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Secretary Rubio Criticizes China’s Bullying for Detaining DOZENS of Panama-Flagged Cargo Ships

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Rubio decries China’s bullying

Panama’s ships caught between the rock and a hard place.

While the Russia-Ukraine war brings danger to the Black Sea, the military conflicts in the Middle East brought about Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

But we’d do well not to forget about the vital Panama Canal and the geopolitical consequences of Donald J. Trump’s administration shutting China out of its infrastructure.

Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out China’s ‘bullying’ for ‘detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships’.

Even though the ships were held for a short period of time, it comes as a retaliation after Panama seized control of two ports on the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong-based company.

China denies the bullying allegations.

Associated Press reported:

“Panama has been caught in a broader rivalry between the United States and China after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Beijing last year of running the Panama Canal. The Trump administration sees the critical maritime trade route as strategically important, both commercially and militarily, and Trump has talked about retaking the Panama Canal since his campaign.

‘China’s decision to detain or otherwise impede Panama-flagged vessels engaged in lawful trade destabilizes supply chains, raises costs, and erodes confidence in the global trading system’, Rubio said on social media. ‘The United States stands with Panama against any retaliatory actions against its sovereignty and will always support our partners in the face of bullying’.”

No less than 75% of the ships detained for inspection in Chinese ports in March – 92 vessels – were Panama-flagged.

“The Panama-flagged ships were typically detained for a few days — as short as one day or as long as 10 days — before being released.

That is up drastically from the previous two months, when 19 out of 45 ships — or more than 40% — held in February were Panama-flagged, and 23 out of 71 — or over 30% — in January hung the Panama flag.”

Read more:

FBI Warns Congress of ‘Major’ Cyber Hack Involving China That Could Threaten National Security

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Is Appealing His Criminal Conviction and Sentencing – But Panel Judges Seem Skeptical of His Argument

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Diddy is appealing his conviction and sentence

Diddy is hopeful, but the judges appear unconvinced.

Around 10 months ago, disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was sentenced to a 50-month prison sentence.

Today, his lawyers presented his plea before an Appeals court, questioning both his conviction for ‘transportation to engage in prostitution’ and his sentencing.

Reuters reported:

“A lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs said on ​Thursday judges should not be allowed to consider conduct relating to charges for which a defendant has been acquitted ‌in determining a sentence, urging an appeals court to overturn the hip-hop mogul’s conviction on prostitution charges and his prison sentence.

‘This case presents an important issue about a respect for jury verdicts and public confidence in our criminal justice system’, defense lawyer Alexandra Shapiro told the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals during ​arguments in an appeal by Combs of his conviction and sentence of four years and two months in prison.”

ABC News reported:

“A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared skeptical on Thursday of Sean Combs’ argument that his prison sentence should be reduced because the judge unlawfully punished Combs as if he had been found guilty of more serious crimes.”

[…] Combs is serving a four-year prison sentence, which defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro said treats him as if he had been convicted of the more serious counts. She urged the appeals court to reduce the sentence ‘to ensure that not guilty really means not guilty’.”

CCTV video shows Diddy brutally beating Cassie Ventura during a ‘freak off’ sex marathon

The appellate judges deemed it constitutional for judge Arun Subramanian to consider ‘all of Combs’ conduct in establishing a sentence’.

“’We have two women who were plied with drugs to participate in this, one of whom became an opioid addict, so doesn’t that support the reasonableness of this?’ Judge M. Miller Baker asked.”

Read more: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Asks Federal Appeals Court for the Reversing of His Conviction and Immediate Prison Release

The post Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Is Appealing His Criminal Conviction and Sentencing – But Panel Judges Seem Skeptical of His Argument appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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NEW: Minnesota Children’s Hospital Snubs Trump’s Executive Order, Will Resume Sex Change Procedures on Minors

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A Minnesota children’s hospital plans to resume sex change procedures for minors, flying in the face of President Trump’s executive order banning the practice. 

