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Will Trump Take Back Our Panama Canal? Cruz Blows Whistle On Communist Chinese Control

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz met with Panamanian officials about growing Communist Chinese influence over the Panama Canal, a crucial artery for global trade that was built and once controlled by the United States, until it was given away by liberal the-President Jimmy Carter.

Cruz announced in a statement he “recently traveled to Panama and underscored the Panama Canal’s strategic importance to the United States.”

Cruz reports he “met with top Panamanian officials, including the Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman; Minister of Public Security, Frank Abrego; and Panama Canal Authority Administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales. During these meetings, Sen. Cruz reiterated the growing threats posed by China and other foreign actors seeking to exert influence over the region, threatening both American and Panamanian national and economic security.”

“The Senate Commerce Committee has primary jurisdiction over the Panama Canal due to its role in the facilitation of global trade and U.S. commerce,” Cruz notes.

“There is undoubtedly a strong Chinese presence, and I believe a threat to the canal. The purpose of my visit is number one, to try to strengthen the longtime friendship and alliance between the United States and Panama. And number two, I’m the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which, among other things, has jurisdiction over the Panama Canal and the Panama Canal is vital, both to national security and economic security of the United States and Panama,” said Cruz.

Cruz summarized the long-brewing issue of Communist Chinese control of the Panama Canal and its threat to the United States, writing:

Previously, Sen. Cruz convened a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to examine the growing number of challenges facing the maritime industry in the region due to capacity limitations and increased transit fees. Sen. Cruz sounded alarms over China’s growing foothold in Panama, which poses a direct threat to U.S. trade. China has exploited Panama’s institutional weakness to evade U.S. sanctions and has taken controlling stakes in critical infrastructure surrounding the Panama Canal. During the hearing, multiple senators raised concerns about Panama’s management of the canal, citing allegations of corruption, suggesting that they may be violating the Neutrality Treaty.

One week after the hearing, a preliminary deal was announced that would give an American company primary control of Port Balboa and Port Cristobal, which are container ports on either end of the canal. However, the deal has faced delay amid pressure from China seeking to secure a stake in the deal, stalling progress to protect both American and Panamanian interests.

Sen. Cruz concluded, “China is not America’s friend, and China is not Panama’s friend, and if God forbid, a military conflict emerges between the United States and China, I believe there is an unacceptable risk that China would act to shut down the Panama Canal, which would have a devastating impact on the United States and an even worse impact on Panama…

“There is strong American interest in expanding and improving commerce and transportation through the Panama Canal. The United States built the Panama Canal more than a century ago and our nations have been close friends for a long, long time. The economies of both the United States and Panama benefit enormously from the Panama Canal, and there are strong American interests in investing in ports on both ends of the Panama Canal and assisting in new infrastructure, whether it is gas pipelines to transport gas from one end to the other, or whether it is building a new reservoir and expanding the ability to ensure there’s

Why U.S. Conservatives Love Hungary’s Leader Victor Orban

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    burst

    ANALYSIS – The establishment media and liberal elites in the U.S.and Europe regularly condemn Hungarian president Victor Orban’s alleged ‘illiberalism,’ but U.S. conservatives see his domestic model, if not his foreign policy, as a welcome success story.

    Most recently American conservatives flocked to Budapest for a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in May.

    Sadly, I was unable to attend but would have loved to have been there.

    At the next CPAC in Dallas, Texas this August, Orban was given a standing ovation.

    So, what is it about Orban that American conservatives like so much? 

    First, let me say there are things not to like about him and his government.

    They have been somewhat authoritarian against the press and opposition parties. Though some would claim that this was a needed housecleaning of entrenched leftist interests.

    My biggest complaint though is Orban’s and his Fidesz party’s soft approach toward Russia and Vladimir Putin (in great part due to Hungary’s energy dependence), and his relative lack of support for his invaded neighbor, Ukraine.

    I’m also unhappy and extremely concerned by his close ties to Communist China. 

    Under Orban, Hungary was the first European country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the country has been called Beijing’s closest European ally.

    This makes a mockery of Orban’s original anti-communist ideals and gives Beijing a strategic foothold in the heart of Europe.

    However, China’s growing influence in Hungary is increasingly unpopular and has created a growing backlash. It featured prominently in the opposition’s campaign against Orban in the recent elections (which Orban’s party won in a landslide).

    I would like to see Orban and his party go back to their roots in opposing Communist China, and all similar regimes, including Putin’s Russia.

