When you take in a foster cat, there is never a guarantee of how they will act around other pets. When Rachel Graham took in Birdie, she hoped the adult cat would get along well with her dog, Hazel. Birdie was timid and scared. Then the fireworks started. A dog visiting that day whined and appeared frightened. Birdie’s maternal instinct must have been activated, as she got right up and began comforting the large male dog. @rachelgrahamr excuse me while I cry myself to sleep tonight Birdie came from a feral colony and is pretty skittish, but she immediately stepped up when she saw the dog crying about the fireworks show on July 4 ♬ Almost forgot that this was the whole point – Take my Hand Instrumental – AntonioVivald Birdie and the dog had not officially been introduced at that point. She was from a feral colony and had been skittish earlier that day. The dog was visiting that and doesn’t live with Rachel. Watching the interaction made Rachel teary-eyed. The foster cat is in a new environment. She’s not sure of things on her own, but she sensed she was needed. Since then, Birdie and Rachel’s dog, Hazel, have become best friends. They spend their days bird watching together. If Rachel isn’t careful, Birdie the cat might become a foster fail. She appears to offer emotional support and companionship to Hazel. @rachelgrahamr The fastest and more adorable of friends #foster #fostercat #dogandcat #goldenretriever #irishsetter #goldenirish #adoptme ♬ original sound – ˚꩜ .ᐟ Emma Rachel has other cats. For a while, she was hearing cabinets opening and closing and thought she had a ghost. Then she caught Dust deftly opening the cabinet and sneaking inside for some peace. Dust will hide in the cabinets for hours-long daily naps. Image from TikTok. It seems like there is an almost constant stream of animals coming in and out. Many of them are Hazel’s dog friends. They visit and play, and sometimes get cuddles from a foster cat. Rachel fosters a large number of cats, many of whom are playful kittens. Please share if you think Rachel should make Birdie a foster fail. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Timid Foster Cat Does The Sweetest Thing When Her Canine Brother Is Afraid Of Fireworks appeared first on InspireMore.

SENATE ADVANCES $9 BILLION IN RESCISSIONS... BARELY... ERIC DAUGHERTY: BREAKING - PASSED: Vice President JD Vance BREAKS THE TIE, the $9B DOGE cuts package ADVANCES.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright didn’t mince words about the Trump administration’s new energy strategy. “The One Big Beautiful Bill,” he said, “removes the nonsense and distortions from energy markets and unleashes American business to produce energy that works—without subsidies.” But ever since the bill’s passage, pundits and reporters have alleged that the legislation will increase energy costs.  That’s […]

My brother and I spent a lot of time at our grandparents home over the summer. There were dinners I still crave. I would never grill a hamburger the way my grandfather did but I CONTINUE READING... The post House Rules Backyard Summer Games appeared first on The Retro Network.

