Vice President JD Vance made his way to Damascus, Virginia, to address Helene recovery on Monday. News 5's Natalea Hillen spoke with two area experts to get their take on the Vice President's visit to our region.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Tuesday met with the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) for the second time in a month. Both sides agreed to send a joint committee to Damascus to discuss the future of Kurds in new Syria,

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa met on Tuesday Ahmed Al-Sharaa, head of the new Syrian administration, in Damascus. Mustafa “conveyed the greetings of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian people to the leadership and people of Syria,

Vice President JD Vance pledged the federal government will do more to assist residents of this tiny community rebuild in the wake of disastrous flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

It is becoming apparent that negotiations between the new leadership in Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) face significant obstacles due to disagreements over military structure and administrative demands.

Vice President JD Vance announced he will return to Damascus, Virginia, on Monday. The Vice President posted on X, “Tomorrow, I’ll return to Damascus, VA, to check on their cleanup from Hurricane Helene and we’ll continue to do so until they’ve fully recovered.

Vice President JD Vance will return to Washington County on Monday to review progress in the town of Damascus after the devastating September flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene. "The American people should expect more of their government," Vance said in an interview broadcast Sunday on the CBS program "Face the Nation."

Vice President JD Vance will travel to Damascus Monday afternoon to see recovery efforts that are underway following Hurricane Helene.

Officials say that Turkish Airlines will resume its flights to Damascus, Syria, next week after a halt of more than a decade.

Damascus, SANA- Damascus University has moved up to the 617 position in the first edition 2025 of Webometrics Ranking of world Universities, ranking 2424 out of 32,000 universities and research centers in the ranking system.

Vice President JD Vance and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke with reporters after a roundtable on Helene recovery on Monday afternoon.