05.15.2025

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US-Syria Meeting

President Donald Trump met with Syria’s leader, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia yesterday. The meeting was the first between a US president and a Syrian leader since former President Bill Clinton met with Hafez al-Assad in 2000.

The encounter comes on the heels of Trump’s announcement this week that he will lift all US sanctions on Syria. Those sanctions were enacted following the start of the civil war in 2011, and correspond with a tenfold decrease in Syria's exports by 2021. Al-Sharaa—the former leader of an al-Qaida affiliate—led rebel factions in toppling the Assad regime. Trump indicated yesterday al-Sharaa is open to joining Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel; no deal has been announced.

Trump is approaching the end of his four-day Middle East trip, with a final stop today in the United Arab Emirates. He was in Qatar yesterday, where he signed a defense deal, oversaw a $96B purchase of up to 210 Boeing planes, and was gifted a $400M luxury Boeing 747-8 intended to one day serve as Air Force One. 

Overdose Deaths Drop

US drug overdose deaths dropped by 30,000 in 2024, a provisional report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed yesterday. The 27% drop—from 110,000 deaths in 2023 to 80,000 last year—is the largest one-year decline on record, bringing annual overdose deaths to their lowest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

It is not yet clear what drove the decline. Experts cite the increased availability of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone as a possible factor; the Food and Drug Administration approved naloxone for over-the-counter use in March 2023. Methadone, an opioid treatment, also became more readily available, receiving approval for expanded at-home use last year. Shifts in drug use patterns and preferences may also be driving factors. 

All but two states saw a drop in deaths, with Nevada and South Dakota experiencing small increases. Deaths linked to synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, saw the biggest drop. Learn more about opioids in 1440 Topics here.

Earliest Reptile Footprints

Scientists have discovered the oldest recorded reptile-like footprints, a study revealed yesterday. The fossilized claw tracks near Melbourne, Australia, date back 354 million to 358 million years. They suggest animals evolved the ability to walk on land much earlier than previously thought. 

Animals emerged from the ocean roughly 400 million years ago. Amniotes—ancestors to modern birds, reptiles, and mammals—emerged at some point afterward, with claws (and later, feet and nails) enabling them to live on hard land. 

The Australian discovery hastens the timeline and location of this evolutionary jump; the earliest clawed tracks beforehand were discovered in Canada, dating back 318 million years. This latest discovery suggests the jump to land living happened in the ancient southern continent of Gondwana (more, w/video).

The reptile-like creature likely measured 2.5 feet long, with long toes and hooked claws, resembling a monitor lizard. Trackways suggest the animal scampered in light rainfall before two others ran the opposite way. See more here (w/video).

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