Kansas Is Currently at Center of ‘Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in Recorded US History’

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Kansas is currently host to the largest tuberculosis outbreak recorded in U.S. history, health officials warn.

The state had 66 active cases and 79 latent infections in the Kansas City metro area, health officials reported on Jan. 17. Most of the cases have come out of Wyandotte County, though some have also been reported in Johnson County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also recently warned of a deadly “rabbit fever” on the rise as the bird flu continues to raise concerns.

“Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” warned Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday. . .

Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that is caused by a bacterial infection in the lungs that the CDC has been monitoring cases since the 1950s. (Read more from “Kansas Is Currently at Center of ‘Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in Recorded US History’” HERE)

Hegseth Confirmed As Secretary of Defense After Chaotic Process

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By Daily Caller. Pete Hegseth was confirmed Friday as the 29th secretary of Defense after a contentious Senate confirmation process.

The vote was split down party lines, with 50 votes for and 50 votes against and Vice President JD Vance set to break the tie, according to the unofficial tally. Hegseth will oversee the U.S. armed forces’ domestic and foreign activities as its civilian head.

“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who was rumored to have defected with his vote, said on X Friday. “I will support his confirmation and look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda.”

Republican defections included Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

Hegseth’s confirmation hearing was tense, as his allegations of sexual assault and past comments on women’s role in the military drew harsh attacks from Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Despite the attacks, he drew praise from his Republican colleagues for his performance. (Read more from “Hegseth Confirmed As Secretary of Defense After Chaotic Process” HERE)

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Hegseth confirmed: Vance comes to rescue after McConnell rebellion forces tiebreaker

By Washington Examiner. Pete Hegseth will be the next secretary of defense after Vice President JD Vance cast a historic vote to save his confirmation when Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rejected the nominee at the last hour.

The turbulent nomination threatened to split Republicans on one of President Donald Trump’s most consequential Cabinet picks and sets up a tense future as McConnell surprised his conference in voting “no” a day after supporting moving the process forward.

In a vote that fell mostly along party lines, the upper chamber voted 51-50 to confirm Hegseth to run the Pentagon and its sprawling, $840 billion budget.

McConnell, the former GOP leader, emerged as a surprise “no” vote on Friday, joining Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in opposition. Their defections forced Vance to travel to the Capitol to cast his first tiebreaker as vice president.

McConnell issued a lengthy statement defending his rejection of Hegseth, highlighting the charged geopolitical moment and the “gravest threats to U.S. national security interests since World War II.” (Read more from “Hegseth confirmed: Vance comes to rescue after McConnell rebellion forces tiebreaker” HERE)

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Adam Schiff Extends Olive Branch, Trump Asks if He Was ‘Hit With a Baseball Bat’

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Sen. Adam Schiff of California wanted to play nice with President Donald Trump on his trip to survey the wildfire devastation in California.

Mr. Trump, however, wasn’t ready to bury the hatchet with the man he dubbed “Shifty Schiff” and “pencil neck.”

“I was told that Schiff was going to travel with us to California. I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday. “And I saw him last night on television. It looks like he got hit with a baseball bat or something. What happened to him?”

Mr. Trump also said the fire in California “could have been put out” if elected officials “let the water flow.”

“So I think we are going to have a very interesting time,” he said of the trip. (Read more from “Adam Schiff Extends Olive Branch, Trump Asks if He Was ‘Hit With a Baseball Bat’” HERE)

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Mexico Refuses to Accept U.S. Deportation Flight as Trump’s Immigration Overhaul Gets Into Full Swing

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Mexico refused to allow a plane carrying illegal migrants to land in the country on Thursday after President Trump dramatically beefed up security at the border and ordered mass raids and deportations since reclaiming the White House, according to military officials.

The deportation flight was blocked from leaving the US after two Air Force C-17 flights, each carrying about 80 deportees to Guatemala, successfully took off Thursday night, NBC reported, citing two defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation.

It was not immediately clear why Mexico blocked the plane, but tensions have flared between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum since he threatened to slap 25% tariffs on Mexican goods in response to migrants illegally crossing the border.

A White House official told the outlet via text message that “the flights thing was an administrative issue and was quickly rectified.”

The flight rejection appeared to be confusion over the Department of Defense flight manifest, according to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, who cited a senior State Department official. (Read more from “Mexico Refuses to Accept U.S. Deportation Flight as Trump’s Immigration Overhaul Gets Into Full Swing” HERE)

JD Vance Receives Backlash From Conservatives for ‘Rewarding’ an ‘Enemy’ News Org. With First Sit-Down Interview

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Vice President JD Vance received backlash from conservatives on Thursday after it was announced that his first sit-down interview would be conducted by Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan.

After CBS News political reporter Olivia Rinaldi broke the news that Vance would grant his first interview as vice president to Face the Nation on Sunday, conservative media figures criticized the decision.

(Read more from “JD Vance Receives Backlash From Conservatives for ‘Rewarding’ an ‘Enemy’ News Org. With First Sit-Down Interview” HERE)

President Throws Down With California Democrat: ‘You Made It So Impossible’

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President Donald Trump’s Friday night press conference in Pacific Palisades went off the rails after he went back and forth with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) about state policy on forest management, water, FEMA, and private insurance companies.

Trump landed late Friday afternoon in Los Angeles, where he was greeted by Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom. Trump and Newsom have traded barbs publicly about this month’s deadly L.A. County wildfires.

While seated next to First Lady Melania Trump and one chair over from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass at Friday’s conference, Trump found another nemesis in Sherman.

