Vacuum in Syria

Good morning. A brutal dynasty in Syria comes to an end. The manhunt is still on for the killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. And Juan Soto agrees to a record deal with the Mets. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government fell after a stunning territorial advance by opposition groups, sending shockwaves through the Middle East. Assad and his family fled to Moscow, ending a brutal dynasty that saw him inherit power in 2000 with promises of reform, only to suppress his opponents in a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The resulting power vacuum has put the world on alert and prompted moves from the US and Israel. Find out more about the Syrian rebels behind this massive change.

Oil gained as the market weighed the fallout from the toppling of the Syrian government, which dealt a blow to longtime backers Russia and Iran. Meanwhile, China’s plan to loosen monetary policy as it prepares for a potential trade war with the US gave stocks a boost. But in South Korea, equities plummeted as the political crisis deepened.
Job safety. Donald Trump said he has no plans to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell once he returns to the White House, saying “I don’t see it.” The president-elect also said he would use his powers on his first day in the White House to grant pardons to rioters involved in the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And he added that he had an exchange with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in recent days.

Trump certainly had a busy weekend, returning to the world stage in Paris and meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Macron is feeling the heat as he’s under pressure to name a new prime minister quickly to pass a stopgap spending bill before the end of the year. Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s military fatalities since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 have reached 43,000, a rare estimate and one much lower than the figure offered by Trump.

Manhunt latest: The NYPD released new images of the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson showing him in a taxi he used to escape. A backpack that matched the description of one carried by the gunman was found in Central Park, containing only a jacket.

Deep Dive: Female Fortunes

Women are controlling ever-greater sums of money around the world, setting the stage for major shifts in wealth management and philanthropy.

The Big Take

Opinion

Assad’s fall shows Russia and Iran made a bad bet, Hal Brands writes. Nobody could have imagined that the 2023 attacks on Israel could have rebounded so badly on America’s enemies. But the Mideast remains very dangerous.

Before You Go

Juan Soto will sign with the Mets in a record-breaking contract for Major League Baseball, ESPN reported. The deal is valued at $765 million over 15 years, with no deferred money—surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million 10-year contract with the Dodgers.

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