    But most U.S. conservatives don’t look at Orban’s foreign policies. They are far more interested in his domestic policies. And they like what they see.

    And yes, I like them too.

    As James Crisp writes in the Telegraph:

    …American conservatives find Mr. Orban’s willingness to use the state to fight culture wars tremendously exciting.

    He has made gay marriage constitutionally illegal (civil partnerships are allowed) and banned content “promoting” LGBT lifestyles from schools.

    He has also banned same-sex adoptions and ended legal recognition for transgender people, making it impossible for them to legally change their sex.

    Then in September, he introduced a law forcing women wanting an abortion to listen to the fetus’ heartbeat first.

    And then there are his successful battles against immigration and adverse demography.

    The Telegraph continues:

    It is now illegal to claim asylum at the Hungarian border instead of at one of the country’s consulates, for example, and he has built not one but two controversial walls on the border with Serbia and Croatia.

    He has also ushered in rules which mean families having three or more children are effectively exempt from tax in a bid to push up Hungary’s population.

    Due to his policies, the fertility rate in Hungary has gone from 1.2 births per woman to 1.6, curbing the need for more immigrants.

    I would support all these policies, in whole or in part, here in the U.S.

    And compared to the militant secularism of the French right, American conservatives also find his party’s religiosity reassuring, and more aligned with traditional American Christian values.

    Meanwhile, the conservative right is winning in other places, such as Italy, with the surprising victory of Georgia Meloni, and soon in the U.S. with Republicans retaking the House, and possibly the Senate too.

    In France, in June, the conservative party of Marine Le Pen secured enough seats to form a parliamentary group, giving it more clout, for the first time in four decades.

    And the right is about to return to Israel under Bibi Netanyahu. 

    The only big loss globally was in Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaro apparently just lost to Socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. That loss is likely less due to ideology than personality, but it is a loss, nonetheless.

    The takeaway from all this though is that until recently there hasn’t been a global conservative movement with similar ideas to counter the vast ‘Socialist International.’

    But things are changing now. And Orban’s Hungary is at the center of it. Or maybe to the right of it.

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Georgia Governor Shoots Down Request To Criminally Probe Fani Willis

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      Georgia National Guard from United States, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

      Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) dismissed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) request to open a criminal investigation into District Attorney Fani Willis (D).

      Last week, the MAGA Congresswoman called on Kemp to open an investigation into Willis’ corruption after the prosecutor was accused of having an affair with the special prosecutor who assisted in securing a grand jury indictment against former President Donald Trump. (RELATED: Fani Willis Accused Of Hiring Lover As Key Prosecutor, Court Docs Reveal)

      Kemp told Newsweek in a statement that Greene had “every right” to refer her complaint to Georgia lawmakers, calling the accusations against Willis “deeply troubling.”

      “Evidence should be presented quickly,” Kemp said. “Georgians need to be able to have confidence in this trial and the Georgia General Assembly laid out a specific process to investigate matters such as these. The Congresswoman has every right to refer her complaint to the oversight commission once it commences full operations.”

      Republicans and allies close to Trump criticized Kemp’s decision to avoid conflict. “That’s bullshit,” said Mike Davis, a Republican operative close to Trump’s world. “He has statutory power right now to order a criminal investigation.”

      Greene explained that a committee process, in general, is a good idea but said action against Willis is an urgent matter. “Governor Kemp and our state Attorney General Chris Carr need to step in and do the job that they have the power to do, and that is to launch a criminal investigation into Willis and Nathan Wade,” Greene exclusively told Breitbart News.

      “What I’m focused on is the fact that I believe our governor and our state attorney general should use their power,” she continued. “They have the power to go after a state district attorney who is abusing her power to go after the former president of the United States.”

      Saudi Arabia Releases Jailed US Citizen Following Trump, Crown Prince Mohammed Meeting

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      The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

      Saudi Arabia has released a United States citizen who was jailed over social media posts critical of the royal family after President Trump’s meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

      Saad Almadi, 75, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1976, was arrested in 2021 during a family visit over his remarks online. He was sentenced to more than 19 years on terrorism charges but was released in 2023 and hit with an “exit ban,” which prevented him from leaving the country.

      The terrorism charges were later decreased to “cyber crimes.”

      “This day would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the tireless efforts of his administration,” the Almadi family said in a statement Wednesday. “We are deeply grateful to Dr. Sebastian Gorka and the team at the National Security Council, as well as everyone at the State Department.”

