Aid operations in Gaza imperiled as millions of promised USAID dollars do not arrive– timesofindia.indiatimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
JERUSALEM: The Trump administration’s cuts to USAID have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in contractual payments to aid groups, leaving them paying out of pocket to preserve a fragile ceasefire, according to officials from the U.S. humanitarian agency.
The cutbacks threaten to halt the small gains aid workers have made combatting Gaza‘s humanitarian crisis during the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. They also could endanger the tenuous truce, which the Trump administration helped cement.
USAID was supposed to fund much of the aid to Gaza as the ceasefire progressed, and the Trump administration approved over $383 million on Jan. 31 to that end, according to three USAID officials.
But since then, there have been no confirmed payments to any partners in the Middle East, they said. The officials, who have survived multiple rounds of furloughs, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Reuters takes USAID money, attacks India– www.americanthinker.com Source Link Excerpt:
India’s on the rise — a tech powerhouse and a vital U.S. ally against China’s dominance. So why’s it being smeared as a cybercrime hub?
Reuters, once a respected outlet, is accused of sloppy journalism funded by $9 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — money that’s fungible, blurring lines between aid and influence. The Association for Appin Training Centers, a network of Indian software trainers, calls it more than bad reporting — it’s a deliberate, state-funded campaign to tarnish India’s reputation.
The target is Appin, a defunct New Delhi cybersecurity firm Reuters branded a “hacking for hire” kingpin from the early 2010s. Vikram Sharma of the Association calls it bunk — shoddy reporting twisting old classroom slides into “evidence” and leaning on a 2013 Norwegian study that never conclusively linked Appin. “The word ‘Appin’ appears in isolated contexts, but we’re not suggesting inappropriate activity by the company,” the Norman Shark report noted, even speculating that Appin could have been a victim of falsified evidence.
Pope Francis suffers new respiratory crises, back on ventilation: Vatican – National– globalnews.ca Source Link Excerpt:
Pope Francis suffered two new acute respiratory crises Monday and was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, in another setback to his battle to fight pneumonia, the Vatican said.
Doctors extracted “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs during two bronchoscopies, in which a camera-tipped tube was sent down into the airways with a sucker at the tip to suction out fluid. The Vatican said the mucus was the body’s reaction to the original pneumonia infection and not a new infection, given laboratory tests don’t indicate any new bacteria.
Francis remained alert, oriented and cooperated with medical personnel. The prognosis remained guarded. Doctors didn’t say if he remained in stable condition, though they referred to the crises in the past tense, suggesting they were over.
The crises were a new setback in what has become a more than two-week battle by the 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed, to overcome a complex respiratory infection.
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In a late update, the Vatican said the episodes were caused by a “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and bronchial spasms. “Copious secretions,” were extracted during the bronchoscopies and the pope was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, a mask that covers his nose and mouth and pumps oxygen into the lungs, the Vatican said.
Pope calls meeting with cardinals as health remains critical
The Vatican hasn’t released any photos or videos of Francis since before he entered the hospital on Feb. 14 with a complex lung infection. This has become the longest absence of his 12-year papacy.
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The Vatican has defended Francis’ decision to recover in peace and out of the public eye. But on Monday one of Francis’ closest friends at the Vatican, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, urged him to let his voice be heard, saying the world needs to hear it.
“We need men like him who are truly universal and not only one-sided,” Paglia said, speaking after a press conference to launch the annual assembly of his Pontifical Academy for Life, the Vatican’s bioethics academy, which has as this year’s theme “The End of the World?”
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Pope Francis Making Slow Recovery from Double Pneumonia
Francis wrote a message to the assembly in which he lamented that international organizations are increasingly ineffective to combat the threats facing the world and are being undermined by “short-sighted attitudes concerned with protecting particular and national interests.” It was dated Feb. 26 and signed “from Gemelli Polyclinic.”
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Doctors often use noninvasive ventilation to stave off an intubation, or the use of invasive mechanical ventilation. Francis has not been intubated during this hospitalization. It’s not clear if he has provided any advance directives about the limits of his care if he declines or loses consciousness.
Catholic teaching holds that life must be defended from conception until natural death. It insists that chronically ill patients, including those in vegetative states, must receive “ordinary” care such as hydration and nutrition, but “extraordinary” or disproportionate care can be suspended if it is no longer beneficial or is only prolonging a precarious and painful life.