I first heard about this neat fitness test from my sister, who likes to hit the gym several times a week. Quite frankly, that is not my style. I like to get my exercise out in nature or doing chores. However, when she shared this test with me and what it can mean for health and well-being, she got my attention. That is because I saw immediate applications for my preparedness. When she first shared it with me, I tried it and couldn’t do it completely. However, several months later, we all tried again during a recent family visit: Myself (56), my sister (54), and my mother (82.5). I had improved! Don’t worry, I will share my secret on how I made that improvement before the end of this article.   What the heck is a sit-stand test? Sometimes called the sit-stand test, or stand-sit test or sit to stand test, it is pretty much what it sounds like. In the original research study in Brazil that this is based on, a group of over 2000 volunteers aged 51 to 80 who were followed for over six years. At the beginning of the study, they were asked to stand up from a cross-legged sitting position using as little support (knees, hands) as possible. Then, once they had stood up, they were asked to sit back down using a little support as possible.  Why would this matter? While heart health is a well-recognized measure of longevity, the researchers had a theory that musculoskeletal health was also important, especially as a person ages. When you see how right they were, you might be surprised. How Do You Mark It? In order to make the test fair, there was a standard way to mark it. On each trip (standing up or sitting down), participants were given five points. Each time they used a support, whether knee or hand, they were docked one point. For example, if you need to get up with both your knees and one hand, you lose three points from your five, getting a score of 2. The same goes for the trip back down. Looks count in this test, too! If you look wobbly as you do it, you lose half a point on that trip. Add up your scores from both trips, and it is a score out of ten. If you can get up and down without using any supports at all, you score a perfect ten.  I personally think it’s fair to do this with a bit a cushion, so head for the carpet or your yoga mat and give it a try! It’s OK….I’ll wait here for ya. What Your Results Could Mean How was it? You don’t have to tell me your score. Turns out that these researchers were right! Once they did their analysis of all the data they collected, they found that people with higher scores were much less likely to die during the six-year time period of the study. 159 people died during the study. Of those, only two of them had scores of 10!  In terms of risk, the researchers found that folks with scores of 8 to 10 had a lower risk of death. Compared to the high-scoring folks, those with a score of zero to 3 were a staggering 6.5 times more likely to die. For those in the middle range of scores, from 3.5 to 5.5 were almost 4 times as likely to die. And those in the mid to high range, with scores of 6 to 7.4 were still twice as likely to die as those high scoring folks with scores from 8 to 10.  What does this all mean? Well, one of the authors of the study, Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, a professor at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro, explains that the study “shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, and coordination…has a favorable influence on life expectancy.”  So, it’s not just all about cardio, folks.  If you haven’t been moved yet to try it, I hope you will now. Don’t Despair! How to Improve Now, I think you all know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t write an article intended to depress you. So, don’t despair if your score is lower than you would like. Even back when I was taking Ju Jitsu before my back injury, we were encouraged to do a roll to a standing position. I just couldn’t, even though I was doing all those push-ups with the guys on the base back then. The first time I tried to get up, I needed at least one support (or two). I think it’s fair to say that a bit of practice is OK.  How I improved my score is actually after watching a documentary about the Blue Zones: places where people live ridiculously long. How do they do it? Well, in an area of Japan, it was found that (you guessed it!) getting up and down all day on those low tatami mats was good for you. I had always liked the simplicity of the Japanese sitting areas, so (in the absence of a couple of grand to order some real tatami mats from Japan) I sort of made up my own Japanese sitting area and started sitting on my dense foam kitchen mats to meditate and eat.  (Here’s a knockoff from Amazon to give you another option.) Was this easy??? Heck no! In fact, when I first started. I could not sit down on the ground for five minutes. So, I set a timer and tried for three minutes. Then, I tried a bit more. Now, many months later, I sit effortlessly for my 30-minute morning meditation, then sit back down to eat my breakfast.   