Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling through Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic, where he represents President Trump and the new administration. Reporters are questioning him on his stops. USAID was an important topic. Secretary Rubio said USAID is answerable to the State Department, but they are not. They won’t […] The post Sen. Rubio Wants to Make USAID Great Again appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that she was revoking a Biden administration policy that gave thousands of Venezuelan illegal immigrants protection from deportation. Noem decided to terminate temporary protected status (TPS) for 348,202 Venezuelans living in the U.S. who were given work authorization and shielded from deportation in October 2023. The Department of Homeland Security said conditions had improved in Venezuela and that it was not in America’s interest to maintain the program.  “TPS has allowed a significant population of inadmissible or illegal aliens without a path to lawful immigration status to settle in the interior of the United States, and the sheer numbers have resulted in associated difficulties in local communities where local resources have been inadequate to meet the demands caused by increased numbers,” a notice from DHS set to be published on Wednesday reads.  Specifically, the notice said that city shelters, police stations, and aid services were strained to their maximum capacity because of the influx.  DHS said that the program had been a magnet for illegal immigration as thousands of inadmissible aliens were paroled into the country, and other illegal immigrants were able to obtain protected status and work authorization.  “President Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border. As the Attorney General and DHS have long understood, the potential ‘magnet effect’ of a TPS determination is a permissible factor under the TPS statute, especially with respect to a redesignation,” the memo says. “The same is true for Venezuela.” DHS also cited the increased presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua across the country as a reason to close off the program.  Noem determined that Venezuela had seen improvements in the economy, public health, and crime that allowed Venezuelans to be “safely returned to their home country,” the notice says. The recision will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday and take effect 60 days after.  The decision revokes an extension put in place by previous Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who had ordered the program continue until October 2026. Mayorkas said the extension was based on the “severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime.” Noem’s move does not terminate TPS for the approximately 250,000 Venezuelans granted it in 2021. The program will remain in place until September 2025.

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Wednesday to keep men out of women’s sports, two people with knowledge of the signing shared with The Daily Wire. The president will sign the executive action at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, surrounded by advocates who have fought against gender ideology and for the preservation of women’s spaces. It is not immediately clear whether that order will focus on K-12 sports, collegiate sports, or a broad ban on men competing as trans-identifying females in women’s sports. SCOOP: Tomorrow, Donald Trump will sign an executive order on keeping men out of women’s sports, @realDailyWire has learned. — Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 4, 2025 Trump has long promised to ban men who identify as women from participating in female sports, citing high-profile stories such as that of Riley Gaines, an athlete forced to compete against a man who identified as a female swimmer named Lia Thomas. Gaines, who did not respond to a request for comment, will address the Republican Study Committee on gender issues Wednesday, The Daily Wire reported. During the 2024 election cycle, Trump and his team embraced this issue, voicing the concerns of American parents across the country — that their daughters’ private spaces were being invaded by men, that their opportunities were being taken away, and that all of this was being done in the name of gender ideology. Leading up to Election Day, Trump advisors told The Daily Wire that the messaging was reaching women, specifically suburban women, the very same population that Democrats were targeting with aggressive abortion messaging. The Wall Street Journal predicted that trans-identifying males in women’s sports would be the 2024 sleeper issue. Lia Thomas and Riley Gaines (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Throughout his campaign, Trump repeatedly stated that Kamala Harris and Democrats were pushing a dangerous ideology that Americans didn’t want. He argued repeatedly that the far-left policies the Democratic Party embraced were “crazy.” His assertions were based on polling, both internal and external, as The Daily Wire reported, showing that Americans don’t want these radical transgender policies. “The sickos who are pushing sexual content in kindergartens, or providing puberty blockers to young children who have no idea what a puberty blocker is,” he said in 2022, drawing laughs from the crowd. “Neither do I, by the way. Neither do most of the people in the audience, as you smile.” Trump specifically promised to “keep men out of women’s sports.” That messaging, and the messaging of Republican candidates across the country, caused at least three major Democrats to reverse their stances on men in women’s sports in the days ahead of the election, in Texas, Alaska, and Pennsylvania. Wednesday is the 39th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day.

China responded on Tuesday to President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on Chinese goods with its own tariffs on multiple imports from the U.S. The communist country’s Finance Ministry announced that U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas will be hit with a 15% tariff while crude oil, agricultural machinery, and some vehicles will face 10% tariffs, CNBC reported. Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. went into effect on Tuesday, and China’s tariffs are set to begin on February 10. China said that Trump’s move “seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization” and “destructs the normal bilateral economic and trade activities.” The Chinese Commerce Ministry also announced on Tuesday that it would impose export controls on technologies related to critical minerals, according to CNBC. Trump will likely speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping later on Tuesday, Fox Business reported. The tariffs’ impact on Chinese markets will not be noticeable until Wednesday, as the country’s markets are closed on Tuesday for Lunar New Year celebrations. At the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite showed little change after recovering from Monday’s dips. Over the weekend, the White House released a fact sheet detailing Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. The president said the tariffs would be used as “leverage” to get the three countries on board with Trump’s desire to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs through U.S. borders. On Monday, both Mexico and Canada caved to Trump’s pressure and announced that more troops and resources would be sent to the border to tighten security. U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico — and the two countries’ retaliatory tariffs on America — are paused for 30 days while the neighboring nations continue negotiations. “As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!” Trump wrote after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would “ensure” tighter security at its border with the U.S.

A post shared on Threads claims the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has 45 electric fire trucks that take 10 hours to recharge.   View on Threads   Verdict: False The LAFD has not issued a press release or social media statement responding to the claim. In addition, USA Today, Snopes, and The Dispatch have […]

Harrison Butker is a gem

An image shared on Threads purports to show an X post from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in which he claims he’s “committed to eliminating income taxes.”   View on Threads   Verdict: False The X account that purportedly shared the post has been suspended for violating the platform’s rules as of writing. In addition, Lead […]

'It's always good when you have props'

*Some*