Trump Admin Slashes 1,600 Positions From Embattled Agency as President Starts Fifth Week in Office

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The Trump administration is eliminating over a thousand positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while also placing the majority of the remaining staff members on administration leave globally, just before midnight Sunday.

The Associated Press reported that it learned from the Trump administration that 1,600 posts would be eliminated after reviewing notices that were sent to USAID workers.

“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notices read.

The Trump administration intends on leaving fewer than 300 staffers on the job, out of the current 8,000 contractors and direct hires.

The less than 300 remaining staff, along with an unknown number of the 5,000 locally hired international staff members abroad, will run the few life-saving programs that the administration said it intends to keep in place for the time being. (Read more from “Trump Admin Slashes 1,600 Positions From Embattled Agency as President Starts Fifth Week in Office” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Vaping Found to Be ‘More Dangerous Than Smoking’ as Bombshell Report Identifies Raised Risk of 3 Deadly Diseases

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A groundbreaking study from Manchester Metropolitan University has revealed that vaping could pose greater health risks than smoking, with users facing increased dangers of dementia, heart disease and organ failure.

The first-of-its-kind research, released today, found that e-cigarettes may be more hazardous than traditional cigarettes due to their continuous usage pattern and high nicotine content.

The research found that vapers and smokers showed similar patterns of blood vessel damage and impaired blood flow.

“What we have found is the dangers for someone who keeps vaping are no different from smokers,” said Dr Maxime Boidin, the study’s lead researcher.

Dr Boidin explained that vaping poses unique risks as users can consume nicotine more continuously, noting: “With vapes, you just keep going and it’s much harder to know how many puffs you’ve had.” (Read more from “Vaping Found to Be ‘More Dangerous Than Smoking’ as Bombshell Report Identifies Raised Risk of 3 Deadly Diseases” HERE)

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FBI Director Kash Patel Sworn in as ATF Acting Director

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FBI director Kash Patel was welcomed by ATF Headquarters after being sworn in Monday to serve as the agency’s acting director.

ATFHQ posted to X:

Gun Owners of American celebrated Patel’s ascension to ATF acting director:

On February 23, Breitbart News noted various reports that Patel was going to be tapped to lead ATF.

FOX News reported on matter and based their report on two unnamed sources. The Associated Press reported that Patel will be “acting director” of the ATF, crediting the information to a “Justice Department official.” (Read more from “FBI Director Kash Patel Sworn in as ATF Acting Director” HERE)

The Mystery Surrounding the Delta Pilot Deepens

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. . .What’s most suspicious is that Delta still refuses to reveal who was at the controls on that disastrous day. Yet, based on the biographical breadcrumbs they’ve dropped, people are drawing their own conclusions—and frankly, who can blame them? That said, it’s important to note that nothing has been officially confirmed.

But here’s where it gets even stranger—for the first time since the Toronto crash, the mainstream media has started sharing details about the female co-pilot. Of course, they didn’t release her name—because transparency isn’t exactly a priority here.

What they did do was gloss over the captain’s experience in a measly two sentences. Meanwhile, they poured out paragraphs to build up the female co-pilot—painting a glowing picture that feels more like damage control than reporting.

CBS News:

CBS News learned the first officer graduated from a university with an accredited and well-respected aviation program, and so was able to start working with fewer than 1,500 hours under a Restricted Air Transport Pilot certificate. She crossed the 1,500-hour mark and earned her full ATP certificate in January 2023, which is the highest-level pilot certification in the U.S., before completing training last April, and has been flying for Endeavor since then.

Delta says her flight experience “exceeded the minimum requirements” set by federal regulations.

She passed all of her check rides and there were “no red flags” about her pilot skills, a source familiar told CBS News.

