New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James warned hospitals in the state against canceling appointments for transgender procedures on minors after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect children from irreversible surgeries and hormone therapy. In a letter sent to New York health care providers on Monday, James said that hospitals have “obligations to comply with New York state laws,” adding that refusing service to “transgender individuals” goes against anti-discrimination laws. “Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law,” the letter stated. Hospitals across the U.S. began canceling appointments for life-altering gender procedures on children after Trump signed an order on “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan reported on Monday. “It’s already having its intended effect — preventing children from being maimed and sterilized by adults perpetuating a radical, false claim that they can somehow change a child’s sex,” the White House said. “Hospitals around the country are taking action to downsize or eliminate their so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ programs.” Trump’s order threatens to withhold federal funding from any hospital that continues to conduct gender procedures on children. According to The New York Times, NYU Langone, one of the top hospitals in NYC, canceled appointments for transgender procedures on minors within days of Trump’s order. Reports of the cancellations led to a protest — attended by hundreds of people — outside of NYU Langone on Monday evening. Some of the protesters waved transgender pride flags and carried signs that called on the hospital to continue the irreversible procedures on children. “This is the last thing that we need to be worried about, a political system attacking our family,” said one father at the demonstration. The man told the Times that his 12-year-old child identifies as “gender-fluid,” and they were seeking doctors’ opinions on whether to have the child undergo hormone therapy. Dozens of states have taken action to protect children from gender procedures, and more federal action could be on the horizon with a Republican-controlled House and Senate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Daily Wire last week that the president would also support Congressional action to shield gender-confused minors from transgender surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy. “As for congressional legislation to support the president’s agenda in this space, and certainly ending the mutilation of young children, the chemical castration of young children, which is a barbaric practice that the vast majority of Americans do not support, for young, minor children, certainly, the president would support Congress’ efforts, as he has already made that very clear this week,” Leavitt said.

White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks joined key Republican lawmakers in pledging to pass major cryptocurrency bills within President Donald Trump’s first 100 days while hinting at the possibility of a federal Bitcoin reserve. At a press conference Tuesday, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) said he expects both major stablecoin and markets structure bills to pass by the end of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, putting the deadline less than three months away, according to a report by Decrypt. Republican chairs of the House Financial Services Committee, Senate Banking Committee, House Agriculture Committee, and Senate Agriculture Committee unveiled plans for a bicameral working group to coordinate with Sacks. One of the many crypto bills on the docket, according to the lawmakers, is the GENIUS Act, introduced by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), which would require monthly audits of stablecoin issuers’ fiat reserves and impose criminal penalties for false reporting. Stablecoins now represent a substantial share of the daily volume in digital asset exchanges. Because these tokens are commonly pegged to the U.S. dollar or other stable assets, reliable regulatory structures are seen by many as crucial to ensuring market stability. Crypto has long been shunned by traditional financial institutions due to its unregulated nature, forcing many crypto companies to incorporate internationally in countries with a much clearer framework for operation. Industry advocates have shown optimism that a clear legal framework might accelerate institutional partnerships between stablecoin providers and traditional financial institutions. Sacks addressed this, saying, “Financial assets are destined to become digital … and we want that value creation to happen in the United States.” Sacks also addressed rumors of a Bitcoin strategic reserve, given President Trump’s Monday executive order establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, which often features Bitcoin in other countries. Sacks deferred this question to the newly-announced bicameral crypto committee, saying that the sovereign wealth fund was “a little separate” from any consideration of a Bitcoin reserve, but left open the possibility of further White House action on the matter.

