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NEW YORK (AP) — A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition dating back more than 20 years, has been canceled. The show's host, musician Chuck Redd, says that he called off the performance in the wake of the White House announcing last week thatPresident Donald Trump'sname would be added to the facility.

As of last Friday,the building's facade readsThe Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. According to the White House, the president's handpicked board approved the decision, which scholars have said violates the law. Trump had been suggesting for months he was open to changing the center's name.

"When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert," Redd told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday. Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has been presiding over holiday "Jazz Jams" at the Kennedy Center since 2006, succeeding bassist William "Keter" Betts.

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to email seeking comment. The center'swebsitelists the show as canceled.

President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Kennedy niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump's name from the building once he leaves office and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes would have to be approved by Congress.

The law explicitly prohibitsthe board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person's name on the building's exterior.

Trump, a Republican, has been deeply involved with the center named for an iconic Democrat after mostly ignoring it during his first term. He has forced out its leadership, overhauled the board while arranging for himself to head it, and personally hosted this year's Kennedy Center honors, breaking a long tradition of presidents mostly serving as spectators. The changes at the Kennedy Center are part of the president's larger mission to fight "woke" culture at federal cultural institutions.

Numerous artists have called off Kennedy Center performances since Trump returned to office, including Issa Rae and Peter Wolf. Lin-Manuel Miranda canceled a planned production of "Hamilton."

Two people were wounded in a shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Maryland, according to police.

The shooting unfolded at about 10:51 a.m. Wednesday while agents from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations were "conducting a detail" in Glen Burnie, just outside of Baltimore, Anne Arundel County Police said.

When the agents "approached a white van, that van attempted to run agents over," police said.

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"ICE agents fired at that vehicle," police said, and then "that vehicle accelerated, coming to rest ... in a wooded area" behind houses.

One person in the van was shot and is in the hospital in stable condition, police said. A second person who was outside of the van suffered minor injuries and was also taken to the hospital, police said.

​A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the driver -- who is in the U.S. illegally from Portugal -- refused to turn off the van and drove "directly at ICE officers."

"Fearing for their lives and public safety, defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver," according to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

"The ICE officers were not severely injured," the statement added.

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he's aware of the shooting.

"As information surrounding the incident continues to emerge, we will remain in touch with local officials and are standing by to provide support for the community," he wrote on social media.

ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.

For the first time in two years, Bethlehem in theoccupied West Bankis hosting a large public Christmas celebration. The festivities have either been pared down or canceled since theIsrael-Hamas warbegan in October 2023.

On Dec. 24, hundreds descended on the historic city, which Christians laud as the birthplace of Jesus Christ. The city and its landmarks attract Christian pilgrims from around the world, with special focus on the Christmas holiday season. The city estimated in 2014 that more than 2 million tourists and pilgrims visit each year, though numbers have waned over the past few years due to the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

More:Israel announces new West Bank settlements despite sanctions threat

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was among those who traveled to the city for the celebrations on Dec. 24. He is the top Roman Catholic leader in the Holy Land, and hosted a Christmas service at the Church of the Nativity.

"This year we want a Christmas full of light," Pizzaballa told reporters. "Because this is what we need after two years of darkness, we need light."

He also acknowledged there were still problems "on the ground" but said it was time to "turn the page and look forward."

More:Israel sends tanks into West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years

U.S. Ambassador to IsraelMike Huckabeealso attended the event with his wife and recorded a video address from the city center's Manger Square, where large religious festivities are often held. The square hosted the large Christmas tree and traditionally acts as the final stop for the Christmas procession.

Bethlehem's mayor, Maher Canawati,told CNNhe thought it was "crucial" to resume the celebrations.

"It was very important for the resilience of the people of Bethlehem," he said. "Because many people almost lost hope."

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@usatoday.comand on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletterhere.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Bethlehem celebrates Christmas after Israel Gaza war pause

The Trump administration authorized this week the deployment of up to 350 National Guard members to New Orleans and other metropolitan areas in Louisiana.

This is something that was expected and supported by the state's Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. He spoke about it yesterday on Fox News.

"We know how to make cities safe, and the National Guard compliments cities that are having high crime problems. Look at what the president's done in Washington, D.C.," Landry said.

The National Guard is expected to be in Louisiana through the end of February to help fight crime there.

