Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that U.S. and Panama officials would sign a ‘framework’ agreement allowing U.S. warships to travel ‘first and free’ through the Panama Canal. 

Hegseth said the two countries had already signed a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation and that they would finalize a document guaranteeing U.S. warships and auxiliary vessels priority, toll-free passage through the canal.

When Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama earlier this year, the State Department claimed it had secured a deal for the free passage of U.S. warships. But Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino denied any such agreement had been reached.

‘I completely reject that statement,’ Mulino said at the time. The Panama Canal Authority also said it had ‘not made any adjustments’ to its fee structure.

Earlier Wednesday, Hegseth warned that China’s military presence in the Western Hemisphere is ‘too large’ as he visited Panama to meet with the nation’s officials, visit U.S. troops and tour the canal ports. 

‘Make no mistake, Beijing is investing and operating in this region for military advantage and unfair economic gain,’ Hegseth said in brief remarks to the press. ‘China’s military has too large of a presence in the Western Hemisphere. They operate military facilities and ground stations that extend their reach into space. They exploit natural resources and land to fuel China’s global military ambitions. China’s factory fishing fleets are stealing food from our nations and from our people.’

He added that war with China is ‘not inevitable,’ and the U.S. does not seek war in any form. ‘Together, we must prevent war by robustly and vigorously deterring China’s threats in this hemisphere.’ 

To strengthen military ties with Panama and reassert influence over the canal, the U.S. will deploy the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, to the region.

Hegseth vowed Tuesday that the U.S. will ‘take back’ the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, pointing to port operations controlled by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.

The secretary later said Wednesday that he and Panamanian officials would be signing an agreement that U.S. warships would travel ‘first and free’ through the Panama Canal. 

Last month the conglomerate agreed to a $19 billion deal to sell a group of 43 ports, including two in Panama, to U.S.-based BlackRock, 

Trump hailed the agreement, seen as a solution to his complaints that the canal was owned by China, but now that deal may fall apart. 

China has criticized the deal, opening up antitrust probes, and a Panamanian official has accused CK Hutchison of failing to properly renew its contract in 2021 and owing the country $300 million.

After meeting with Mulino, Hegseth said Tuesday the U.S. will not allow China to threaten the canal’s operation. 

‘To this end, the United States and Panama have done more in recent weeks to strengthen our defense and security cooperation than we have in decades,’ he said.

Hegseth alluded to the ports owned by CK Hutchison. ‘China-based companies continue to control critical infrastructure in the canal area,’ he said. ‘That gives China the potential to conduct surveillance activities across Panama. This makes Panama and the United States less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign. And as President Donald Trump has pointed out, that situation is not acceptable.’

The Chinese embassy in Panama hit back: ‘The U.S. has carried out a sensationalistic campaign about the ‘theoretical Chinese threat’ in an attempt to sabotage Chinese-Panamanian cooperation, which is all just rooted in the United States’ own geopolitical interests.’

The war of words in Panama comes as China and the U.S. are now locked in a trade war, where Trump slapped Chinese goods with a total 104% tariff. China retaliated with 84% tariffs on U.S. goods.

Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., clashed Wednesday over the actions of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the Republican telling the Democrat, ‘You sound ignorant.’ 

The fiery exchange unfolded during a House Oversight Committee hearing on restoring trust in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where Garcia declared RFK Jr. ‘has been and will always be a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist.’ 

‘Our current HHS secretary is an anti-vax conspiracy theorist. And that is a fact. He caused a measles outbreak in another country that caused the death, absolutely,’ Garcia started saying before Greene interrupted him and said ,’No, he did not. That’s a lie.’

‘RFK did not cause a measles outbreak. You sound ignorant,’ Greene continued as the two began talking over each other. 

‘Miss Greene, you are an anti-vax conspiracy theorist yourself,’ Garcia told her. ‘You are the No. 1 anti-vax conspiracy theorist in this entire Congress.’ 

‘No, I am for choice. I am for parents and people choosing,’ she said, before claiming, ‘Vaccines kill people.’

RFK Jr. recently visited Texas to encourage people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine amid rising measles cases. 

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz claimed in January ahead of RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing, ‘In 2019, [RFK Jr.] flew to Samoa to discourage people from taking the measles vaccine, deepening hesitancy that was already building.

‘And it worked,’ the Democrat added. ‘Vaccination rates for eligible 1-year-olds fell to lower than 33%. And just five months later, Samoa found itself in the middle of a measles outbreak. Over 5,000 people got the measles. Eighty-three people died.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Fox News Digital has learned that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will post an updated Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) at the close of business Wednesday that paves the way for artificial intelligence to improve government efficiency and enhance the federal record-keeping process. 

This will be the first time the United States government has applied the use of artificial intelligence for federal employee record-keeping after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January to ‘solidify [America’s] position as the global leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.’

A senior White House official spoke with Fox News Digital, outlining the implementation process, detailing that the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)-approved AI system will be used to drastically speed up the retirement process for the roughly 2.3 million federal employees and improve the accuracy of what is now mostly paper-based record keeping.

While the AI system will not be immediately operational, updating the PIA is the first step in opening the door to a full-scale roll-out. The senior White House official explained that the artificial intelligence program has already been tested to 100% accuracy in a simulated environment, but that no testing on actual data can be completed without the updated PIA.

Part of the inspiration for using AI to improve federal record keeping comes from Elon Musk’s DOGE keying in on a decommissioned, underground mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania. The mine, which is home to more than 400,000,000 personal records for federal employees, is heavily reliant on an ineffective paper-based system. 

Though federal employee records are now filed through OPM’s electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF), there is also a duplicate paper record printed as a PDF that is stored at the Pennsylvania mine.

Operating under the current system, processing the retirement of a federal employee can take weeks or months, per file, and there is still room for human error.

With the implementation of artificial intelligence, the senior White House official told Fox it could take less than one second to finalize a federal employee’s retirement.

While there is no intention to digitize or remove the hundreds of millions of files that exist in the mine, the AI system would ensure that no new paper files would be added to the already overwhelming number of physical copies that exist. 

Outdated filing systems have placed a burden on the efficiency of federal record keeping, as many of the files are old, illegible PDFs that can take several employees days or weeks to review, and the results have a higher chance of being inaccurate.

‘Antiquated, inefficient, and slow are words synonymous with government, all of which ended the day President Trump took office,’ Harrison Fields, Principal White House Deputy Press Secretary, told Fox News Digital, ‘Today’s action follows the president’s historic AI Executive Order and will usher in historic efficiency at the Office of Personnel Management, streamlining the organization tasked with serving as the human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the Federal Government.’

The White House also issued an AI-focused concentrated fact sheet Tuesday, establishing federal ‘Agency Chief AI Officer roles’ who ‘are tasked with promoting agency-wide AI innovation and the adoption of lower-risk AI, mitigating risks for higher-impact AI, and advising on agency AI investments and spending.’

The senior White House official clarified to Fox News Digital that despite the AI implementation, federal employees will still be able to self-review and assess personal records at their discretion.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

Conservatives are reeling after Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined liberal justices, dissenting in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision to allow President Donald Trump’s administration to deport Venezuelan nationals under the 1789 Alien Enemies Act. 

Republicans have celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling that allows the Trump administration under the wartime immigration law to deport Venezuelan nationals, whom the White House maintains are Tren de Aragua gang members and terrorists. Since the ruling, conservatives have flooded social media with discontent at Barrett for siding with Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent. 

‘This is disappointing,’ Trump ally Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said on his personal X account, reacting to Barrett joining the three liberal justices in ruling against Trump’s deportations. 

Responding to Lee’s disappointment, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk piled on the Barrett critique in an X post: ‘Suicidal empathy is a civilizational risk.’

‘While this Supreme Court victory for Trump allowing him to deport cartels is huge, it was only a 5-4 decision. Guess who joined the 3 liberal Justices to keep cartels here in America? Amy Coney Barrett,’ conservative influencer Rogan O’Handley, known as DC Draino on X, said in a post. 

LindellTV White House reporter Cara Castronuova asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about Barrett’s ‘decision to go with the liberals, and to go actually with the Tren de Araguas’ during Tuesday’s White House press briefing. Leavitt did not address Barrett’s vote directly but said the administration wished it was a unanimous decision. 

‘We believe this was a massive victory,’ Leavitt replied. ‘Certainly, we wish this was a 9-0 decision because we firmly believe the president was well within his constitutional authority and the Supreme Court made that very clear last night.’

