Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas with some time-sensitive stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening.
A highly anticipated cease-fire has been reached in the war between Israel and Hamas; a number of President-elect Donald Trump’s key Cabinet choices face tough questions from the U.S. Senate; and the incoming commander-in-chief unveils a new plan to generate revenue from foreign countries.
Also, a federal watchdog group sues a banking giant for allegedly cheating customers out of billions of dollars, and President Joe Biden bids a final farewell to the American people.
Israel and Hamas Agree to Cease-Fire Deal
President Joe Biden says that a six-week pause in fighting will begin this Sunday while negotiations take place regarding a permanent end to the war, and the cease-fire will remain in place as long as those negotiations continue.Hamas will release 33 hostages—women, elderly, and wounded hostages will be released first, including American hostages, and as part of the deal—and Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Additionally, the Israeli military will withdraw from some of their current positions in Gaza; however, they will remain in some other locations, including what’s called the Philadelphi corridor that runs along the Egypt–Gaza border.
President Joe Biden called the negotiations “one of the toughest” he’s ever experienced and said that he was “deeply satisfied” that his day has finally arrived.
He said that an agreement was reached because of the pressure that Israel built on Hamas with U.S. backing, and he pointed to his administration’s efforts to build a multi-national coalition to stop Iran’s attacks on Israel without further escalating the war.
He also said that in recent days, both his people and the incoming Trump administration have been “speaking as one team” regarding making the deal a reality.
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle celebrated the news, and some of them were quick to credit Trump’s pending return to the White House as the motivating force.
Meantime, the families of hostages being held by Hamas expressed caution and hope as they continue to wait for the return of their loved ones.
Cabinet Nominees Face Tough Questions at Senate Confirmation Hearings
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, appears to have bipartisan support. In his opening remarks, he pointed directly to the mounting challenges that the U.S.-led global order faces from the Chinese communist regime.Rubio said that the United States previously welcomed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into the global order, and that in return, the CCP took advantage of all of its benefits while ignoring all of its obligations and responsibilities, including to their own people. He also said that they’ve lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way into global superpower status, and that they’ve done so at our expense.
Meanwhile, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, promised the Senate Judiciary Committee that she would work across the aisle to “make America safe again” if she’s confirmed to the position.
During the proceedings, she was grilled by Democrats regarding her position on the results of the 2020 election, regarding whether or not she thinks Jan. 6 defendants should be pardoned, and about an alleged “enemies list” that Democrats say would be used to target political opponents.
Bondi responded by saying that she accepted the results of the election but saw things that concerned her; that pardons are up to the president and that she condemns violence against law enforcement; and that she’s never had an enemies list.
Additionally, former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) vowed to prioritize safety if he’s confirmed to lead the Department of Transportation; and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee for CIA director, said the United States is facing the “most challenging national security environment” in our entire history, confirming that communist China as our country’s top threat.
Trump Unveils New IRS-Style External Revenue Service
Trump has an idea to create something called the External Revenue Service (ERS), a new agency modeled after the IRS that’s aimed at collecting tariffs, duties, and revenues from foreign countries.Trump says the ERS will launch on Monday, Jan. 20—his first day in office. He says the move is an attempt to shift the financial burden of taxation away from the American people and onto the foreign entities that are benefiting from their trade with the United States.
The president-elect said that for far too long, through “pathetically weak” trade agreements, the U.S. economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the world while taxing ourselves, and he says it’s time for all of that to change.
In the past, Trump has expressed deep concern over our nation’s substantial trade deficit. He’s also defended his calls for broad tariffs on imports as a necessary step to address what he describes as a long-standing injustice to U.S.-based businesses.
Right now, a federal agency within the Department of Homeland Security, called Customs and Border Protection (CBP), collects tariffs from our nation’s importers—but not from the foreign countries or companies that export those products.
Critics of Trump’s proposed tariffs argue that they could reduce our country’s economic output and increase costs for U.S. consumers. On the other hand, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently said that his proposed tariffs could significantly reduce the U.S. federal deficit.
Meanwhile, one regulatory reform expert told The Epoch Times that it’s not yet clear what the ERS will do that U.S. Customs does not already do, and that more details are needed before the new agency can be properly evaluated.
US Watchdog Sues Capital One for Allegedly Cheating Customers Out of $2 Billion
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing Capital One in federal court. The agency is accusing the banking giant of “cheating” millions of consumers who held a “high interest” savings account out of more than $2 billion in interest payments.The watchdog agency says the Virginia-based bank told customers that its flagship “360 Savings” account would earn them significantly higher interest rates than an average savings account.
Despite the promotion, however, they allege that for the last several years, the bank froze those interest rates at a low level of just 0.30 percent—even as interest rates went up nationwide.
The CFPB alleges that around the same time, Capital One created a “virtually identical product” that paid out more than 14 times the 360 Savings rate. They allege that the bank failed to notify their account holders about the newer product, and that they “worked to keep them in the dark” about the higher yield accounts.
The lawsuit goes on to accuse the bank of intentionally giving the two products similar names and marketing them in a comparable manner, thus implying that they were identical. The suit also alleges that the company explicitly forbade their employees from telling account holders about the new product.
The agency says that Capital One’s alleged misconduct allowed the bank to fund its other activities by avoiding payment of billions of dollars in interest to the 360 Savings account holders.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Capital One says that the bank strongly disagrees with the agency’s allegations, that all of its 360 banking products “offer great rates,” and that it plans to “vigorously defend” itself in court.
Biden Pens Farewell Letter to Americans
Biden said it’s been the privilege of his life to serve our nation for over 50 years. He also said that “nowhere else on earth” could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Pennsylvania and Delaware rise to one day, sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States.He went on to say that he’s given his heart and soul to our nation, and in return, he’s been blessed “a million times” with the love and support of the American people.
Biden also highlighted some of his administration’s key accomplishments, including leaving behind what he called “the strongest economy in the world.” He said his team created a record number of jobs, increased wages, and brought down inflation.
He also said our country leads the world once again in science and innovation; that health insurance coverage has been expanded; and that progress has been made regarding lowering prescription drug costs for seniors.
He concluded his speech by encouraging people to do their part to build on the progress that’s already been made. He said that history, power, and the idea of America remain firmly in the hands of the people, and that nothing is beyond our capacity when we work together.
That’s all we have time for today, but before we go, some additional headlines we’re keeping a close watch on here in the News Brief newsroom:
In Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday regarding a Texas law that requires age verification for adult content websites, and early indications are that the court is inclined to let that law remain in place.
And in Southern California, thousands of firefighters continue to battle the raging blazes in the Los Angeles area, and one estimate predicts that the overall economic losses associated with the disaster could reach a staggering $275 billion.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Thursday 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 Robert Louis Stevenson who said:
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer. He’s best known for Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and so much more.
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.
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For now, it’s imperative that we all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