But this comes on the heels of a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling against the Trump administration this week, refusing to overturn a lower courts' ruling that prevented the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago to assist in the protection of federal personnel and buildings.

In a rare setback for Trump's anti-crime agenda, the court indicated that the administration had failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute Illinois laws.

RELATED NEWS |Supreme Court blocks Trump's bid to deploy National Guard in Illinois

The ruling now raises questions about what will happen in other cities in which the presidenthas deployed troopsor attempted to deploy troops.

A White House spokesperson indicated the administration will continue working to safeguard the American public and says nothing from the ruling detracts from the president's core agenda.

Illinois' Democratic Gov. JB Pritzkerposted on social mediaTuesday, calling the ruling a big win for Illinois and American democracy.

"The brave men and women of our National Guard should never be used for political theater and deserve to be with their families and communities, especially during the holidays," Pritzker wrote.

By Keith Coffman

DENVER, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Santa Claus drove his reindeer-powered sleigh over rooftops around the world on Wednesday, delivering gifts to millions of children in a magic Christmas Eve ritual that North ​American air defense officials say they began tracking 70 years ago.

Still, despite its devotion to a tradition ‌dating back to the Cold War era of 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, possesses limited intelligence about the direction ‌that Santa will take in any given year.

Santa is not required to file a flight plan. So the only thing NORAD knows for sure in advance is that the red-suited jolly old elf, also known as Kris Kringle or Saint Nicholas, takes off every Christmas Eve from his home base at the North Pole.

"NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, ⁠which means we cannot predict where or ‌when he will arrive at your house," a senior NORAD official said in a press statement.

NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian military command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs,Colorado, ‍has provided images and updates on Santa's worldwide journey for seven decades, along with its main task of monitoring air defenses and issuing aerospace and maritime warnings.

The Santa tracker tradition originated from a 1955 misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper of the telephone ​number of a department store for children to call and speak with Santa. The listed number went to what ‌was then known as the Continental Air Defense Command.

An understanding officer took the youngsters' calls and assured them that Santa was airborne and on schedule to deliver presents to good girls and boys - at least those who believe in him - flying aboard his reindeer-powered sleigh.

According to its website, NORAD detects Santa's liftoff with its polar radar network, then follows his journey with the same satellites used to warn of any possible missile launches aimed at North America.

As soon as ⁠Santa's lead reindeer, Rudolph, switches on his shiny red nose, military ​personnel can zero in on his location using the satellites' infrared ​sensors.

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be following NORAD's Santa tracker on Wednesday as he sat by a Christmas tree at his Mar-a-Lago residence inFlorida, fielding telephone calls from children around ‍the country.

As he spoke to ⁠one youngster fromPennsylvania, Trump said, "So Santa right now is in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he's heading toward our country. What would you like from Santa?"

Speaking to another caller, Trump jokingly explained the rationale for tracking Santa ⁠in terms of national security, saying, "We want to make sure he's not infiltrated, that we're not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa."

(Reporting ‌by Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional ‌reporting by Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

TheJustice Departmentsaid Wednesday that it's received a new tranche of records — more than 1 million documents — "potentially" related toJeffrey Epstein's case, requiring additional time to process them before release.

The DOJ said it "may take a few more weeks" to review the files produced by the FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

"The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI have informed the Department of Justice that they have uncovered over a million more documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case," the Justice Departmentsaid on its X accountWednesday afternoon.

"The DOJ has received these documents from SDNY and the FBI to review them for release, in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, existing statutes, and judicial orders. We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible. Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks."

Spokespeople for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to NBC News requests for comment about the contents of the documents and why they weren't uncovered earlier. A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment.

Epstein died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in the Southern District of New York. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's accomplice,was indicted in July 2020on federal sex trafficking charges. She was found guilty in December 2021 in New York and is serving a20-year prison sentence.

The Justice Department publicly released thousands of pages of Epstein files on Friday, the statutory deadline for releasing all of the files as outlined in the Epstein Files Transparency Act that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump last month. Another tranche was released Tuesday.

After the initial batch, Justice Department officials said they needed more time to review the files they have on hand and redact text and images related to Epstein's victims. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that he expected the entirety of the Epstein files to be onlineby Jan. 2.

"The reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply to protect victims," Blanche told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

"We're going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims' names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted, which is exactly what the [Epstein Files] Transparency Act expects," he added.

