Suheil Hamwi spent 32 years in a Syrian prison, and now, after an offensive by insurgents that toppled the government of Bashar Assad, he's finally returned to his home in Lebanon.

In 1992, Hamwi worked as a merchant, selling various goods in the town of Chekka in northern Lebanon. On the night of Eid il-Burbara, or Saint Barbara's Day — a holiday similar to Halloween — a man came to his door to buy some whiskey. Hamwi said he handed his 10-month-old son, George, to his wife and went to his car to fetch the whiskey and make the sale.

The Biden administration says it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the U.S. would work with groups in Syria and regional partners to ensure that the transition from President Bashar Assad’s deposed government runs smoothly. He was not specific about which groups the U.S. would work with.

Israel’s military said it bombed more than 350 sites in Syria during 48 hours, targeting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country.

There is concern that, with the sudden collapse of the Syrian government, weapons stockpiles could be seized by jihadi militants.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched multiple drones and a missile at three commercial ships being escorted in the Gulf of Aden by U.S. Navy ships, a U.S. official said.

There was no damage and no injuries. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, said U.S. Navy destroyers, and Navy helicopter and a French Air Force aircraft shot down four of the drones and the missile. The three U.S. affiliated flagged ships were sailing east toward Djibouti.

Insurgents who overthrew the Syrian government now say they have wrested control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor after intense battles with a Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed force.

Syria’s rebel military command announced Tuesday evening that they had completely captured the city of Deir Ezzor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised defiantly on Tuesday to knock down corruption allegations against him as he began testifying in his long-running trial, becoming the first sitting Israeli leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant.

The testimony is another low point for Israel's longest-serving leader, who also faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Israel's war in Gaza.

Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli strike on a home where displaced people were sheltering in the northern Gaza Strip has killed at least 19 people.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the recent events in Syria, including the fall of its government, were part of a joint plan by the United States and Israel, state TV reported Wednesday.

“There should be no doubt that what has happened in Syria is the result of a joint American and Zionist plan," it quoted Khamenei as saying. “We have evidence, and this evidence leaves no room for doubt.”

The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is "polarization"?

"Polarization means division, but it's a very specific kind of division," said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday's announcement. "Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center."

The Golden Globes nominated more than 40 individual films Monday — and yet still managed to overlook quite a bit. That may just be the brutal truth of awards season: The field narrows and suddenly great performances and wonderful films are simply left in the dust.

The Globes have always had quirks, like A-lister tunnel vision, and while there might not be anything quite as glaring as the infamous year of "The Tourist," this batch is not without its oddities: Some good, some bad, some simply perplexing.