Waffle House, a restaurant chain with over 2000 locations in 25 U.S. states, recently announced that the chain will be adding a $0.50 surcharge to all egg items at its locations -- due to the drastic increase in egg prices caused by the ongoing bird flu, which is affecting supply chains.

A ProPublica site had a built-in tool that allows you to see the money wasted by USAID and DoD on failed projects in Afghanistan up until 2015. The site puts the wasted funds alongside what could have been bought with the money. This find comes from Maze Moore. Maze Moore writes on X: “USAID spent […] The post USAID for the Taliban: $500K on a Police Facility Made of Sand appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday withdrawing the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council and prohibiting future funding for the U.N. relief agency for Gaza – UNRWA. Funding for UNESCO will be reviewed. UN funding, in general, will be reviewed. President Trump said the UN has failed us. It has great […] The post President Trump Withdraws from UN Human Rights Council, Bans Funds for UNESCO appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) continued his push to reform FEMA on Tuesday when he introduced a bill to prohibit political discrimination in disaster relief, according to a copy of the bill first shared with The Daily Wire.  Lankford put forth the “Stopping Political Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Act” to add “political affiliation” as a protected class for emergency relief. The bill comes as FEMA faces criticism over its handling of recent hurricanes, including an incident in Florida where a supervisor told workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” The Oklahoma Republican introduced similar legislation in November before Republicans had officially regained control of the Senate. He also asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to commit to prohibiting political discrimination during one of her confirmation hearings.  Other sponsors of the legislation included Republican Senators Roger Marshall (KS), Rick Scott (FL), Ted Budd (NC), Josh Hawley (MO), Marsha Blackburn (TN), and Thom Tillis (NC).  Lankford introduced three other disaster bills on Tuesday, including one that would establish a pilot program for communities to “directly apply to the Administrator for hazard mitigation assistance for the purposes of property acquisition and structure demolition or relocation assistance.” Another bill would streamline approvals for hazard mitigation projects, and the third would encourage communities to be better prepared for natural disasters.  Lankford introduced the measures at the same time he sent a letter to President Donald Trump commending the president’s creation of a 20-person council to conduct a full review of FEMA’s activities.  “The current federal framework for responding to disasters is insufficient, and major reforms are necessary to ensure Americans are best supported in times of need,” Lankford wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. “The federal government’s labyrinthine disaster response and recovery programs have not been subject to the scrutiny needed to assess whether it is achieving its goals or whether its funding would be better spent with limited strings attached at the state and local levels.” “I ask that your Council consider whether more federal emergency response capabilities should be consolidated under FEMA, which would reduce the number of agencies constituents need to work through when seeking federal disaster assistance, and whether other, current responsibilities should be placed elsewhere,” he added.  Lankford added that all levels of government, not just the federal government, should have “skin in the game” when it comes to emergency response.  Trump has floated the idea of eliminating FEMA altogether and leaving disaster relief to the states, with some percentage of funding still coming from the federal government. In his executive order calling for an evaluation of the agency, Trump cited concerns of political bias as one of the reasons needed for reform.  “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,” Trump wrote, referring to The Daily Wire’s report reporting on supervisor Marn’i Washington’s instructions for workers to skip Trump homes in Lake Placid, Florida. 

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.