Why is Delta Airlines being so tight-lipped about who was actually flying that plane? It’s a simple question that deserves a straightforward answer—especially after a crash this serious. Yet, instead of transparency, we’re getting silence, vague statements and selective puff pieces from the media. Why the secrecy? If this was just an accident with no underlying issues, there should be no need for smoke and mirrors. The more Delta dodges, the more it looks like they’re hiding something. (Read more from “The Mystery Surrounding the Delta Pilot Deepens” HERE)

NYC Boating Horror Kills 3, Injures 2 as Sixth Passenger Still Missing in Freezing Waters

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At least three people are dead, two are injured and another is missing after a boat capsized in a waterway between Brooklyn and Staten Island Sunday afternoon, officials said.

Five of the six occupants of the boat were pulled from the freezing waters after the vessel capsized around noon in the Ambrose Channel, the city’s main shipping lane that slices the two Big Apple boroughs, according to the NYPD.

Police divers, the US Coast Guard and other agencies descended on the dire scene, where they found four of the five victims unresponsive, according to the military branch.

Two people were airlifted to Staten Island Hospital and three were taken to Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook where emergency services were waiting, cops and the military branch said.

Three people were pronounced dead while one is in critical condition and another is in stable condition, police said. (Read more from “NYC Boating Horror Kills 3, Injures 2 as Sixth Passenger Still Missing in Freezing Waters” HERE)

(Read more from “NYC Boating Horror Kills 3, Injures 2 as Sixth Passenger Still Missing in Freezing Waters” HERE)

Here’s How The Media Are Lying Right Now: ‘Rewriting’ Ukraine War History Edition

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Before writing an incredibly superficial piece on Eastern Europe’s geopolitical affairs from the frontlines of Pennsylvania Ave., New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker might have checked in with his colleague who was actually stationed in Russia and knows what he’s talking about.

Baker joined the obnoxious media chorus this week in disputing virtually every single thing President Trump said recently with regard to the war in Ukraine, including Trump’s characterization of the conflict as something Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky could have avoided and Trump’s labeling of Zelensky as a dictator.

“President Trump is rewriting the history of Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbor,” Baker wrote on Wednesday. “Ukraine, in this version, is not a victim but a villain. And Mr. Zelensky is not a latter-day Winston Churchill, but a ‘dictator without elections’ who somehow started the war himself and conned America into helping.” He went on to write that Trump had “falsely” accused Zelensky of starting the war and had engaged in a “revision” of historical record that “seems to be laying a predicate for withdrawing support for an ally under attack.”

That annoying thing the media do where they have to have the last word on every disagreement under the guise of calling it a “fact-check”? This is more of that.

If there’s any “revision” in challenging the absurd levels of propaganda that the Biden administration and the media disseminated for the sake of selling that war to the American public, so be it. Almost everything said about it by the people in power advocating to prolong it was a lie. They said it was about “democracy” and “freedom” when it was in reality a long-standing territorial dispute. They said Ukraine could “win” while privately acknowledging that was impossible. They said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was decimating his own country’s economy when it was in fact relatively stable and even strengthening. (Read more from “Here’s How The Media Are Lying Right Now: ‘Rewriting’ Ukraine War History Edition” HERE)

Former Proud Boys Leader Arrested for Assault of Protester at Celebration for Jan. 6 Pardons

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A former Proud Boys leader who was pardoned for his actions at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioting was arrested for an assault on a protester during a celebration of the pardons.

Video captured the moment Enrique Tarrio was confronted by a woman who was shoving her cell phone in his face. He reacted by slapping the phone out of her hand, and Capitol Police officers swooped in quickly to arrest him.

Tarrio had just finished speaking at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., when the protester approached him.

The USCP released a statement to WUSA-TV saying that Tarrio was arrested for simple assault.

“Around 2:30 p.m., our officers witnessed a woman (a counter protester) put a cellphone close to a man’s face, while they were both walking near Delaware Avenue, NE, and D Street.,” the statement read. “Then the officers witnessed the man strike the woman’s phone and arm. The woman told our officers that she wanted to be a complainant, and the man was arrested for the simple assault.” (Read more from “Former Proud Boys Leader Arrested for Assault of Protester at Celebration for Jan. 6 Pardons” HERE)

Trump’s Leaders at Federal Agencies Rebuff Musk Demand That Workers Justify Their Week or Be Fired

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The directive that all federal employees share what work they accomplished last week or be fired is running into resistance, including from President Trump’s choices to lead federal departments.

