Syrian government services come to a 'complete halt' as state workers stay homeZirbel reflects on stellar swimming career after final trip to state
Kroger and Albertsons' plan for the largest U.S. supermarket merger in history crumbled Wednesday, with Albertsons pulling out of the $24.6 billion deal and the two companies accusing each other of not doing enough to push their proposed alliance through. Albertsons said it had filed a lawsuit against Kroger, seeking a $600 million termination fee as well as billions of dollars in legal fees and lost shareholder value. Kroger said the claims were “baseless” and that Albertsons was not entitled to the fee. “After reviewing options, the company determined it is no longer in its best interests to pursue the merger,” Kroger said in a statement Wednesday. The bitter breakup came the day after two judges halted the proposed merger in separate court cases. U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson in Oregon issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking the merger until an in-house judge at the Federal Trade Commission could consider the matter. An hour later, Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger . Ferguson ruled that combining Albertsons and Kroger would lessen competition and violate consumer-protection laws. The companies could have appealed the rulings or proceeded to the in-house FTC hearings. Albertsons' decision to pull out of deal instead surprised some industry experts. “I’m in a state of professional and commercial shock that they would take this scorched earth approach,” said Burt Flickinger, a longtime analyst and owner of retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. “The logical thing would have been for Albertsons to let the decision sink in for a day and then meet and see what could be done. But the lawsuit seems to make that a moot issue.” Albertsons is unlikely to find another merger partner because it has significant debt and underperforming stores in most of its markets., Flickinger said. Consumers will feel the most immediate impact of the deal's demise, he said, since Albertsons charges 12% to 14% more than Kroger and other grocery rivals. “They had so much debt they had to pay it off it's reflected in their pricing and promotional structure,” Flickinger said. Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran testified during the federal hearing in September that his company might consider “structural options” like laying off employees, closing stores and exiting certain markets if the merger with Kroger didn’t go through. “I would have to consider that,” he said. “It’s a dramatically different picture with the merger than without it.” But in a statement Wednesday, Sankaran said Albertsons would “start this next chapter in strong financial condition with a track record of positive business performance." In the company's most recent quarter, Albertsons' revenue rose 1% to $18.5 billion and it reported $7.9 billion in debt. Kroger said it would also move forward in a strong financial position, with revenue down slightly to $33.6 billion in its most recent quarter. The company announced a $7.5 billion share buyback program Wednesday after a two-year pause. Kroger and Albertsons first proposed the merger in 2022 . They argued that combining would help them better compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, which are gaining an increasing share of U.S. grocery sales. Together, Kroger and Albertsons would control around 13% of the U.S. grocery market. Walmart controls around 22%. Under the merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons — who compete in 22 states — agreed to sell 579 stores in places where their locations overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers , a New Hampshire-based supplier to independent supermarkets that also owns the Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly store brands. But the Federal Trade Commission and two states — Washington and Colorado — sued to block the merger earlier this year, saying it would raise prices and lower workers' wages by eliminating competition. It also said the divestiture plan was inadequate and that C&S was ill-equipped to take on so many stores. On Wednesday, Albertsons said that Kroger failed to exercise “best efforts” and to take “any and all actions” to secure regulatory approval of the companies’ agreed merger transaction. Albertsons said Kroger refused to divest the assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignored regulators' feedback