By EDITH M. LEDERER

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and China clashed over the Panama Canal at the United Nations on Monday, with the U.S. warning that Beijing’s influence over the key waterway could threaten global trade and security and China calling U.S. accusations a pretext to take over the canal.

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The clash took place at a U.N. Security Council meeting where Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino stressed the neutrality of the canal and his country’s ownership of the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Panama holds the council presidency this month, and Mulino was chairing a meeting on challenges to maritime security. Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza told members these include piracy, armed robbery, transnational crime and cyber criminals weaponizing artificial intelligence to attack ports where there is “minimal cyber security, maximum exposure.”

U.S. President Donald Trump thrust Panama into the spotlight even before winning election last November by suggesting that his country should consider retaking control of the Panama Canal and accusing Panama of ceding influence to China.

The U.S. built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Control of the waterway transferred to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong emphasized to the council that “Panama has consistently and effectively managed the canal, making significant contributions to global shipping and trade.”

“China has always respected the permanent neutrality of the canal and firmly supports Panama in safeguarding its sovereignty over the canal to ensure its openness and smooth operation,” he said.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, who spoke afterward, went after China, expressing concern about its “outsized influence over the Panama Canal area, especially over critical infrastructure and port operations.”

Alluding to its claims in the South China Sea, she said, “China’s expansive and unlawful maritime claims and aggressive actions demonstrate its threat to maritime security and commerce.” She said the U.S. rejects these claims and supports countries opposing them.

“China’s influence in the canal area is not just a risk to Panama and the United States, but rather a potential threat to global trade and security,” Shea said.

The Trump administration has pressured China to have the Hong Kong-based operator of ports at either end of the canal sell those interests to a U.S. consortium that includes BlackRock Inc.

Panama has vehemently rejected a takeover of the canal, but in April, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Panama and agreed with Mulino to step up security coordination. The agreement also gives U.S. troops access to strategic air and naval facilities in the Central American nation, which sparked large protests in Panama’s capital.

China’s Fu asked for the floor to respond to Shea’s accusations after all council members spoke, this time lashing out at the Trump administration.

“The United States’ fabrication of lies and groundless attacks against China are nothing but a pretext for seeking control of the canal,” he said.

The Chinese envoy called the U.S. and its deployment of offensive weapons in the South China Sea area “the biggest disrupter of peace and stability” in the region, and he accused the administration of exacerbating risks to global maritime security.

“China firmly opposes economic coercion and bullying practices and urges the United States to stop fabricating rumors, lies and creating trouble,” Fu said.

Murillo then responded, saying he wanted to stress Panama’s sovereignty “in terms of the ownership of the canal” and the multilateral treaty governing its administration. He called the canal’s neutrality “the only and the best defense” to any specific or global threats.

Una juez federal bloqueó temporalmente las deportaciones expeditas (Expedited Removal en inglés) a aquellos que habían entrado al país bajo el programa de “parole”, entre ellos inmigrantes de Cuba, Haití, Nicaragua y Venezuela.

La secretaria del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS), Kristi Noem, habla durante una rueda de prensa en el edificio federal Wilshire, en Los Ángeles, California, el 12 de junio de 2025. (DHS/Tia Dufour)

El 1 de agosto la juez federal Jia M. Cobb bloqueó temporalmente la práctica de la administración Trump de llevar a cabo deportaciones expeditas (Expedited Removal en inglés) a aquellos habían entrado al país bajo el programa de “parole”.

Está misma jueza está considerando un segundo caso presentado por la Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU por sus siglas en inglés) en nombre de Make the Road New York, para frenar la expansión de las deportaciones rápidas en el país.

La decisión se produce luego de que organizaciones de defensa de los inmigrantes como Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the UndocuBlack Network y Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA), demandaran al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus siglas en inglés).

En otra demanda, las organizaciones Justice Action Center y Human Rights First están desafiando la decisión de terminar el programa de parole.

El programa de “parole”, conocido oficialmente como Proceso de Permiso de Permanencia Temporal para Cubanos, Haitianos, Nicaragüenses y Venezolanos (CHNV por sus siglas en inglés), era un permiso temporal para vivir y trabajar en el país.

Biden fue el primero en suspender el programa en agosto de 2024, alegando que los patrocinadores financieros en los Estados Unidos estaban haciendo trampas.

En marzo, la administración de Trump canceló el programa CHNV.

En junio de este año, el DHS empezó a enviar notificaciones por correo electrónico sobre el cierre del programa conocido por la palabra en inglés como “parole” o permiso de permanencia temporal para cubanos, haitianos, nicaragüenses y venezolanos.

Luego de la decisión, se espera que el gobierno apele la decisión.

Así que para hablar sobre la decisión, el programa y su evolución en los tribunales, invitamos a Brandon Galli-Graves, abogado de Justice Action Center.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

Ciudad Sin Límites, el proyecto en español de City Limits, y El Diario de Nueva York se han unido para crear el pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” para hablar sobre latinos y política. Para no perderse ningún episodio de nuestro pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” síguenos en Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Pódcast y Stitcher. Todos los episodios están allí. ¡Suscríbete!

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Richmond Barthé’s 80-foot “Exodus and Dance” frieze has been displayed at the NYCHA campus for 84 years, where it’s affectionately referred to as “The Wall.”

