PBS News Hour

In our news wrap Monday, the Pentagon grounded the V-22 Osprey fleet after weakened metal components were found following a near-crash in New Mexico last month, the EPA announced bans of TCE and perchloroethylene and South Korea's justice ministry banned President Yoon Suk Yeol from leaving the country following his attempt to impose martial law.

A jury in New York found former Marine Daniel Penny not guilty in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely. The killing, which took place on a subway car last spring, has provoked intense reactions. Some painted Penny as a savior who protected people while others see him as a reckless vigilante who went too far. Stephanie Sy discussed more with Samantha Max of WNYC.

After 13 brutal years of war, Syrians breathe free after the fall of the autocratic Assad dynasty. Bashar al-Assad and his family are now in Russia, which extended them asylum. The seizure of the nation by insurgents rocked the region and the world. But for many Syrians, the task after the fall of Assad was to take stock of the catastrophic damage and what the future holds. Nick Schifrin reports.

Over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump sat down for his first formal interview since winning a second term in the White House. Trump spoke to Meet the Press about his plans for his new administration, doubling down on campaign promises around mass deportations, threatening political rivals and praising Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Laura Barrón-López reports.

In 1958, when John Cruitt’s mother died, his third-grade teacher made a small gesture of kindness that meant a great deal to him. In this animated feature from our partners at StoryCorps, he sat down with Cecile Doyle decades later to tell her how that gesture changed his life — and in the process made a difference in her life as well.

For more than half a century, Syria had been ruled with an iron fist by the Assad regime. It all came to an end this weekend with lightning speed, as rebels took control of the capital city of Damascus, and with it, the country. What lies ahead now for Syria and the Middle East is an open question. Hassan Hassan, founder and editor in chief of New Lines magazine, joins John Yang to discuss.

This past week, the White House detailed the scope of a massive Chinese hacking campaign that reaped information from American cell phone networks. But an HBO original documentary, “Surveilled,” says some governments use commercial spyware to monitor their own citizens. To learn more, John Yang speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, who produced the documentary.

In our news wrap Sunday, Trump called for an “immediate cease-fire” between Ukraine and Russia and said in an interview that he plans to end birthright citizenship in the U.S., New York police released new photos of the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and a pair of iconic ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” sold at auction for $28 million.

In our news wrap Saturday, Hamas released a video of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker, Syrian opposition fighters reached the suburbs of Damascus, lawmakers in South Korea’s ruling party boycotted a vote in parliament to impeach President Yoon, and veterans and current service members gathered in Hawaii to honor those killed at Pearl Harbor 83 years ago today.

Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction in the mountains of North Carolina devastated one of the region’s big industries: Christmas tree farming. One family operation overcame obstacles to get its crop to market, including one special tree that ended up in the White House. Ali Rogin reports.

Against the Paris skyline, the Notre Dame Cathedral has risen from the ashes with its official reopening Saturday. Dozens of world leaders, diplomats and celebrities attended the celebration of the monument’s rebirth, including a high-profile return to the global spotlight for President-elect Trump. John Yang speaks with Heather Conley, senior advisor to the German Marshall Fund, for more.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, drunk driving crashes are as much as 40 percent higher between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than the rest of the year. The legal blood alcohol limit in the U.S. is higher than around the world, and advocates say lowering it would reduce fatal car crashes. John Yang speaks with researcher James Fell to learn more.