and rejected divestiture buyers that would have been stronger than C&S. “Kroger’s self-serving conduct, taken at the expense of Albertsons and the agreed transaction, has harmed Albertsons’ shareholders, associates and consumers,” said Tom Moriarty, Albertsons’ general counsel, in a statement. Kroger said that it disagrees with Albertsons “in the strongest possible terms.” It said early Wednesday that Albertsons was responsible for “repeated intentional material breaches and interference throughout the merger process.” Kroger , based in Cincinnati, Ohio, operates 2,800 stores in 35 states, including brands like Ralphs, Smith’s and Harris Teeter. Albertsons , based in Boise, Idaho, operates 2,273 stores in 34 states, including brands like Safeway, Jewel Osco and Shaw’s. Together, the companies employ around 710,000 people. Kroger sued the FTC in August in federal court in Ohio, claiming that the federal agency’s in-house administrative hearings were unlawful because the FTC was also able to challenge the merger in federal court in Oregon. In paperwork filed Wednesday, the FTC said it expected to update the court on its next steps in that case by Dec. 17. In Colorado, which also sued to block the merger, Attorney General Phil Weiser said Tuesday that he still was awaiting a decision from a state judge. In that case, Colorado also was challenging an allegedly illegal no-poach agreement Kroger and Albertsons made during a 2022 strike. Shares of Albertsons fell 1.5% Wednesday, while Kroger's stock was up 1%.JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Clarke Reed , a Mississippi businessman who developed the Republican Party in his home state and across the South starting in the 1960s, died Sunday at his home in Greenville, Mississippi. He was 96. Reed was chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party from 1966 to 1976, beginning at a time when Democrats still dominated in the region. During the 1976 Republican National Convention, delegates were closely divided between President Gerald Ford and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan. Reed united the Mississippi delegation behind Ford — a move that created a decadeslong feud with William D. “Billy” Mounger, another wealthy businessman who was prominent in the Mississippi Republican Party. Reed recalled in a 2016 interview with The Associated Press that delegates faced considerable pressure. Movie stars visited Mississippi's 30 delegates to push for Reagan, and Betty Ford called on behalf of her husband. Reagan met twice with the Mississippi delegation — once with his proposed running mate, Pennsylvania Sen. Richard Schweiker — and once without, according Haley Barbour, who was executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party in 1976 and served as the state's governor from 2004 to 2012. “Everybody was coming to see us," Reed said. “These poor people had never seen this before, the average delegate.” Mississippi delegates were showing the stress at a meeting away from the convention floor in Kansas City, Reed said. “I looked out, and about half of them were crying," he said. Reed initially supported Reagan, but said he moved into the Ford camp because he thought Reagan made “a hell of a mistake” by choosing a more liberal northeastern running mate in a gambit to win support of the unpledged Pennsylvania delegation. “In my opinion, Reagan was the best president of my lifetime. I didn’t know that then,” Reed said in 2016. “And had he been elected with Schweiker, he might’ve gotten a bullet one inch over and Schweiker would’ve been president.” Ford won the party nomination during the convention, then lost the general election to Jimmy Carter, the Democratic former governor of Georgia. Reed was born in Alliance, Ohio, in 1928, and his family moved to Caruthersville, Missouri, when he was about six months old. He earned a business degree from the University of Missouri in 1950. He and Barthell Joseph, a friend he had met at a high school boarding school, founded an agriculture equipment business called Reed-Joseph International, which used technology to scare birds away from farms and airports. Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Monday that Reed was “a mentor, supporter and advisor to me for over 56 years." Wicker said he was 21 when Reed put him on the Republican Platform Committee in 1972. “There is no more significant figure in the development of the modern day Mississippi Republican Party than Clarke Reed,” Wicker wrote on social media. “Our state has lost a giant."
