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

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.
The US accused China of harassing and detaining Panama-flagged ships after the Central American nation struck down contracts with a Hong Kong conglomerate operating ports on both sides of the Panama Canal. https://t.co/p2NNvtPmRC
— Bloomberg (@business) April 2, 2026
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’.”
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. The United States stands with Panama against any retaliatory actions against its sovereignty…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 2, 2026
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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Politics
Supreme Court Justices Alito and Thomas Not Planning to Retire This Year


Conservative Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are not planning to retire this year amid speculation that Trump could appoint at least one more justice to the high court.
Fox News reported that Alito, a George W. Bush nominee, is not expected to step down from the bench.
CBS News later reported that Clarence Thomas is not planning on retiring this year either.
President Trump’s interview with Maria Bartiromo sparked chatter about the justices.
Trump told Bartiromo that he is prepared to name replacements.
“It could be two, could be three, could be one. I don’t know — I’m prepared to do it, but when you mention Alito, he is a great justice,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo this week.
President Trump reveals he’s ready to name replacements for SAMUEL ALITO and CLARENCE THOMAS if the two conservative Supreme Court justices retire
“It could be two, could be three, could be one. I don't know — I'm prepared to do it." pic.twitter.com/011gUHmHRw
— James A Stamulis (@stamulis_james) April 16, 2026
Fox News reported:
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is not expected to step down this term and has already hired all four law clerks for the upcoming annual term despite speculation the high court justice was weighing retirement, multiple sources said.
Alito “is not stepping down this term and is in the process of hiring the rest of his clerks for the next term,” a source told Fox News Digital. Two other sources told Fox News that Alito is not retiring this term, which lasts until the Supreme Court’s new year kicks off in October.
Justices tend to hire their clerks two to three years in advance, although that process is not necessarily indicative of a justice’s retirement plans.
The revelation that Alito is reportedly not planning to step down comes after President Donald Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo he is “prepared” to appoint up to three Supreme Court justices if vacancies arise. Trump added he has a shortlist of nominees in mind, though he did not mention any names.
The post Supreme Court Justices Alito and Thomas Not Planning to Retire This Year appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Politics
Iran Has ‘Agreed to Everything,’ Trump Says

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran has “agreed to everything” and will work with the United States to remove its enriched uranium.
The president told CBS News in a phone interview that the removal operation will not involve U.S. troops on the ground.
“No. No troops,” he said. “We’ll go down and get it with them, and then we’ll take it. We’ll be getting it together because by that time, we’ll have an agreement and there’s no need for fighting when there’s an agreement. Nice right? That’s better. We would have done it the other way if we had to.”
The other way would have involved troops going in and seizing the material.
“Our people, together with the Iranians, are going to work together to go get it. And then we’ll take it to the United States,” he said of the enriched uranium.
BREAKING: President Trump tells CBS News Iran has “agreed to everything,” including the removal of enriched uranium. https://t.co/eac5lIcNUD
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 17, 2026
Axios had previously reported that several proposals were in discussion, with one being the possibility of the uranium being moved to a third-party country.
Iran had sought an agreement allowing them to “down-blend” their enriched uranium.
“A top priority for the Trump administration is ensuring Iran can’t access the stockpile of nearly 2,000kg of enriched uranium buried in its underground nuclear facilities, in particular the 450kg enriched to 60% purity,” Axios explained.
FOX NEWS ALERT: Peter Doocy reports President Trump just told CBS News the Iranian regime has AGREED to allow U.S. personnel to enter Iran to collect and extract leftover uranium.
“This explained why it is he’s so confident a deal is about to be closed with the Iranians.”… pic.twitter.com/hvhw2KluLW
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) April 17, 2026
Most commercial nuclear power plants use 3 to 5 percent enriched uranium, and 90 percent is often the threshold associated with nuclear weapons, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
Before the outbreak of the war, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that in March, Iranian negotiators boasted to him that they had enough enriched uranium to build 11 nuclear weapons.
The Iranian negotiators apparently said “they had the inalienable right to enrich all their nuclear fuel that they possessed,” Witkoff said.
“We, of course, responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks,” he added.
“In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us, directly, with no shame, that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60 percent, and they’re aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs, and that was the beginning of their negotiating stance,” Witkoff recounted.
He explained that 60 percent enriched uranium can be brought to weapons grade in roughly one week in a nuclear facility.
Witkoff noted, “They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz initiated on Monday was costing Iran up to $435 million a day, including $276 million in lost exports.
The blockade, coupled with weeks of air strikes from the U.S. and Israel, which devastated Iran’s steel and petrochemical facilities, has the country’s economy on the brink of collapse.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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Politics
Alec Baldwin to Face Civil Trial in Fatal ‘Rust’ Shooting


A judge ordered Alec Baldwin to face a civil trial over negligence after he fatally shot a producer on the set of ‘Rust.’
Baldwin shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured 48-year-old Joel Souza on the movie set of ‘Rust’ in Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2021.
Serge Svetnoy, a lighting technician who was almost hit with a bullet while on the set of Rust filed a lawsuit and claimed he suffered emotional distress.
A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge on Friday allowed the lawsuit to move forward.
Alec Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
NBC News reported:
A judge ruled on Friday that a civil case against actor Alec Baldwin over alleged negligence on the “Rust” set in 2021 can proceed to trial this fall.
Serge Svetnoy, a gaffer on “Rust,” first filed a lawsuit in November 2021, alleging that he narrowly missed being hit while on set that day. He claimed that cost-cutting and corner-cutting measures on the Western meant that Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and other producers “were consciously aware of the wrongfulness and harmfulness of their conduct.”
He alleges that he suffered from emotional distress due to negligence on the part of Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter allowed Svetnoy’s claims for punitive damages, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress to move forward.
In a case filed by Santa Fe prosecutors, Alec Baldwin was previously charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
In July 2024 Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice which means prosecutors cannot refile the case.
Alec Baldwin’s defense team accused state prosecutors of concealing evidence. In a stunning move, the judge dismissed the charges in the middle of the trial!
The post Alec Baldwin to Face Civil Trial in Fatal ‘Rust’ Shooting appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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FOX NEWS ALERT: Peter Doocy reports President Trump just told CBS News the Iranian regime has AGREED to allow U.S. personnel to enter Iran to collect and extract leftover uranium.