The newly restored “Exodus and Dance,” by Harlem Renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé at the Kingsborough Houses. (Victoria Moran Garcia/City Limits)

At the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights last week, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) unveiled a restoration of the over 80-foot “Exodus and Dance” frieze by Richmond Barthé, funded in part by the New York City Council and the Mellon Foundation.  

“Your efforts, as all of your efforts, are driven with a drive and a passion for arts and resident engagement, and the end result is a place for this community to congregate and enjoy for decades to come,” said Lisa Bova-Hiatt, CEO of NYCHA.

The restoration was led by NYCHA and the Public Housing Community Fund, created in 2016 to support residents through programs within NYCHA’s 335 developments. In January 2024, the fund was awarded $2 million from the Mellon Foundation to help restore “Exodus and Dance” and fund future art programming at the Kingsborough Houses. 

The bas-relief frieze depicts scenes of biblical imagery and African dance, and was originally completed in 1939. Barthé, hired to create the piece under the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, initially intended it for a theater at the Harlem River Houses, according to the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. But it was eventually displayed at the Kingsborough Houses, starting in 1941.

In its 84 years there, the piece has been affectionately referred to as “The Wall.” Evergreene Architectural Arts and Jablonski Building Conservation completed the restoration at a conservation studio in the Bronx, and the piece now sits on a new brick wall. 

“We are at a time in our country where they are taking monuments to our culture down, where they are trying to erase our cultural history, telling us that we do not matter,” said New York State Sen. Zellnor Myrie.  “So today is so important because we stand united in saying this community matters. Yeah, our cultural history matters. Who we are matters.”

In an effort to deter crime, the floor in front of the frieze has built-in light strips to illuminate the area, which Myrie described as “a public safety tool.”

“The only difference between gunfire on one block and peace in another is people and culture, and having a culture of peace. Art does that. It makes us think beyond ourselves. It inspires us to do so many good and positive things,” said Assemblymember Stephanie Zimmerman. “This is an amphitheater of love and joy. We should be sitting here every single day, playing music, talking about our history, talking about our dreams.”

Officials cut the ribbon on the newly restored “Exodus and Dance,” at the Kingsborough Houses. (Victoria Moran Garcia/City Limits)

During the unveiling ceremony, speakers acknowledged Larry Weekes, former president of the Fulton Art Fair and Kingsborough artist-in-residence, as a main driving force in the restoration project. Weekes passed away earlier this summer.

“At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, I looked at the frieze and thought, this is Black lives. We needed to do something to restore and revitalize it,” he’s quoted as having said, according to a program for the event.

Weekes was involved in art programs at the Older Adult Center at the Kingsborough Houses, which Eden White, a resident of the Kingsborough Extension senior housing, says she participated in. She says she’ll be visiting the frieze more often. 

“It looks 100 percent better now,” White said. “I’m going to tell my friends to come and my grandkids. Any time they come by to see me, I’ll tell them come down here to see what it looks like.” 

The $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation will also be used for future programming at the NYCHA campus. This includes a mural on the back of the frieze in partnership with the Fulton Art Fair, and a series of “Storywalks”—art installations that highlight shared histories and memories, in partnership with Creative Urban Alchemy. 

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Victoriam@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

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By MIKE STOBBE

NEW YORK (AP) — The man who attacked the CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday fired more than 180 shots into the campus and broke about 150 windows, with bullets piercing “blast-resistant” windows and spattering glass shards into numerous rooms, according to information circulated internally at the agency.

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It may take weeks or even months to replace windows and clean up the damage, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel said.

A Georgia man who had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal opened fire late Friday, killing a police officer. No one at CDC was injured.

The shooter was stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy and opening fire late Friday afternoon, a law enforcement official has told the AP. The official wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The 30-year-old man, Patrick Joseph White, later died, but authorities haven’t said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the CDC campus on Monday. CDC security pointed out broken windows across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statement.

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez accompanied him, according to the statement.

Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, where he met with the police chief. Later. He also met privately with the widow of the fallen officer, David Rose.

Monarez posted a statement on social media Friday night that said at least four CDC buildings were hit in the attack.

The extent of the damage became more clear during a weekend CDC leadership meeting. Two CDC employees who were told about what was discussed at the meeting described details to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to reveal the information. Details also were also in an agency memo seen by an AP reporter.

Building 21, which houses Monarez’s office, was hit by the largest number of bullets. CDC officials did not say if her office was hit.

The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

CDC employees were advised to work from home this week.

Kennedy issued a statement Saturday that said “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” and that top federal health officials were ”actively supporting CDC staff.”

He did not speak to the media during his visit Monday.

A retired CDC official, Stephan Monroe, said he worried about the long-term impact the attack would have on young scientists’ willingness to go to work for the government.

“I’m concerned that this is this is going to be a generational hit,” said Monroe, speaking to a reporter near the corner where a poster had been set up in honor of Rose.

Kennedy was a leader in a national anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump selected him to oversee federal health agencies, and has made false and misleading statements about the safety and effectiveness of about COVID-19 shots and other vaccines.

Years of false rhetoric about vaccines and public health was bound to “take a toll on people’s mental health,” and “leads to violence,” said Tim Young, a CDC employee who retired in April.

Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first administration, said Sunday that health leaders should appreciate the weight of their words.

“We have to understand people are listening,” Adams told “Face the Nation” on CBS. “When you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences.”

AP reporters Alanna Durkin Richer and Charlotte Kramon contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.