3b:T43c,As a journalist who covers international humanitarian crises, I'm accustomed to seeing masses of refugees fleeing their homes for safer locations. But in Syria over the last several days, the reverse has happened. Thousands upon thousands of displaced people are now returning home -- the scenes of traffic jams, literally on the road to Damascus, were indicative of the fact that Syrians believe this new era to be one in which they are safe to return home. A brutal regime has been toppled, but are the new de-facto authorities going to respect the rights of Syrians and be able to undertake the basic functions of government to avoid state collapse and the chaos that would bring? I put these questions and many more to my guest today, Emma Beals, a longtime Syria analyst and reporter who is a Senior Advisor at the European Institute of Peace and a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute. We kick off discussing the mood on the street in Damascus before having a long discussion about Syria's political future. Support the show! https://www.globaldispatches.org/ 3c:T52c,

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest developments in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, including the debate in Washington and European capitals about whether to talk with the new Syrian government, remove sanctions, or remove Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham’s terrorist designation. They also cover Trump’s trip to France and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump’s loyalty test for those seeking national security jobs in his new administration, whether South Korea’s president will be impeached after declaring martial law, the collapse of the French government, a court order canceling Romania’s election results, and the corruption trials of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then Ben speaks to Dareen Khalifa, Senior Advisor at the International Crisis Group, about what’s next for Syria and her insights into rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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3d:T4fa,Voters in New York, Virginia and New Jersey choose new leaders today, and a redistricting vote in California could reshape the balance of power in Congress. The Trump administration says it will restart SNAP benefits, but only partially, leaving millions of families uncertain about how they’ll eat this month. Aid groups warn of a deepening crisis in Sudan after a paramilitary force accused of genocide seized the last major city in Darfur, killing thousands of people and trapping many more without food or water. And former Vice President Dick Cheney has died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to a statement from his family. He was 84 years old.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Ben Swasey, Catherine Laidlaw, Kate Bartlett, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher ThomasWe get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

The new dangers in Syria after Assad's f...