U.S. public health officials received a memo to stop working with the World Health Organization (WHO) immediately, the Associated Press reports. John Nkengasong, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official (CDC) official, sent the memo to agency leadership. Agency employees who work with the WHO must halt their collaborations and “await further guidance,” the outlet noted. BREAKING: U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. https://t.co/pIk0OEZgNt — The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2025 From the Associated Press: Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing threats from around the world. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock. The Associated Press viewed a copy of Nkengasong’s memo, which said the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices. President Trump last week issued an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from WHO, but that did not take immediate effect. Leaving WHO requires the approval of Congress and that the U.S. meets its financial obligations for the current fiscal year. The U.S. also must provide a one-year notice. His administration also told federal health agencies to stop most communications with the public through at least the end of the month. BREAKING: CDC ORDERED TO CUT TIES WITH WHO IMMEDIATELY AS TRUMP ACCELERATES WITHDRAWAL Trump has ordered the CDC to halt all collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) immediately, despite expectations of a gradual withdrawal. A leaked CDC memo directs staff to… pic.twitter.com/yjvUAk6vge — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 27, 2025 “The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states. In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO,” Trump’s executive order read. WATCH: President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/YyKYMP53Ur — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025 Per Reuters: Trump said the WHO had failed to act independently from the “inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” and required “unfairly onerous payments” from the U.S. that were disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries, such as China. “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said at the signing of an executive order on the withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration to a second term. The WHO said on Tuesday that it regretted the move from its top donor country. “We hope that the United States will reconsider, and we really hope that there will be constructive dialogue for the benefit of everyone, for Americans but also for people around the world,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarević told reporters in Geneva. The move sets a 12-month notice period for the U.S. to leave the United Nations health agency and stop all financial contributions to its work. The United States is by far the WHO’s biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO’s most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion. “The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization. WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” the WHO commented. “The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since, alongside 193 other Member States, including through its active participation in the World Health Assembly and Executive Board. For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO,” it continued. “With the participation of the United States and other Member States, WHO has over the past 7 years implemented the largest set of reforms in its history, to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries. This work continues. We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” it added. WHO comments on United States announcement of intent to withdraw The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization. WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s… pic.twitter.com/DT3QJ49bhb — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 21, 2025 Read the full executive order HERE.

This just gets better all the time. We can live without red dye and fluoride in the water, but can we survive more CDC-Big Pharma pandemics? As an added bonus for voting for RFK, CDC and other HHS employees threaten to quit in droves if he is appointed! How wonderful would that be, guys? They […] The post CDC Employees Will Quit Over RFK & Big Pharma Declares War appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes had nothing but praise for God after the Kansas City team sealed a third trip in a row to the Super Bowl with a 32-29 victory against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. Seconds after the Chiefs became AFC Champions again, a CBS sportscaster caught up with Mahomes and asked him, pointing to the team’s chance to make history as threepeat SB champions, “How do you even describe this one, this opportunity ahead?” Super Bowl LIX will be held on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. “I mean, first off, I want to give all glory to God,” Mahomes told the reporter. “Without him, none of this is possible. And I truly mean that.” “And I’m just so proud of my teammates and how they responded,” he added. “That was a great football team and I’m just at a loss of words … I’m excited for New Orleans.” “First off, I want to give all glory to God. Without Him none of this is possible and I truly mean that.” Patrick Mahomes on CBS after another incredible win and a 3rd straight Super Bowl berth. pic.twitter.com/5Suk9rFUtj — Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) January 27, 2025 It is not the first time the future NFL Hall of Famer has been open about his faith. Following the Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory in Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL star credited God with the team’s win, as previously reported. Mahomes spoke to the press immediately after the Chiefs won the big game for the second consecutive year and said, “I just got to give God the glory” as he praised his team members for never faltering during the difficult season. “He [God] challenged us to make us better,” Mahomes added. “And I am so proud of my guys man, this is awesome. It’s legendary.” Mahomes has often spoken about his faith. In February 2023, he praised God after he scored the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2022 season. “First, I want to thank God for giving me this platform and putting so many amazing people around me to help support this dream I’ve had since I was a little kid,” Mahomes said. “Without Him, none of this would be possible.” The Chiefs quarterback previously discussed Christianity with reporters at a Super Bowl event two years ago. “My Christian faith plays a role in everything that I do,” Mahomes revealed.  “I mean, I always ask God to lead me in the right direction and let me be who I am for His name,” he added. “Obviously it will be on a huge stage in the Super Bowl that He’s given me and I want to make sure I’m glorifying Him while I do it.” Related: Mahomes Says He Will Keep Playing In NFL As Long As It Doesn’t ‘Take Away From My Family Time’

House Republicans are not done winning after their overall 2024 victory that left the Democrats in “disarray,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declared on Monday. Johnson delivered a bullish preview for his party in the years to come at the House GOP issues retreat at President Donald Trump‘s Doral resort in Florida. He was joined by National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC), GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), and Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL). .@SpeakerJohnson: “We are going to win and grow the House majority in 2026. Historically when the president takes the Oval Office, then his party then loses on average a number of seats in the House in that first midterm. That won’t happen this time around…” pic.twitter.com/tTf0nBAmYD — CSPAN (@cspan) January 27, 2025 “The Democratic Party is in disarray. They have no obvious leader. They have no obvious vision or agenda,” Johnson said. “Their platform has to be rewritten whole cloth, and they don’t exactly know how they are going to wander in this wilderness for the next couple of years,” he added. Democrats lost control of the Senate and the White House in last year’s election while they failed to crack the Republican majority in the House. Johnson predicted that the amount of restructuring the Democrats need to do will blow past the 2026 midterms and into the 2028 presidential election. “It’s not just gonna be a couple of years, though; it’s gonna be four years at least and then more because we are going to win — grow the House majority in 2026,” he said. Republicans managed to retain control of the House in the 2024 election and currently have a 218-215 majority, giving leadership a slim margin in divisive votes. There are two vacancies: one left by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and another by former Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), who is now Trump’s national security adviser. Special congressional primaries in their districts are being held in Florida on Tuesday. The special general election has been scheduled for April 1. Johnson acknowledged that, “Historically when the president takes the Oval Office, then his party then loses on average a number of seats in the House in that first midterm.” Indeed, after Trump won the 2016 presidential election, the Republicans then lost command of the House in the 2018 midterms as Democrats flipped 41 seats. However, Johnson argued, “That won’t happen this time around because there has been a sea change. And we’re going to deliver on this agenda and that begins now.”

A 42-year-old Indiana man who was pardoned by President Donald Trump last week —after entering the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 — was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon. Matthew Huttle of Hobart, Indiana, allegedly resisted arrest and got into an “altercation” with a Jasper County Sheriff’s Department deputy, according to authorities, the Associated Press reported. Indiana State Police said that after Huttle was pulled over, “an altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect.” Huttle was in possession of a firearm when he was pulled over, the state police said. Authorities did not say why Huttle was pulled over or what led to the confrontation. The officer who shot Huttle has been placed on leave as authorities investigate the fatal shooting. Huttle’s attorney, Nick Barnes — who was representing the 42-year-old in multiple pending motor vehicle cases — said he did not know what led to the shooting, according to the AP. Huttle previously spent time behind bars for a driving offense. In 2023, Huttle pled guilty to entering a restricted building after he was in the U.S. Capitol for 16 minutes on January 6, 2021. Defense attorney Andrew Hemmer said that Huttle was “not a true believer in any political cause,” but was only at the Trump rally that day “because he thought it would be a historic moment and he had nothing better to do after getting out of jail.” Huttle, and his uncle, Dale Huttle, were two of the roughly 1,500 people who received pardons from Trump last week after being charged in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Trump signed his executive order granting pardons to nearly all the defendants charged in relation to the Capitol breach just hours after taking office. “This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” the order states.

