Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panama officials that Chinese influence over the Panama Canal must be curbed or the U.S. will take retaliatory actions, the State Department said Sunday.
Why it matters: Rubio's warning to Panama President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha is another pressure point on the country since President Trump said he intended to regain control of the Panama Canal.
As trade war fears circulate, lawmakers are manning their posts: Democrats are warning prices will skyrocket — while Republicans say the potential discomfort will be worth it in the end.
The big picture: Economists fear the across-the-board tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China — and the immediate retaliation that followed — could further stress already strained U.S. households and walk back recent economic gains.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) on Sunday mirrored ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, when he dodged classifying Edward Snowden as a traitor.
Why it matters: Gabbard's refusal to call Snowden a traitor during her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday reportedly prompted some GOP discomfort.
A Federal Aviation Administration warning system is back online Sunday after a temporary outage that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said could trigger "residual delays"
The big picture: It is unclear if the outage was tied to the broad changes and deletions across federal sites, which led to several pages and datasets going dark.
Vice President JD Vance defended President Trump's contention that the tragic plane collision in Washington, D.C., was connected to diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices within the Federal Aviation Administration.
Driving the news: "The president made very clear that he wasn't blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short staffed," Vance said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "That is a scandal."
No survivors are expected after an American Airlines passenger flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair on Wednesday night, near Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
The big picture: While the cause of the crash is being investigated, details are emerging about the people who were aboard the aircrafts.
President Trump on Saturday imposed across-the-boardtariffs on North American allies and China, which sparked immediate retaliation against domestic manufacturers.
Why it matters: After weeks of "will he or won't he," Trump opted for sweeping levies that could de-link economic ties with top trading partners. The impact on American consumers and businesses may be profound.
The future of the Gaza hostage-release and ceasefire deal is hanging on the outcome of a meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that is set to take place on Tuesday at the White House, three Israeli officials told Axios.
Why it matters: Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to move forward with the first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas. Families of the hostages — and Israeli negotiators — are concerned he won't follow through to the second phase as he fights for political survival.