Leaders at the Pentagon, the State Department, the Office of National Intelligence and the FBI told their workers Sunday to ignore the edict that originated with Elon Musk, Mr. Trump’s efficiency czar, and a federal workers union immediately vowed to sue.

Leading the refusal was FBI Director Kash Patel, who directed bureau staff to ignore a request.

“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Mr. Patel, who has orders from Mr. Trump to clean house, said in a message to employees. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any response.”

Mr. Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, issued the justify-your-job ultimatum Saturday, soon after the president encouraged him to be more “aggressive” in his cost-cutting efforts. (Read more from “Trump’s Leaders at Federal Agencies Rebuff Musk Demand That Workers Justify Their Week or Be Fired” HERE)

Trump Announces Commentator Dan Bongino as FBI Deputy Director: ‘Congratulations!’

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Conservative commentator and ex-Secret Service agent Dan Bongino has been named deputy director of the FBI, President Trump announced Sunday night.

“Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice! Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel,” the president posted on Truth Social.

Bongino, 50, is a former NYPD officer and worked as a special agent for the Secret Service before pivoting careers, Trump said.

He previously hosted the Fox News show “Unfiltered” on Saturday nights before he parted ways with the network in 2023.

Bongino currently hosts the popular podcast “The Dan Bongino Show,” which Trump said he would end in order to get back into law enforcement. (Read more from “Trump Announces Commentator Dan Bongino as FBI Deputy Director: ‘Congratulations!’” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Bombshell Yale Study Proves COVID Vax Causes Extreme Physiological Changes

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By Daily Mail. Thousands of Americans have reported [COVID vaccine injury] stories. After [publication of the Yale University study this week], DailyMail.com spoke to dozens of Americans, including those in healthcare, law, and the military, who said they felt a sense of validation after years of being dismissed as crazy.

. . . Yale researchers found patients with previously unknown ‘post-vaccination syndrome’ show distinct biological changes.

The most common symptoms appear to be brain fog, dizziness, tinnitus and exercise intolerance, a feeling of exhaustion after limited exercise.

In patients with the syndrome, the vaccine also appears to awaken a dormant virus known as Epstein–Barr and interfere with people’s immune systems in complicated ways still being studied.

Meanwhile, people with the post-vaccination condition had high levels of coronavirus proteins in their blood, years after taking the shot, which could leave their bodies in a permanent state of inflammation, causing a host of other problems. (Read more from “Bombshell Yale Study Proves COVID Vax Causes Extreme Physiological Changes” HERE)

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Montana Lawmakers Reject Proposed Ban on mRNA Vaccines

By Micah Drew. The Montana House of Representatives on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly against House Bill 371, a measure that would have banned mRNA vaccines — used primarily in COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots — and made it a misdemeanor to administer the shots.

Introduced by Greg Kmetz, R-Miles City, the contentious bill revealed deep-held beliefs by some lawmakers about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine technology that became common during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration has approved mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and boosters from Moderna and Pfizer. The FDA has also approved a Moderna mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus.

Kmetz said he became politically active during the pandemic, starting when then-Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, ordered non-essential businesses to temporarily close down. He said his wife lost her job in the healthcare field for not getting vaccinated, and a friend’s grandson was hospitalized for one of the rare side effects attributed to the COVID-19 vaccines.

“If an individual is told a product will prevent them from getting sick, and yet the actual outcome of taking the product does not result in that effect, then the product is a scam,” Kmetz said. “Another thing that really bothers me is all vaccine manufacturers are 100% free from all liability … We are talking about a real bad product, and people have absolutely no recourse for damage.” (Read more from “Montana Lawmakers Reject Proposed Ban on mRNA Vaccines” HERE)