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Pope Francis’ health brings ‘anxiety and concern’ about Catholic Church’s future
Francis articulated that to a meeting of Paglia’s bioethics body in 2017, saying there was “no obligation to have recourse in all circumstances to every possible remedy.” He added: “It thus makes possible a decision that is morally qualified as withdrawal of ‘overzealous treatment.’”
Paglia, whose office helps articulate the Catholic Church’s position on end-of-life care, said Francis is like any other Catholic and would follow church teaching if it came to that.
“Today the pope is giving us an extraordinary teaching on fragility,” he added. “Today the pope, not through words but with his body, is reminding all of us, we elderly people to begin with, that we are all fragile and therefore we need to take care of each other.”
Francis’ 17-night hospitalization is by no means reaching the papal record that was set during St. John Paul II’s numerous lengthy hospitalizations over a quarter century.
Suicidal Girl Wasn’t Bullied Over Immigration Status, Instead Was Sexually Molested, Say Friends– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
The tragedy of an 11-year-old Texas girl’s passing was not only that she took her own life last month, but that she suffered so much while she lived.
The reality of little Jocelynn Rojo Carranza’s torment was obscured when her death was used as a pawn to criticize the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
CNN, for example, proclaimed that “she was bullied about her family’s immigration status.” Over on X, one poster sermonized, “Stop dehumanizing immigrants. Stop celebrating shackled immigrants being led onto airplanes back to war zones and crime scene scenes.”
But her life was infinitely sadder, according to a report by Gainesville School District Superintendent DesMontes Stewart that revealed the truth.
Texas school district issues update on Jocelynn Rojo Carranza’s death https://t.co/YwFmKPrhCO
As Trump’s allies blast hero Zelensky for his clothes, desperate Ukrainian war medics ask Don: ‘Should WE wear a suit’?– www.thesun.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
HERO surgeons on Ukraine’s frontline have mocked their US critics by asking “should we wear a suit?”
Frontline docs hit back after President Zelensky was accused of disrespecting America by wearing combat fatigues to the White House.
Quantum properties in atom-thick semiconductors offer new way to detect electrical signals in cells– www.sciencedaily.com Source Link Excerpt:
For decades, scientists have relied on electrodes and dyes to track the electrical activity of living cells. Now, engineers at the University of California San Diego have discovered that quantum materials just a single atom thick can do the job — using only light.
A new study, published on Mar. 3 in Nature Photonics, shows that these ultra-thin semiconductors, which trap electrons in two dimensions, can be used to sense the biological electrical activity of living cells with high speed and resolution.
Scientists have continually been seeking better ways to track the electrical activity of the body’s most excitable cells, such as neurons, heart muscle fibers and pancreatic cells. These tiny electrical pulses orchestrate everything from thought to movement to metabolism, but capturing them in real time and at large scales has remained a challenge.
Gov. Evers: “I Want Wisconsin to Become the First State in America to Start Auditing Insurance Companies over Denying Healthcare Claims” – Urban Milwaukee Source Link
Delta plane flips on landing at Toronto airport, injuring 18– japantoday.com Source Link Excerpt:
A Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped upside down upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday amid windy weather following a snowstorm, injuring 18 of the 80 people on board, officials said.
Three people on the flight that originated at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport suffered critical injuries, among them a child, authorities added.
Delta said a CRJ900 aircraft operated by its Endeavor Air subsidiary was involved in a single-aircraft accident with 76 passengers and four crew aboard. The CRJ900, made by Canada’s Bombardier, can seat up to 90 people.
Canadian authorities said they would investigate the cause of the crash, which was not yet known.
“The aircraft is upside down and burning,” an emergency worker told the air traffic control tower after a controller noted that some passengers were walking near the crashed plane, according to a recording of the incident posted on liveatc.net.
Ukraine resumes fire suppressing efforts on Chernobyl nuclear plant after smoke detected – TVP World Source Link Excerpt:
Firefighters in Ukraine have resumed efforts to put out smoldering fires on the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, as workers start dismantling part of the plant’s protective structure, which was damaged by a Russian drone attack.
Last week, a drone hit one of the plant’s outer domes, igniting a fire which was later believed to have been extinguished.
On Monday, however, renewed smoldering was detected in two hotspots and fire suppression efforts resumed. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported on the responders’ efforts on Telegram.
“At 12:00 on February 18, emergency responders were actively working to contain the fire and uncover parts of the [protective] sarcophagus structure,” the post read.
