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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

The post Secretary Rubio Criticizes China’s Bullying for Detaining DOZENS of Panama-Flagged Cargo Ships appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Euro-Globalists Meet in Paris To ‘Discuss’ the Strait of Hormuz, But Iran Has Already Opened the Waterway, and Trump Discards the Participation of the ‘Paper Tigers’

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April 18, 2026

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Donald Trump stands in profile beside three men against a vibrant red background, highlighting a political or business context.Donald Trump stands in profile beside three men against a vibrant red background, highlighting a political or business context.Geopolitical midgets Macron, Merz, and Starmer are again getting trolled by Trump

‘Useless’ allies not needed anymore, says Trump.

Be it in the Russia-Ukraine war – where they want it to continue for as long as possible – or in the US military confrontation with Iran – where they betrayed their main NATO ally – one thing you can always expect from Euro-Globalist failing leaders: meetings – lots of meetings.

The delusional European ‘powers’ make purely symbolic decisions that yield no practical outcome.

The current cast of Globalist leaders shares one thing in common: dismal poll numbers and historic levels of voter rejection.

So, they try to gain some clout by meddling in foreign issues as much as possible.

And that’s how they find themselves ridiculously discussing the opening of Hormuz AFTER it is already opened by Iran.

The result was inevitable: they got told off by Donald J. Trump yet again, treated as ‘useless’.

The Telegraph reported:

“Mr. Trump has again lashed out at Nato allies after the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened.

The US president suggested that European nations and others should ‘stay away’ from the region ‘unless they just want to load up their ships with oil’.”

Tweet from Donald Trump discussing NATO's offer for assistance after the Hormuz Strait situation, expressing skepticism about their support.

“He said: ‘Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from Nato asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL’.

‘They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger’.”

Read more:

NATO Secretary General Rutte Agrees With Trump That Some Allied ‌Countries Were Tested and Failed During the Iran Crisis

The post Euro-Globalists Meet in Paris To ‘Discuss’ the Strait of Hormuz, But Iran Has Already Opened the Waterway, and Trump Discards the Participation of the ‘Paper Tigers’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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British Conservative Douglas Murray on the Failure of the US Education System (Video)

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April 18, 2026

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Screencap of YouTube video.

Douglas Murray, an investigative journalist and the author of The Strange Death of Europe and The War on the West, sat down with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to discuss a variety of topics, including the dismal state of education in the Unites States.

Murray, an outspoken British conservative, told Streit, “I mean, I say this as a great lover of America, but the education system in this country is shocking. And it’s not to do with money. It’s not to do with a lack of resources.”

“If in New York State, for instance, almost $30,000 is allocated per pupil per year for their education, that’s a hell of a lot of money.”

Streit added, “Yeah, it’s not money, it’s monsters. It’s the other end.”

Murray continued, “Exactly. I mean, it is. And it’s just shocking. The unions, these people just have not done their job. They have so woefully underperformed.”

“And when you have the levels of illiteracy and numeracy in a society like this. It’s shocking.”

“The world’s number one economy, a superpower, should be able to make sure that it’s not like in a lot of areas 50% of K-12 students just don’t have basic literacy or numeracy.”

Watch:

According to The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), New York State has the highest per-pupil spending in the nation for over 20 years running.

For the 2024–25 school year, the state was projected to spend approximately $36,293 per student (total expenditures including local, state, and federal funds). This is more than double the national average of roughly $17,000–$18,000. Earlier data for 2023 showed New York at about $36,976 per pupil.

Yet according to assessments like the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Nation’s Report Card, New York students are not achieving grade-level mastery in core subjects at high rates, despite the massive investment.

2024 NAEP results for NY State overall showed:

Grade 4 Reading: 31% proficient or above.
Grade 4 Math: 37% proficient or above.
Grade 8 Reading: 31% proficient or above.
Grade 8 Math: 26% proficient or above.

Nationally, proficiency hovers around 30–39% in these categories, so New York is average-to-below-average despite top spending, and scores have shown little sustained improvement over decades, even as costs soared.