Barrett is no stranger to the ire of Republicans, particularly Trump’s most loyal base, as this isn’t the first time she’s bucked her conservative justices since joining the majority on the nation’s highest court. She delivered a sharp dissent against a 6-3 ruling in 2024 that said the Justice Department went too far in charging Jan. 6 rioters at the U.S. Capitol with obstruction.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted Trump’s request to vacate a lower court’s ruling that barred the Trump administration from invoking the 1789 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals from the United States. The act allows the United States to remove ‘dangerous’ immigrants during times of war. At least 261 migrants were deported last month, including more than 100 Venezuelans specifically under the 1789 law. 

The Supreme Court did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by deadline. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

Canada has a new U.S. ambassador to sort through its strained relations with Washington as the Senate on Wednesday approved President Donald Trump’s nomination of Peter Hoekstra in a 60-37 vote. 

His confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Canada comes at one of the most challenging times in Washington’s long relationship with its northern neighbor after Trump launched a series of tariffs targeting Ottawa and repeatedly claimed he believes Canada should become the U.S.’s 51st state. 

But despite heightened concerns over Trump’s ambitions for Canada, particularly among Democratic lawmakers, Hoekstra’s Senate confirmation process was a relatively smooth road.  

‘I do have a special appreciation for Canada as a neighbor,’ he told Senators at his confirmation hearing last month.

Following questions from Delaware Democrat Sen. Christopher Coons, Hoekstra affirmed that ‘Canada is a sovereign state.’

However, he declined to comment on the president’s repeated desire to incorporate Canada as the next U.S. state – a proposal Ottawa has consistently rejected.

‘How the president and the relationship between the former prime minister in Canada and the characteristics, the nature of that relationship…I don’t know,’ he added.

The Michigan lawmaker and former ambassador to the Netherlands during President Trump’s first term referenced his state’s close ties to Canada during his opening remarks last month before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

‘My home state is connected to Canada by four and soon to be five, bridge crossings along maritime board, across the Great Lakes, vital lakes that drive businesses, jobs and livelihoods in both states,’ Hoekstra highlighted. ‘If confirmed, I will work tirelessly to build on that record of cooperation extended, obviously nationally.’

Canada is the U.S.’s largest trading partner and the number one purchaser of U.S. goods.

‘I think there’s 36 states that see Canada as their number one trading partner internationally,’ Hoekstra confirmed. 

The U.S. is also, by far, Canada’s largest trading partner and top purchaser of Canadian goods, but Trump has repeatedly called the relationship ‘unfair.’ 

In 2023, the U.S. imported some $443 billion worth of goods, accounting for 72% of all Canadian exports, while Canada imported $317 billion U.S. goods, accounting for 49% of Ottawa’s total imports.

In response, Trump slapped Ottawa with a blanket 25% tariff on all Canadian imports in a move to dissuade American consumers from purchasing Canadian goods, with the exception of energy imports, which saw a 10% tariff. 

Additionally, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles and parts, which will also drastically affect Canada as automobiles are a chief export item to the U.S. 

The development of a nuclear bomb that would be 24 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II is ‘significantly ahead of schedule,’ according to U.S. national security officials. 

‘The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will complete the First Production Unit of the B61-13, a modern variant of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, this fiscal year and significantly ahead of schedule,’ an NNSA spokesperson told Fox News.

‘One of seven warhead modernization programs to ensure the reliability and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, the B61-13 will provide additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets,’ the spokesperson added. ‘NNSA accelerated delivery of the weapon by leveraging manufacturing processes from the related B61-12 program, whose final unit was completed in 2024, and implementing a range of technical innovations to optimize production.’

The process for the newest version began in the Biden administration in 2023, and it is now going into full production seven months ahead of schedule. A Department of Defense fact sheet from 2023 said the B61-13 would ‘strengthen deterrence of adversaries,’ referring to the 2022 nuclear posture review that observed U.S. adversaries like China and Russia continue to expand their nuclear forces while ‘increasing reliance on nuclear weapons.’ 

The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was about a 15-kiloton bomb. The DoD fact sheet released in October 2023 said the ‘B61-13 will have a yield similar to the B61-7, which is higher than that of the B61- 12.’ 

Citing defense officials, the Federation of American Scientists said the B61-7 has a maximum yield of 360 kilotons, making it 24 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The B61-13, therefore, would also be 14 times more powerful than the 25-kiloton bomb dropped on Nagasaki. 

