RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — The U.S. needs to keep troops deployed in Syria to prevent the Islamic ... Lloyd Austin told The Associated Press. American forces are still needed there ...

Syria has been a work in progress, a nation to be rebuilt, since the downfall of its autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad, a month ago. It is far too early to ascertain in what political direction Syria is heading, but if the past is any guide, Syrians should not expect their country to become a Jeffersonian democracy.

Planners to meet: The Rancho Bernardo Planning Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16 in a new location, the Bernardo Heights Community Center, 16150 Bernardo Heights Parkway in RB. For the agenda, visit RBPlanningBoard.com.

The new candle to raise funds for Red Cross relief efforts follows previous fundraising candle sales for relief in Ukraine, Maui, Turkey and Florida.

Additionally, there is a significant grouping of Arabs who identify as Palestinian who are outside the boundaries of the State of Israel and have no country of citizenship. These two problems lead to the creation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency or UNRWA. UNRWA defines a Palestinian refugee as follows:

Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for the release of hostages from Gaza and a cease-fire, Fox News has confirmed from a source briefed on the matter.

The ceasefire deal is the same one Biden put forward months ago. If he had pushed harder, thousands of lives could have been saved.

The deal, not yet formally announced, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

Israel intensified strikes on Gaza hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, as mediators sought to quell fighting ahead of the truce's start on Sunday.

As it became increasingly clear that Syrians were not imminently leaving Turkey, the Turkish government formalized the Temporary Protection Regulation in 2014. It allowed Syrian nationals access to the Turkish education and health care systems and laid the groundwork for them to pursue employment if they could secure work permits.

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan: FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell Rep. Judy Chu, Democrat of CaliforniaSen. John Barrasso, Republican of WyomingSen.

Democrats repeatedly called Pete Hegseth unfit to be secretary of defense, but Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee expressed nothing but support for his candidacy at a confirmation hearing.