Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some urgent stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
President Donald Trump signs a controversial order dealing with U.S. citizenship; our new commander-in-chief also takes significant action regarding America’s national security, and the first Trump Cabinet pick is sworn into office—and he explains which nation poses the most critical threat to the United States.
Also, the leaders of China and Russia speak to each other following Monday’s inauguration, and many Southern California fire evacuees who are allowed back to their neighborhoods are now facing a variety of health hazards.
Trump Signs Order Ending Birthright Citizenship
In one of his first official acts as president, Trump signed an executive order that ends birthright citizenship, which has been enshrined in the U.S. Constitution since 1898. The move means that children who are born to illegal immigrants within our borders will no longer automatically qualify for U.S. citizenship.The president said that automatic citizenship was “just ridiculous,” that he expected legal challenges, and that he believed he was on solid legal ground to change the policy.
The ACLU says that every child born in the United States should have the same rights as every other child; that the Constitution ensures that no politician can ever decide who among those born in our country are worthy of citizenship; and that Trump’s order directly opposes our values, our history, and our Constitution.
However, Trump’s order points out that the Constitution has never been interpreted to extend citizenship “universally” to everyone born within the United States.
Meanwhile, Trump also signed an executive order on Monday declaring that illegal immigration at our southern border is a national emergency, paving the way for both military deployment to the border as well as the completion of a border wall.
Trump Takes Dozens of Executive Actions
The president set a breakneck pace at the beginning of his second term, signing a record number of executive actions on his first day alone while rescinding 78 executive orders that were made by his predecessor.Rubio Sworn In as Secretary of State
Former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has just been sworn in by Vice President JD Vance as our country’s 72nd secretary of state.The former Republican lawmaker now becomes the first of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members to be approved. He takes over the position that was previously held by former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who served in President Joe Biden’s administration for his entire term.
Before stepping down earlier this week, Rubio had represented Florida in the U.S. Senate since 2011, where he served as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in both 2020 and 2021.
During the vetting process, Rubio said that the United States needs to take a strong position against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He said the CCP is a “dangerous” and “potent” foe, a technological adversary, and a competitor with our country “in every realm” that presents an “extraordinary challenge” that he believes will define the 21st century.
He also said that the war between Ukraine and Russia should end and what Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has done is “unacceptable;” however, he doesn’t believe it’s possible for Ukraine to push Russian forces out of its eastern regions.
Taking it a step further, Rubio says that the Arctic will become “incredibly critical” in the near future, which will require the U.S. military to have a stronger presence on Greenland to combat both Russia and China, and ensure that shipping lanes remain open in the region.
China’s Xi Speaks With Russia’s Putin After Trump’s Inauguration
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin have just held a virtual meeting in which they pledged to further strengthen the relationship between their two regimes.To refresh your memory, in 2022—less than three weeks before the invasion of Ukraine—Putin and Xi declared a partnership that has “no limits,” and the two countries have ramped up their cooperation ever since.
According to Chinese state media, during their latest video call, Xi told Putin that the two countries should deepen their strategic cooperation, support each other, and protect their mutual interests.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin reports that Putin addressed Xi as his “dear friend.” He went on to describe the ties between the two countries as “self-sufficient,” and said that they do not depend on either domestic factors or the current global situation to remain strong. Putin also highlighted Russia’s close economic cooperation with China.
The exchange between the two leaders came just hours after Trump took his oath of office, with our country’s 47th president later telling reporters that a meeting with Putin could be held very soon to discuss the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He also said he thinks Putin is destroying Russia by not making a deal to end that war and that Russia is going to be in “big trouble” if it doesn’t, pointing specifically to both its inflation and economy.
Health Hazards Await as California’s Fire Evacuees Return Home
Evacuation orders have been lifted and people are now returning to their communities, with many of them now facing a number of severe health and safety complications, including contaminated water, toxic debris, and the threat of landslides.State officials say that so far, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades has killed 11 people, destroyed more than 6,000 homes, and covers more than 37 square miles, while the Eaton Fire in Altadena has claimed 17 lives, destroyed more than 9,000 homes, and covers about 21 square miles.
Both major wildfires are still burning, but fire crews have now gained the upper hand despite the recent arrival of more troubling Santa Ana winds.
Meanwhile, the L.A. County Department of Public Health has issued a consequential warning regarding hazardous windblown dust and ash, as well as toxic debris. Officials are encouraging people to stay inside, to keep windows and doors closed, to wear masks, and to protect their eyes.
They’re also warning the public that fire-damaged lithium-ion batteries—which are typically used in electronic devices, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems—present a significant risk and should not be touched.
Several neighborhoods were also warned about possible water contamination, with some residents in both the Palisades and Eaton fire areas receiving “do not drink” notices from the state.
This is a story we’ll continue to watch very closely as the lengthy recovery process gets underway.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Wednesday 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 Buzz Aldrin, who said: “My favorite thing to do on this planet is to scuba dive.”
Aldrin is an American former astronaut, engineer, and fighter pilot. He was the second person to walk on the moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong.
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 tomorrow 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.
