Morning Edition host Leila Fadel reports from Damascus, in the first week in a half-century that the Assad family did not rule the country.

Assad's fall came too late for the father of NPR's Diaa Hadid, who was briefly detained by Syrian forces during their occupation of northern Lebanon.

Dommaraju unseated China's Ding Liren to become the new world chess champion. "Every chess player wants to experience this moment, and very few get the chance," Dommaraju said after the match.

Travis Timmerman, a U.S. citizen found wandering barefoot in Damascus after being freed from a Syrian prison following the fall of the Assad regime, was handed over to U.S. forces in Syria on Friday.

In Damascus, people stood shoulder to shoulder at one of Syria's holiest sites, the Umayyad Mosque, in the first Friday prayers since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown less than a week ago.

For better or — mostly — worse, Hollywood has helped shape the public's image of the health insurance industry in films ranging from John Grisham's The Rainmaker to the Oscar-winning As Good as It Gets.

Ohio State University football players are not only stars on the gridiron, some are also Christian evangelists who have baptized teammates and fellow students.

Wray told employees at an FBI town hall that he is resigning next month to "avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray." President-elect Donald Trump called the resignation "a great day for America."

You might recognize the performer's unmistakable voice from the Netflix series Ripley, the HBO series The White Lotus or the Pixar animated feature Luca. In Italy, she's a legend.

The Dominican-born superstar Juan Soto will take his talents to Queens after the New York Mets reportedly signed him to a $765 million contract — a move that has the rest of the baseball world abuzz.

Tom Homan's perch inside the White House will give him a global view, but also pose challenges for immigration policy.

Trump's pick to head the FBI has parlayed his time serving in various national security roles in the first Trump administration to building a brand promoting pro-Trump conspiracy theories.

The nuclear industry and big tech companies think they can solve each other's problems, but critics are skeptical the marriage can last.

A Navajo woman who has spent 50 years sewing has now been honored with an NEA award for her unique quilts. She is unafraid to criticize the mainstream culture that's marginalized Indigenous artists.

Annual trends reports from YouTube, TikTok and Spotify reveal how fans had an outsize impact on entertainment, culture and politics this year.