US AND CANADA

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The historic all-female Blue Origin space flight earlier this year, featuring Vietnamese-American scientist and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, has been overshadowed by the personal toll it took on her. Nguyen, the first Vietnamese woman to venture into space, has opened up about a period of depression after facing a "tsunami of harassment," which she attributed to "an avalanche of misogyny."

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The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, though he said he would prefer an American commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from further attempts to seize its neighbor’s land by force.

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President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. has “hit” a dock facility along a shore as he wages a pressure campaign on Venezuela, but the U.S. offered few details.

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The Kennedy Center In Washington DC is seeking one million dollars in damages from veteran musician Chuck Redd after he cancelled a long running Christmas Eve concert in protest over the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the venue. The dispute has drawn national attention and reignited debate over politics and the arts at one of America’s most prominent cultural institutions.

Chuck Redd is a respected drummer and vibraphone player who has hosted an annual Christmas Eve performance at the Kennedy Center since 2006. This year’s concert was cancelled shortly after the center’s board voted to rename the venue as The Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Redd said he made the decision after seeing the name change appear first on the Kennedy Center website and then etched onto the building itself.

The center’s president Richard Grenell responded sharply. In a letter sent to Redd, Grenell described the cancellation as a political stunt and accused the musician of causing serious financial harm to the nonprofit institution. Grenell claimed the decision resulted in lost ticket revenue and donor support and said the center would seek one million dollars in damages as compensation.

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Federal Homeland Security officials were conducting a fraud investigation on Monday in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet over the weekend with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida.

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The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, though he said he would prefer an American commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from further attempts to seize its neighbor’s land by force.

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In a significant moment for his pontificate, Pope Leo utilized his first Christmas Urbi et Orbi address from St. Peter's Square—a traditional Christmas Day message to Vatican City worshippers—to strongly encourage Ukraine and Russia to secure peace through

direct negotiations, finding the "courage" to do so. Beyond this immediate conflict, he extended his appeal for an end to hostilities across the entire world.

Speaking about Ukraine, the Pope said: "May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue."