China ramps up threats over Panama Canal ruling that handed Trump a major victory

PUBLISHED WED, FEB 4

KEY POINTS

• China has threatened political and economic consequences against Panama after a court ruling to void CK Hutchison’s contract to operate ports near the strategic Panama Canal.

• The decision from Panama’s Supreme Court was widely seen as a victory for the Trump administration’s security ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.

• CK Hutchison said it would seek “extensive damages” over the court ruling, without specifying the damages sought.

The Chinese government has condemned a ruling from Panama’s top court,warning the Central American country “will inevitably pay a heavy price” unless it changes course.

The rebuke comes shortly afterPanama’s Supreme Court ruled to void Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s licence to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal.

The ruling was seen as a major victory for the Trump administration’s security ambitions in the Western Hemisphere, given that the White House has made blocking China’s influence over the critically important waterway one of its top priorities.

In a commentary posted on Tuesday on itsWeChat account, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said the “logically flawed” and “utterly ridiculous” rulingwas opposed by the Chinese government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

“The Panamanian authorities should recognize the situation and correct their course,” the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said, according to a Google translation.

“If they persist in their own way and remain obstinate, they will inevitably pay a heavy pricein terms of politics and economics!”

In a brief statement on Jan. 29,Panama’s top court said the terms underwhich Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, runs the port of Balboa on the Pacific Coast and Cristóbal on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canalviolated its constitution.

The ruling came around a year after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to seize control of the Panama Canal, saying the waterway was “vital to our country” and claiming, “it’s being operated by China.”

‘Extensive damages’

Thecomments from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office reflect an escalation in tone from China’s initial response to the ruling. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that the decision was “contrary to the laws governing Panama’s approval of the relevant franchises, and that the companies will reserve all rights, including legal proceedings.”

Beijing said it would take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. PPC, which has held the contract to operate the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal since the 1990s, also said that the decision was inconsistent with the relevant legal framework.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/04/china-us-trump-panama-canal-court-ruling-ck-hutchison.html

I’m sure Trump promised protection to the Panama’s courts!

Savannah Guthrie's Brother-In-Law 'May Be' Prime Suspect in Nancy's Kidnapping

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE'S MISSING MOM BROTHER-IN-LAW COULD BE PRIME SUSPECT … Ashleigh Banfield Says TMZ Staff

February 4, 2026 4:42 AM PST

There's a stunning twist in the kidnapping of 'TODAY' anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother Nancy … her son-in-law might be the prime suspect, according to Ashleigh Banfield.

Banfield the former host of "Banfield" on NewsNation reported Tuesday night …Tommaso Cioni has been identified by police as a possible suspect in the case, citing a trusted law enforcement source.

The veteran journalist says Cioni is married to Savannah's sister Annie – and the two were the last people to see Nancy on Saturday night. Annie reportedly had dinner with Nancy that night … but it's unclear if Cioni was also present.

As you know, Nancy's family called police Sunday after they got word she didn't show up to her regular Sunday church service.

Now, Banfield says investigators have towed Annie's car, which has "some connection" to 50-year-old Cioni. Banfield adds that all the cameras at Nancy's Tucson, Arizona home were smashed in.

Earlier Tuesday, NewsNation published a video showing a trail of blood leading to the front steps of Nancy's house. The Los Angeles Times also reports that blood was found at the crime scene, which belonged to Nancy.

TMZ was sent an alleged ransom note from an unknown person or persons who demanded payment in exchange for Nancy's release. The Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI are investigating whether the note is authentic.

Police say Nancy was kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night over the weekend. Investigators are working fast to find Nancy … believing time is of the essence. She's 84, in poor health, and without her daily medication.

We reached out to Cioni for comment … so far no word back.

https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/04/savannah-guthrie-brother-in-law-prime-suspect-nancy-kidnapping/

==The GOP Is About to Relive Its Worst Immigration Failure

Don’t let “worst of the worst” become the new amnesty.. 1/2==

While the left humiliates itself by being unable to define a woman,Republicans are having their own definitional crisis: deciding who has to leave the country under “mass deportation.”

There is nothing “mass” about narrowing enforcement to the “worst of the worst.” There is nothing populist about shifting the focus exclusively to criminals. There is nothing honest about pretending that this is what voters meant when they demanded action on immigration.

What is unfolding with ICE in Minnesota is a familiar genre in American politics: Republicans try to implement a campaign promise. Then, the media panics, protests erupt, and the Republican establishment starts searching for an off-ramp.

We have seen this before.

It is the same impulse that produced the RNC’s Growth and Opportunity Project—the so-called autopsy—after Mitt Romney’s 2012 loss. Rather than conduct an honest assessment aligned with the populist direction the party would soon take, establishment Republicans used Romney’s defeat to sell the base two catastrophic falsehoods:first, that the immigration status quo was somehow good for America; and second, that even if it wasn’t, removing millions of illegal aliens was either impossible or politically suicidal.

In Minnesota, it looks like that error is resurfacing in real time.

At the heart of both moments is the same fundamental misdiagnosis. Illegal immigration is principally a crisis of quantity, rather than quality. Systems buckle under the weight of accumulated foreign populations long before any immigrant commits a headline-grabbing felony.

At mass levels, illegal immigration suppresses wages for American workers, especially those without college degrees, overwhelms schools and hospitals, and expands welfare systems quietly and permanently. Worse, it degrades national cohesion. Illegal immigration leaves American culture a third-world imitation of itself. None of this is primarily about violent felonies.

Reducing deportations to a criminal-justice framework tells millions of Americans who absorb these costs that their losses and communities do not matter. Unless they can point to a mugshot, their grievances are politically irrelevant.

This is why immigration politics for MAGA has always revolved around scale, not individual cases.

In 2016, President Donald Trump’s promise to “Build the Wall” was more than an argument for a construction project. Properly understood, it was a declaration that borders matter and enforcement is nonnegotiable. The so-called “Muslim ban” followed the same logic: broad, unapologetic, and focused on outcomes rather than elite approval.

In 2024, “mass deportations” became the successor slogan for the same reason. Voters understood that half-measures had failed. There were no asterisks, no consultants’ caveats saying “only the worst of the worst.” Yet these are exactly what are now being introduced.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-gop-is-about-to-relive-its-worst-immigration-failure/

>>24215199

2/2

We are going soft on deportations at the precise moment we should be going harder—against illegal alien employers, the NGO-industrial complex that facilitated mass entry, and the Biden-era officials like Alejandro Mayorkas who engineered the crisis in the first place.

To avoid repeating this failure, Republicans must confront the logic of the autopsy head-on.

The report framed immigration as a perception problem rather than an issue of national sovereignty: “If Hispanic Americans perceive that a GOP nominee or candidate does not want them in the United States (i.e. self-deportation), they will not pay attention to our next sentence.” The conclusion was explicit: soften enforcement rhetoric, signal welcome, and assume electoral gains would follow.

The autopsy reiterated this logic elsewhere,warning that “if our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.”

Donald Trump did the opposite—and won.

There was nothing “welcoming” about “Build the Wall,” nothing inclusive about mass deportations. Yet Trump took over the GOP by rejecting euphemism, insisting on enforcement, and proving the autopsy wrong on its own terms. He won by clarifying, not by softening.

The autopsy’s fear was always misplaced. Illegal immigrants do not vote. “Welcoming” rhetoric caters to elite opinion and corporate labor interests, rather than the concerns of everyday Americans.

The autopsy’s most revealing line came when it urged compromise, noting that disagreement on “20 percent of the issues” should not prevent unity.But that allegedly marginal 20 percent is where MAGA took the hard line—and, with it, the victory. Immigration is nonnegotiable and foundational. America First works only if America is clearly defined.

As Minnesota becomes the next test case, Republicans should be clear-eyed. They cannot allow deporting the “worst of the worst” to become the 2024 version of “comprehensive immigration reform.” America’s future hangs in the balance.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-gop-is-about-to-relive-its-worst-immigration-failure/

Get them out now, let the good ones, apply to come back

Republicans are going to lose even worse if they do this in 2026!

>>24215199

This is exactly why republicans lose, they are indentured to lobbyists and betray MAGA.

Trump and MAGA must let it be known the republicans need to do their job for MAGA, deport them all, their lobbyist babysitters and funders cannot get their way. This will destroy Trump’s record and place in history!

>>24215199

The Megyn Kelly Show

@MegynKellyShow.@megynkelly sends a message to the Trump administrationif they decide to only go after criminal illegal aliens:

"I'm sorry but that's not what we voted for. We voted for them all to get out."

https://x.com/MegynKellyShow/status/2017011393543668158?s=20

REMINDER — There are at least 35 million illegal aliens in U.S. —DHS is on track to deport 2 million in 4 years, not even 6 percent of the total.

(The question is it even possible to send 35 million back? And truthfully those who have lived here for many years and did no crimes be allowed to given a chance to come out and go through the process, this one time? If they don’t apply, they get sent back. Get the criminals out first, and then the rest go through a cycle for two years)

MAGA should be able to vote on the best way to do it, but if they don’t send more than those who have committed crimes, the 2026 elections will be fucked; especially since Republican rarely vote when Trump is not on the ticket. This is a sticky wicket. But money bag companies should not decide.

>>24215267

Since Megyn wants all out asap, Trump should assign her to do it, and see how she’ll get it done.

Volunteer to do it Megyn you’re a very rich person with your husband.

Speaker Johnson warns what would be a ‘FOOL’S ERRAND’ after House passes funding bill(and Johnson is the Fool that has betrayed America)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticizes what is ‘unconscionable’ to himand addresses the state of immigration after the House passes the funding bill.

13:05

https://youtu.be/GeXi1x8l9sU

>>24215287

Thune intentionally didn’t block the filibuster that was proposed by Sen Kennedy, there was a way to get 60 (or 50) votes without dems, a one time move they should have used. So now Thune is dodging whether they’ll debate and stop the filibuster that gives Dems leverage to block Trump’s solution.

Remember the majority of Republican senators hate Trump and will block him as much as the can. All his required cabinet with many more, the republicans are blocking him and making him wait and potentially not allowing them to be seated in Trumps cabinet for the whole term, Like his first term. The republicans block him as much as the Dems

Harris Faulkner: This was straight-up NASTY

The 'Outnumbered' panel criticizes Vogue's gushing profile of California Gov. Gavin Newsom

(How to hell did Newsom get away with all his crimes for so many years? The Federal gov must have many ways to prosecute the asshole)

7:28

https://youtu.be/XcGT9UdDUzU

'COMPLETE LUNATICS': Hosts stunned by anti-ICE agitators' new tactic

'Fox & Friends' hosts react to the 'lawlessness' in Minneapolis as anti-ICE agitators establish unauthorized blockades and checkpoints to disrupt federal operations.

Why don’t these idiot states create their confederacy and leave the U.S. that way we don’t have to fund them, so they can’t steal the money from TUSA

5:30

https://youtu.be/VhOEXx8jIeQ