Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
President Donald Trump doubles down on his plans for the United States to take over a war-torn strip of land in the Middle East, our new attorney general takes a number of significant actions during her first day in office, and Mexico sends its military to the U.S. border in an effort to halt the flow of illegal drugs into our country.
Also, the U.S. State Department makes a contested announcement regarding the Panama Canal, and Trump makes a strong move to target alleged anti-Christian bias in the federal government.
Trump Says Gaza Will Be Turned Over to US
Trump now says that according to his plan, Gaza would be “turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.”He says that by then, the Palestinians would already be resettled “in far safer and more beautiful communities” throughout the region, where they would be provided with “new and modern homes” and given a chance to lead “happy, safe, and free” lives.
Next, the United States would work alongside a number of development teams from all over the world to “slowly and carefully” construct what he called “one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind” on the planet.
He went on to say that no U.S. soldiers would be needed for the project, and that it would result in long-term stability for the entire region.
By the way, Israel’s defense minister is praising the idea, and he’s just ordered his country’s army to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of residents from Gaza by land, air, and sea. He says that countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza should take in the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the White House is now clarifying the president’s earlier assertion that more than 2 million Gazans need to be permanently resettled in neighboring countries. It now says that it expects our allies in the region to accept them “temporarily” while the United States rebuilds their home, which is completely demolished and has no electricity or running water.
Important to point out that Trump’s comments are drawing a significant amount of criticism from the international community, including many U.S. allies, who are rejecting the idea completely.
Bondi Orders DOJ to Halt All Funding for Sanctuary Cities
Attorney General Pam Bondi is ordering the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pause the distribution of all funds to so-called sanctuary cities, which are jurisdictions that, among other things, work to protect illegal immigrants from arrest.She’s directing the DOJ to conduct a thorough review of those cities; to terminate any agreements with them that are either in violation of the law or are the source of waste, fraud, or abuse; and to recoup any funds, wherever it seems appropriate.
She’s also ordering officials to identify grants that go to organizations that provide services to illegal immigrants, and to pause the distribution of those funds for 60 days while they’re reviewed to see whether or not they violate any laws. If they do, some of those grants may be terminated.
Additionally, Bondi is ordering the DOJ to investigate incidents involving any obstruction of federal immigration operations and to bring charges if there are any violations.
First of 10,000 Mexican National Guard Troops Deployed Along Border
Per its agreement with the Trump administration, the first of more than 1,600 planned Mexican National Guard troops are now deploying along the border between the cities of Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.You may recall that Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum recently pledged to send 10,000 total troops to guard her side of the border with the United States in an effort to stem the smuggling of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into our country. That agreement was made in response to President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico.
Regarding those soldiers, the Mexican government says its biggest deployment will be nearly 2,000 troops stationed near Tijuana, which borders San Diego, California.
By the way, the new military presence comes just days after the White House accused the Mexican government of having an alliance with the cartels that smuggle fentanyl into our country.
Panama’s President Rejects US Claim of Free Canal Passage for American Ships
In a post on the social media platform X, the State Department just announced that the government of Panama has agreed to allow U.S. government vessels to cross through the Panama Canal without having to pay any fees, including transit tolls, reservation expenses, and penalties for no-shows.However, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino is completely rejecting the State Department’s claim, and he’s asking his country’s ambassador in Washington to dispute the matter as well.
Mulino says that he’s informed U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that he does not have the ability to either set the transit fees for the canal or to exempt anyone from paying them.
He went on to say that he was very surprised by the statement because it’s coming from an entity that governs U.S. policy and it’s based on what he called a “falsity.”
By the way, the Panama Canal Authority—which administers the canal—also says it’s made “no adjustments” to its fees; however, it also said it’s willing to “engage in dialogue” with the U.S. government regarding our nation’s military ships.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mulino. During their conference, he informed the Panamanian leader that the Chinese Communist Party’s influence over the canal would not be accepted by the Trump administration.
Trump Announces DOJ Task Force to ‘Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias’
Trump says he’s going to establish a Department of Justice (DOJ) task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the U.S. government.He says that the mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, the IRS, the FBI, and other agencies.
He went on to say that the group will work to “fully prosecute” violence and vandalism against Christians, that it will “move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide,” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi will be heading up this new team.
The “Task Force to End the War on Christians” in the government will also include members of Trump’s Cabinet, along with individuals from other relevant federal agencies.
The group will review the conduct and policies of all federal agencies to identify and eliminate any anti-Christian bias, and it’ll seek input from a number of faith-based organizations to develop recommendations for further action.
In announcing the task force at a National Prayer Breakfast event, Trump said that if our nation doesn’t have religious liberty, then we don’t have a free country. He also went on to announce the formation of a new White House Faith Office, and says that its goal will be to uphold what he calls the fundamental right of religious freedom.
Almost time for us to wrap things up, but before we go, a couple of additional stories we’re watching very closely here in The Epoch Times News Brief newsroom:
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
Don’t forget the News Brief Motto: We’re portable, affordable, and we’re always on-demand.
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 Leonardo da Vinci, who said: “Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.”
Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, and engineer.
He’s best known for his paintings, including “The Last Supper” and the “Mona Lisa.” An immensely talented guy.
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.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
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.