Last January, Trump signed the “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” Executive Order, which restricts sex-change procedures for minors by cutting federal funding to institutions that practice the satanic procedures.

“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” Trump wrote in the order.

It can be recalled that former MAGA firebrand Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) led an effort to codify the President’s executive order last year, when the House passed her Protect Children’s Innocence Act.

The bill would make it a crime for sex-change surgery and hormonal treatments to be provided to minors and leave parents who allowed their child to be mutilated subject to prosecution.

However, the RINO-controlled Senate, led by Leader John Thune (R-SD), did not even vote on the bill.

Now, states are flaunting Trump’s executive order after a federal judge ruled in favor of 21 blue states that sued the Trump Administration.

United States District Court for the District of Oregon Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled that the executive branch lacked the authority to unilaterally implement a ban on so-called gender affirming care for minors due to a lack of Congressional action.

Per MPR New:

Children’s Minnesota announced Monday that it has resumed all services in its Gender Health program, some of which had been temporarily paused on Feb. 27.

The decision follows a federal court ruling in March that overturned a previous attempt to restrict gender-affirming care. This ruling, resulting from a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and a coalition of states, blocks the Trump administration from limiting access to such care.

“Offering science- and research-based health care to transgender and gender diverse youth is part of Children’s Minnesota’s vision of being every family’s essential partner in raising healthier children,” a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement.

In February, Children’s Minnesota announced the temporary pause on prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones to patients under the age of 18 in its Gender Health Program for Children. This pause was a reaction to federal actions targeting pediatric health systems that provide such care.

A spokesperson for the hospital previously said that this was not the decision Children’s Minnesota wanted to make, but it felt necessary to protect both its providers and the hospital itself.

This comes amid a lawsuit from the Trump Administration against Minnesota alleging sex-based discrimination for allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports and use girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.

MORE:

NEW: Justice Department Sues Minnesota for Allowing Boys in Girls’ Sports and Intimate Spaces

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CNN Airs Premature Death Tribute for Actor Michael J. Fox — Who Is Very Much Alive and Fires Back with Humor

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Man with a thoughtful expression leans close to a bronze bust, surrounded by various awards and trophies on a shelf.Man with a thoughtful expression leans close to a bronze bust, surrounded by various awards and trophies on a shelf.Michael J Fox /Image: Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license./Author www.davincifilmfestival.com

A very much alive Michael J Fox, famous for his movie role in Back to the Future and on TV as the Reagan-loving briefcase-toting Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, mocked CNN for sharing a tribute video implying the actor had passed away.

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, but he has maintained his acting career, with roles as recently as AppleTV+’s Shrinking in 2026.

The network released a video package titled “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox,” which prompted him to reassure worried fans.

Fox wrote on his Threads account, “How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is reporting your death?”

“Do you…A) switch to MNSBC, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, (B) Pour scolding hot water on your lap, if it hurts your fine, (C) Call your wife, hopefully she’s concerned but reassuring, (D) Relax, they do this once every year, (E) Ask yourself wtf ?”

“I thought the world was ending, but apparently it’s just me and I’m ok. Love, Mike.”

The network apologized for the error.

Entertainment Weekly reports:

A spokesperson for the network told Entertainment Weekly, “The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family.”

********

The video in question showed viewers clips of Fox’s work over the years, as well as interview excerpts.

“He came into our living rooms on the small screen each week as Alex P. Keaton [on Family Ties] and eventually onto the big screen as Marty McFly in [Back to the Future],” the narrator said. “But Michael J. Fox had a compelling third act as Parkinson’s sufferer and stem cell research advocate.”

In 2025, Fox received the Presidential Medal of Freedom primarily for his decades of advocacy and work through The Michael J. Fox Foundation to advance Parkinson’s disease research.

He is married to actress Tracy Pollan, who he met on the set of Family Ties.

They were married in 1988 and have been since having four children: one son and three daughters.

The post CNN Airs Premature Death Tribute for Actor Michael J. Fox — Who Is Very Much Alive and Fires Back with Humor appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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