When my sister was showing off recently (oops!) — I mean demonstrating how she can get up and down with no hands, she was trying to prove how valuable all her gym time is, I think. I told her, “I’ll try the move, but I won’t be able to do it.” I think we were all astonished that, in fact, I could! I was able to roll up directly into a squat from a sitting position! Quite frankly, I couldn’t believe it. However, I recalled that I do feel a lot of activation in my abs as I sit arrow straight for meditation. How cool is that? It doesn’t have to be all about the gym. I discovered a way to improve my health doing something that I value and love.  If you want some more staged, practical tips on how to get better at the stand-sit, check out this article here. What Does This Have to Do with Preparedness, Anyhow??? I always try to share my most valuable lessons with y’all. This is a free, completely off-grid way to assess your musculoskeletal health. If you’re in an all-out SHTF, there probably aren’t going to be a lot of gerontologists around to consult. If you have an aging member in your group, you could have them do this test and then encourage them to try the exercises from the article above. Heck, if my grandmother were still alive, I would make her do it and give her some tips. My sister and I made our mother do it. And she learned from it, recognizing that she needed to work more on her strength.  If my 82 and a half year old mother can try it, why can’t you? Heck, this could be an eye-opener that gets you more prepared for anything by adding a bit of muscle training to the mix. Or, you can sit in meditation and improve your abs the Japanese way! No matter what, knowledge is power in the prepperverse. I hope that this gem is good for you.  PS: There are modified sit-stand tests for people who are handicapped or disabled. Here’s one example. ~ Daisy A Low-Tech Fitness Test Sit. Stand. Rinse and Repeat. This is a very simple way to check your musculoskeletal strength. Are you willing to give it a try? Have you tried it before? What did you learn from this simple test? Please tell us in the comments section. About Rowan Rowan O’Malley is a fourth-generation Irish American who loves all things green: plants (especially shamrocks), trees, herbs, and weeds! She challenges herself daily to live her best life and to be as fit, healthy, and prepared as possible. The post The Sit-Stand Test: Are You Prepared? appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

Iranian media unveiled a letter this month written by “100 Muslim scholars and intellectuals” that declared President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “enemies against God.” In this letter, the Muslim scholars warned leaders of Islam that “compromise, normalization of relations, or collaboration” with these countries and their leaders is forbidden. The Iranian Islamic leaders also called Trump and Netanyahu “‘corrupters on earth’ for their acts of spreading corruption, bloodshed, occupation of Islamic lands, massacres of oppressed Palestinians, and crimes against humanity.” Although Iran is continuing its pattern of isolation, some of its fellow Middle Eastern nations hint at normalizing relations with Israel and the United States. The new Syrian government has reportedly had indirect talks with Israel in order to agree to peace terms to end Israel’s military operations near the border between the two countries and to stabilize the region. Saudi Arabia is still floating the idea of normalization with Israel, even amid the war in Gaza. Though the war has highly complicated these talks, there is still hope. After conflict began with Iran, “senior Saudi officials, including the Crown Prince and Foreign Minister, issued an ‘updated’ position that reaffirmed support for normalization while emphasizing a greater role for Saudi Arabia in the Palestinian arena.” Other surrounding countries maintain their relations with Israel based on peace treaties, such as Egypt and Jordan. Nonetheless, Iran continues isolating itself and setting itself apart from other Islamic countries. Much of this derives from Iran’s legalistic Islamist views and refusal to create relations with Westernized nations. The Middle East Forum highlighted Iran’s current seclusive nature, “Now at war with both Israel and the U.S., [Iran] has no major power interested in fighting alongside it.” Many international superpowers, such as China and Russia, have given vocal and, at times, materialistic support to Iran. But their own conflicts—or desire to not have conflict—prohibit any real involvement. China is cautious to directly intervene in foreign conflicts, and Russia is already invested in its own war, making them unlikely to advance their relationship with Iran from their “economic and quasi-ideological partnership” to a military relationship. U.S. relations with Iran grew more strained after Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, an Iranian top Shia cleric, issued a religious edict—called a fatwa—on June 29, which called on “‘Muslims of the world’ to assassinate the U.S. leader.” Multiple state-run Iranian news outlets published this edict. These state-owned media outlets consistently manipulate the Iranian people against Israel and the United States through its biased news reporting and disturbing use of propaganda. On June 19, “an Iranian TV station backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aired a twisted, Lego-style propaganda video glorifying its war with Israel—and claiming victory in the conflict.” But this use of manipulation covers multiple media outlets. After the “12-Day War,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added multiple posts on his X account claiming victory. “My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the U.S. regime. The U.S. regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing,” the Ayatollah posted. He also claimed Iran “delivered a heavy slap” to the United States, and that “The Iranian nation is victorious.” And their manipulation is working. In protest of the airstrikes, there have been multiple reports of Iranians chanting “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” in the streets and in religious communal gatherings. This renewed, deep hatred for America, its allies, and the general Western world further complicates talks with Iran, as Israel and the United States continue maneuvering the complicated relations of the Middle East. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. Originally published by The Washington Stand The post Muslim Scholars Deem Trump ‘Enemy Against God’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

I first heard about this neat fitness test from my sister, who likes to hit the gym several times a week. Quite frankly, that is not my style. I like to get my exercise out in nature or doing chores. However, when she shared this test with me and what it can mean for health and well-being, she got my attention. That is because I saw immediate applications for my preparedness. When she first shared it with me, I tried it and couldn’t do it completely. However, several months later, we all tried again during a recent family visit: Myself (56), my sister (54), and my mother (82.5). I had improved! Don’t worry, I will share my secret on how I made that improvement before the end of this article.   What the heck is a sit-stand test? Sometimes called the sit-stand test, or stand-sit test or sit to stand test, it is pretty much what it sounds like. In the original research study in Brazil that this is based on, a group of over 2000 volunteers aged 51 to 80 who were followed for over six years. At the beginning of the study, they were asked to stand up from a cross-legged sitting position using as little support (knees, hands) as possible. Then, once they had stood up, they were asked to sit back down using a little support as possible.  Why would this matter? While heart health is a well-recognized measure of longevity, the researchers had a theory that musculoskeletal health was also important, especially as a person ages. When you see how right they were, you might be surprised. How Do You Mark It? In order to make the test fair, there was a standard way to mark it. On each trip (standing up or sitting down), participants were given five points. Each time they used a support, whether knee or hand, they were docked one point. For example, if you need to get up with both your knees and one hand, you lose three points from your five, getting a score of 2. The same goes for the trip back down. Looks count in this test, too! If you look wobbly as you do it, you lose half a point on that trip. Add up your scores from both trips, and it is a score out of ten. If you can get up and down without using any supports at all, you score a perfect ten.  I personally think it’s fair to do this with a bit a cushion, so head for the carpet or your yoga mat and give it a try! It’s OK….I’ll wait here for ya. What Your Results Could Mean How was it? You don’t have to tell me your score. Turns out that these researchers were right! Once they did their analysis of all the data they collected, they found that people with higher scores were much less likely to die during the six-year time period of the study. 159 people died during the study. Of those, only two of them had scores of 10!  In terms of risk, the researchers found that folks with scores of 8 to 10 had a lower risk of death. Compared to the high-scoring folks, those with a score of zero to 3 were a staggering 6.5 times more likely to die. For those in the middle range of scores, from 3.5 to 5.5 were almost 4 times as likely to die. And those in the mid to high range, with scores of 6 to 7.4 were still twice as likely to die as those high scoring folks with scores from 8 to 10.  What does this all mean? Well, one of the authors of the study, Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, a professor at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro, explains that the study “shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, and coordination…has a favorable influence on life expectancy.”  So, it’s not just all about cardio, folks.  If you haven’t been moved yet to try it, I hope you will now. Don’t Despair! How to Improve Now, I think you all know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t write an article intended to depress you. So, don’t despair if your score is lower than you would like. Even back when I was taking Ju Jitsu before my back injury, we were encouraged to do a roll to a standing position. I just couldn’t, even though I was doing all those push-ups with the guys on the base back then. The first time I tried to get up, I needed at least one support (or two). I think it’s fair to say that a bit of practice is OK.  