New York City students fare even worse.

New York City public schools, the nation’s largest district, spend even more than the New York state average.

According to The New York Post, for the 2025–26 school year, the NYC Department of Education is projected to spend a record $42,168 per student—the highest in the country—on a total budget of $44.6 billion.

2024 NAEP results for NYC showed:

Grade 4 Reading: 28% proficient.
Grade 4 Math: 33% proficient.
Grade 8 Reading: 29% proficient.
Grade 8 Math: 23% proficient.

Watch the entire interview at PragerU here.

The post British Conservative Douglas Murray on the Failure of the US Education System (Video) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Worthless Racist Chicago Thug Who Livestreamed Brutal Torture of Disabled White Teen on Facebook Arrested for Beating and Mugging White Cyclist After Being Released from Prison

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April 18, 2026

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Mugshot of a man with dreadlocks and a visible tattoo, alongside a distressed individual sitting in a corner with tape over their mouth.

Mugshot of a man with dreadlocks and a visible tattoo, alongside a distressed individual sitting in a corner with tape over their mouth.

A vile racist anti-white Chicago predator who was one of the deranged psychopaths who brutally tortured a disabled white teenager on Facebook live in 2017 has been arrested for attacking another white person after being released from prison.

Tesfaye Cooper, 30, was arrested on April 8 after he and an accomplice allegedly chased down a white cyclist who simply waved at them near Chicago’s Clark-Lake CTA station.

The pair beat the man, spat in his face, stole his bike, and claimed they were “Gangster Disciples,” according to court records and police reports.

This is the same Tesfaye Cooper who, along with three other black accomplices Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper, Brittany Covington, and Tanishia Covington, kidnapped, tortured, and livestreamed the brutal assault of a mentally disabled white 18-year-old on Facebook Live in 2017.

That attack included racial slurs, anti-white taunts like “F-ck white people,” beatings, and forcing the victim to drink from a toilet. It was charged as a hate crime.

Cooper served just seven years in prison for that heinous hate crime before being released roughly two years ago. He is now facing new charges for the latest assault.

In 2017, Cooper and his group specifically targeted a vulnerable white victim because of his race, a fact prosecutors acknowledged with hate crime charges.

Now, in 2026, Cooper is accused of viciously attacking yet another white man for no reason other than a friendly wave.

Mainstream media outlets have largely downplayed or omitted the racial dynamics in both cases, focusing instead on generic “crime” stories.

According to reports, Cooper and 33-year-old Mazi Pearson cornered the cyclist in the train station mezzanine. Pearson punched the victim while Cooper attempted to strike him and spat in his face.

CWB Chicago reports:

In a detention filing, prosecutors said a 48-year-old Cicero man waved at Pearson and Cooper as he passed them on his bike near Clark and Lake streets around 1:30 p.m. Pearson and Cooper responded to the man’s wave by claiming to be “GDs,” slang for Gangster Disciples, and chasing the victim into the Clark-Lake station, according to the filing.

Once inside the station, the victim paid his fare while Cooper and Pearson chased him through the turnstile and backed him up against the mezzanine elevator, prosecutors said. With the victim cornered, Pearson allegedly punched him in the shoulder. A CPD report said Cooper approached the victim at the same time with a closed fist and tried to strike him while Pearson spat in the man’s face.

Pearson allegedly tossed the victim’s bike over the turnstile and walked out with Cooper, taking the bike with them. A CTA security guard witnessed the robbery, prosecutors said.

The victim was a 48-year-old man from Cicero.

It is impossible not to notice that Illinois’ lenient sentencing and early-release policies are enabling repeat violent offenders, especially in high-crime cities like Chicago, run by progressive Democrats.

Despite the graphic, racially charged nature of his prior crime, Cooper was back on the streets in no time, able to strike again.

The post Worthless Racist Chicago Thug Who Livestreamed Brutal Torture of Disabled White Teen on Facebook Arrested for Beating and Mugging White Cyclist After Being Released from Prison appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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