U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House meeting last week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was “civil but difficult,” according to multiple U.S. officials cited by Channel 12 and Axios, with tensions flaring behind closed doors over the pace of Saudi–Israel normalization.

The U.S. Space Force has quietly awarded roughly half a dozen “Golden Dome” contracts to build competing space-based missile-defense prototypes, kicking off an industry race for future production deals worth tens of billions of dollars, according to multiple sources briefed on the awards.

The Trump administration late on Nov. 25 filed a notice of appeal challenging a federal district court ruling that ordered the government to halt its months-long deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration on Monday escalated its pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, formally designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization—a move that adds new terrorism-based sanctions and intensifies concerns of potential U.S. military action.

Israel announced a major expansion of its air-defense production last Thursday, accelerating manufacturing of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the emerging Iron Beam laser system amid warnings that two years of nonstop conflict have strained the country’s defensive readiness.

Crime-ridden Chicago on Monday faced the prospect of a bleak Christmas after shootings rocked the heart of this U.S. city, killing one person and injuring at least eight others, authorities said.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to review recent remarks by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) after the retired Navy captain appeared in a video urging service members to “refuse illegal orders,” a message the Trump administration has denounced as dangerous and politically motivated.

Authorities say Russia has launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 20 others in strikes that hit residential buildings and energy infrastructure, despite peace talks.

In one of the most sweeping crackdowns on underground Christianity in recent years, Chinese authorities have formally arrested 18 leaders of the Beijing Zion Church, according to the Christian rights organization ChinaAid. The arrests finalize detentions that began in early October as part of a multi-province operation targeting unregistered Christian groups.

Israel has approved a multi-year plan to bring roughly 5,800 members of India’s Bnei Menashe community to the country by 2030, the government announced Sunday, calling the move both strategic and demographic in significance.