Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
President Joe Biden wipes the record clean for an astounding number of offenders, a federal watchdog releases its findings regarding undercover agents at the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, and the U.S. House of Representatives puts the finishing touches on a bill that impacts our national defense.
Also, officials are concerned about a baffling mystery in the skies above New Jersey, and President-elect Donald Trump celebrates two legendary accomplishments in one day—we’ll tell you all about it.
Biden Commutes Sentences for Nearly 1,500 People
Yesterday, the president said he’s pardoning 39 people who were convicted of nonviolent crimes, including drug offenses. He also commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 others. Altogether, that’s the largest single-day act of clemency in U.S. history.The president said the people who are having their sentences commuted were placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that since then, they’ve successfully returned to their communities and their families.
Biden said that America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. He went on to say that as president, he has the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have expressed remorse for their actions, and giving them another chance to participate in daily American life.
In the past, Biden has issued categorical pardons to people convicted of using or possessing marijuana, and he pardoned his own son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and pleaded guilty to intentionally not paying taxes.
Meanwhile, the White House says that the president is not done yet. They say that before he leaves office, he will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances, and that we can expect more pardons and commutations in the near future.
Inspector General: FBI Had Informants in Washington on Jan. 6
Yesterday, a report released by the Office of the Inspector General along with the Department of Justice said that the FBI had 26 confidential informants in Washington on the day the U.S. Capitol was breached.The watchdog said that four of the informants actually ended up entering the Capitol and that 13 others entered the restricted Capitol grounds, despite none of them receiving any authorization to do so.
The inspector general concluded that none of the 26 informants engaged in any illegal activity. Meanwhile, some lawmakers noted that none of the informants who entered the Capitol or the restricted grounds have been prosecuted.
Additionally, the review found that the FBI took significant and appropriate steps leading up to Jan. 6 to prepare for its role that day, including an attempt to identify known domestic terror subjects, and that it effectively carried out its tactical support function.
The report noted that after the Capitol was breached, the FBI was able to deploy agents to help clear the building and also to help the U.S. Capitol Police secure the perimeter.
However, the inspector general also said the probe turned up no evidence showing that any actual undercover FBI employees attended the various protests that took place on Jan. 6, and none of them went to the Capitol that day.
You should know that until now, the presence of FBI informants in Washington on Jan. 6 has been widely known, but the exact number had never been confirmed. Reports by these confidential informants have contributed to the prosecution of a number of people, including members of the Proud Boys and others who took part in the breach.
House Passes $895 Billion Defense Authorization Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives has just passed the latest version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual bill that lays out which programs and policies the U.S. military can support during the next fiscal year.So you know, a great deal of the NDAA is focused on funding various weapons development, production, and acquisition efforts. This year’s bill supports the building of seven new warships, along with the ongoing development of the new Columbia-class submarine and the B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
The House passed the bill overwhelmingly, with 200 Republicans and 81 Democrats voting in favor of it, while 16 Republicans and 124 Democrats voted against it.
Meanwhile, this latest draft of the NDAA differs significantly from a proposal earlier this year, and it reflects a compromise reached a few days ago between the Democrat-led Senate and the Republican-led House Armed Services Committees.
Similar to the earlier bill, this latest draft includes a significant pay raise for military personnel, increased cost of living allowances, support for military spouse employment, and funding for childcare programs.
The earlier draft also included many policy riders seeking to limit the military’s involvement with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and some of these provisions did not make it into the new compromise bill.
However, the latest bill does freeze hiring for DEI positions within the Department of Defense.
It’s worth pointing out that both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a Republican, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who’s a Democrat, both voted in favor of the legislation. The bill must now pass in the Senate before it can go to the president’s desk and be signed into law.
Officials Sound New Alarm on Mystery Drones in New Jersey
Officials in New Jersey are sounding the alarm about a large number of drones of unknown origin that have been spotted flying over certain portions of the state, and the White House now says they are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.Yesterday, the White House said the sightings do not pose a threat to either national security or public safety, and that they do not come from a foreign adversary. They also said that authorities have not been able to corroborate any visual sightings of the aircraft.
The White House went on to say that the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and even the United States Coast Guard are currently looking into the situation.
He said that authorities have been unable to track their frequencies, that they may be using a frequency range outside of legal limits, and that they may even be fully autonomous.
So you know, reports of the unmanned aerial vehicles first surfaced last month, and witnesses say they are about the size of an SUV and travel in groups. Additionally, one U.S. congressman says that he has received information from “very high sources” in the government that they might be Iranian in origin.
Earlier this week, he told Fox News that about a month ago, Iran launched a mothership containing these very sophisticated drones off the East Coast. Meanwhile, the Pentagon says there’s no truth to his statement, and that they believe the drones do not come from a foreign adversary.
It’s a story that U.S. military officials, state government, and New Jersey residents are all very concerned about.
Trump Rings NYSE Opening Bell, Named Person of the Year
Yesterday, Trump did something he’s never done before—he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).Vice President-elect JD Vance, returning First Lady Melania Trump, and a number of prominent financial business leaders also attended the ceremony.
Trump said that ringing the bell that starts the trading day was a tremendous honor, and that the people around him are going to do a beautiful job for the next four years.
So you know, Trump last won the award in 2016, and Time’s editor-in-chief said that the president-elect was someone who, “for better or for worse, had the most influence on the news in 2024.”
Looking ahead, the president-elect said he is confident that the economy will be robust during his second term in the White House, and he repeated his promise to lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent if companies produce their products in the United States.
Later in the day, Trump doubled down on his idea of expediting approvals and permits for companies or people looking to invest $1 billion or more in the United States, and he also championed the future of cryptocurrency, endorsing the possibility of a bitcoin reserve.
So you know, at the closing bell yesterday, the Dow was down 234 points, ending the day at 43,914.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Friday edition of the Epoch Times News Brief.
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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from Bear Grylls, who said:
“Survival can be summed up in three words—never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying.”
Grylls is a British adventurer, writer, and television presenter, and he’s also a survival expert. I always enjoyed his “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” TV show and all the celebrities that he had on that program as well.
For all of us here at the Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program is written each day by David Ross.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your day and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Saturday edition (the weekend edition) of the Epoch Times News Brief.
For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
