Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, March 19, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening both nationally and around the world.
Israel resumes deadly airstrikes against Hamas as a fragile cease-fire collapses in the Middle East; President Donald Trump participates in an urgent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to promote peace in Ukraine; and Trump also makes a major change to U.S. environmental policy to increase energy production.
Also, a federal agency concerned with securing our nation’s borders is closing a number of its facilities, and in our nation’s capital, impeachment is making headlines today, but this time, it’s the president who’s leading the charge, and we’ll tell you more.
Israel Resumes Deadly Airstrikes Against Hamas
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says they’ve resumed airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip as negotiations to extend the cease-fire in the enclave have collapsed.Local health officials in Gaza say that more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in the attacks, including many women and children.
Additionally, Hamas says that at least six of their senior officials were killed in the ongoing airstrikes, with one Hamas official saying that Israel’s latest actions amount to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he instructed the IDF to take what he calls “strong action” against Hamas because of the terror group’s refusal to release the remaining Israeli hostages who were kidnapped in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel.
He also says that Hamas continues to reject all of the recent cease-fire proposals that they’ve received from the United States and other mediators.
Netanyahu vows that Israel will continue to strike Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip with “increasing military strength” in an effort to secure the release of all of the remaining hostages, both living and dead. Right now, Hamas is estimated to be holding 25 hostages along with the bodies of an additional 30 individuals.
The White House says that the Trump administration has been consulted by the Israeli government regarding the strikes against Hamas. They also say that President Donald Trump has made it crystal clear that anyone who seeks to terrorize either the U.S. or Israel will pay a significant price for their actions.
Putin Agrees to Limited Cease-Fire During Call With Trump
The White House says that following a 90-minute phone call between President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader is now willing to accept a partial cease-fire in the Ukraine war.Officials say that the two leaders agreed that the movement toward peace will begin with a cease-fire concerning both energy and infrastructure targets. They’re also in agreement that specific negotiations will continue regarding a maritime truce in the Black Sea, a complete stop to all hostilities, and a permanent peace deal.
Additionally, Ukraine’s foreign minister says that his nation will not stand in the way of a long-lasting peace deal with Russia. He also says he’s optimistic that both sides could find common ground under Trump’s leadership and that the time for strong diplomacy is right now.
By the way, these encouraging developments arrive as Ukraine recently agreed to a U.S.-backed 30-day cease-fire covering all aspects of its ongoing war with Russia. Putin had previously expressed some willingness to enter into the more expansive temporary cease-fire, but he also said he had some other concerns that the proposal didn’t address.
Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Putin, and he says that both the U.S. and Russian sides made a great deal of progress during that meeting. As a result, he says that the significant gap that existed between Ukraine and Russia before Trump’s inauguration has now been significantly narrowed.
He also points out that any cease-fire deal must address pressing issues such as the 1,200-mile-long front, the protection of a key nuclear reactor that supplies electricity to Ukraine, and access to ports in the Black Sea.
Trump Says He’s Authorizing Use of Coal for Energy Production
The president says that he’s now authorizing his administration to immediately begin using coal-fired power plants for energy production to counter an economic advantage currently held by China.Trump says that our country’s coal industry has long been “held captive by environmental extremists,” allowing countries such as China to gain an edge by opening hundreds of those coal facilities while our coal industry has languished.
So you know, the president’s announcement marks a major reversal in U.S. environmental policy: Over the last couple of decades, our nation has shifted away from electricity produced by coal to alternative energy sources such as natural gas and renewable energy.
After returning to the White House, Trump has taken a number of actions regarding energy, including signing an executive order to review existing regulations, as well as declaring a national energy emergency to expedite the development of our nation’s energy infrastructure.
In response, the top administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) recently made what he called “the largest deregulation announcement in U.S. history.”
He says that in order to provide Americans with access to reliable and affordable energy, his agency plans to roll back key environmental rules which they claim have resulted in trillions of dollars in unnecessary regulatory costs.
Additionally, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also says that the U.S. should restart a number of our previously shuttered coal-fired power plants in an effort to meet our nation’s surging demand for electricity.
CBP Closing Temporary Processing Facilities for Illegal Immigrants
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says that as a result of a significant drop in the number of illegal immigrants crossing into our nation, they’re now shutting down some of the temporary facilities they’ve been using to house those individuals.The CBP says that President Donald Trump’s actions since returning to office have led to “the lowest nationwide average apprehensions” of illegal immigrants in the agency’s history and that last month, they averaged just over 300 arrests per day.
As a result, they’re closing several of their temporary processing holding areas along our southwest border with Mexico, including some in Texas and Arizona.
The agency says the move potentially saves millions of dollars, pointing out that each facility shutdown saves up to $30 million per month. It went on to say those savings will be applied toward additional resources for border security and will result in less taxpayer money being spent.
By the way, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is commending both CBP and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their successful cost-cutting measures, saying they’ve done an “excellent job.”
However, not everyone is happy with the Trump administration’s methods for cracking down on illegal immigration. A pair of U.S. senators are now criticizing the government’s policy of involving the Department of Defense in their immigration-related operations, and one federal judge is questioning the administration’s application of a little-used “Alien Enemies Act” to quickly deport a number of alleged terrorists who are foreign nationals.
Chief Justice Roberts Issues Rare Statement After Trump Calls for Judge’s Impeachment
Chief Justice John Roberts has just issued an extremely rare public statement, and it appears to counter the president’s call to impeach a federal judge who tried to block Trump’s attempt to deport alleged members of a violent Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua.In a statement provided to The Epoch Times, Roberts says that for more than two centuries, it’s been established that impeachment is “not an appropriate response” to a disagreement that concerns a judicial decision. He went on to say that the “normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
By the way, the chief justice also recently put out a report in which he warned about threats to judicial independence—specifically through violence, intimidation, disinformation, and pressure to defy lawfully entered judgments.
His latest comments follow a recent post by Trump on Truth Social which calls for a district court judge to be impeached. In his post, Trump points out that the judge “was not elected” president, and he goes on to say that we don’t want “deranged” murderers and criminals in our country.
The president’s comments followed a recent hearing in which that judge requested more information relating to the administration’s deportation efforts.
Meanwhile, the exchange between Roberts and Trump sheds light on the growing tension between the executive and judicial branches of our federal government as the administration fends off dozens of lawsuits in our federal courts. In many of those cases, the district court judges who are involved have responded with significant injunctions, provoking criticism from the administration.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Wednesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
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Finally, as we do each day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote and this one comes to us from Thomas A. Edison who said:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Edison was an American inventor and businessman who held over 1,000 patents.
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.
