Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some pressing stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency finds that one particular federal agency is misspending funds earmarked for American disaster victims and we’ll tell you where that money went; a third federal judge weighs in on President Donald Trump’s executive order dealing with birthright citizenship, and the president also talks about steep new tariffs impacting a pair of critical U.S. industries—we’ll tell you who stands to lose the most.
Also, a new report exposes the worst countries in the world for targeting their dissidents overseas, and the fragile cease-fire in the Middle East hits a major roadblock—we’ll tell you what’s threatening to compromise the peace process.
Musk Says FEMA Spent $59 Million on Housing Illegal Immigrants in NYC Hotels
Elon Musk says that the organization he heads up, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has just made this discovery regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) $59 million payment. He also says that sending this extraordinary amount of money, which is intended to be spent on American disaster relief, is a serious violation of the law.Musk went on to say that sending the money was done in “gross insubordination” to President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding FEMA, and that an attempt will be made by the federal government to recover those funds.
To refresh your memory, FEMA has been widely criticized due to its disaster relief performance in western North Carolina following last fall’s Hurricane Helene. Several weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order calling for a thorough review of the agency and has hinted at possibly getting rid of FEMA entirely.
At the agency, FEMA’s acting administrator Cameron Hamilton is thanking Musk for calling his attention to the issue. He says that effective immediately, all related payments from FEMA with regard to housing illegal immigrants have been suspended, and that a number of agency personnel will be held accountable for these actions.
For their part, FEMA did not reply to a request by The Epoch Times regarding confirmation of the funding, clarification on why it went through, and how the agency plans to get that money back.
Third Judge Blocks Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order
A judge in New Hampshire is granting an injunction to stop that executive order, which aims to narrow the recognition of citizenship by birth to exclude children born to illegal immigrants and individuals who are only visiting the U.S. temporarily.The judge says that later today, he’ll follow up with a more detailed explanation regarding the reasoning behind his decision.
The plaintiffs in this case are an immigrants’ rights advocacy group called New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support. They’re being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who argue that our country’s “foundational separation of powers” grants the courts the right to stop a president from violating federal statutes.
Meanwhile, the government’s case regarding the issue is being handled by the U.S. Justice Department. They say that by granting the injunction, the court is both harming our nation and infringing upon our rights by dictating who the government must recognize as a citizen.
So far, at least nine lawsuits have been filed challenging the new policy, which was initially slated to take effect next week on Feb. 19. This latest injunction follows two similar orders filed last week by federal judges in both Maryland and Seattle.
In issuing his ruling, the Seattle judge called birthright citizenship an “unequivocal constitutional right.” He said it’s one of the “precious principles” that makes us a great nation, and that the president cannot “change, limit, or qualify” this constitutional right via an executive order. The Justice Department is now appealing that decision.
Trump Imposes 25 Percent Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum
Trump says that he’s now imposing 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into the United States. He also promises to implement reciprocal tariffs on any goods and services coming into our nation whenever another country imposes such burdens on U.S. products.Trump’s proclamation directly impacts both Canada and Mexico, which are two of our nation’s largest aluminum and steel trading partners. Last year, our trade gap with Canada was more than $60 billion.
Trump says that our trade situation with Canada is not sustainable, that something has to happen, and that he’s changing it. He also says that so far, he has not seen enough action from either Canada or Mexico to completely avoid tariffs on both of those countries after recently agreeing to a 30-day pause.
One Canadian official says that it’s time to end this ongoing uncertainty and “renegotiate” their country’s free trade agreement with the United States once and for all. He says that his province, Quebec, exports 60 percent of the U.S. needs for aluminum, and he asks if we prefer instead to get our supplies from China.
By the way, a 2023 study by a federal agency called the U.S. International Trade Commission found that during the first Trump administration, a number of tariffs that were imposed on imports considered vital to our national security raised both steel and aluminum prices; however, their impact on our nation’s economic growth and employment was minimal.
China Is the Leading Perpetrator of Transnational Repression, Report Says
A Washington-based nonprofit organization called Freedom House says that last year, the Chinese communist regime was one of the world’s leading perpetrators of repressive political actions beyond their own borders. Other countries implicated in their report include Uganda, Cambodia, Russia, and Iran.Freedom House says that this so-called transnational repression targets exiled political activists, journalists, former regime insiders, and members of certain ethnic or religious minorities. Methods used by authorities in these countries included detentions, abductions, assaults, and even assassinations.
The report found that last year alone, more than 20 regimes committed over 150 of these incidents across 34 countries. Additionally, it found that more than 1,200 incidents of direct, physical transnational repression took place over the past decade.
The researchers say that during that 10-year time span, the Chinese regime was by far the most prolific perpetrator of these crimes; they’re responsible for nearly a quarter of all recorded transgressions. They say that such actions continue to threaten democracy, freedom, and security across the globe.
One activist says that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employs a number of formal methods to carry out its overseas repression, including using trade sanctions and economic aid to force other governments to follow China’s position. He says they also target overseas dissidents by monitoring their online activities and hacking their phones.
He went on to say that the CCP dispatches China’s national security agents to track down their so-called enemies overseas. By the way, it’s been revealed that the CCP has set up secret police stations in a variety of Western locations, including New York City, to target their dissidents.
Hamas Postpones Planned Hostage Release
Hamas says they’re postponing the next planned release of those hostages, alleging that Israel has repeatedly violated the recent cease-fire deal which had allowed other Israeli hostages to leave their captivity in the Gaza Strip.A spokesman for Hamas says that over the past few weeks, they’ve documented a number of cease-fire infractions committed by Israel. They include shelling, gunfire, blocked relief deliveries, and delays with regard to allowing the residents of the Gaza Strip to return to the northern end of the territory.
He says that the hostage release which was planned for next Saturday, Feb. 15, will now be put on hold until the Israelis provide compensation for their alleged infractions.
In response, Israel’s defense minister says that Hamas’s decision to postpone the next hostage release is a complete violation of the cease-fire agreement, and that he has instructed the Israeli troops to be on their highest alert level.
So far under the deal, a total of 16 Israeli hostages have been released from the terrorist group Hamas, including three individuals who were released as part of an exchange on Feb. 8.
In return for those three hostages, the Israelis released 183 Palestinian detainees, all of whom were men between the ages of 20 and 61. Eighteen of those individuals were serving life sentences for committing deadly attacks against Israeli citizens.
The scheduled exchanges are part of a six-week pause in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, during which Israel expects to see the return of a total of 33 of its hostages in return for the release of about 2,000 Palestinian detainees. Meanwhile, negotiations continue regarding additional phases of the deal and an eventual permanent cease-fire.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Tuesday 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 Neil Armstrong who said:
“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.”
Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the moon in 1969.
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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