How I improved my score is actually after watching a documentary about the Blue Zones: places where people live ridiculously long. How do they do it? Well, in an area of Japan, it was found that (you guessed it!) getting up and down all day on those low tatami mats was good for you. I had always liked the simplicity of the Japanese sitting areas, so (in the absence of a couple of grand to order some real tatami mats from Japan) I sort of made up my own Japanese sitting area and started sitting on my dense foam kitchen mats to meditate and eat.  (Here’s a knockoff from Amazon to give you another option.) Was this easy??? Heck no! In fact, when I first started. I could not sit down on the ground for five minutes. So, I set a timer and tried for three minutes. Then, I tried a bit more. Now, many months later, I sit effortlessly for my 30-minute morning meditation, then sit back down to eat my breakfast.   When my sister was showing off recently (oops!) — I mean demonstrating how she can get up and down with no hands, she was trying to prove how valuable all her gym time is, I think. I told her, “I’ll try the move, but I won’t be able to do it.” I think we were all astonished that, in fact, I could! I was able to roll up directly into a squat from a sitting position! Quite frankly, I couldn’t believe it. However, I recalled that I do feel a lot of activation in my abs as I sit arrow straight for meditation. How cool is that? It doesn’t have to be all about the gym. I discovered a way to improve my health doing something that I value and love.  If you want some more staged, practical tips on how to get better at the stand-sit, check out this article here. What Does This Have to Do with Preparedness, Anyhow??? I always try to share my most valuable lessons with y’all. This is a free, completely off-grid way to assess your musculoskeletal health. If you’re in an all-out SHTF, there probably aren’t going to be a lot of gerontologists around to consult. If you have an aging member in your group, you could have them do this test and then encourage them to try the exercises from the article above. Heck, if my grandmother were still alive, I would make her do it and give her some tips. My sister and I made our mother do it. And she learned from it, recognizing that she needed to work more on her strength.  If my 82 and a half year old mother can try it, why can’t you? Heck, this could be an eye-opener that gets you more prepared for anything by adding a bit of muscle training to the mix. Or, you can sit in meditation and improve your abs the Japanese way! No matter what, knowledge is power in the prepperverse. I hope that this gem is good for you.  PS: There are modified sit-stand tests for people who are handicapped or disabled. Here’s one example. ~ Daisy A Low-Tech Fitness Test Sit. Stand. Rinse and Repeat. This is a very simple way to check your musculoskeletal strength. Are you willing to give it a try? Have you tried it before? What did you learn from this simple test? Please tell us in the comments section. About Rowan Rowan O’Malley is a fourth-generation Irish American who loves all things green: plants (especially shamrocks), trees, herbs, and weeds! She challenges herself daily to live her best life and to be as fit, healthy, and prepared as possible. The post The Sit-Stand Test: Are You Prepared? appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

If you have an abundance of zucchini every summer, add these delicious oatmeal cookies to your recipe list. They are so easy and so good! ❤️WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE These cookies are a fantastic way to use up all that garden zucchini. Even if you’re not a fan of zucchini, you’ll love these. All...

The National Education Association, America’s largest teachers' union, held its annual convention earlier this month. The union’s resolutions — leaked to me by a union member — had nothing to do with improving education. Instead, the NEA declared war on the Trump administration.One resolution committed the union to “defend birthright citizenship,” and another one to “support students’ right to organize against ICE raids and deportations.” Yet another declared support for “the mass democratic movement against Trump’s authoritarianism” and “the Los Angeles-based movement to defeat Trump’s attempt to use federal forces against the state of California and other states and communities.”Forcing taxpayers to fund education for illegal immigrants undermines the rule of law and creates perverse incentives for further illegal immigration.These resolutions confirm yet again that teachers’ unions are more invested in political activism than in prioritizing education.In fact, NEA President Becky Pringle is an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee. Such actions expose teachers’ unions for what they really are: little more than an arm of the Democratic Party, pushing a radical agenda that puts taxpayers on the hook for funding the K-12 education of illegal immigrants.With a conservative-leaning Supreme Court and growing public support for immigration enforcement, the time has come to revisit Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 ruling that forced states to provide free public education to children regardless of their immigration status. Reversing that decision would restore basic fairness for taxpayers and bring education policy back in line with the will of the American people.The post-Plyler disasterThe court decided Plyler v. Doe on a narrow 5-4 vote, reflecting deep division even at the time. Today’s court, reshaped