U.S. troops are preparing to deploy near the Panama Canal for military training, exercises, and other operations as part of a new agreement between the United States and the Panamanian government. The agreement, obtained by AFP on Thursday, appears to be a diplomatic concession to President Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Panama’s canal fees and threatened to reclaim control of the globally vital waterway. “We’re going to take [the canal] back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump warned back in February. This new arrangement, however, distances itself from recent comments made by Pete Hegseth, who had suggested the U.S. might re-establish old military bases in Panama if invited. Instead, the deal stipulates that U.S. forces will operate out of Panamanian-...

Ryan Estrada and Kim Hyun Sook had been looking forward to their summer trip to the United States for years. They had carefully planned every detail, and Kim even turned down renewing her job contract to make the trip possible. But despite all the preparations, they made the tough choice to cancel their months-long visit. Estrada, a cartoonist, and his wife, Kim, a Korean graphic novelist, live in South Korea. The trip was a chance to visit Estrada’s family and meet with libraries across the U.S. to talk about their books. Kim was going to travel on a tourist visa for three months, while Estrada, a U.S. citizen, had planned to arrive earlier and stay later. But then they heard what happened to Rebecca Burke — a fellow graphic artist and friend of friends — who was detained and ba...

A recent policy change by the Trump administration is set to impact over 321,000 individuals, primarily immigrants from Cuba and Haiti, who will lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) f4 once their temporary immigration status expires. To continue receiving SNAP benefits, these individuals must secure another form of legal protection, such as asylum or Temporary Protected Status (TPS). For many families, SNAP has been a crucial lifeline for maintaining food security. Losing access to this assistance due to the expiration of their immigration status adds another layer of difficulty, especially for those still navigating the legal process to remain in the U.S. It’s important to note that immigrants from Nicaragua and Venezuela, who entered under humanit...