Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, March 26, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some riveting stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening both nationally and around the world.
President Donald Trump weighs in after an unauthorized journalist was added to a group chat where top U.S. officials were discussing strikes on terrorists in Yemen; the United States reaches an agreement with Russia as discussions continue on a cease-fire with Ukraine; and both chambers of the U.S. Congress consider significant new measures that would expand an individual’s right to carry concealed weapons.
Also, amid calls for privatization, a major change shakes up our nation’s postal service, and the federal government ends a taxpayer-funded housing benefit used widely by illegal immigrants.
Trump Defends National Security Adviser After Signal Leak
President Donald Trump is rallying behind national security adviser Mike Waltz after the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine was mistakenly added to a chat thread. That thread included a number of high-level administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.The journalist alleges that the chat, which was on an encrypted app called Signal, contained plans to strike the Houthis, a Yemen-based terrorist group that has been conducting attacks against both U.S. military vessels and commercial ships in the Red Sea for nearly a year and a half.
For his part, Trump suggests that the error was actually made by one of Waltz’s staff members. The president also says that he still backs Waltz, that the former Republican congressman is a good man who has learned a lesson, and that the editor’s presence in the chat ultimately did not have any impact at all.
Meanwhile, some House Democrats are suggesting that administration officials should either be punished or fired over the incident, with one congressman calling for a full investigation by the House Armed Services Committee into what he says is “an outrageous security breach.”
A spokesman for the White House says that the group chat “appears to be authentic” and that the National Security Council is now “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.” He went on to tell The Epoch Times that the thread further demonstrates “the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials” of the Trump administration.
US to Assist Russia in Restoring ‘Access to the World Market’
The White House says that the United States and Russia have just reached a new agreement, which includes a U.S. commitment to help restore Russia’s access to global markets for its food and fertilizer exports.The agreement follows three days of bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine. It says that the United States will work to reduce some shipping costs and payment barriers associated with those products and improve Russia’s access to ports so they can be delivered.
The White House also says that this week’s talks resulted in a variety of security-related commitments concerning the use of force in the Black Sea, as well as a renewed pledge to avoid strikes on energy infrastructure sites in both Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin says that these provisions—particularly those involving agricultural exports—will not take effect until certain sanctions that are currently in place against their nation are lifted, including those dealing with banking and equipment exports to Russia.
The Kremlin also says that the 30-day freeze on strikes against energy facilities, which began on March 18, may be extended; however, either side can withdraw if the other fails to comply.
House Panel to Consider Bill for Concealed-Carry Permit Reciprocity
For the sixth Congress in a row, so-called reciprocity bills, which would require states to honor out-of-state concealed weapons permits, are moving forward in both chambers of Congress, including one which has just been reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee.Proponents of those bills say they require concealed weapons permit holders to comply with all of the other gun laws in whatever state they are in. However, opponents of the legislation say that’s simply not true.
One leading opponent says that the bills, as they are currently written, would require law enforcement to know the gun laws in all 50 states. Critics also argue that states with strict gun laws would be forced to recognize permits from states with fewer restrictions, with one critic telling The Epoch Times that if you’re from an open-carry state, you would be able to “open carry” in any place in the country you choose.
However, individuals in favor of the bills say that those interpretations are incorrect. One proponent tells The Epoch Times that the new law would give her peace of mind, knowing that she’s not breaking the law simply by exercising her Second Amendment rights.
She went on to say that nothing in these bills would require states to change their existing gun laws, or their restrictions on where people can or cannot carry their weapons.
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association (NRA) says that national reciprocity for concealed carry is their top goal for this Congress, that Trump has promised to sign the bill if it reaches his desk, and that ultimately, the goal is to have the right to constitutionally carry a concealed weapon nationwide.
Postmaster General Steps Down Amid Push for Postal Service Reforms
Our nation’s postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has just stepped down, ending his nearly five-year tenure at the helm of the U.S. Postal Service.He announced his resignation just 10 days after agreeing to work with both the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the General Services Administration (GSA) on ways to make his department more efficient.
DeJoy says that despite his departure, the Postal Service is on track to become both more competitive and capable as it continues to change and improve in an effort to best serve the American public. A number of those service enhancements are set to be implemented in less than a week.
However, we should point out that during the last fiscal year alone, the Postal Service reported a net loss of $9.5 billion—up from the $6.5 billion loss reported just a year earlier.
In a recent letter to Congress, DeJoy called the Postal Service “a broken business model” that is not financially sustainable unless a number of critically necessary core changes are made to the organization. He went on to call fixing the problem “a daunting task.”
During his final weeks in office, he appeared to kickstart those efforts by trimming $2.5 billion in expenses through a significant reduction in both the service’s workforce and their labor hours. He also asked DOGE to look into the mismanagement of the department’s Workers’ Compensation Program, which angered an employees’ union.
Meanwhile, White House adviser Elon Musk has called for privatizing the Postal Service, while Trump has suggested it could be moved under the umbrella of the Department of Commerce. However, all three men appear to agree that some kind of immediate change is desperately needed if the organization hopes to survive.
Trump Admin Ends Taxpayer-Funded Housing for Illegal Immigrants
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have just revealed a plan to reduce what they’re calling an “exploitation” of our country’s housing programs by ending taxpayer-funded housing for illegal immigrants.Turner says the new plan ensures that “wasteful misappropriations,” which have been used to help illegal immigrants in our country, will now be applied toward assisting the American people.
He says that U.S. citizens have taken a back seat to illegal immigrants for too long, and that our tax dollars should be used only to benefit our citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as the nation’s housing crisis.
According to data provided by HUD, nearly 60 percent of illegal immigrant households use one or more welfare programs, resulting in over $40 billion in costs and having a direct impact on housing prices in areas where they settle.
Moving forward, a HUD staff member will provide oversight and make sure that our taxpayer-funded housing programs are not used for the benefit of illegal immigrants.
For her part, Noem says that the new partnership between DHS and HUD will ensure that these housing programs are going only to the people who deserve it and who need assistance in order to provide a better life for their family.
The partnership comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that directs federal agencies to identify all government-funded programs that provide financial benefits to illegal immigrants and to take corrective action.
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 Audrey Hepburn, who said:
“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”
Hepburn had a marvelous career in the film business, and you’ll recall her well from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “My Fair Lady,” the thriller “Wait Until Dark,” 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.