One of the most common rebuttals you’ll get when you criticize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in any meaningful fashion are historical red herrings. If you’re so opposed to DEI, such arguments go, then you must have a problem with people learning about America’s history of slavery, the civil rights movement, and anything to do with race relations. Obviously, these arguments are fallacious ones — but that hasn’t stopped them from coming up in the middle of modern debates over DEI and America’s struggles with racial division. Recently, the Air Force was forced to confront this argument. In the wake of President Trump’s executive order prohibiting discriminatory DEI practices at the federal level, reports surfaced that the Air Force had removed (for “review”) instructional materials pertaining to the historical legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first black military pilots, along with material on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), a paramilitary group that served during World War II. Among those outraged over the implications of this review was Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), who deemed the move “malicious compliance” on X, a sentiment Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed. “This will not stand.” Shortly after, the Air Force confirmed that “no curriculum or content highlighting the honor and valor of the Tuskegee Airmen or Women Air Force Service Pilots [was] removed from Basic Military Training.” If, as some of DEI’s most outspoken allies maintain, critics of modern DEI initiatives are truly motivated by racial animus, or a sincere desire to whitewash America’s history, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen would definitely be on the chopping block. PhotoQuest/Getty Image Hailing from central Alabama, the Airmen had to overcome the pervasive Jim Crow laws often used to block black soldiers from becoming pilots. The Airmen, recognizable by their planes’ iconic red tails, served honorably in World War II despite facing bigotry and racism during their time in the armed forces, flying more than 15,000 missions. According to the National WWII Museum, “In all, the Tuskegee Airmen earned eight Purple Hearts, fourteen Bronze Stars, three Distinguished Unit Citations, and 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses.” To understand their story, and the story of the many minorities who achieved success and greatness in America during that time, is to understand what real structural racism and anti-meritocratic prejudice looks like. Furthermore, to understand their crucial role in American history is to understand exactly why many modern arguments for DEI simply do not pass muster. The reality is that a black pilot in 1940 facing Jim Crow racism is not at all analogous to a potential IBM intern who happens to be an “underrepresented minority” facing a normal meritocratic selection process. And using the valor and perseverance of the former to justify “diversity” quotas that serve the latter is to cede that past discrimination requires present discrimination. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is a devastating argument against much of the modern DEI space. Thus, it’s suspicious that it’s even part of a conversation about ending DEI. The reality is that no serious DEI skeptics have any problem with the Tuskegee Airmen. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Katie Britt (R-AL) stating the obvious truth that DEI doesn’t just mean “anything involving minorities” is a win for sanity and normalcy. It’s a sign that conservatives can walk and chew gum at the same time — we can repudiate the extremes of DEI while being honest about what America’s victories over racism have actually cost. As litmus tests go, that’s a basic one. But, given how many DEI advocates seemingly can’t pass it, it’s an important one. * * * Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN, and The Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X @IsaacWillour. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Donald Trump called out the FEMA supervisor who ordered relief workers to skip the homes of his supporters in a Friday executive order launching a robust investigation of the agency.  The executive order discussed the scandal in Florida, first reported by The Daily Wire, where FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington told relief workers in Lake Placid to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” Trump said in the order that the incident was one of the reasons the agency was in serious need of reform, and why he was ordering the creation of a council to investigate its performance. “There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA,” Trump wrote in the executive order. “Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.” Whistleblowers told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes impacted by Hurricane Milton were skipped due to Washington’s instructions, which were given both verbally and in a group chat. Washington was fired by then-FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell following the report. In subsequent interviews, Washington claimed that her instructions were approved by her superiors, saying that the agency had a policy in place to skip “politically hostile” homes. There are still ongoing investigations into the incident from Congress and the Department of Homeland Security.  Trump has frequently criticized FEMA in recent months, saying that the agency has lost focus and mistreated hurricane victims because of their politically conservative views. His Friday executive order said that the agency has been “diverting limited staff and resources to support missions beyond its scope and authority, spending well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens.” The order will create a 20-person council, including the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, to conduct a full review of FEMA’s activities.  Trump said the council will assess “the existing ability of FEMA to capably and impartially address disasters occurring within the United States and shall advise the President on all recommended changes related to FEMA to best serve the national interest.” The executive order stipulates that the council develop proposals to improve FEMA, survey states and other stakeholders impacted by natural disasters, and produce a comprehensive report on the agency and how disaster relief was handled before its creation.  “Americans deserve an immediate, effective, and impartial response to and recovery from disasters,” the executive order said. “FEMA therefore requires a full-scale review, by individuals highly experienced at effective disaster response and recovery, who shall recommend to the President improvements or structural changes to promote the national interest and enable national resilience.”