(The Center Square) – Homeowners in the market for washers and dryers may have better-performing options to choose from in the near future due to a bill limiting the extent of energy efficiency mandates on laundry appliances passing the U.S. House. The Republican-led House Resolution 1612 , or Liberty in Laundry Act, would prohibit the Secretary of Energy from enforcing energy conservation standards for clothes washers or dryers that “are not cost-effective or technologically feasible.” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who introduced the legislation, said the move is a response to the “slew of woke, ‘environmental’ nonsense rulemaking attempts” by the Biden administration and U.S. Department of Energy. “I have spent much of my time in Congress fighting back the federal government’s vast overreach into the lives of hardworking Americans,” Ogles announced after the bill’s passage Tuesday. “Americans should be able to do their laundry in peace without the input of Big Brother.” Earlier this year, the DOE finalized new updated standards for residential clothes washers and dryers which aim to cut costs and pollution. It estimates the regulations will reduce nearly 71 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions–equivalent to the combined annual emissions of nearly 9 million homes–and up to $39 billion on Americans’ energy and water bills over the next 30 years. House Democrats opposed the legislation's passage, saying "absolutely no one" stands to benefit from the law and accused Republicans of trying to curry favor with special interest groups. "H.R. 7673 guts popular energy efficiency standards for laundry machines – standards that save Americans money on their utility bills and reduce dangerous greenhouse gas pollution at the same time," said Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J. "These efficiency standards create certainty for manufacturers and they protect consumers from rising costs. And, in the case of these laundry machine standards, they also reduce water use – a benefit that could greatly aid drought-prone regions around the nation." But the less electricity and water laundry appliances use, the less effectively they tend to perform, according to an Oct. 2024 report by the Institute for Energy Research. “Historically, appliances meeting Energy Department standards have often underperformed and have higher costs,” the report stated. “The Biden-Harris administration is imposing a series of regulations that are raising appliance prices and compromising quality for homeowners.” Unless the bill is signed into law, laundry appliance makers have until March 2028 to comply with the new rules.
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk , an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today’s edition, political embed Alec Hernández sifts through 20 interviews Donald Trump's incoming "border czar," Tom Homan, has done to get a clearer sense of his mass deportation plans. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd breaks down the opportunities and challenges facing Mike Duggan's independent bid for Michigan governor. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. Tom Homan takes to conservative media to outline Trump’s plan for mass deportations By Alec Hernández President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to serve in top jobs in his next administration have generally stayed off the airwaves to avoid any verbal slipups that might jeopardize their chances at being confirmed by the Senate. Not so with Tom Homan. Homan, who was the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term in office, has been tapped to be the new White House “border czar.” The job does not require Senate confirmation, meaning Homan has the freedom to go on cable news and conservative media and promote Trump’s agenda. In the past month, he has done at least 20 interviews, which have all been reviewed by NBC News. Tasked with coordinating Trump’s core campaign promise of a mass deportation, Homan has used the appearances to begin detailing how the efforts might take shape and how the administration will move its plan forward. While they are far from painting a complete picture, the interviews have given more specifics than have been offered about the deportation policy in the past. Using the U.S. military: During the campaign, Trump suggested that his administration could use the military for the deportations, and he has considered moving U.S. troops from overseas to station them at the southern border. In an appearance on SiriusXM’s “The David Webb Show” on Nov. 12, Homan said he sees the potential role of service members as most helpful with tasks that do not require explicit immigration authority. The Defense Department “has helped several administrations on the border. They could be a force multiplier,” Homan said. The military, he continued, “could be used to help relieve law enforcement officers from administrative duties so they can get on the street and do what they’re supposed to be doing.” Where the funding comes from: A major outstanding question is how the incoming Trump administration would fund a deportation scheme at a large scale. Homan, who will have no official authority over how much funding he will have for his efforts, has said that Trump has pledged the financial support needed to execute on his promise. “Well, $86 billion is the minimum,” Homan said Sunday about the cost of the deportation on Fox Business’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” noting that the administration would need an assist from Congress for the funding. Cooperation (or lack thereof) with local officials: Given the immense scope of the operation Trump seeks, Homan has expressed a need for support from local authorities to carry out the immigration plans. But several Democratic leaders have already signaled their intention to resist and inhibit agencies like ICE from operating within their jurisdictions. As Homan has often been pressed in his appearances on television to respond to those vows of noncooperation, a pattern has emerged in how he signals the administration will handle resistance: promises to ramp up deportation efforts in the face of opposition and threats of consequences, including prosecution, for those who impede the administration’s efforts. “Law enforcement should work with law enforcement,” Homan said in an interview on Fox News on Nov. 11. “I’ve seen some of these Democratic governors say they’re going to stand in the way. They’re going to make it hard for us. A suggestion: If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of the way, because we’re going to do it,” he said. Read more → More on Trump’s immigration plans: The incoming Trump administration intends to rescind a long-standing policy that has prevented ICE agents from arresting undocumented people at or near so-called sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals, or events such as funerals, weddings and public demonstrations, without approval from supervisors. Read more → Is the rise of the independents coming? An experiment is brewing in a key battleground By Chuck Todd While most of Washington is obsessed with either the reality show that is Donald Trump’s transition or the hand-wringing and blame-gaming over Democrats’ election loss, a potentially critical political storyline is brewing in Michigan. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan shocked the state’s political world by announcing he would run for governor in 2026 — but not as a Democrat, the party in which he’s been an active and prominent member of for 40 years. Instead, he will seek the office as an independent , avoiding a potentially crowded and divisive Democratic primary. The list of Democrats who could seek to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer isn’t short on prominent names: state Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Duggan all appeared to be the three leading candidates for some time, quietly preparing for runs throughout 2024. In my experience, most independent candidates who previously ran and won as Democrats or Republicans but then switch do so out of some political necessity. That is, they don’t think they can get a fair shake from primary voters, or they fear the supporters and positions they plan to take will work only in a general election but would be a problem in the primary. The hurdles for winning as an independent are so much higher that it isn’t a path of least resistance. In Michigan, there’s an even bigger hurdle: It’s a state that still allows straight-ticket voting, in which a voter can simply pull one lever or bubble in one circle for a major party to indicate a vote for every partisan running on the ballot. So what are the upsides for Duggan? The biggest include likely financial support. Some of his biggest supporters aren’t traditional Democratic donors, like Rocket Mortgage founder Dan Gilbert and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Having support from the likes of Gilbert and Dimon might be good politics in a general election, but it wouldn’t go over well with many activist Democratic voters. In addition, Duggan has broken his share of eggs in trying to clean up and reform Detroit. He has gotten high marks, but he has had his fair share of run-ins with key Democrats in the city, who may be more inclined to oppose him in a gubernatorial primary (and as a lame-duck mayor) than they were in city politics. So Duggan most likely saw the primary as both a math problem and an issue-position problem. A knife fight for the Democratic nomination against experienced and respected pols like Benson, Gilchrist or even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — a wild card who moved to the state after the 2020 election and has now been a resident long enough to meet Michigan’s constitutional requirement to run for state office in 2026 — would likely cause all sorts of cultural and identity divides that might damage an eventual nominee. Read more from Chuck → That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com And if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here .
Larry Hogan slams parties for ‘dividing’ Americans in first post-election speechJackie 'O' Henderson shows off her incredible figure in a black bikini and mini skirt as she hits Clovelly Beach READ MORE: Jackie 'O' Henderson and NRL star Cooper Johns share flirty photos after his split with girlfriend By KATE DENNETT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 18:14 EST, 24 November 2024 | Updated: 18:40 EST, 24 November 2024 e-mail 13 shares 7 View comments Jackie 'O' Henderson put her incredible figure on display as she soaked up the rays down Clovelly Beach in Sydney on Sunday. The radio host, 49, made the most of the balmy summer climes as she topped up her tan and enjoyed a dip in the sea during the picture-perfect day out. She put on a busty display and showed off her toned physique in a plunging $99.95 black bikini top from popular swimwear brand Seafolly. The blonde bombshell styled her top with a matching mini skirt from the same brand that gave a flash of her endless legs. Jackie styled her dampened golden tresses loosely across her shoulders and shielded her eyes with a pair of dark shades. She let her natural beauty shine through as she went make-up free while enjoying a dip in the sea and sunbathing at the eastern suburbs hotspot. Jackie 'O' Henderson put her incredible figure on display as she soaked up the rays down Clovelly Beach in Sydney on Sunday The radio host, 49, made the most of the balmy summer climes as she topped up her tan and enjoyed a dip in the sea during the picture-perfect day out She put on a busty display and showed off her toned physique in a plunging $99.95 black bikini top from popular swimwear brand Seafolly Jackie's swimwear look is one of her favourites as she has often been seen sporting the number while soaking up the sun around Sydney. The media personality recently opened up about her health and lifestyle overhaul after getting sober following a harrowing drug and alcohol addiction. In her tell-all memoir, The Whole Truth, Jackie opened up about her struggles with addiction as well as her years-long issues surrounding food. She told how her recent 18kg weight loss came down to a year of strict diet and exercise after overcoming her addiction battle. 