
The five things you need to know today:
PANAMA. Marco Rubio’s first foreign trip puts business before pleasure.
UNITED STATES. A new era in federal-state relations begins.
INDIA. CHINA. Russia’s big partners won’t easily help the US in Ukraine.
NATO. Europe faces an hour of reckoning.
SPAIN. The left’s poster boy puts his head above the parapet.
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PANAMA. Taking care of isthmus
Marco Rubio’s first foreign trip puts business before pleasure.
Marco Rubio will visit Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica in his first trip as Secretary of State, his department said Thursday. Panama filed a complaint to the UN Tuesday over US threats to seize the canal.
INTELLIGENCE. Rubio’s visit shows a welcome refocus on America’s near-abroad, but not all of Rubio’s hosts will enjoy the attention. The visit could help smooth and define Trump’s threats, but the president is unlikely to lower the tone for as long as the Panama issue plays well with his base, and unless there’s a satisfactory quid pro quo. Greater assurances around the two ports run by Hong Kong-based Hutchison could be sufficient but may need dressing-up.
FOR BUSINESS. Some from of agreement, around security, migration, or trade, may need to seal the deal, but it otherwise remains unlikely (at this stage) that Trump will make good on threats to “take back” the canal. The greater question is what this means for other key facilities, important to US supply chains, that are also run by Hutchison and similar China-linked entities. Hutchison operates Felixstowe in the UK and the main terminal at the Port of Rotterdam.
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UNITED STATES. Fighting fires with fire
A new era in federal-state relations begins.
Donald Trump said he would visit damaged areas of Los Angeles Friday. Governor Gavin Newsom said he would greet the president whether invited to or not. California's State Senate approved more funds to sue the federal government.
INTELLIGENCE. During Trump’s last term, California sued the federal government more than 120 times. Earlier measures to