President Trump is moving faster than any president of my lifetime to get things done. It is astonishing. Astonishing. I’ve never seen an administration move this quickly to do as many different things as the Trump administration is doing right now. Whether you’re talking about walking back support for the UNRWA, ending support nationwide for transitioning children, ending DEI initiatives all over the country, reconstituting the Defense Department (by the way, recruitment immediately skyrocketed since the appointment of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense), or getting wins at the Panama Canal (where the Panamanian government has now announced it is not going to participate in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative anymore), this administration is pushing so hard, so fast on so many fronts, that it’s exceptionally difficult for any opposition to truly form around any one issue.  The best the Democrats have done so far is mobilize around the end of USAID. USAID is an agency that was originally brought into being by foreign aid initiatives of Congress and then put into power by an executive order by JFK all the way back during the middle of the Cold War. USAID essentially was designed as a way of spreading America’s foreign policy tentacles all over the world. That was the explicit purpose. It wasn’t just to do nice things; it was to do nice things and also to support institutions in various countries that were going to be a bulwark against communism. Since the end of the Cold War, USAID has been transformed into supporting trans pride flags in Africa or boondoggle projects that are designed to pay millions or billions of dollars to Left-wing NGOs, both in the United States and outside the United States, and keep up an entire employment line for people who are out of power. While Republicans are in power, USAID is still paying many blue organizations to keep trains running on time and to make sure money continues to flow to various organizations abroad that are willing to spread social leftism. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show The idea of USAID is not wrong. The idea that you want to find non-governmental organizations in countries that are teetering between China and the United States and support them to make that country more pro-America is not a bad idea. The problem is that the USAID infrastructure has been hijacked by the radical Left. What the Left has done with so many institutions — and USAID is only one of them — is to take the original purpose of the institution, gut it, and then wear the face around like Hannibal Lecter. That is exactly what the Left has done with the university systems in the United States. They did it with the mainstream press in the United States, and they did it with USAID. USAID has been participating in tremendous waste and fraud for a long time. As Daniel Greenfield of the David Horowitz Freedom Center points out, USAID has sent $9.3 billion to Islamic terrorist states collectively responsible for killing over 3,000 American soldiers. There are an enormous number of terrible organizations supported by USAID. A wing of the Republican Party wishes to use the fact that these institutions have been so thoroughly corrupted to go totally isolationist, which is a mistake. Two things can be true at the same time: USAID has become a totally corrupted institution, but that doesn’t mean that the best strategy for the United States is to retreat from the world entirely and simply grant that vacuum to the Chinese, the Russians, or the Iranians. Elon Musk said that there basically is nothing left at USAID that’s worth saving. The budget of USAID is somewhere between $40 and $50 billion. It is an extremely large governmental program. So when people say things like, “It’s only 1% of the American budget,” that’s true. But that’s just because our budget is far too large. That doesn’t mean we should be wasting tons of money on interests that are antithetical to American interests abroad. The spread of social leftism in Zimbabwe should not be the goal of American foreign policy. Flying “Pride Progress” flags outside the Vatican should not be a goal of American foreign policy, and neither should supporting Left-wing NGOs that are also supported by people like George Soros. President Trump deployed Elon Musk and the Department of Governmental Efficiency to go into USAID’s headquarters, dig through the personnel files, and try to figure out where all the money is going. The acting heads of USAID tried to resist. So President Trump fired them. Many people on the Left got very upset about all of this for a couple of reasons. First, they actually like the “Pride Progress” flag being flown in far-flung African nations with American taxpayer dollars. They want America to fund abortion abroad. They support precisely the things the American taxpayers don’t want to do. But there’s something else going on, too, which is that USAID, like so many other federal government programs, is an absolute gravy train for Democratic allies. It is a bunch of money that is being spent on various constituencies that Democrats cultivate and use as the incoming State Department officials if Democrats win office. It is not a coincidence that so many Democrats, both elected and non-elected, worked at places like or funded by USAID. It’s a giant grab bag of cash which has essentially become a handout mechanism for the Left-wing. The administration’s strategy seems to be to move fast and break things, to make all of these cuts, to bring a chainsaw to the party. The way an executive branch agency works is that everyone serves at the pleasure of the president of the United States. If you don’t like that, there is a way this could have been avoided: not having created a massive administrative bureaucracy. But since the beginning of the 20th century, the Democrats centralized extraordinary power in the executive branch. And now they’re furious that the person in charge of the executive branch is using that power to carve away all of their permanent substructures. What we are watching is a sea change in the way that government is done, not because Trump is “dictatorial” or “authoritarian,” but because he is using precisely the same power every Democrat has used so that he can carve away the permanent root of the Democratic Party. President Trump is seeking victories and attempting to minimize defeat. The caterwauling from the Left is about the fact that the plaything of the permanent Democratic Party, the administrative bureaucracy they built and have lavished with trillions of dollars over the course of decades, is now being redone by the Trump administration, and they are freaking out about it. And when the Left freaks out about a thing, I tend to like the thing. Very much.

'The coddling is for the white boys'

'Assume greater responsibility'

Multiple anonymous agents and employees sued the DOJ Tuesday over its questionnaire

Ryan Hartman, you're next

The post How Often Should I Change Cat Litter? 5 Things to Consider (Vet-Reviewed) by Catster Editorial Team appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Click to Skip Ahead Things to Consider When Changing Your Cat’s Litter How to Clean a Litter Box Cats are fastidious animals that greatly appreciate fresh, clean litter. If the litter isn’t up to their standards, they may just do their business somewhere else—like your floor, which is why it’s important to keep up with litter box maintenance. That said, just how often should cat litter be changed? As a general rule, you’ll want to scoopy daily, then change the litter and thoroughly clean the box about once per week, but this can vary based on multiple factors like the type of litter, how many cats you have, and your cat’s bathroom habits. We’ll take a closer look at these factors to help you gauge how often a litter change may be necessary. The 5 Things to Consider When Changing Your Cat’s Litter 1. Type of Litter Some types of litter—like non-clumping clay-based litter—tend to get stinky pretty quickly, whereas others stay fresh for longer. High-quality clumping litter and silicone (crystal) litter tend to fare well because they’re more absorbent. Clumping litter is especially convenient because you simply scoop out the clumps, leaving the clean litter behind, meaning it’s easier to keep the box fresh. In addition, some litters are formulated to contain odor-neutralizing agents like baking soda, and this can also contribute to the litter’s longevity. With these kinds of litters, you might get away with changing it out only once a week or even less frequently if you maintain it well with regular scooping and cat litter deodorizers, which may help it last longer. Other, less absorbent types may need to be changed every other day. Image Credit: Andriy Blokhin, Shutterstock 2. Number of Cats Naturally, the more cats you have, the quicker the litter box is going to get smelly and the more often it will need to be changed. You can help combat this by providing multiple litter boxes so everything doesn’t accumulate in one single box. There are also cat litter types specially designed for multiple-cat households, so you might want to give these a try. 3. Your Cat’s Bathroom Habits A healthy adult cat on a high-quality food formula should only head for the litter box a few times per day (though individual needs can vary somewhat). However, if your cat has a health condition that causes them to pee more often (like a UTI, for example) or experiences issues like diarrhea, being diligent about litter maintenance is even more important than usual. Certain medications may also affect your cat’s frequency, as could their age. Kittens go to the bathroom more often than healthy adult cats. Image Credit: Oleg Opryshko, Shutterstock 4. Intact vs Neutered There is no getting around it. Intact male cats’ pee smells worse than a neutered cat’s pee does. If you live in a house containing even one unneutered male, the smell can quickly become overpowering. You can speak to your vet for more information on neutering. Speak To a Vet Online From the Comfort of Your Couch! If you need to speak with a vet but can’t get to one, head over to PangoVet. It’s an online service where you can talk to a vet online and get the personalized advice you need for your pet — all at an affordable price! Click to Speak With a Vet 5. How Much Litter There Is The litter should be deep enough for your cat to dig in and cover their poop. If it is too shallow, the absorbency will be affected, and it will start to smell in no time. Image Credit: Mila Naumova, Shutterstock How to Clean a Litter Box Spot cleaning your cat’s litter box every day (removing clumps or feces) goes a long way to making sure it stays fresh smelling for longer. However, it’s important to give the box a good clean when you change out the litter, whether that be once per week or more. Simply emptying the litter box isn’t enough to keep smells at bay because the odor compounds linger. Luckily, cleaning a litter box is really easy. All you need to do is empty out the old litter, then wash the box out with water and a mild soap. Avoid using bleach or cleaning products containing strong chemicals as these can be risky for cats. You can let the box soak for a while if it is especially smelly. Then, empty out the water, rinse to get rid of all the soap, and wipe the box down with a dry cloth. Replace the litter in the clean, dry box. If you like, you can sprinkle some litter deodorizer or a little baking soda on the bottom of the box before putting the litter in—this may help it last longer. Cleaning up after our pets is not the most enjoyable part of owning them. Despite keeping a clean litterbox, cat odors and stains may still exist around the house. Sometimes, even the best litter box setup needs extra help. If you're tired of dealing with bad smells from litter boxes, Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray can help with the worst pet stains and smells. Additionally, the Advanced Bio-Enzyme Cat Litter Deodorizer neutralizes odors upon contact. Our Favorite Products Image Product Details Best For Cleaning Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray Works on multiple surfaces Gentle yet effective Lifts stains & set-in odors CHECK PRICE Best Litter Additive Advanced Bio-Enzyme Cat Litter Deodorizer Neutralizes odor within cat litter Cat-safe Unscented CHECK PRICE At Catster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company! Conclusion Some litter needs to be changed every other day whereas other types can last for a week or more with proper maintenance routines. If you’re concerned because your cat’s “deposits” are smellier than usual or they seem to be going to the bathroom more regularly, please check this out with a vet. Sources https://www.manitouanimalhospital.com/smell-male-cat/ https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/environment/litter https://www.armandhammer.com/articles/how-often-change-cat-litter https://www.preventivevet.com/cats/how-often-should-your-cat-poop Featured Image Credit: New Africa, Shutterstock The post How Often Should I Change Cat Litter? 5 Things to Consider (Vet-Reviewed) by Catster Editorial Team appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Your Daily Teutonic: Germany's a Hot Mess at the Moment

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has spent years targeting free speech, but its reign of error is ending, as the new president abruptly told employees not to show up to work. President Donald Trump just announced his decision to temporarily shut down USAID’s headquarters while he and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decide whether to axe the corrupt agency altogether. One key fact that has not been as widely reported is that USAID was indirectly pushing censorship initiatives, targeting free speech online under the guise of targeting “hate speech” and “misinformation.” And as recently as 2023, USAID reportedly announced grants to entities for “countering disinformation,” while in 2025, it reaffirmed its commitment to suppressing certain free speech. The censorship is coming back to bite the censors. Read the full blog on MRC Free Speech America’s site.