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Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha (R) walks next to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the presidential palace in Panama City on Feb. 2, 2025. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his trip to Latin America by meeting with Panamanian leaders, pressing them to urgently address the Chinese regime’s influence over the region.

The top U.S. diplomat shared his national security concerns with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha in a Panama City meeting on Sunday.

Rubio told them that President Donald Trump has determined that “the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal,” according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

Rubio called the status quo “unacceptable” and said the United States will “take measures necessary” unless there are “immediate changes,” according to Bruce.

After the meeting, Panama’s president, Jose Mulino, said that his country will not renew its agreement with China to be a part of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Belt and Road initiative. Mulino said that his government is looking into whether the memorandum can be terminated earlier.

The talks marked Rubio’s first overseas trip since assuming the post less than two weeks ago. The trip, which includes stops in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic, also marks the first time in a century that a U.S. secretary of state has made Latin America their first official destination, reflecting a U.S. desire to counter rising Chinese diplomatic encroachment in the region.

The United States spent a decade building the Panama Canal, which connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. In 1999, under a 1977 treaty, Panama took control of the 51-mile-long waterway.

The agreement gives the United States the right to defend the canal using military force to guarantee the canal’s neutrality and ensures perpetual U.S. usage of the canal.

Currently, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports operates two ports at the canal’s Atlantic and Pacific entrances. The company has renewed a 25-year contract with Panama allowing it to operate these ports until 2046. (More)

More Politics:

Investigators found conflicting altimeter readings from the control tower data of the Black Hawk military helicopter and the passenger jet that collided over Washington on Jan. 29.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials told reporters on Saturday that preliminary altimeter data do not match the events on the night of the deadly accident.

The control tower recorded the Black Hawk helicopter flying at an altitude of 200 feet at the time of the collision, in line with its maximum allowed altitude for its flight path.

However, data from the passenger jet’s flight recorder show the collision occurred at an altitude of about 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet.

“That’s what our job is, to figure that out,” NTSB member J. Todd Inman said during an evening news conference on Feb. 1.

Investigators hope to reconcile the altitude differences with data from the helicopter’s black box, which is taking more time to retrieve because it became waterlogged after it plunged into the Potomac River. They also said they plan to refine the tower data, which can be less reliable.

The investigation is also looking at the actions of the military pilot and air traffic control, which has in recent years been struggling with shortages in manpower under the management of the Federal Aviation Administration. (More)

More U.S. News

President Donald Trump said on Feb. 1 that Venezuela has agreed to receive all Venezuelan illegal immigrants arrested inside the United States and provide for their transportation to their home country.

“Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell met with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Friday and brought back six American citizens who were detained in Venezuela.

Last week, Colombia agreed to take back its nationals illegally living in the United States after a standoff between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro over U.S. military deportation flights. Both had threatened to impose tariffs but later reached a deal, with officials confirming soon after that the deportation flights resumed. (More)

More World News:

✍️ Opinion: Why the World Is Giving Up on Birthright Citizenshipby Ryan McMaken

🍵 Health: Herniated disk is a common spinal condition with three main causes.

🍿 Documentary: Wild Water explores Gaddings Dam’s wild swimming community, using cold water and nature to restore mental health and connection. (Watch free on Gan Jing World)

🎵 Music: Jacques Offenbach – The Tales of Hoffmann: Barcarolle (Listen)

📷 Photo of the Day: An American Airlines CRJ type jet takes off as family members visit the crash site on the banks of the Potomac River, where American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army military helicopter, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 2, 2025.👇

Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Day in Photos: Punxsutawney Phil’s Prediction, Marco Rubio Visits Panama, and WWII Festivities

Listening builds trust and common ground. (Biba Kayewich)

Amid the busyness of life, it can be hard to really hear what another human being is trying to say to us.

Yet true listening carries within it a potent power for good. Strong listening abilities have the potential to improve almost every area of our life, from work to family to politics.

Good listening reduces misunderstandings, increases connection, shows respect to others, and builds trust.

So, here are some tips for becoming a better listener:

Practice Active Listening—According to The Harvard Business Review, there are three parts to active listening: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral.

When you open yourself up to what the other person is trying to communicate, it makes possible a real meeting of minds and hearts. It’s possible to discover things that neither party even knew were there.

Reflect Back the Other’s Words—When you reflect another’s words, you try to repeat back to them what they told you and ask whether you’ve got it correct or not.

Just make sure that you can restate your conversational partner’s expression in a way that they find accurate and satisfactory.

Avoid the ‘Shift Response’—Under the surface of poor listening skills often lurks the subtle monster of ego. We often fail to listen because we’re too preoccupied with ourselves.

One such ego trick is the “shift response,” whereby we listen to what the other says but find a way to relate it—or shift it—back to ourselves.

Read the full article by our colleague Walker Larson here.

Spot the Difference is our readers’ favorite. Play it here.

Play more games at Epoch Fun ➞

Thanks for reading.

Have a wonderful day.

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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