'After three years of sitting on a lounge consuming copious amounts of fast food, alcohol and sedatives that slow down the metabolism, the body will go into shock and shed the kilos when that stops,' she said. 'Rumours circled that I was taking Ozempic — because surely I must be on the weight loss wonder drug to have had a transformation so dramatic.' Detailing her struggles over the years, she admitted to trying every diet and fad, including the lemon detox and keto diets, while also binge-eating every weekend. 'I've never had a clinical eating disorder, but I have always had a very unhealthy relationship with the way I view eating,' she shared. The blonde bombshell styled her top with a matching mini skirt from the same brand that gave a flash of her endless legs Jackie styled her dampened golden tresses loosely across her shoulders and shielded her eyes with a pair of dark shades She let her natural beauty shine through as she went make-up free while enjoying a dip in the sea and sunbathing at the eastern suburbs hotspot Jackie joined the huge crowds of Sydneysiders hitting the beach as the temperatures soared into the late 20C on Sunday Aussies all stepped out to make the most of the stunning weather as summer finally arrived Down Under Jackie appeared to be in jovial spirits as she flashed a smile after enjoying a dip in the ocean during the balmy day Jackie showed off her bronzed figure as she stepped out in her skimpy swimwear look during her beach day Jackie put on a busty display in her plunging swimwear look as she put her incredible figure on display She looked every inch the Bondi beach babe as she strutted her stuff along the rocks after getting out of the sea She made sure to cool off by plunging in the ocean as the temperatures reached balmy heights The media personality recently opened up about her health and lifestyle overhaul after getting sober following a harrowing drug and alcohol addiction In her memoir, The Whole Truth, she told how her recent weight loss came down to strict diet and exercise after overcoming her addiction battle 'Rumours circled that I was taking Ozempic — because surely I must be on the weight loss wonder drug to have had a transformation so dramatic,' she wrote Jackie also delved into her drug and alcohol addiction, which saw her spend 28 days in the famous $60,000-a-month rehab clinic, The Betty Ford Center, in November 2022 After overcoming her addiction, Jackie got sober in rehab and celebrated two years of sobriety on Thursday, November 14, in a huge achievement Your browser does not support iframes. When she was a child, Jackie would set her alarm for 5am each morning and make toast with white bread lathered with peanut butter and butter, or cinnamon sugar. During her marriage to her now-ex-husband Lee Henderson, Jackie's diet consisted of 'hamburgers, hot chips and pizza', and one night she consumed a whole jar of Nutella and a glass of champagne for dinner . In her memoir, Jackie also delved into her drug and alcohol addiction, which saw her spend 28 days in the famous $60,000-a-month rehab clinic, The Betty Ford Center, in November 2022. Jackie revealed that at the height of her addiction, she took around 10-12 Stilnox/Ambien sleeping pills and 24 Panadeine Forte painkillers a day. After arriving in rehab, it took her two weeks to get over the withdrawals from the sleeping pills, alcohol and painkillers she'd been numbing herself with for years. 'You can only imagine what that would do to your body when you stop taking that amount of sleeping pills - suddenly it doesn't know how to get to sleep on its own,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'The first five days I was able to sleep for an hour. Every day was just awful. I would lie awake. I'd just lie there in bed all night.' After overcoming her addiction, Jackie got sober in rehab and celebrated two years of sobriety on Thursday, November 14, in a huge achievement. Jackie previously kept her addiction struggles a secret, telling listeners of her breakfast show at the time of her rehab stint that she had contracted long Covid. Sydney Share or comment on this article: Jackie 'O' Henderson shows off her incredible figure in a black bikini and mini skirt as she hits Clovelly Beach e-mail 13 shares Add commentConor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules
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First Horizon Foundation Announces $200,000 Commitment to Hurricane Relief in FloridaDAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were back at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country's public sector came "to a complete and abrupt halt." Meanwhile, streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future and looking for relatives who disappeared during Assad's brutal rule. The rebel alliance now in control of much of the country is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and promises representative government and religious tolerance. The rebel command said Monday they would not tell women how to dress. Syrian citizens stand on a government forces tank that was left on a street Monday as they celebrate in Damascus, Syria. "It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women's dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty," the command said on social media. Nearly two days after rebels entered the capital, some key government services shut down after state workers ignored calls to go back to their jobs, the U.N. official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was long known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, also met for the first time with Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali, who stayed in Syria when Assad fled. Israel said it carried out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets to keep them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew. Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Turkey on Monday at the Oncupinar border gate near the town of Kilis, southern Turkey. In northern Syria, Turkey said allied opposition forces seized the town of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States, a reminder that even after Assad's departure, the country remains split among armed groups that have fought in the past. The Kremlin said Russia granted political asylum to Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Assad's specific whereabouts and said Putin did not plan to meet with him. Damascus was quiet Monday, with life slowly returning to normal, though most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some people still celebrated. Civilian traffic resumed, but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores. There was little sign of any security presence, though in some areas small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets. Syrian citizens celebrate Monday during the second day of the takeover of the city by the insurgents in Damascus, Syria. Across swathes of Syria, families are now waiting outside prisons, security offices and courts, hoping for news of loved ones who were imprisoned or who disappeared. Just north of Damascus in the feared Saydnaya military prison, women detainees, some with their children, screamed as rebels broke locks off their cell doors. Amnesty International and other groups say dozens of people were secretly executed every week in Saydnaya, and they estimate that up to 13,000 Syrians were killed between 2011 and 2016. "Don't be afraid," one rebel said as he ushered women from packed cells. "Bashar Assad has fallen!" In southern Turkey, Mustafa Sultan was among hundreds of Syrian refugees waiting at border crossings to head home. He was searching for his older brother, who was imprisoned under Assad. "I haven't seen him for 13 years," he said. "I am going to go see whether he's alive." Jalali, the prime minister, sought to project normalcy since Assad fled. "We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth," he told Sky News Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation already improved from the day before. Israeli soldiers sit on top of a tank Monday along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams. At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said Sunday that judges were ready to resume work quickly. "We want to give everyone their rights," Haddad said outside the courthouse. "We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods." But a U.N. official said some government services were paralyzed as worried state employees stayed home. The public sector "has just come to a complete and abrupt halt," said U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula, noting, for example, that an aid flight carrying urgently needed medical supplies was put on hold after aviation employees abandoned their jobs. "This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonized by the public media are now in charge in the nation's capital," Abdelmoula told The Associated Press. "I think it will take a couple of days and a lot of assurance on the part of the armed groups for these people to return to work again." People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) People gather to react following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government, in Trafalgar Square, in London, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) People gather to react following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government, in Trafalgar Square, in London, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Members of the Syrian community in Finland wave a Syrian flag and celebrate in Helsinki, Finland, Dec. 8, 2024. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Syrians wave opposition flags and give out sweets during a spontaneous rally in Wuppertal, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa/dpa via AP) Syrians celebrate the fall of the Assad regime in Syria at a demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Jonas Ekstroemer/TT News Agency via AP) A Syrian man waves a flag during a spontaneous demonstration celebrating the fall of the Assad regime, in Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Syrians wave Syrian opposition flags at a rally in Wuppertal, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa/dpa via AP) People wave Syrian opposition flags at City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Syrians living in France gather on Republique square after the Syrian government fell early today in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government's fall, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Syrians living in France hug during a rally on Republique square after the Syrian government fell early today in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) People gather to react following the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government, in Trafalgar Square, in London, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) People gather to celebrate the Syrian government fall at Faith mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) People attend a rally celebrating the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, at central Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A Syrian man waves a flag during a spontaneous demonstration celebrating the fall of the Assad regime in Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!