by President Trump’s appointments, has a stronger constitutional foundation to strike it down. The legal terrain has shifted. The original ruling was shaky then and looks even weaker now.Legally, the case for overturning Plyler is strong. Conservative scholars argue that the 43-year-old ruling overstepped federal authority by compelling states to allocate resources for individuals who are not lawfully present. States have a sovereign right to prioritize their citizens and legal residents when allocating finite resources.Meanwhile, conservative legal scholars argue that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment — used to justify the decision — does not require states to educate those in the country unlawfully. That clause was written to protect citizens and lawful residents, not to extend taxpayer-funded benefits to those who violate immigration law.RELATED: School censorship backfires in costly free speech beatdown z_wei via iStock/Getty Images Forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for illegal immigrants’ education undermines the rule of law and encourages more unlawful entry. Public sentiment aligns with this view. A June CBS News/YouGov survey found that 54% of Americans support President Trump’s deportation efforts, a stance that helped propel him back to the White House last year. A June InsiderAdvantage poll found that 59% of Americans — including 89% of Republicans — support Trump’s decision “to deploy National Guard and federal military in downtown Los Angeles.”A 2013 Phi Delta Kappa International/Gallup poll revealed that 55% of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund education for children of illegal immigrants, with a staggering 81% of Republican voters in agreement. (Perhaps that’s why Gallup hasn’t asked the question again.)Taxpayers bear the cost, but teachers’ unions reap the rewards.Public school funding is tied to enrollment. More students — regardless of legal status — mean more money for school districts. Illegal immigrant students often qualify as English language learners, which brings in even more per-pupil funding through federal and state grants.The surge in English learners creates a demand for specialized teachers. Hiring more staff means more union members — and more dues. The unions grow stronger and richer with every new student who requires extra services.So when teachers’ unions protest immigration enforcement or attack Trump administration policies, they aren’t defending children. They’re protecting their bottom line. It’s all about the cash, not compassion. They’ve prioritized financial and political power over the interests of American citizens and legal residents, and they expect you to keep paying for it.Two ways forwardTwo strategies could pave the way to overturn Plyler v. Doe.First, states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee are expanding school choice programs that exclude illegal immigrants from taxpayer-funded benefits such as private school scholarships and education savings accounts. These programs give parents greater control over their children’s education, but unions have launched aggressive campaigns to block them.If unions sue to stop these programs on the grounds that they violate Plyler, they’ll likely lose. The ruling required states to provide free public education to illegal immigrants. It said nothing about private scholarships or alternative funding streams.That legal distinction matters. The court’s conservative majority could uphold these state programs and clarify that Plyler doesn’t apply outside the public school system. Such a decision wouldn’t just protect school choice — it could also erode the Plyler precedent and clear a path to overturn it entirely.That would return power to the states and allow elected leaders — not unelected judges — to decide how taxpayer dollars are spent.The second way involves red-state lawmakers taking direct aim at Plyler.Republican legislators in states like Tennessee have introduced bills to block taxpayer funding for the K-12 education of illegal immigrants. Tennessee recently put its bill on hold while seeking federal guidance on whether the move would jeopardize broader education funding.If teachers’ unions sue to stop these laws, they risk a high-stakes loss.A legal defeat could weaken Plyler and give states new authority to draw clear lines around who qualifies for taxpayer-funded education. One ruling could reshape national policy — and force a long-overdue debate about who pays, who benefits, and who decides.The National Education Association’s unhinged resolutions reflect a desperate push to preserve a broken status quo. Its opposition to border enforcement isn’t about students — it’s about protecting funding, growing membership, and consolidating power. The Supreme Court should revisit Plyler v. Doe and reaffirm a basic principle: Taxpayer resources must serve those who respect the rule of law.