The longtime House Democrat had already confronted Trump about making federal aid for devastated communities in the area conditional.

(Read more from “President Throws Down With California Democrat: ‘You Made It So Impossible’” HERE)

‘Biden Forever’: Illegal Haitian Yells for Joe, Obama as ICE Officers Shove Him Into Squad Car

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An illegal Haitian migrant openly praised former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden as Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested him in Boston, Massachusetts, for his alleged involvement with a gang.

President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up its efforts to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, particularly those with lengthy criminal records, and reversed a Biden-era policy that barred Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) from making arrests in schools, churches and other “sensitive locations.” The Haitian migrant who praised Obama and Biden is a gang member with 17 criminal convictions in recent years, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported Thursday.

“I’m not going back to Haiti,” the man said. “F*ck Trump! You feel me? Yo, Biden forever, bro! Thank Obama for everything he did for me, bro!”

ICE Boston officers confirmed their plan to arrest “extremely violent offenders” in the area and several illegal migrants considered to be threats, including an MS-13 member wanted in El Salvador for aggravated murder, Melugin reported. Officials made eight notable arrests, including an illegal Brazilian national who was wanted for armed robbery, an El Salvadoran national charged locally for rape and an illegal migrant from the Dominican Republic who is charged with deadly assault with a deadly weapon and heroine trafficking.

Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman said in a Tuesday statement that the reversal of Biden’s programs allows for ICE agents to arrest “criminal aliens,” including rapists and murderers. The current administration reversed another Biden-era policy that allowed for humanitarian parole, which Huffman said allowed “1.5 million migrants to enter our country.” (Read more from “‘Biden Forever’: Illegal Haitian Yells for Joe, Obama as ICE Officers Shove Him Into Squad Car” HERE)

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USDA Raises Eyebrows With Hire Of Seed Oil Lobbyist As Agency Chief Of Staff

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The incoming chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a new administration determined to “make America healthy again” is a junk food lobbyist whose recent experience includes running the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) and the Edible Oil Producers Association (EOPA).

On Tuesday, the USDA announced Kailee Tkacz Buller’s appointment under Secretary-Designate Brooke Rollins, who testified in a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday. Buller also previously worked as a lobbyist for the snack industry trade group, SNAC International, and the Corn Refiners Association, another trade association behind ingredients for popular junk foods such as high-fructose corn syrup. The new chief of staff for the USDA became president and CEO of NOPA and EOPA after spending more than three years in the Department of Agriculture under President Trump’s first term.

Buller’s appointment became a trending topic on X Thursday night after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., published a screenshot of the USDA’s press release.

Some pointed out the hire of a seed oil lobbyist seemingly contradicts the new administration’s platform to “make America healthy again” by way of eliminating corporate influence over the federal government’s most powerful agencies regulating food and medicine. (Read more from “USDA Raises Eyebrows With Hire Of Seed Oil Lobbyist As Agency Chief Of Staff” HERE)

Judge Dismisses Lawfare Against Doctor Who Exposed Secret Trans Procedures On Kids

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A judge dismissed the Department of Justice’s case against a doctor who uncovered secret transgender procedures on kids, assenting to a motion from President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner dismissed the partisan lawfare today against doctor Eithan Haim, who exposed Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) for performing hidden transgender interventions on children.

Biden’s DOJ had been prosecuting the doctor, but Trump’s DOJ moved to dismiss the case today, as reported by Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who broke the original story. The acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas asked to dismiss the “Second Superseding Indictment and all open counts … with prejudice,” according to the motion.

On Friday morning, The Federalist published an article in which Haim said he was expecting potential jail time soon. The same day, a source close to the case — who wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation — said the judge was going to require Haim to enter a plea deal by 9 a.m. on Monday or go to jail.

Haim, a Dallas-area doctor, revealed in 2023 that TCH was performing transgender procedures on kids as young as 11. TCH lied about no longer providing the procedures, which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had classified as “child abuse” by that point. Texas has since banned gender mutilation of children. (Read more from “Judge Dismisses Lawfare Against Doctor Who Exposed Secret Trans Procedures On Kids” HERE)

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Bureaucrats Privately Fume About Trump Abolishing DEI, Go Into Full Conspiracy Mode

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Numerous current and former government employees are complaining and commiserating about the end of internal federal diversity programs in a private Facebook group, images of which have been obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The bureaucrats — mostly current or former employees of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) National Park Service (NPS) — likened President Donald Trump’s newly-announced push to root out internal federal “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programs to McCarthyism and sharply criticized Trump’s orders on the issue. The Trump administration has vowed to discipline federal employees who resist implementing the anti-DEI policy and sent memos to agency personnel with an email address to use for reporting attempts to sidestep the new guidelines.

A Wednesday post to the group by an employee of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), included a screenshot of an email that was sent to USDA employees this week outlining Trump’s new policy on DEI. The email featured in the post included the tip line email address to report violations of the new Trump policy.

“Email I received earlier from USDA about ending [DEI] programs. It’s like the 1950s when they were asking people to rat out their neighbors for being a suspected communist,” the USDA employee wrote in the post.

“For those still in federal employment, reminder that as part of the job you have sworn to uphold and defend the constitution. Not making this as a hint for this specific screenshot, but just in general,” one former USDA employee commented. (Read more from “Bureaucrats Privately Fume About Trump Abolishing DEI, Go Into Full Conspiracy Mode” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr