WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is removing Syria from a list of countries that are not allowed to purchase or import U.S. weaponry, a step that is part of a monthslong process of easing sanctions on the new government in Damascus and its leaders.
In a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the State Department said it was amending its International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, so that Syria no longer was among the nations subject to a policy of denial for licenses and other approvals needed for the sale of U.S. weapons and munitions.
The change effective Thursday means that arms sales requests from Syria will now be considered on a case-by-case basis.
President Donald Trump acted last year to ease economic sanctions on Syria that had been in place for decades during now-ousted President Bashar Assad’s rule. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio rescinded Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, helping paving the way for the latest step in drawing closer to the current government.
The State Department has also announced plans to reopen the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. It has been closed for 14 years.
With Syria’s removal from the ITAR blacklist, only seven countries remain subject to the policy of denial for licenses for U.S. arms exports: Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Venezuela.
Syria’s interim president, former rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, overthrew the Assad government nearly two years ago and has embarked on a policy of change that has impressed the Trump administration. His moves have led to hopes of eventual stability in a country that was wracked by civil war and the Islamic State insurgency that engulfed northeast and western Iraq for years.
Wednesday’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq may mean that the Syrian government plays a greater role in preventing an IS resurgence.
The Federal Communications Commission has asked a judge to toss out ABC’s 1st Amendment lawsuit, arguing that parent company Walt Disney Co. is wrongly attempting to short-circuit the agency’s review into whether the broadcaster has violated the law.
The commission, in court documents, maintains ABC’s lawsuit was premature because regulators simply were in the process of reviewing whether ABC has served the public interest in operating its eight television stations. No final determination has been reached, the FCC argued.
The Disney-owned station licenses were not set to expire for several years. For example, the license for KABC-TV Channel 7 in Los Angeles extends to 2030.
But the FCC launched the probe a day after President Trump complained about ABC late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel over a joke that upset First Lady Melania Trump.
ABC has taken an aggressive stance, arguing the FCC is wielding its enforcement powers to punish the network after Trump repeatedly agitated to have ABC’s licenses revoked. ABC maintains the FCC’s enforcement action is an attempt to quell the network’s free speech, in violation of the 1st Amendment. It asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order and injunction to halt the FCC’s early station review.
ABC also is fighting an FCC review into whether its daytime talk show, “The View,” should be entitled to an exemption from the so-called equal-time rule for political candidates who appear as guests.
Disney’s lawsuit has enormous 1st Amendment implications.
ABC is the first major broadcaster to challenge the FCC’s enforcement actions since Trump returned to power, joining a small handful of news organizations, including the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal, that have pushed back against the president’s efforts to bully outlets he dislikes.
In late December, Trump wrote on social media: “If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows are almost 100% negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated? I say YES!”
ABC, which did not comment Friday, argued the FCC’s review is “extraordinarily early” and “that timing underscores the Commission’s true purpose: coercing and retaliating against a network that refuses to bow to the Administration’s demands.”
The FCC has scoffed at the broadcaster’s arguments.
“Disney filed a meritless lawsuit in an effort to stop the FCC’s ongoing investigation into allegations that Disney violated the law,” an FCC spokesperson said in a statement. “The FCC has developed a voluminous record, and it will continue to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.”
The government filed its motion Thursday in Washington. The 46-page document was filed by U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro and signed by Assistant U.S. Atty. Dimitar P. Georgiev on behalf of the FCC.
Disney was “not content to let the Commission’s ordinary investigative processes (and, if needed, ordinary processes of judicial review) run their course. They instead ask this Court to halt the license renewal proceeding in its tracks by issuing a preliminary injunction,” the FCC said.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan has scheduled an Oct. 6 hearing.
Disney has argued the FCC has gone well beyond an examination of its internal hiring practices — the original purpose of the agency’s review.
But, in its motion, the FCC faulted Disney’s handling of the matter, saying “Disney’s responses to Commission information requests were deficient and nonresponsive,” prompting the agency to escalate the dispute.