Sandia National Laboratories, where the new bomb is being developed, said the B61-13 program ‘used innovative program planning that resulted in projected delivery seven months earlier than expected, a more than 25% decrease in overall time to first production unit.’ Their statement cited ‘a critical challenge and urgent need’ for the acceleration and said the B61-13 ‘team reprioritized qualification activities, planned tests with U.S. Air Force stakeholders and jointly completed requirements with Los Alamos National Laboratory and NNSA.’ 

‘Their creativity in system qualification put an aggressive set of plans in motion to meet stakeholder expectations,’ Sandia National Laboratories said. 

The statement comes a day after President Donald Trump’s nominee for NNSA administration, former Rep. Brandon Williams, faced off with senators during his confirmation hearing. 

Williams notably testified that he would not advise the resumption of nuclear detonation tests last conducted in the United States in 1992. He said the ultimate decision would be ‘above my paygrade’ but that he would not recommend tests and instead preferred to rely on ‘scientific information,’ such as computer modeling done at NNSA laboratories based on data gathered from nonnuclear detonation tests. 

His response came during a line of questioning by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who cited how ‘millions of people and acres of land were contaminated by radiation’ during nuclear detonation testing conducted in her home state during the Cold War.

White House aides cut off outside access to former President Joe Biden, which ultimately backfired and worsened his cognitive function, according to a new book.

The book, ‘Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History,’ published Tuesday, claims the White House kept Biden from socializing even with those he regarded as friends and allies. 

‘Even Biden’s acquaintances were kept at bay,’ Chris Whipple, a former producer for CBS’ ’60 Minutes,’ wrote. ‘Bill Daley, former White House chief of staff to Barack Obama, paid frequent visits to one of the president’s senior advisors in the West Wing. ‘I went to the White House a dozen times,’ he told me. ‘Never once did somebody say, ‘Oh, come on in and see the president.’ Never. Everything was scripted.’ 

Not everyone in the White House thought it was a wise strategy, according to the book. Whipple wrote that one White House aide suggested ‘walling Biden off from the world was a grave mistake.’ 

‘‘They were afraid he might say the wrong thing or might feed the mental acuity narrative,’ he told me. ‘And so he started seeing fewer and fewer people. They allowed his faculties to atrophy. But I think, like knives, they have to be sharpened. They get sharpened by rubbing them up against steel. And they don’t get sharpened by sitting in a drawer,’’ Whipple wrote.

‘Uncharted’ chronicles the 2024 election cycle and the aftermath of Biden’s appearance at the presidential debate with Donald Trump June 27 that prompted Biden to bow out of the race in July. 

The book also details how, after the debate, Biden conducted an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos July 5 in an attempt to prove to the public his mental faculties were intact amid calls for him to exit the race. 

But Whipple wrote that Biden sounded ‘semi-coherent’ during the interview, which occurred weeks before Biden withdrew his candidacy July 21. 

‘Stephanopoulos questioned the president gently, like a grandson,’ Whipple wrote. ‘Afterward, when I asked the ABC anchor by email for his impressions, he replied: ‘Heartbreaking up close.’’

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report. 

Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, has been confirmed to the position by the United States Senate. 

The Senate voted 53 to 46 on Tuesday to advance Huckabee’s nomination. He was confirmed Wednesday by a 53-46 vote and will now represent the U.S. as Israel continues its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., an outspoken pro-Israel lawmaker, was the only Democrat to support Huckabee’s confirmation. 

While Republicans have championed Huckabee as an ardent supporter of Israel, Democrats have questioned his previous ‘extreme’ position on Palestinians.

The former Arkansas governor has previously argued it is Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and has flatly rejected the push to establish a two-state solution when it comes to the Gaza Strip. 

Huckabee has not commented on whether he still views the West Bank as Israel’s right to claim, or where he stands when it comes to Trump’s position on the Gaza Strip, which the president said he would like to turn into the ‘riviera of the Middle East’ and called for the ‘relocation’ of more than 2 million Palestinians.

During his confirmation hearing, the former governor pushed back on claims that Trump wants to take over the Gaza Strip, insisting the president has not called for the ‘forced displacement’ of Palestinians from Gaza – ‘unless it is for their safety.’

‘If confirmed, it will be my responsibility to carry out the president’s priorities, not mine,’ Huckabee said in response to questions levied at him by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

However, Huckabee’s testimony during Senate questioning is unlikely to have garnered much new support from Democrats in Congress. 

