Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Saturday, March 1, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas. It’s the start of a brand new month, and we have some dynamic stories to share with you right now. Here’s what’s happening both here at home and around the world.
The crucial meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office devolves into a contentious argument. The White House announces a pending order regarding our nation’s official language, and a number of former Pentagon chiefs call for a congressional hearing to investigate the removal of a top military leader.
Also, our nation’s transportation chief unveils a bold new plan to address a critical issue regarding a shortage of air traffic controllers, and the Mexican government extradites a number of high-profile wanted criminals to the United States.
Trump Clashes With Zelenskyy at the White House
Zelenskyy is leaving Washington without signing a crucial deal with the United States following a volatile exchange with both Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House.Heading into the meeting, expectations were that the two sides would agree to a deal that would grant the U.S. access to billions of dollars worth of rare earth minerals in Ukraine in exchange for some form of continued support for that country against future Russian aggression.
However, no deal was signed, and Zelenskyy was criticized in front of the press by both Trump and Vance before being told to leave the White House prior to the meeting’s scheduled end time.
Trump said the Ukrainian leader is gambling with a potential World War III by continuing his country’s fight against a nuclear-armed Russia. He also told Zelenskyy that Ukraine would have to “make a deal” with Russia without any security assurances from the United States and that “you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out”—meaning that Ukraine will have to fight it out with Russia without any U.S. support.
Following the tense meeting, Trump said that Zelenskyy is not ready to make a deal with Russia, that he disrespected the United States in its cherished White House Oval Office, and that he can come back when he’s ready to talk peace.
For his part, Zelenskyy insisted at the meeting that he would not accept a cease-fire agreement without substantial security guarantees from the United States. After leaving the White House, he took to social media to thank Trump, the U.S. Congress, and the American people for supporting Ukraine throughout the ongoing war.
Trump Will Sign Order Making English the Official Language of the US
Trump is planning to sign an executive order that would make English the official language of the United States.The planned order, which has already been shared with The Epoch Times, will rescind a federal mandate by former President Bill Clinton that requires any agencies receiving federal money to provide language assistance to people who don’t speak English.
However, the White House says that federal agencies will still have the flexibility to decide how and when to offer their services in languages other than English in order to best fulfill their mission.
They say that the order “celebrates multilingual Americans who have learned English and passed it down” while also “empowering immigrants to achieve the American Dream through a common language,” which opens doors to greater opportunities.
Additionally, the White House says that a national language promotes unity, improves government efficiency, and creates a common pathway for civic engagement.
Once signed, the president’s order will stand in stark contrast to the Biden administration’s efforts to promote bilingualism, especially in education.
It’s also likely to face significant resistance from a number of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has pushed for more federally funded translation services to assist immigrants, teacher unions, and various other civil rights organizations.
Former Pentagon Chiefs Demand Congressional Hearing on Trump’s Removal of Top Military Leader
Five former Pentagon chiefs, who represented both Republican and Democratic administrations, have signed an open letter calling on Congress to hold immediate hearings on President Donald Trump’s termination of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other defense officials.Among those who signed the letter were former Defense Secretaries Lloyd Austin, James Mattis, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, and William Perry. They say there was no justification for Trump’s dismissal of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, who was recently relieved of his duties as chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later fired several other high-ranking military officials, including the judge advocates general, or JAGs, for all branches of the military.
In their letter, the former defense secretaries alleged that those leaders were all terminated “for purely partisan reasons,” and they’re calling on both the House and the Senate to hold immediate hearings to assess the national security implications of the dismissals.
They also say that Congress should require the Trump administration to justify each firing and explain why the chairman of the Joint Chiefs was not allowed to complete his four-year term in office. They’re also urging the Senate not to confirm any nominations in the Department of Defense (DOD) until the matter is settled.
For their part, many Republican lawmakers have emphasized that Trump has the right, as our nation’s commander-in-chief, to dismiss any military official he wants, with some saying that it’s time for a “clean slate” at the DOD.
Transportation Secretary Unveils Plan to Boost Hiring of Air Traffic Controllers
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has unveiled a plan to speed up the recruitment of new air traffic controllers in order to address a considerable staffing shortage.Duffy says prospective hires will now only need to go through five steps instead of the previous eight. According to the Department of Transportation, that reduction in steps will save more than four months on the entire training process.
As an added incentive, the federal government is also raising starting salaries by 30 percent for qualified candidates who attend the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy, which is located in Oklahoma City.
Right now, the FAA says that to achieve their targeted staffing levels, they’ll need roughly an additional 3,500 fully certified air traffic controllers. They also say that the ongoing shortage continues to cause flight delays nationwide and that in many air traffic control towers, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks to cover those gaps.
For their part, several airlines and organizations are praising the hiring move and the Trump administration’s agenda to prioritize safety and modernize our nation’s aviation system.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the FAA said they dismissed 350 probationary workers, including some who had been working in safety-related positions.
Mexico Extradites 29 Cartel Members to US
Mexico has just extradited 29 cartel members to the United States, including a drug lord who is wanted for the 1985 murder of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent.The Department of Justice (DOJ) says the individuals taken into U.S. custody are facing charges related to racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, money laundering, and more.
The DOJ also says the extradited individuals include a number of leaders of the drug cartels, which were recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, the DEA says that Rafael Caro Quintero, the drug kingpin who is allegedly involved in the killing of their agent, has spent four decades at the top of their most wanted fugitives list, and now that he’s in the United States, justice will finally be served.
They went on to say that his extradition is “extremely personal for the men and women of DEA” and that it sends a clear message to every cartel leader, trafficker, and criminal who is poisoning our communities: “You will be held accountable.”
The Mexican government says the transfer was carried out at the DOJ’s request and is part of its effort to promote both coordination and cooperation with U.S. authorities.
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 Erma Bombeck, who said:
“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.”
Bombeck was known for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, which was syndicated from 1965 to 1996. Fifteen of her books have been published, and most have become bestsellers.
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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Enjoy the remainder of your day and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
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.