Palestine demonstrators cover BBC London offices in red paint in protest against complicity in genocide – Peoples Dispatch Source Link Excerpt:
On Monday, February 17, activists with UK-based solidarity direct action network Palestine Action covered BBC offices in Portland Place, London with red paint and broke windows in protest against what they claim is the BBC’s complicity in the genocide against the Palestinian people, through pro-Israel bias in media coverage.
Palestine Action accuses the BBC of failing “to provide a platform for Palestinian voices” or to “accurately represent the scale of Israel’s violence.”
“The BBC’s biased reporting isn’t a simple case of poor journalism—it’s a matter of life and death. By downplaying Israeli war crimes, the BBC is complicit in the genocide unfolding in Gaza,” said a spokesperson for Palestine Action. “This isn’t just about the news—it’s about the role of the media in shaping global complicity. The BBC has blood on its hands, and today’s action is part of a wider campaign to hold them accountable. We will not stand by as the BBC sanitizes genocide.”
Many have pointed out BBC’s skewed coverage on the genocide against the Palestinian people. Journalist Alan Macleod drew attention to a February 8 BBC headline which read: “Palestinian prisoners released by Israel after Hamas frees hostages.”
“A perfect encapsulation of media bias in one headline,” Macleod wrote on X. “Israel takes ‘prisoners’ while Palestinians take ‘hostages.’”
The Associated Press Busted for Peddling Fake News About the FAA Layoffs– townhall.com Source Link Excerpt:
They updated their story, but the tweet says it all: the Associated Press, now banned from Air Force One and the Oval Office, tried to manufacture a narrative of chaos and incompetence regarding the Trump administration’s popular initiative to whittle down the federal bureaucracy through targeted spending cuts. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been the point of the lance in exposing waste and potential fraud.
So, the Associated Press decided to hurl this out on social media, which got slapped down by the Trump White House:
FAA staff fired over the weekend included personnel that worked radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, among others. Hundreds were fired, just weeks after a fatal mid-air collision in DC killed 67. One employee said they were harassed on Facebook…
For starters, DOGE doesn’t have a Facebook page. The updated story has an even more laughable narrative: that the firing of government workers, also known as AP’s readership, might lead to the collapse of American society:
The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Probationary workers were targeted in late-night emails Friday notifying them they had been fired, David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement.
The impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told The Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Elon Musk: DOGE Found Millions of People in Social Security Database Aged Between 100 and 159– slaynews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk has released some shocking figures to demonstrate the dire state of America’s Social Security system.
In a post on X, Musk revealed that millions of people listed in a Social Security database are recorded as still living far beyond 100 years old.
He noted that when “the death field [is] set to FALSE,” the database lists millions of “living” Americans between the ages of 100 and 159.
Alarmingly, the database shows one person between the ages of 360 and 369 is listed in the Social Security database.
Trump admin scrambles to rehire hundreds of nuclear weapons workers – USA TODAY Source Link Excerpt:
The Trump administration rescinded firings of hundreds of employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons, in a reversal that has fueled scrutiny over Elon Musk’s efforts to cut the federal workforce.
A spokesman for the Department of Energy, which the semi-autonomous NNSA falls under, told USA TODAY less than 50 workers had their jobs terminated. About 325 NNSA workers initially received notices late last week that they had been laid off, according to Reuters.
The dismissals are part of Trump’s wave of mass firings throughout the federal workforce, engineered by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The original notices prompted one senior NNSA staff member Friday to issue a public call to action before the terminations were halted.
Planned Parenthood Left Baby Inside Mom After Botched Abortion, Put IUD in Pregnant Woman– www.lifenews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Those who have followed Planned Parenthood for years know it as a formidable foe, a $2 billion plus corporate empire responsible for more than a third of all abortions performed in America each year. The organization has clinics all over the country, is a worldwide exporter of abortion ideology, and remains a powerful political machine, responsible for keeping pro-abortion politicians in office at all levels of government.
Also, PPFA is a media darling about whom reporters can never say a disparaging word.
Until now.
In its February 15, 2025, edition, the New York Times ran a long feature story, written by Katie Benner, revealing some of the organization’s seamier side :“Botched Care and Tired Staff: Planned Parenthood in Crisis.”
Wall Street banks scrub DEI language from websites in latest retreat from corporate wokeness: report – New York Post Source Link Excerpt:
Major Wall Street banks are reportedly scrubbing DEI verbiage from their websites in the latest industry retreat since Donald Trump took office and took aim at corporate wokeness.
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have been erasing so-called diversity, equity and inclusion language from their websites, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
Wells Fargo and Bank of America have also started to scrutinize their own DEI language, some of the people told the Journal.
Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and HSBC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Who are the frontrunners to be elected next pontiff after Pope Francis? – New York Post Source Link Excerpt:
As Pope Francis, the oldest pope in over a century, continues to decline in health, speculation is percolating as to who will next be elected as the most powerful Catholic in the world.
The 88-year-old pontiff developed pneumonia in both lungs over the weekend and will remain hospitalized as he battles the infection, according to the Vatican.
Technically any Roman Catholic man can be elected as the heir to St. Peter, though invariably one of the 253 cardinals from around the world will don the papal tiara.
The Movement to Merge Parts of Oregon Into ‘Greater Idaho’ Just Took Another Step Closer to Becoming a Reality | The Gateway Pundit– www.thegatewaypundit.com Source Link Excerpt:
As the Gateway pundit has previously reported, the concept of Greater Idaho is an effort by some parts of the state of Oregon to secede and become part of the state of Idaho.
The reason people are pushing for this is because the eastern part of Oregon is conservative and the folks who live there are tired of having to live under progressive rule from people in the western part of the state and the far left city of Portland.
The movement has made slow progress with mostly small moves, but it just took a bigger step towards becoming real.
Oregon effort to shift border, join conservative Idaho gains momentum with GOP bill
Over the past several years, the Greater Idaho movement has tried to create the conditions needed for about 13 counties to join the conservative Gem State next door.
Greater Idaho began putting such measures up for votes in various counties in 2020 and this month saw Republican lawmakers file a bill in the state legislature that would create a task force to study “moving” the border.
State Rep. Mark Owens, R-Malheur, put forward HB 3844, a measure that creates and directs a task force to document the impacts of relocating the Idaho border and requires a report be presented to lawmakers in Salem…
Greater Idaho president Mike McCarter said in a statement: “We are encouraged to see the representatives of Eastern Oregon coming together to advocate for their voters by bringing these bills to the Legislature. The people of Eastern Oregon have made clear they want to explore moving the border and joining Idaho.
West Texas measles outbreak climbs to 58, with four saying they were vaccinated – The Texas Tribune Source Link Excerpt:
An outbreak of measles in West Texas has grown to 58 cases, including four patients who said they were vaccinated against the disease.
Ten more cases were added to the Department of State Health Services’ count Tuesday, including for the first time the four who self-reported they were vaccinated against the disease, according to the agency’s latest update. A spokesperson with DSHS said health investigators are in the process of confirming whether the four were, in fact, vaccinated against measles and how many doses they may have received.
DSHS initially warned of two cases of measles in underage children in Gaines County in late January. The disease has since spread to four other counties and 58 people — most of whom are children — but 45 of the cases are still in Gaines County. Lubbock County, which reported a single case, is the largest county in which a case was reported.
Thirteen patients have been hospitalized, according to DSHS, and spokesperson Lara Anton said officials are still unsure what the initial source of exposure was. The outbreak is Texas’ largest in more than 30 years, and comes at a time where vaccination rates among children have dropped. Almost 97% of Texas kindergarteners were vaccinated against measles in 2019, compared to 94.3% in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mark Zuckerberg Follows Elon Musk’s Footsteps As Meta Reportedly Plans Major Investment Into AI-Powered Humanoid Robots – Yahoo Finance Source Link Excerpt:
Mark Zuckerberg could be following Elon Musk’s footsteps, as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is reportedly planning a significant investment into AI-powered humanoid robots.
What Happened: Meta is forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to spearhead this initiative, according to Bloomberg.
The tech giant plans to develop its own humanoid robot hardware, initially focusing on household tasks. The broader aim is to create AI, sensors, and software for robots that other companies will manufacture and sell.
Meta has started discussions with robotics firms like Unitree Robotics and Figure AI Inc.
Woman Defends Ending Lives of Three Babies in Abortions: “I Never Felt I Was Doing Them Harm”– www.lifenews.com Source Link Excerpt:
A woman who had three abortions describes saying goodbye to two of her preborn children. She says of her first aborted baby:
“I was young and much more centered on myself and my life circumstances than on the baby. I was not really in contact with this baby.”
Later on, she had two more abortions, 18 months apart. She says:
“I was able to go inside myself and have an intimate relationship with these two babies. I was older, wiser, and able to focus on the meaning of these two close experiences…
Actually, I felt I was talking to the same being both times. I felt gratitude because he/they accompanied me during difficult times. I never felt I was doing them harm.
