into poverty. Under a brutal dictatorship, thousands of people have disappeared into Sednaya prison in Damascus. The huge complex was synonymous with torture and terror for many Syrians. Some 100,000 detainees are unaccounted for.
- 📸 See photos from the fall of Damascus here.
President Biden yesterday said that the U.S. is prepared to work with Syrians as they work to create a new government. Biden has called Assad’s ousting a moment of risk and opportunity. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump took to social media to express a different tone. He said that Syria is not a U.S. problem and the nation should not get involved and instead just let it play out.
- 🎧 The rebel group HTS, which is now in power in Syria, has been on the list of terrorist groups since 2012. This means that the U.S. can’t work with the group directly. Biden says HTS is saying the right thing, but the U.S. will be watching its actions, NPR’s Greg Myre says. Though Trump doesn’t want the U.S. involved, it is easier said than done as U.S. troops are in the country not only fighting ISIS but protecting civilians.
Trump sat down on NBC News’ Meet The Press with Kristen Welker for his first network television interview since winning the election. The president-elect provided more insight into how he plans to govern, praised the power of tariffs, said he doesn’t intend to cut off access to abortion pills and stated that mass deportations have to be done.
- 🎧 In the interview, Trump spoke in soft tones and talked about unity, saying that would be the theme of his inaugural address, NPR’s Tamara Keith says. When the House Jan. 6 Committee came up, he said that its members should go to jail, but it was not entirely clear what he believed they should go to jail for. He talked about his desire to end birthright citizenship on day one of his term and then conceded that it may require a constitutional amendment. Trump said he plans to start mass deportations by deporting criminals but would eventually move beyond that. For mixed-status families, he suggested sending American citizen children away with their undocumented parents to avoid family separations.
Life advice
The Life Kit team poses using tips from model Stephanie Yeboah and posing coach David Suh.
NPR
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NPR
Anyone can be photogenic with practice. It is a skill that can be trained like any other, according to posing coach David Suh. Stephanie Yeboah, model and author of Fattily Ever After: A Black Fat Girl’s Guide to Living Life Unapologetically, never saw her body type in fashion magazines as a teen. She used to avoid the camera, but now she doesn’t shy away from serving looks. Suh and Yeboah share poses and movements to help you get comfortable in front of a camera.
- 📸 Start by deciding how you want to look in the photos. Pick three words to describe the vibe you want to channel during the photo session.
- 📸 Posing requires balance. You need to hold the pose long enough for the camera to capture the image.
- 📸 You can do warm-up exercises to help you ease into your poses. One warm-up example is standing in a military position. It might not be comfortable, but it can help center your balance.
Read the complete list of tips to achieve confidence-boosting poses.
Picture show
The choir, clergy and guests stand as they sing during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral, in central Paris, on Saturday.
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
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Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
The bells of Notre Dame Cathedral rang for the first time Saturday in Paris since a fire damaged the landmark in 2019. The ceremony to mark the cathedral’s return to religious services featured guests such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump, first lady Jill Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the U.K.’s Prince William. The ceremony began with Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich knocking three times on the cathedral’s door with his staff, which is made from one of the burned beams of the cathedral’s roof.
3 things to know before you go
Jay-Z arrives before the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/AP
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Julio Cortez/AP
- Rapper Jay-Z has been accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000, allegedly along with Sean “Diddy” Combs, according to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court yesterday.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a federal order requiring testing of the country’s milk supply due to increasing concerns about bird flu. Since March, the virus has spread to over 710 dairy herds across 15 states.
- Workers at Volkswagen, Germany’s largest employer, are on strike over the company’s plans to cut wages, lay off employees and close factories in Germany.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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