      The statement came shortly after Trump’s Wednesday speech at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum. 

      The Almadi family said the release “would not have been possible” without the work of the president and the “tireless efforts” of the administration, expressing gratitude to the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh for keeping Almadi “safe.” 

      One of Almadi’s posts on social media that landed him in trouble called for a street in the nation’s capital to be renamed after Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was murdered in 2018 while at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. 

      Crown Prince Mohammed has denied involvement in the killing of the journalist, who fled Saudi Arabia in 2017, but U.S. intelligence reports in 2021 stated the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia “approved” the operation to detain or kill the columnist.

      The 9/11 Families United organization shared similar sentiments in regards to Trump’s interactions. 

      “The crown prince knows nothing of the pain of the 9/11 families. He is actively working to impede our efforts to ensure extensive evidence of Saudi government support for al-Qaeda and the terrorist hijackers are brought to light, harboring a former agent that produced a casing video of the U.S. Capitol building, and trying to rewrite history with investments,” 9/11 Families United  told The Hill in a statement. 

      Trump said Tuesday that the crown prince “knew nothing” about Khashoggi’s murder, triggering harsh criticism from press groups. 

      “We are so excited for the family that Mr. Almadi is finally on his way back to the United States! We know how long and hard the family fought to make this day possible,” the Foley Foundation, which advocates for American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas, said Wednesday in a statement to The Hill

      Leaked Footage Shows Tucker Carlson Decimating Network’s Streaming Service

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      Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Newly leaked footage from the set of Tucker Carlson’s Fox Nation show revealed the former host trashing the network’s streaming platform.

      The footage was leaked to watchdog group Media Matters and shows Carlson on the phone with an unidentified person while on the set of his Tucker Carlson Today program.

      “I don’t want to be a slave to Fox Nation, which I don’t think that people watch anyway,” Carlson said on the call, which was on speaker phone. “We’re gonna — because, you know, I’m like a representative of the American media now, speaking to an exile in Romania and welcoming him back into the brotherhood of journalists.”

      The back and forth appeared to pertain to Carlson’s wardrobe for the interview.

      “Yeah. It would help us out if you wore a sweater though, because we asked him not to wear a suit,” an unidentified voice said on the call. “Like he was panicking about it and we said, ‘You don’t have to. Tucker’s gonna be looking casual. That’s just how our show looks.’ Is that okay?”

      “I mean, this is airing on the nighttime show, and I want it to look official. I don’t want it to be like bro talk. You know what I mean?” Carlson said.

      The unknown speaker on the phone insisted that if the interview went over 45 minutes, it would be uploaded to air on Fox Nation.

      “But nobody’s gonna watch it on Fox Nation. Nobody watches Fox Nation because the site sucks. So I’d really like to just put the — dump the whole thing on YouTube,” Carlson said. “But anyway, that’s just my view. I’m just frustrated with — it’s hard to use that site. I don’t know why they’re not fixing it. It’s driving me insane. And they’re like making like Lifetime movies, but they don’t work on the infrastructure of the site. Like what? It’s crazy. And it drives me crazy cause it’s like we’re doing all this extra work and no one can find it.”

      “It’s unbelievable, actually. I don’t know who runs that site,” Carlson said exasperated.

      Fox Nation produces a variety of shows with talent including Fox News stars as well as Nancy Grace, Roseanne Barr, and actor Kevin Costner.

      When Carlson signed his new contract with Fox in 2021, he expanded his presence on Fox Nation with documentaries and a flagship show, Tucker Carlson Today.

      Nearly two weeks ago, Carlson was suddenly ousted from the network.

      Trump Demands Fox Remove Ex-Lawmaker Board Member

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        The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

        There’s bad blood between Fox News and Donald Trump…

        Donald Trump took aim Wednesday at Fox News board member and former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan on social media.

        Trump tore into “a very disloyal” Ryan on Truth Social, citing the infamous former House Speaker as the reason why “nobody can ever trust Fox News.”

        “Nobody can ever trust Fox News, and I am one of them, with the weak and ineffective RINO, Paul Ryan, on its Board of Directors,” Trump wrote. “He’s a total lightweight, a failed and pathetic Speaker of the House, and a very disloyal person. Romney was bad, but Paul Ryan made him look worse. As a team, they never had a chance. Rupert and Lachlan, get that dog off your Board – You don’t need him. ALL YOU NEED IS TRUMP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

        Ryan called Trump “unfit for office” during a June 11 interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto. When Cavuto asked Ryan about viewers who disliked him and believed he was “pulling the strings” at Fox, Ryan responded he had “been in politics a long time” and had “really thick skin.”