‘Huckabee’s positions are not the words of a thoughtful diplomat – they are the words of a provocateur whose views are far outside international consensus and contrary to the core bipartisan principles of American diplomacy,’ New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, a senior Jewish Democrat, said in a statement last month. ‘In one of the most volatile and violent areas in the world today, there is no need for more extremism, and certainly not from the historic ambassador’s post and behind the powerful seal of the United States.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a ‘dark-arts operation’ to undercut other potential running mates for former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to a new book. 

The book, ‘Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,’ published April 1 by William Morrow and Company, claims that Harris spread unfavorable information about other possible vice presidential picks for Biden. 

‘In 2020, when she beat out a crowded field to join Biden’s ticket, Harris advisers ran a dark-arts operation to undermine the competition, circulating negative information on her rivals,’ write political journalists Jonathan Allen of NBC News and Amie Parnes of The Hill.

Specifically, the book singled out Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

‘‘We stabbed Karen Bass a little bit. We stabbed Susan Rice a little bit. We stabbed Stacey Abrams a little bit,’ one adviser said of the effort four years earlier. ‘We stabbed Gretchen Whitmer.’’

The book did not delve into the specifics Harris took to undercut her opponents as they all vied for the vice presidential nomination. 

But any steps Harris took to undermine those women didn’t damage their relationships enough to stop them from backing her in the 2024 election. 

Bass endorsed Harris, and both Whitmer and Abrams appeared at Harris campaign events in 2024. Additionally, Rice also defended Harris in July after Rep. Ted Burchett, R-Tenn., described Harris as a ‘DEI hire.’ Rice described the comment as ‘incredibly insulting,’ in an interview with CNN. 

Harris, who previously served as a senator from California, has signed with CAA Speakers, which represents high-profile celebrities. CAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

‘Fight’ chronicles how President Donald Trump secured the White House for a second term. Allen and Parnes conducted interviews with more than 150 political insiders for the book, according to the book’s description.

The book also details how former President Barack Obama remained wary of supporting Harris in the 2024 election to replace Biden, amid concerns about his mental fitness. Likewise, the book shares that Obama doubted Biden’s political abilities as the race dragged on. 

Sen. Adam Schiff fired back late Tuesday after President Donald Trump mocked the California Democrat during a black-tie Republican dinner in Washington, D.C.

‘The President of the United States seems oddly focused on me,’ Schiff posted after footage of Trump’s jokes made the rounds.

‘Shouldn’t he be focused on the economy he’s crashing?’ he wrote.

During the event hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) – the House Republicans’ campaign arm – Trump wove in a few insults about the Boston-born Angeleno’s appearance into a verbal indictment of his role in the 2016 Russia collusion investigation.

‘Adam ‘Schifty’ Schiff – can you believe this guy?’ Trump said. ‘He’s got the smallest neck I’ve ever seen – and the biggest head: We call him Watermelon-Head.’ Trump went on to ruminate about how Schiff’s ‘big fat face’ could ‘stand on a neck’ the size of the president’s finger. 

‘It’s the weirdest thing – it’s a mystery; no one can understand it.’

Trump went on to call Schiff ‘one of the most dishonest human beings I’ve ever seen,’ and wondered aloud how people like Schiff could be able to run for office.

‘He was in charge of the fake witch hunt – with ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ – it was a made-up story,’ he said, playing off the ‘Brady Bunch’ line ‘Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.’

In 2020, Schiff managed the House’s impeachment probe into Trump, leading off his opening remarks that January by comparing former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s 1792 warning to then-President George Washington about future American leaders who would rise to the executive ‘despotic in [their] ordinary demeanor.’

‘When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits… known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty—when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind,’ Schiff said at the time.

Since then, he and Trump have often traded criticisms, with Trump also referring to him in the past as a ‘structural marvel,’ with an appearance like a ‘finger on a basketball.’

In October, Trump compared Schiff to the ‘enemy from within’ and called him a ‘sleazebag’ on FOX Business before lamenting that the Democrat would likely defeat former MLB star Steve Garvey for California’s open U.S. Senate seat.

For his part, Schiff has also clapped back at Republicans for their criticisms – responding in July to a report that now-Vice President JD Vance had lamented campaign name-calling after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the GOP ticket ‘weird.’

‘Shifty Schiff, pencil neck and watermelon head, would like a word, JD,’ Schiff responded at the time on Facebook.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff for additional comment but did not immediately hear back.