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed in late March that it was downsizing its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 employees as part of a broader overhaul intended to maximize efficiency, save taxpayers money, and help make America healthy again.The agency sent notices of reduction in force to 10,000 employees. Another 10,000 workers apparently left voluntarily, accepting early retirement and buyout offers.The threat of a proper housecleaning enraged Democrats and, of course, pink-slip recipients, who filed legal challenges. Democrat-appointed U.S. district judges proved more than willing to hold up the terminations, prompting the government to appeal and the Supreme Court to weigh in.'Despite spending $1.9 trillion in annual costs, Americans are getting sicker every year.'Taking full advantage of the path cleared by the high court, HHS finalized layoffs for thousands of employees on Monday.An HHS spokesperson told Blaze News that "all employees who were originally notified, who aren't covered under the N.Y. v. Kennedy case, and those who haven't had their notice rescinded have been terminated."How it startedHealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the layoffs in late March, noting that the restructuring would:save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year through the reduction in the workforce of about 10,000 full-time workers; streamline the functions of the department by consolidating 28 divisions into 15 divisions, reducing regional offices from 10 to five, and centralizing core functions;"implement the new HHS priority of ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins"; andmake Americans' experience with the HHS more responsive and efficient.The health secretary noted on X that while the moment was difficult, "the reality is clear: what we've been doing isn't working.""Despite spending $1.9 trillion in annual costs, Americans are getting sicker every year. In the past four years alone, the agency’s budget has grown by 38% — yet outcomes continue to decline," wrote Kennedy. "We must shift course."Straight out of the gate, senior officials at the National Institutes of Health including Christine Grady, the wife of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, got the boot along with Fauci allies Clifford Lane, deputy director for clinical research and special projects at NIAID, and Emily Erbelding, director of the NIAID division of microbiology and infectious diseases.Establishmentarians clutched their pearls over these and other firings at HHS.Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, bemoaned the layoffs, telling Nature, "This will go down as one of the darkest days in modern scientific history in my 50 years in the business."It's a bloodbath," one U.S. Food and Drug Administration employee told CNN.Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf took his doomsaying onto LinkedIn, noting, "The FDA as we've known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed. I believe that history will see this a huge mistake."RELATED: How Big Pharma left its mark on woke CDC vax advisory panel — and what RFK Jr. did about it Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesTwo major legal actions were launched in recent weeks with the apparent aim of writing the terminations off as unlawful and undermining the MAGA agenda: a class-action lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia on behalf of ex-HHS employees and a lawsuit filed on May 5 by Democratic attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia, seeking to block the RIF.Both cases were assigned Democrat-appointed judges, the class-action lawsuit to an Obama judge and the blue states' lawsuit to U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee.'Thank you for your service to the American people.'As is the apparent custom of Democrat-appointed federal judges, Judge DuBose obliged the plaintiffs, blocking the Trump administration from finalizing the layoffs and requiring HHS to file a status report by July 11.DuBose suggested that they had "sufficiently shown irreparable harm" and that the "Executive Branch does not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress."How it's goingLast week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed federal agencies to continue with their mass layoffs, staying a Clinton judge's order that had blocked the administration from proceeding without congressional approval.On Monday, the Supreme Court sent another message on theme, letting the Trump administration execute mass layoffs at the Department of Education.RELATED: Career feds act like they’re the ones running the country Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty ImagesCiting the high court's July 8 decision, HHS informed thousands of employees on Monday that their time at the agency was over as of close of business.“You are hereby notified that you are officially separated from HHS at the close of business on July 14, 2025," said a copy of the notice obtained by the Washington Post. "Thank you for your service to the American people."Not all of the intended 10,000 ousters are taking place this week.Some jobs are temporarily protected owing to DuBose's ruling in New York v. Kennedy, which reportedly shields employees at the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention; the National Center for Environmental Health; the Division of Reproductive Health; the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; the Office on Smoking and Health; the National Center for Birth Defects and Development Disabilities; the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products; the Office of Head Start; and the Division of Data and Technical Analysis.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!