President Trump's takeover this year of the Kennedy Center — which was renamed to include Trump earlier this month — is continuing to prompt cancellations from scheduled acts.
The big picture: At least three sets of performers have pulled out in the wake of the renaming, joining at least eight others who left Kennedy Center roles or canceled appearances following Trump's February election as board chairman.
The number of recorded measles cases in the U.S. during 2025 has exceeded 2,000 for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why it matters: This year's surge in cases and prolonged outbreaks could cause the U.S. to lose its globally recognized measles "elimination status" for the first time in decades by the end of January 2026.
The Justice Department has sued Virginia over its policy of giving qualifying local undocumented immigrants access to in-state tuition pricing, claiming that it discriminates against citizens living in other states.
Why it matters: It is the latest example of the DOJ's push to limit states from offering tuition benefits to undocumented immigrants, without which higher education could be inaccessible to the nation's estimated 850,000 undocumented minors.
Some Federal Reserve officials were hesitant to support more interest rate cuts in 2026, according to minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting published on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The Fed is split over how much more to lower borrowing costs to support the economy, a division that might deepen next year against the backdrop of President Trump pressuring the central bank to lower rates.
The big picture: The judge's order permits sharing of basic biographical, contact and location information, a win for the Trump administration's effort to use Medicaid data in its immigration crackdown — an arrangement that critics said raised privacy concerns.
The U.S. economy was beaten and battered in 2025, and powered ahead despite it all.
The big picture: The question for 2026 is whether the underlying sources of weakness that are already evident will broaden out into something that threatens to undermine its overall resilience.
China's military held massive live-fire drills around Taiwan for a second day on Tuesday, but President Trump said he's not concerned about the action that Beijing launched after expressing anger at a proposed U.S. arms sale to Taipei.
The big picture: Trump told reporters Monday he has "a great relationship" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping "and he hasn't told me anything about" the drills. "Nothing worries me" about the drills, he added. "Nothing. They've been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area."
President Trump and his top advisers asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change Israel's policies in the occupied West Bank during their meeting on Monday, according to a U.S. official and another source, both with direct knowledge.
Why it matters: While the security situation in the West Bank has deteriorated dramatically, and other Western governments have denounced Israel's policies, the Trump administration has been seen as supportive. This is the first time in his second term that Trump and his team have weighed in at length with Netanyahu about West Bank policy.
President Trump warned Monday there would be "very powerful" consequences for Iran if it rebuilds its ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programs.
Why it matters: Trump made clear during a briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wouldn't rule out more military action against Iran.
President Trump said the U.S. military launched strikes against ISIS in Nigeria on Christmas Day because "Islamic terrorists" are attacking Christians in the region.
The big picture: The situation is more nuanced than Trump claims, with analysts and data underscoring that Christians are targets in a small percentage of religiously motivated attacks in the country.
Outrage from Republicans and the MAGA universe against Minnesota continues to simmer as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security probe the state over alleged fraud schemes.
Why it matters: Trump administration officials have been arguing that Minnesota has become a hotbed of fraud, and they've singled out the state's large Somali community as a driver of it.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog swiftly denied President Trump's claim on Monday that he had told the U.S. president he would pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Why it matters: Trump has intervened repeatedly in Israel's politics and judicial system by pressuring Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who faces multiple corruption charges. He did so once again on Monday when Netanyahu arrived to meet him at Mar-a-Lago.
The Trump administration on Monday announced the first awards to states from the $50 billion rural health fund in this summer's Republican megabill — including a big award for Alaska, whose lawmakers' support was critical to the bill's passage.
Why it matters: The awards highlighted which states are winners and losers, as officials brace for Medicaid cuts also included in the GOP bill.
President Trump casually told a radio show last week that the U.S. "knocked out" a "big facility," seemingly in Venezuela, as part of the militarized pressure campaign against alleged narco-terrorists.
The big picture: If the U.S. struck Venezuela as the president suggested, it would be a major escalation in Trump's mission targeting the Caribbean nation. Yet three days after the remarks, no government agency has provided details, confirmation or evidence of any such attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in a call with President Trump on Monday — their second in 24 hours — that Ukraine conducted a drone attack targeting one of his official residences, a claim Kyiv immediately denied.
Why it matters: Putin told Trump that Russia would revise its negotiating position based on the alleged attack, according to Moscow's readout. It's the latest indication the Kremlin is disinclined to accept the deal the U.S. and Ukraine have been negotiating for weeks.
Nick Shirley, a MAGA-friendly YouTuber, lit up X during Christmas week with video reports from Minnesota alleging massive fraud in government-funded child care programs — and provoked approving responses from the FBI and Vice President JD Vance.
Why it matters: Shirley, 23 — who has more than 1 million YouTube subscribers and spoke during a White House roundtable this fall — is one of several young "independent journalists" turning heads among conservatives and Trump administration officials by going on-location and quickly posting minimalist, outrage-inducing videos.
President Trump's inauguration in January kicked off a relentless news cycle that sent Americans scrambling to keep up with the volume and velocity of change from the Oval Office and beyond, according to Axios' annual analysis of Google Trends data.
Why it matters: Political violence, economic nerves and mass tragedies gripped the country in a dizzying year for both domestic and international news.
President Trump said after his Sunday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine and Russia are "closer than ever" to a peace deal and that 95% of the issues have been settled.
Why it matters: The meeting comes at the height of Trump's diplomatic push to reach a peace agreement aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
China's military conducted live-fire military drills around Taiwan on Monday in what a Chinese official said marked "a stern warning" against 'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces and external interference."
The big picture: The drills involving the Chinese Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force troops came less than two weeks after the Trump administration announced plans for a $11.1 billion weapons deal with Taipei, which prompted Beijing to impose sanctions on Boeing and other U.S. firms.
A man suspected of planting pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic parties' headquarters in D.C. on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot's eve provided a detailed confession, per a Department of Justice filing Sunday evening.
Why it matters: In the first indication of a potential motive in the case, the DOJ alleged in the filing Brian J. Cole Jr. told the FBI he felt someone needed to "speak up" after he became concerned that voting in the 2020 presidential election had been "tampered with" following President Trump's loss to former President Biden.