        Ryan made clear in early May that he would write in a different candidate’s name because “character is too important.” The anti-Trump Republican also said, “Everyone knows we will well lose the election if we nominate this guy again.”

        Trump attacked the 2012 vice presidential candidate’s choice to back a different candidate in November.

        “Rupert Murdoch should fire pathetic RINO Paul Ryan from the Board of Fox. Ryan is a loser, always has been, and always will be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He was the WEAKEST & MOST INCOMPETENT Speaker of the House in its History. Fox will sink to the absolute bottom of the pack if Paul Ryan has anything to do with it!”

        [Watch] Trump’s Niece Compares Him Unfavorably To Jeffrey Dahmer On MSNBC

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          Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          Mary Trump‘s aversion to her famous uncle is well-known, but it’s not every day she compares him to one of America’s most infamous serial killers.

          On national television.

          Reflecting on the Stormy Daniels hush money case, Trump’s niece joined MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell to mock the lack of Trump supporters demonstrating outside the courthouse and the absence of the former president’s family inside the courtroom.

          Several reporters also noticed their lack of attendance in the courtroom, asking the presumptive Republican nominee where Melania is.

          Appearing on Monday’s edition of “The Last Word,” Mary and Larry mocked the presidential front-runner, saying that even Jeffrey Dahmer‘s parents attended his trial. 

          “This is something that I’ve never seen,” O’Donnell claimed. “Not actually made manifest in the courtroom, before Donald Trump‘s in that courtroom alone. Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents were there every single day. It is. It is very hard, to, to find a courtroom where the criminal defendant doesn’t have a relative sitting there in the front row.”

          The younger Trump replied: “Yeah, well, I got a couple of things about that. First of all, it’s another example of how, he, he perverts systems or expectations. For anybody else, that would just be damning. Right. Just the way he talks about dogs would be damning.”

          “How many times have we heard that his bizarre behavior, that, that he engages in bizarre behaviors or just doesn’t conform in a way that, that a, a reasonably well-adjusted human being would?”

          “But like everything else about him, it just kind of gets baked in,” she continued. “Right.”

          “But it is. Let’s, it’s worth, pausing, about how under. Unfair on. Unreal. Bizarre. Strange. Unacceptable. Weird. Whatever adjective you want to use, it is that he is there alone in terms of friends and family,” her assessment continued.

          “I think it is worth pointing out… One. I don’t think he cares. I don’t think it matters to him. That is not where he gets his energy. That is not what gives him solace to the extent that anything does,” Trump opined. “He’s more upset about the fact that there aren’t more people outside protesting on his behalf. Right.”

          “But it also points to, the bizarre thing about my family that every transaction in this family is a transactional one,” the estranged niece continued. “I’m sorry. Every relationship, I should say, is a transactional one. His kids have decided, for whatever reason, that it’s not worth their time for them to be in that courtroom because they’re not going to get anything out of it. That’s, that’s the way this family rolls.” 

          Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

          Tom Homan Announces End Of ICE Surge Operation In Minneapolis

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          By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Thomas Homan, CC BY-SA 2.0,

          MINNEAPOLIS — Border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that the Trump administration will conclude Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area, saying the large-scale federal immigration enforcement effort achieved its objectives and made the region safer.

          Speaking at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Homan said the stepped-up ICE operation would be scaled back after weeks of heightened federal presence and cooperation with state and local law enforcement. “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan told reporters.

          Homan said the successful results of the mission — including arrests of individuals with criminal histories and disrupting unlawful agitator activity — warranted the drawdown. “Twin Cities and Minnesota in general are and will continue to be much safer for the communities here because of what we have accomplished under President Trump’s leadership,” he said during his third press conference since being tasked with leading the surge.

          Federal officials say the initiative, which began late in 2025, has resulted in thousands of arrests of dangerous illegal aliens and public safety threats, helping stem criminal activity and bolster cooperation with local law enforcement.

          Homan outlined that federal officers will either return to their home duty stations or be reassigned elsewhere once the drawdown is complete. “Law enforcement officers drawing down from this surge operation will either return to the duty stations or be assigned elsewhere.”