As of Wednesday, the Justice Department had released about 40,000 documents related to Epstein, according to an NBC News analysis.

It's unclear why more Epstein-related files in the FBI's possession are just now being provided to the Justice Department.

Attorney General Pam Bondi this yeartold FBI Director Kash Patelto "deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office" by Feb. 28, 2025. The directive came after Bondi said she was "repeatedly assured by the FBI that we had received the full set of documents," only to find out Feb. 26 that "the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein."

News of the DOJ's recently coming into possession of the million-plus documents also comes nearly six months after the Justice Department and the FBI said in apublic, unsigned memothat they had both "conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein."

The files released so far have includedseveral documentsthat mentioned President Donald Trump, including one that indicated he had flown on Epstein's private jet more times than previously known.

Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and he has denied doing anything improper. The president has said he cut ties with Epstein at some point in the early 2000s because he was a "creep."

The Justice Department said Tuesdayin a post on Xthat the documents release included "untrue and sensationalist claims" about Trump.

Some members of Congress have criticized the delay in releasing all of the Epstein files.

Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who both spearheaded the bipartisan effort in Congress this year to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, havepromised to hold officials accountablefor the holdup, floating impeachment or charges of contempt.

On Wednesday, after the Justice Department said more Epstein files were found, Khanna said his threat with Massie to pursue contempt charges helped lead to the DOJ's announcement.

"@RepThomasMassie & I will continue to keep the pressure on. After we said we are bringing contempt, the DOJ is now finding millions more documents to release," the California congressmanwrote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., responded to the Justice Department's announcement of a longer timeline for releasing the files by accusing them of a "coverup."

"A Christmas Eve news dump of 'a million more files' only proves what we already know: Trump is engaged in a massive coverup. The question Americans deserve answered is simple: WHAT are they hiding—and WHY? Justice delayed is justice denied. Release the files. Follow the law," Schumerwrote in a post on X.

Schumer this weekintroduceda resolution that would direct the Senate to "initiate legal action against the DOJ" for not releasing the full Epstein files by last Friday.

Congress is scheduled to be back in session the first full week of January.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Search and recovery teams on Wednesday intensified their operations at the site of aplane crash that killed Libya's military chiefand other high-level officers, working to secure the area and locate the aircraft's flight recorders after a night of heavy rain and fog, Turkey's state-run news agency said.

The private jet carrying Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other officers and three crew members crashed in Turkey on Tuesday after taking off from the capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

The Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli after holding high-level defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths, describing the incident on Facebook as a "tragic accident" and a "great loss" for Libya.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, U.N.-brokered efforts to unify Libya's military, which has split, much like Libya's other institutions.

The four other officers who died in the crash were Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, the head of Libya's ground forces, Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, who led the military manufacturing authority, Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, advisor to the chief of staff, and Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer with the chief of staff's office.

The identities of the three crew members were not immediately released.

Turkish officials said the Falcon 50 type business jet took off from Ankara's Esenboga airport at 8:30 p.m. and that contact was lost some 40 minutes later. The plane notified air traffic control of an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing. The aircraft was redirected back to Esenboga, where preparations for its landing began.

The plane, however, disappeared from the radar while descending for the emergency landing, the Turkish presidential communications office said.

The wreckage was found near the village of Kesikkavak, in Haymana, a district some 70 kilometers (about 43.5 miles) south of Ankara.

At Haymana, gendarmerie police sealed off the area where the plane crashed, while the Turkish disaster management agency, AFAD, set up a mobile coordination center, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Specialized vehicles, such as tracked ambulances, were deployed because of the muddy terrain.

Anadolu said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya is expected to visit the site along with prosecutors assigned to lead the investigation.

Libya was also expected to send a team to Ankara to work with Turkish authorities investigating the crash.

While in Ankara, al-Haddad had met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and other officials.

Libyaplunged into chaos after the country's 2011 uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country split, with rival administrations in the east and west, backedby an array of rogue militiasand foreign governments.

Turkey has been allied withLibya's government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well.

Tuesday's visit by the Libyan delegation came a day after Turkey's parliament approved to extend the mandate of Turkish troops serving in Libya for two years. Turkey deployed troops following a 2019 security and military cooperation agreement that was reached between Ankara and the Tripoli-based government.

Abuelgasim reported from Cairo.