Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening nationally and around the world.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk shares a bold proposal regarding U.S. taxpayers and potential payouts resulting from DOGE oversight; President Donald Trump’s envoy arrives in Ukraine for critical talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; and the U.S. State Department adds a number of criminal enterprises to their list of global terrorists.
Also, South Korea reveals disturbing information about a revolutionary AI app and where it sends the data it collects, and if you’re one of millions of Americans looking for a place to live, we have some good news to share concerning the cost of renting an apartment.
Trump, Musk to Discuss Sending Taxpayers Checks Using DOGE-Related Savings
Elon Musk, who’s spearheading the Trump administration’s actions to reduce wasteful spending, says that he and President Donald Trump will soon discuss a proposal to send U.S. taxpayers significant rebate checks. The money will come from a portion of the funds recovered from nearly every federal agency, which is being audited by the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE).The SpaceX and Tesla founder made his remarks in response to a suggestion from the CEO of an investment firm who initially proposed what he called “tax refund” checks for Americans after DOGE completes its work in July 2026.
DOGE aims to deliver $2 trillion in federal spending cuts during its 18-month lifespan. That CEO’s proposal calls for 20 percent of those savings to be returned to nearly 80 million tax-paying households, adding up to roughly $5,000 apiece.
He says that the rebate “compensates American taxpayers for the egregious misuse” of their hard-earned tax dollars that DOGE has uncovered. He also encouraged people to report any examples of government “waste, fraud, and abuse” to DOGE, thereby increasing the total amount of savings.
The investor also says the rebate would incentivize labor-force participation, since it would only be available to people who pay federal income tax in 2025.
US Envoy Visits Ukraine for Talks With Zelenskyy
Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has just arrived in Kyiv to hold what he calls “substantial” talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.They’re meeting shortly after a U.S. delegation met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss a peace settlement. However, Ukrainian representatives were not present at that meeting, and Zelenskyy has sought to distance himself from any agreement resulting from that conference.
Kellogg says that the U.S. understands the need to provide Ukraine with security guarantees that protect them against possible future Russian aggression. He also says that part of his current mission is to “sit and listen” to Zelenskyy’s concerns and to share what he learns with Trump along with other key administration officials.
To complicate matters, Trump referred to Zelenskyy as a “modestly successful comedian” who talked the U.S. into spending $350 billion for a war that could not be won, that never had to start, and that he will never be able to settle without the U.S. president’s help.
The Ukrainian leader responded by saying that Trump is being swayed by disinformation coming from Russia, and that the U.S. president is undermining concerted efforts to isolate Russia diplomatically.
US Officially Declares Mexican Cartels, Foreign Gangs as Global Terrorists
The U.S. State Department has just designated several Mexican drug cartels, as well as several transnational criminal gangs, as global terrorist organizations.They include the Sinaloa cartel, the Gulf cartel, and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, among others, along with an El Salvador-based gang known commonly as MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that these groups contain a number of individuals who have either already committed or pose a significant risk of committing “acts of terrorism” that threaten U.S. citizens or the national security of our country.
You may recall that President Donald Trump issued an executive order on the day he took office which called for officials to evaluate whether or not these criminal cartels and transnational gangs could be designated as terrorist groups. At that time, he pointed out that they have engaged in what he called “a campaign of violence and terror” throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Experts tell The Epoch Times that designating cartels and transnational gangs as terrorists will allow the U.S. government to target their finances, as well as go after the individuals who supply them with weapons. They also say that the designation allows the U.S. military to strike cartel-operated facilities.
Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says that the administration will not rule out striking cartels inside Mexico if those groups attack Americans near the U.S.–Mexico border.
He went on to say that ultimately, the Trump administration will “hold nothing back” in order to ensure the security of the American people.
South Korea Says DeepSeek Shared User Data With TikTok’s Parent Company
South Korean officials are claiming that the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek has been sharing significant amounts of user data with TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance. As a result, the DeepSeek AI app has been removed from South Korea’s app stores due to data privacy concerns.According to a South Korean news agency, their Personal Information Protection Commission alleges that DeepSeek sent South Korean user data to ByteDance and that the two companies have been “communicating” in some fashion.
However, they have not yet determined exactly what type of information has been transferred.
South Korean regulations require any organizations which are operating in their country to obtain consent from users before handing over their personal data to any third party.
Officials are now advising all South Korean users to delete the DeepSeek app from their devices or to avoid entering any personal information into it until the issues are resolved.
By the way, South Korea recently joined Australia and Taiwan in blocking the use of DeepSeek services on all government devices after its spy agency alleged that the Chinese-trained AI app “excessively” collects personal data. U.S. lawmakers have also introduced legislation aimed at banning the DeepSeek AI app from all government devices in our country as well.
Under China’s counterespionage law, all companies in their country are required to hand over their user data if it’s requested by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities.
US Rent Declines Year-on-Year for 18th Straight Month
The real estate listings website Realtor.com says that last month, rents in the 50 largest metropolitan areas across the U.S. metros fell when compared to a year ago; however, they’re still higher than they were prior to the pandemic.They say that in the first month of 2025, the median asking rent was just over $1,700, which is actually down slightly from the same period last year and marks the 18th consecutive month in which rents have fallen year over year. However, those rents are still more than $250 higher than they were five years ago.
The report found that on a monthly cost basis, in January it was less expensive to rent a median 0–2 bedroom unit than to buy a median home in 48 out of the 50 tracked metro areas. They attributed the shift of the housing market toward a “more renter-friendly direction” partly due to continuing high mortgage rates.
Meanwhile, in a new report, the real estate brokerage firm Redfin says that rents skyrocketed during the pandemic “moving frenzy,” because there weren’t enough apartments at that time to meet the demand. They say that over the last couple of years, rents dipped as builders boosted construction to take advantage of that demand, which remains strong.
However, they warn that those rents may soon tick upward again as the number of new apartments entering the market is now waning and housing prices continue to push ownership out of the reach of many Americans.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Thursday 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 John Williams who said:
“To continue to work, to continue to love what you do, is certainly a contributing element to one’s longevity and health.”
Williams is an American composer and conductor who has scored over 100 films across a seven-decade career. He is Hollywood’s go-to guy when you need just the right music for your movie.
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.
