A Panamanian court has voided a port contract held by a Hong Kong subsidiary, prompting assurances from President José Raúl Mulino that canal traffic will not be disrupted. The court ruled Thursday that the port concession granted to Panama Ports Company — a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings — was unconstitutional. The decision was welcomed by the U.S. and criticized by Beijing, according to The Associated Press. ‘Beijing plays rough. Trump plays rougher,’...
Senate Republicans and Democrats cut through partisan rancor and sent a retooled government spending package to the House Friday evening after President Donald Trump struck a deal to sate Democrats’ demands. Though lawmakers were able to advance the revamped five-bill package without the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill and a two-week funding extension to keep the agency afloat, a partial government shutdown is all but guaranteed after the 71-29 vote. That’s because...
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call to rally behind President Donald Trump after the commander in chief struck a deal with Senate Democrats to avert a prolonged government shutdown, Fox News Digital was told Friday evening. The top House Republican admitted to being ‘frustrated’ by the result, sources told Fox News Digital, but he lauded Trump’s deal-making ability and called for lawmakers to back the president’s decision. The Senate passed...
A federal judge on Friday struck down key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at tightening citizenship verification for voter registration and absentee ballot applications, ruling the White House overstepped its constitutional authority. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president, the power to set rules for federal elections. Kollar-Kotelly blocked provisions in the executive order that would have required documentary proof of American citizenship on...
Senate Republicans and Democrats shattered through partisan rancor and sent a retooled government spending package to the House on Friday evening after President Donald Trump struck a deal to sate Democrats’ demands. Though lawmakers were able to advance the revamped five-bill package, without the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill and a two-week funding extension to keep the agency afloat, a partial government shutdown is all but guaranteed. That’s because modifications to the...
Senate Republicans and Democrats locked in an agreement to move forward with a behemoth funding package, smashing through resistance on both sides of the aisle. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up the final vote for the package Friday after hours of quelling resistance among Senate Republicans. Lawmakers will plow through several amendments before voting on the package, which is expected to pass and head to the House. That also means that, despite their...
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., unloaded his frustrations with the latest iteration of a government funding package backed by President Donald Trump and laid out a stark warning to the top House Republican and the White House in the process. Graham is one of the few remaining holdouts blocking the Senate from moving on to a government funding package brokered by Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as lawmakers race to beat the government...
Israel announced Thursday that it will reopen the Rafah border crossing for people to travel between Gaza and Egypt for the first time since May 2024. Israel’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees humanitarian and civil efforts in Gaza, said the crossing ‘will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only.’ ‘The return of residents from Egypt to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in...
As the threat of a possible U.S. attack against Iran looms, President Donald Trump’s administration has announced additional sanctions targeting Iranian figures. The Treasury Department announced Friday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ‘took additional action against Iranian officials responsible for the regime’s brutal crackdown on its own people.’ ‘Among the officials sanctioned today is Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, Iran’s minister of the interior who oversees the murderous Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic...
Ukraine is racing to reinforce its air defenses as a brief pause in Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities approaches its expiration, and military and diplomatic experts warn the move may do little to change conditions on the battlefield and could ultimately strengthen Moscow’s negotiating position. Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump said at the White House, ‘I think we’re getting very close to getting a settlement,’ expressing optimism about the upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks. ‘Zelenskyy...