In late April, Carr directed the FCC Media Bureau to force ABC to apply for renewal of their licenses early.
“The Commission’s Chairman has repeatedly emphasized that, although the allegations against Disney are serious, he and the agency remain ‘open-minded,’ have ‘not made a decision,’ and are ‘going to follow the facts and the law wherever they [lead],’ ” according to the motion.
The FCC also argued Disney picked the wrong court because Congress stipulated that any review of commission orders should be heard by an appeals court.
If ABC lost its licenses, it would hobble the network by forcing its largest stations off the air. Other ABC stations at risk include those in San Francisco, Fresno, Houston, Philadelphia and New York.
KABC-TV Channel 7 is owned by Disney in Glendale.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Trump on Sunday called for the FCC to “rebuke or punish” NBC’s “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker after she pointed out that the president has had mixed success in endorsing political candidates in this election season.
The FCC also has an open investigation against NBC owner Comcast, also looking at the Philadelphia company’s diversity and hiring practices. The FCC has not ruled out calling NBC-owned station licenses in for an early review as well.
Tiger Woods was suspended from driving for five years and fined after reaching a plea deal at a Florida court Wednesday in connection with a rollover crash in March.
The golf legend pleaded guilty to reckless driving and refusal to submit to a lawful urinalysis test. The agreement also includes a $1,000 fine.
Woods, 50, initially pleaded not guilty after being charged with driving under the influence on March 27. His Land Rover clipped a truck, rolled onto its side and he was arrested by police officers who responded to the incident after he failed a sobriety test.
An arrest affidavit indicated Woods said he was looking at his cellphone and changing the radio station when the crash occurred. The breathalyzer test showed no traces of alcohol, but Woods refused to take a urine test, had two hydrocodone pills in his pocket and admitted to taking “a few pills,” the report said.
Woods’ attorney, Douglas Duncan, pleaded not guilty to both charges March 31 and requested a jury trial. The judge allowed Woods to leave the country for inpatient treatment at a rehab facility in Switzerland.
Woods’ pivot to recovery came after a barrage of headlines about his rollover crash and unfocused, hiccups-laden aftermath captured on police officers’ body cameras that included a phone call to President Trump, the failed field sobriety tests, handcuffs and a drive to jail in the back seat of a squad car.
At a hearing in May, Steele granted prosecutors’ request for access to “any and all prescription medication on file” for Woods, including type of prescription, number of pills and dosage amount. Those details presumably would have been submitted as evidence at a trial, which now will not take place.
“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” Woods said in a statement in March. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery. I’m committed to taking the time needed to return to a healthier, stronger, and more focused place, both personally and professionally.”
Woods’ struggles with prescription drugs became public in 2017 when police found him asleep at the wheel of his car with the engine running near his Jupiter, Fla., home. Painkillers, sleep aids and THC were detected in his system. Woods checked into rehab shortly after that incident, saying his efforts to manage insomnia and pain from his staggering number of back surgeries on his own was a mistake.
The latest crash is the fourth major incident involving Woods behind the wheel since 2009.
“I feel bad for Tiger,” fellow golf great Jack Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post in April. “He’s been taking painkillers for a long time and I don’t know how much pain he’s in. But I don’t think he’d be taking them if he didn’t need them.”
Woods first hurt his back as a high school sophomore in 1992 when he became the youngest golfer to play in a PGA Tour event, shooting a one-over-par 72 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. That began a career-threatening battle with back injuries that includes seven surgeries since 2014 — several microdiscectomies, a 2017 lumbar fusion and most recently a lumbar disc replacement performed in October 2025.
“Tiger Woods’ experience with spinal disease highlights a real and under-recognized issue among modern-era golfers,” said Dr. Corey Walker of the Barrow Neurological Institute. “Tiger’s use of the mechanics of the modern-day swing places a tremendous strain on the back.”
Woods last played in an official PGA Tour event at The Open Championship on July 19, 2024, at Royal Troon, missing the cut.
