Russian General Assassination, Turkey-SDF Tensions, Israel in Syria
On this episode of the American Prestige news roundup, headlines from around the globe.

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
On this episode of American Prestige, our last news roundup before the holidays —but stay tuned for other fun AP programming! This week: in Palestine-Israel, yet more Gaza ceasefire talks (1:33) and two new reports on Israeli conduct in the Strip (6:54); in Syria, reports of reprisal attacks (12:18), the US fails to broker a Turkey-SDF ceasefire (16:23), and Israel occupies the country's south (20:40); Russia appears to have moved military assets from Ukraine to Libya (23:32); the RSF carries out more attacks in Sudan's Al-Fashir (27:13); South Korea's Yoon is impeached again (28:21); in Russia-Ukraine, a prominent Russian general is assassinated (30:46), Russian forces close in on Pokrovsk (32:47), and Zelenskyy is in Brussels to talk peacekeepers (34:52); and a New Cold War update featuring the US and China extending a research agreement (37:19), a US naval vessel docking in Cambodia (38:26), and the Trump FP team targeting China (40:59).
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Syrian Kurds wave independence-era flags and flash the V for victory sign during a demonstration in support of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeastern city of Qamishli, on December 19, 2024.
(Delil Souleiman / AFP via Getty Images)On this episode of American Prestige, our last news roundup before the holidays —but stay tuned for other fun AP programming! This week: in Palestine-Israel, yet more Gaza ceasefire talks (1:33) and two new reports on Israeli conduct in the Strip (6:54); in Syria, reports of reprisal attacks (12:18), the US fails to broker a Turkey-SDF ceasefire (16:23), and Israel occupies the country’s south (20:40); Russia appears to have moved military assets from Ukraine to Libya (23:32); the RSF carries out more attacks in Sudan’s Al-Fashir (27:13); South Korea’s Yoon is impeached again (28:21); in Russia-Ukraine, a prominent Russian general is assassinated (30:46), Russian forces close in on Pokrovsk (32:47), and Zelenskyy is in Brussels to talk peacekeepers (34:52); and a New Cold War update featuring the US and China extending a research agreement (37:19), a US naval vessel docking in Cambodia (38:26), and the Trump FP team targeting China (40:59).
If you want to keep following AP over the break, you can access our feed over at americanprestigepod.com!

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Danny and Derek welcome to the show Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson, co-hosts of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, to talk about the Trump administration’s newly released National Security Strategy. They discuss how the document leans on civilizational framing, portrays competition as existential conflict, omits diplomacy and institutions in favor of coercion and deal-making, and deemphasizes democracy promotion. They also touch on the strategy’s treatment of Europe and Latin America, its assumptions about American power, and what the new NSS suggests about the direction of U.S. foreign policy.
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