JD VANCE: "Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media...We're not abandoning this nomination."

BREAKING: A Manhattan judge has agreed to drop the top charge of manslaughter in the second degree against Daniel Penny in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely.

The 12-person panel will continue deliberating Monday on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

WATCH: Former Maryland State Police investigator suggests UnitedHealthCare CEO may have hired his own hit man

PHOTO: The backpack found in Central Park

📷: ABC News

TRUMP: “I’ve spoken to people that know [Pete Hegseth] very well & they say he does not have a drinking problem.”

Tim Walz says he “was surprised” that Trump won.

GRAPHIC: Tampa Sheriff releases bodycam footage of deadly shooting, killing suspect holding knife to woman's neck with head shot

BREAKING: Syrian rebels close in on Damascus as government denies Assad has left the capital

President-elect Trump greets US Marines in France🫡

BREAKING: Biden sends another $988 million to fund the war in Ukraine as U.S. hurricane victims freeze at night while living in tents

VIDEO: The restored Notre Dame Cathedral is gorgeous🙏

BOLTON: “It's almost like [Elon] Musk has become Vice President.”

Prisoners all over Syria have been freed by rebels as they close in on Damascus.

BREAKING: Rebels in Syria have just released thousands of prisoners from Sednaya Prison, often referred to as "Bashar's Guantanamo."

BREAKING: Rebels have just taken control of Damascus Airport. Reports also claim that the Brodcasting Authority was taken over as well, and rebels are preparing to make a statement announcing the end of Assad’s rule.

MAJOR BREAKING NEWS: Syrian President Assad reportedly fled to Abu Dhabi by private jet. Assad's soldiers were seen fleeing to Iraq by the thousands.

People in Damascus are in the streets and celebrating the end of the Assad regime.

MAJOR DRAMA IN SYRIA! Flight SYR9218 has gone off radar. This may have been carrying Asaad and his family. Possible reasons include jamming, a tracking error, it was shot down, or a potential crash. Speculation is mounting, especially with no updates on Assad's whereabouts.

SEE THIS: Video footage allegedly inside Bashar al-Assad's house in the Al-Maliki neighborhood in the heart of Damascus.