Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that China has a contingency plan to shut down the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the U.S. and that Washington intends to address what it sees as a national security threat. Just days before visiting Central America on his first foreign trip as top U.S. diplomat, Rubio, in an interview with Sirius XM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, echoed some of President Donald Trump's concerns about Chinese influence over the strategic waterway. Trump, in his Jan. 20 inauguration speech, again accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the canal in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China - claims that the Panamanian government has vehemently denied.
An American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., Wednesday night. All 67 people aboard the aircraft are presumed dead.
Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain drug designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries. Two studies in more than 870 patients with acute pain following foot and abdominal surgeries showed Vertex’s pill provided more relief than a dummy pill but didn’t outperform a common opioid-acetaminophen combination pill.
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is gearing up to announce another Republican bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan, just months after he narrowly lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of his plans. Two sources familiar with Rogers’ plans confirmed his intention to enter the 2026 race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. The sources requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss Rogers' plans.
The Old Farmer's Almanac spring 2025 forecast calls for a warmer, wetter season across much of the U.S.
Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia and the nation's capital said Thursday they have paused gender-affirming care for young people as they evaluate President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at cutting federal support for such care. Denver Health in Colorado has stopped providing gender-affirming surgeries for people under age 19, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday, in order to comply with the executive order and continue receiving federal funding. It is unclear whether the hospital will continue providing other gender-affirming care for youth, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers.
A conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice said Thursday he will not participate in a pending case that will determine whether tens of thousands of public sector workers regain collective bargaining rights that were taken away by a 2011 law. Justice Brian Hagedorn drafted the law, known as Act 10, when he was chief legal counsel for then-Gov. Scott Walker. The Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this week asked that liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz not hear the case because before she joined the court she called the law unconstitutional, signed a petition to recall Walker during the fight over the law and marched on the Capitol in protest in 2011.
Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s pick to be DNI, was questioned about her praise for Edward Snowden and her stance on a surveillance program.
A federal appeals court on Thursday restored a U.S. agency rule restricting lobster and Jonah crab fishing off the Massachusetts coast to protect endangered whales, rejecting a claim that the agency did not deserve deference under a recent landmark Supreme Court case. In a 3-0 decision, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the National Marine Fisheries Service acted lawfully in banning from Feb. 1 to April 30 annually the use of vertical buoy lines in a 200-nautical-mile area of federal waters called the Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge. The Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association sued to block the rule, saying a Dec. 2022 appropriations rider reflected the U.S. Congress' intent not to extend emergency protections for North Atlantic right whales from earlier that year.
The claim originated with a satirical Facebook account. Nothing on FEMA’s website supports the claim.
Members of Congress expressed concerns about air congestion in an area where a commercial passenger jet collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River.
Sen. Bill Cassidy has emerged as a central figure in the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose nomination to health and human services secretary poses an equally consequential moment for the second-term Republican facing an uncertain political future in Louisiana. A physician-turned-politician, Cassidy has questions about Kennedy's past claims linking common vaccines to autism, a position the gastroenterologist rejects and sought repeatedly to convince the nominee to renounce during a committee hearing Thursday. Already at odds with a segment of his party for voting to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment, Cassidy acknowledged his own desire Thursday to see Trump succeed in his second term as president.
When the mother of one of the Thai hostages held in the Gaza Strip for over a year caught sight of her son on a Facebook livestream after his release Thursday, he had changed so much that she didn’t recognize him at first. Dozens of Israeli doctors, nurses and representatives from Israel and Thailand waved flags, sang and cheered Thursday as the five Thai hostages stepped off a military helicopter and entered a hospital outside Tel Aviv, where they will spend a few days undergoing medical tests and recuperating. Three Israelis were also released on Thursday, and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners in the exchange.
The United States and Russia have pledged their readiness to resume nuclear disarmament talks after years of confrontation, but analysts are sceptical that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin can or even want to reach a breakthrough new agreement.The last remaining strategic arms control agreement between Russia and the United States is set to expire in a year.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity and influence in the Arctic and in Latin America. Ahead of a trip to Central America that will start in Panama this weekend, Rubio said Thursday that he could not predict if Trump would succeed in buying Greenland from Denmark or restoring American authority over the Panama Canal while he is office. “What I think you can rest assured of is that four years from now, our interest in the Arctic will be more secure; our interest in the Panama Canal will be more secure,” Rubio said in an interview with SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly.
Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are among Trump's more controversial nominees, and faced tough questions from senators Thursday.
A conservative US appeals court ruled on Thursday that a law banning the sale of handguns by federally licensed firearms dealers to adults under the age of 21 is unconstitutional.In its ruling, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the law passed by Congress in 1968 banning handgun sales by licensed dealers to adults under the age of 21 violated the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.
Patel faced no resistance from Republicans at the hearing.
He has been pilloried for his vaccine skepticism, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to reduce America's reliance on processed foods and pharmaceuticals has also struck a chord.She's inspired by Kennedy's emphasis on organic foods and exercise to address root causes rather than enriching pharmaceutical companies.
Lawmakers have an intimate, and paternalistic, relationship with the airport where 67 died Wednesday.