Just before the abortion for each of them, I asked the lady who showed me the ultrasound screen to give me five minutes alone with the baby, before the intervention. I spoke to each of them in a fluid, soft manner, more like saying, “Thank you, see you later…”
Texas Church Invited Drag Queen Who Threatened Trump Supporters– www.louderwithcrowder.com Source Link Excerpt:
Even if voting for Kamala was the morally superior thing to do, which it was not, a church should never be advocating for violence against anyone who disagreed with them. However, one Texas “church” took this opportunity to mock Christianity and hold a “Drag King’s” Sermon.
What was even the point besides virtue signaling how much they despise half the country? How can these people claim to be inclusive of everyone while mocking the people they are supposed to lead?
According to the “Cathedral of Hope’s” Facebook page, this sermon was intended to share a message of “love, welcome, and inclusion.” However, it’s unclear how one does that while calling to Kill Trump Voters and mocking Texas Governor Greg Abbott because he is in a wheelchair.
The church also claimed the event was so that they church can “bless and affirm those who use drag as an art form and affirm their transgender siblings made in the image of God.” And the most insane thing about that claim is that to accept transgenderism as truth, you would have to accept the notion that God makes mistakes, which he does not.
CNN Blames Doge For Toronto Plane Crash– www.louderwithcrowder.com Source Link Excerpt:
According to the left, everything bad is a result of Trump and DOGE. This includes things that don’t even happen in America, such as the plane crash in Canada.
Firstly, we don’t know what happened yet, as the investigation has not been completed. However, this won’t stop the left from ignoring the fact that this happened in Canadian Airspace with Canadian officials in control.
These same people also turned a blind eye when the Biden Administration mocked aviation safety and glorified hiring people based on insignificant traits that have nothing to do with merit. So while CNN would love for you to believe this has everything to do with Trump and DOGE, that could not be further from the truth, as their disingenuous concerns are nothing more than a chance to bash government transparency and efficiency.
According to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, “No air traffic controllers have been let go by Secretary Duffy or this new administration.” However, the left does not like it when facts get in the way of their made-up narrative, which is why they would rather blame Musk and anything but Canadian air traffic controllers.
DOGE Prepares To Audit Fort Knox– gellerreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
Is the gold still there?
The US Government claims it has almost 5000 tons of Gold, but Fort Knox US Gold Reserve has not been audited since 1974, almost 50 years ago. No one has seen any of it.
Biggest story of the day: Senator Rand Paul is calling for an audit on Fort Knox to ensure the 4,580 tons US gold is still there
Here’s what you were NEVER TOLD about the gold at Fort Knox
America’s Wealth, The largest fortune in the history of the world, was stolen. The Fort… pic.twitter.com/geYwfVBvvG
Leonard Peltier to be released following sentence commutation in FBI killings– abcnews.go.com Source Link Excerpt:
Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier is set to be released from a Florida prison Tuesday based on former President Joe Biden having commuted his life sentence for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents, a decision that elated Peltier’s supporters while angering law enforcement officials who believe in his guilt.
For nearly half a century, Peltier’s imprisonment has symbolized systemic injustice for Native Americans across the country who believe in his innocence. The decision to release the 80-year-old to home confinement was celebrated by supporters.
“He represents every person who’s been roughed up by a cop, profiled, had their children harassed at school,” said Nick Estes, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who has advocated for Peltier’s release.
At least 31 dead after bus crash in Bolivia | World News– news.sky.com Source Link Excerpt:
At least 31 people have died after a bus crash in Bolivia, police have said.
An officer said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 2,600 ft (800m) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.
Among the injured, 10 adults and four children were taken to hospital, with several in intensive care, a healthcare official said.
The mountainous route the vehicle was on has lots of twists and turns, the police officer said, adding that speed could have been another factor in the accident.
Police arrest alleged leader of anarchist vegan cult tied to series of crimes, including CBP agent murder – Fox News Source Link Excerpt:
The alleged leader and another member of a fringe group of vegan activists on the West Coast, who have been tied to a series of crimes and the murder of a Border Patrol Agent, have been arrested.
The Maryland State Police confirmed to Fox News Digital that Jack “Ziz” LaSota, 34, of Berkeley, California, Michelle Zajko, 32, of Media, Pennsylvania, and another person were arrested Sunday afternoon on a number of charges unrelated to the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland.
Police said that shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, LaSota was arrested and charged with trespassing, obstructing and hindering, and firearm in vehicle, while Zajko was arrested on the same charges in addition to resisting arrest, and handgun on person in Frostburg, Maryland.