          In recent days, Homan confirmed that 700 of nearly 3,000 federal immigration officers have already been reassigned, a move he framed as responsive to productive coordination with state officials.

          The operation had drawn intense national attention and criticism after two Americans — Renée Good and Alex Pretti — were killed in separate confrontations with federal agents during enforcement actions, sparking protests and legal challenges.

          Treasury Department To Hand Over Suspicious Activity Reports Related To Hunter Biden Probe To GOP-Led Committee

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            President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

            The Department of Treasury has finally agreed to hand over suspicious activity reports (SARs) related to Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals to the House Oversight Committee.

            Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) initially requested information about the Biden family and their associates’ business transactions flagged by U.S. banks in January.

            Under federal law, when banks suspect suspicious overseas activity by an account holder, it submits a “suspicious activity report” or “SAR” to the Treasury Department. 

            However, the Department’s delay in responding to the requests triggered an investigation into the matter and prompted Comer to hold a March 10 hearing to examine the Treasury Department’s sudden refusal.(RELATED: Why Did Treasury Cover Up Suspicious Activity By Biden Family? Congress Is Now Investigating)

            “Biden’s Treasury Department continues to make excuses for its failure to provide the suspicious activity reports that are critical to our investigation of the Biden family’s business schemes,” said Comer in a statement last week.

            On Tuesday, the Kentucky Congressman announced the sudden change according to Fox News.

            “After two months of dragging their feet, the Treasury Department is finally providing us with access to the suspicious activity reports for the Biden family and their associates’ business transactions,” Comer said. “It should never have taken us threatening to hold a hearing and conduct a transcribed interview with an official under the penalty of perjury for Treasury to finally accommodate part of our request.”

            Hunter Biden is faced federal investigations into his finances since 2018.

            Earlier this month, Comer called on Treasury Department official Jonathan Davidson, who serves as assistant secretary for legislative affairs, to appear for a transcribed interview “to explain why “the agency had not provided the requested information.”

            However, Davidson’s interview has now been postponed because the Department has fulfilled the request.

            Earlier this month, Davidson responded to Comer’s letter explaining the Treasury Department’s process to ensure that the “law enforcement sensitive material is identified and handled appropriately,” but said the process was “well underway” to respond to the committee’s request. 

            “The Department has been working to complete all necessary review, including consultation with law enforcement agencies,” Davidson wrote in the March 3 letter to Comer. “These processes ensure that sensitive material extraneous to the Committee’s inquiry is not inadvertently disclosed and that law enforcement sensitive material is identified and handled appropriately.” 

            Davidson explained that “review of law enforcement sensitive materials is a standard aspect of the process of providing Congress with access to BSA-protected information.” 

            “All of these processes—which are designed to ensure proper protection of potential or ongoing investigations and other law enforcement interests—are already well underway for your request, but they take time,” Davidson wrote. “The Department is working to complete these processes as soon as possible and consistent with the timeframes for processing similar requests in the past, including requests received from committee chairs in the prior Congress that took months to complete.” 

            President Biden Issues First Veto Over Influence from ‘MAGA Republicans’

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              The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

              On Monday, President Joe Biden vetoed a bill for the first time in his presidency on Monday, arguing the legislation was overly influenced by “MAGA Republicans.”

              The Republican-led legislation prevented Biden’s administration from taking environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues into account when making investment decisions. GOP lawmakers argue ESG is a measure of a corporation’s loyalty to “woke” cultural movements and should not be taken into account.

              “I just vetoed my first bill. This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like. Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not,” Biden announced in a Monday tweet

              House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) responded to the President’s veto, accusing him of prioritizing woke corporations over workers.

              According to Fox News, under the rule fiduciaries who make investment decisions for the retirement plans of more than 150 million people would be explicitly permitted under federal guidelines to consider companies’ approach to climate change and other social issues, instead of focusing on only profitability and return on investment for retirees.

              Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) blasted Biden for the veto on Monday, saying Biden was placing “radical” social agendas over the American people.

              “This Administration continues to prioritize their radical policy agenda over the economic, energy and national security needs of our country, and it is absolutely infuriating,” Manchin wrote in a statement. “West Virginians are under increasing stress as we continue to recover from a once in a generation pandemic, pay the bills amid record inflation, and face the largest land war in Europe since World War II. The Administration’s unrelenting campaign to advance a radical social and environmental agenda is only exacerbating these challenges.”

              “President Biden is choosing to put his Administration’s progressive agenda above the well-being of the American people,” he added.