Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Saturday, March 15, 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.
President Donald Trump makes an urgent appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops; one White House Cabinet member reveals an innovative plan to eliminate taxes for millions of American citizens; and on Capitol Hill, lawmakers introduce legislation to eliminate student visas for people from a hostile nation.
Also, after a recent meeting with DOGE representatives, the U.S. Postal Service is about to lose thousands of jobs, and the price of a highly coveted precious metal hits an all-time high, the result of economic uncertainty sweeping across the globe.
Trump Appeals to Putin to Spare Thousands of Surrounded Ukrainian Troops
Trump is asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare thousands of Ukrainian troops, which he says are now completely surrounded by Russia’s military.Though he did not specify the location of the surrounded troops, Trump’s comments coincide with reports from the Russian military regarding their recent progress in retaking a crucial portion of the Kursk region, which has been occupied by Ukrainian forces for the last seven months.
The U.S. president says that he’s personally made his request known to his Russian counterpart, and that if the Ukrainian troops are attacked, it would result in the worst massacre we’ve seen since World War II.
He also says that the recent talks between our nation and the Russians were very productive, and that right now, there’s a “very good chance” that what he calls a “horrible, bloody war” can finally come to an end.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is actively trying to advance peace talks, beginning with the temporary cease-fire deal. However, though Ukraine says they’re willing to support the pause in fighting, Russia has stopped short of supporting the plan.
For his part, Putin says he’s open to the idea; however, he also says he has a number of questions about how the arrangement would proceed, particularly on the battlefield. He went on to point out that Russia is making substantial advances in the war, and he reiterates that Ukrainian forces in Kursk are both isolated and outgunned.
Trump Wants to Eliminate Taxes for Those Earning Under $150,000, Commerce Secretary Says
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says that President Donald Trump’s goal is to waive income taxes for people who earn less than $150,000 per year.Lutnick says he’s actively working to make the president’s goal a reality, and he points out that Trump has already proposed to end taxes on overtime pay, tips, and Social Security payments.
To achieve his goal, the president has begun by imposing significant tariffs on goods from other countries and he wants to create an “External Revenue Service” to collect those duties. He says that eventually, he’d like to end all income tax in favor of tariff revenues.
For his part, Lutnick says those tariffs are “the most important thing America has ever had.” He also says they’re worth the possibility of any corresponding economic pain that may occur as a result of those measures.
The commerce chief says that these policies produce revenues, growth, and the building of factories on U.S. soil, and that if there is a recession, it would only be due to the policies of the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, Lutnick has just met in Washington with a number of Canadian officials to discuss a variety of tariffs that were recently imposed by both of our nations. He says that Canada leans on our economy and that some of its industries are unfair to American workers; for their part, one Canadian official says those meetings were “very positive.”
House Republicans Introduce Legislation to Ban Chinese Nationals From Obtaining US Student Visas
A group of House Republicans has just introduced legislation to ban Chinese citizens from obtaining U.S. student visas, citing national security concerns associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).The bill would amend what’s called the Immigration and Nationality Act to “prohibit the admission of Chinese nationals as nonimmigrant students” as well as for other purposes, including conducting research. It’s expected to affect the visas for academic students, vocational students, and exchange visitors.
Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), a Republican from West Virginia, is leading the effort to get the bill passed. He tells The Epoch Times that every year, our nation allows 300,000 Chinese nationals to come to the United States on student visas, and that we’re literally inviting the CCP to spy on our military and steal our intellectual property.
As an example, Moore pointed to the recent federal indictment of five Chinese nationals who visited a remote military site while they were attending the University of Michigan. He says that it’s time to end this type of exploitation by China once and for all.
Another sponsor of the bill, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) of Texas, tells The Epoch Times that the CCP is fundamentally opposed to our American values and that many of the Chinese nationals who receive our student visas are actually state-sponsored spies.
Meanwhile, on its website, the FBI warns that the Chinese communist regime “has historically sponsored economic espionage,” and they say it often uses Chinese students to get the job done. They go on to say that China is the world’s principal infringer of intellectual property, and that the cost to the U.S. economy amounts to up to $600 billion every year.
USPS Agrees to Work With DOGE, Plans to Cut 10,000 Workers
The U.S. postmaster general says that he’s just signed an agreement for both the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and another federal agency called the General Services Administration (GSA) to work with the U.S. Postal Service in an effort to achieve what he calls “further efficiencies” in his organization.In a letter sent to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, he says both DOGE and the GSA will begin by reviewing what he calls the “mismanagement” of his agency’s retirement assets as well as their miscalculations regarding their retirement obligations. They’ll also investigate the service’s Workers’ Compensation Program, which he said results in $400 million a year in excessive charges.
Additionally, he says they’ll review what he calls “unfunded mandates” imposed on the USPS that he says restrict normal business practices and cost the agency up to $11 billion annually.
The postmaster general went on to say that in an effort to reduce expenses, his agency plans to cut 10,000 employees in the next 30 days through a voluntary early retirement program. Right now, the service employs more than 600,000 workers, and the agency reported a $9.5 billion net loss during the last fiscal year.
Meanwhile, a union representing some postal workers says that they welcome the assistance of anyone who can help the agency enact some much-needed policy changes. However, they stand firmly against calls to privatize the service, saying that instead, they need “common sense solutions” to address and make fixes to their ongoing problems.
Gold Prices Hit All-Time High Amid Global Uncertainty
Amid global uncertainty, the cost of gold recently topped the milestone of $3,000 an ounce for the first time in history.This year, the price of gold has gone up by nearly 14 percent, and it’s gained nearly 40 percent in value over the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, silver has skyrocketed as well, soaring upward by 35 percent over the past year to more than $34 an ounce.
By the way, those gains are in stark contrast to what’s been happening in the broader financial markets. Over the past few weeks, the U.S. stock market erased nearly $5 trillion in value due to growing uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs on the wider economic landscape.
As a result, investors have been actively seeking shelter from the turbulence in conventional safe-haven assets such as gold and U.S. Treasury securities.
One financial expert says that the risk of higher inflation and slower economic growth are spurring the demand for safer assets like gold, and that if trade tensions get worse, that demand is likely to continue. A different financial expert says that eventually, gold will reach $4,000 an ounce.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Saturday 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 Tim Cook, who said:
“What all of us have to do is to make sure we are using AI in a way that is for the benefit of humanity, not to the detriment of humanity.”
Tim Cook Cook is the CEO of Apple, a position he’s held since 2011. Before that, he served as Apple’s COO under Steve Jobs.
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.
