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Kennedy Center criticizes musician who canceled performance after Trump name added to building

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Kennedy Center criticizes musician who canceled performance after Trump name added to building

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Kennedy Center on Friday fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue days after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with The Associated Press.

In the letter, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages “for this political stunt.”

Redd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Workers add President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename the institution, in Washington, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Workers add President Donald Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename the institution, in Washington, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A drummer and vibraphone player, Redd has presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts. In an email Wednesday to The Associated Press, Redd said he pulled out of the concert in the wake of the renaming.

“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 said. He added Wednesday that the event has been a “very popular holiday tradition” and that he often featured at least one student musician.

“One of the many reasons that it was very sad to have had to cancel,” he told the AP.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him.

A memorial wreath stands next to the bronze memorial bust by Robert Berks of President John F. Kennedy in the grand foyer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Nov. 22, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

A memorial wreath stands next to the bronze memorial bust by Robert Berks of President John F. Kennedy in the grand foyer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Nov. 22, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s death. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Grenell is a Trump ally whom the president chose to head the Kennedy Center after he forced out the previous leadership. According to the White House, Trump’s handpicked board approved the renamingwhich scholars have said violates the law. 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 prohibits the 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.

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Associated Press writer Hillel Italie in New York contributed to this report.

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The Dictatorship

‘ICE out’: Bad Bunny uses Grammy speech to speak out

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‘ICE out’: Bad Bunny uses Grammy speech to speak out

As awards season progresses, celebrities continue to speak out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — especially in Minneapolis. Though some stars have opted for a slight nod of resistance with pins that say “ICE out,” others have been more vocal in their stances.

Upon accepting the Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album on Sunday night, Bad Bunny got straight to the point.

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” the Puerto Rican performer said as soon as he approached the podium with award in hand.

After a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd, he continued.

“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”⁣

This is not the first time the artist has spoken out against the Trump administration’s rhetoric against immigrants in the United States. Last year, he announced he would no longer tour in the U.S., which drew criticism from some right-wing commentators.

Despite that pushback, Bad Bunny scored the headlining spot at this year’s Super Bowl and said he decided to “do just one date in the United States.”

The album Bad Bunny accepted the award for, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” also won Album of the Year, becoming the first primarily Spanish-language album to win the distinction in the ceremony’s 68-year history.

Kathleen Creedon is a platforms editor for MS NOW. She previously worked as a web producer for Vanity Fair.

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The Dictatorship

‘Melania’ documentary beats expectations at box office

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‘Melania’ documentary beats expectations at box office

Despite a brutal critical reception“Melania,” the documentary about the first lady released on January 30, outperformed expectations in its opening weekend.

“Melania” earned more than $7 million at the domestic U.S. box office, the highest opening for a non-concert documentary in decades. Most recently, the best-performing film in the same genre was Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke’s “After Death,” which opened at around $5 million domestically in 2023. With an opening box office of almost $24 million, Michael Moore’s 2004 film “Fahrenheit 9/11” remains the highest-grossing political documentary.

Critics, however, have been less kind to “Melania.” The documentary has received an aggregate rating of 10% among professional critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (which is owned by Versant, MS NOW’s parent company), and negative reviews from major news outlets abound. Writing for MS NOW, media critic Jen Cheney said the film is “so devoid of substance that it feels wrong to call it a documentary” and suggested “This thing is basically ‘Let Them Eat Cake: The Movie,’” invoking Marie Antoinette, the French queen beheaded during the revolution.

Still, the film about the model-turned-political figure found its audience. Media analytics company Comscore reported that roughly 72% of Melania’s audience during opening weekend were women, and 72% were over the age of 55. The majority of the movie-goers were also white.

Directed by Brett Ratner in his first film since he faced accusations of sexual abuse (allegations he has denied), “Melania” outperformed expectations out of the gate but has far to go before it becomes profitable: Amazon’s MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and another $35 million to promote it.

“We’re very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with early box office for ‘Melania’ exceeding our expectation,” said Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of domestic theatrical distribution.

Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.

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British prime minister says Prince Andrew should testify to Congress over Epstein ties

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British prime minister says Prince Andrew should testify to Congress over Epstein ties

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced British royal formerly known as Prince Andrew, to testify before the U.S. Congress over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Firstly, I have always approached this question with the victims of Epstein in mind. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority. As for whether there should be an apology, that’s a matter for Andrew,” Starmer told press on Saturday during an official visit to Tokyo, Japan.

“But yes, in terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that.”

The statement comes after the Justice Department on Friday released more than 3 million pages of documents related to its investigation into Epstein as part of its mandate to fulfill the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Among the documents are photographs that show a barefoot Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over and touching the stomach and waist of an unidentified female figure whose face has been redacted.

Also among the newly released documents, the Guardian identified email exchanges between him and Epstein dated 2010. In them, Epstein tells Mountbatten-Windsor, “I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with” and refers to a 26-year-old Russian woman. Andrew replied that he would be “delighted to see her” and told Epstein to give her his contact information.

Mountbatten-Windsor has been unable to distance himself from the scandal over his friendship with Epstein, the American financier who ran a sex-trafficking ring.

Amid ongoing revelations about his history with Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles last year by his older brother, King Charles III. Andrew was also evicted from his home at Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion located on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Virginia Giuffreone of Epstein’s victims, sued Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, claiming she was forced to have sex with him. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2022with no admission of wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide last April. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied the allegations against him. In a now-famous BBC Newsnight interviewhe claimed he was at a PizzaExpress in Woking with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, at the time of the alleged assault.

MS NOW is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from NBC, AP, CNBC and CBS. Journalists from each newsroom worked together to examine the documents and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents.

Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.

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