Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas. We have some compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening both here at home and around the world.
A government investigation reveals that a highly scrutinized federal aid organization sent millions of dollars in secret funds to Ukraine; that country’s president weighs in regarding a possible mineral rights deal with the United States to help bring an end to that country’s war with Russia; and our nation’s intelligence chief says she’s firing more than 100 of her employees due to inappropriate behavior.
Also, an enormous teachers union seeks legal action over the Department of Education’s new DEI mandates, and as our nation’s Social Security system undergoes a significant overhaul, millions of beneficiaries are set to receive substantial back payments and a bump to their monthly checks.
USAID Sent Millions to Ukraine in Secret Slush Funds
Investigators working for DOGE Caucus Chair Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) tell The Epoch Times that officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) repeatedly refused to allow them to examine a number of critical documents regarding our aid to Ukraine before they were finally allowed to view them while under surveillance at USAID headquarters.They say that funds that were allegedly intended to alleviate economic distress in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion were instead spent on a number of very questionable activities. They include sending Ukrainian models and designers on junkets to New York City, London, and Paris Fashion Week.
Other USAID funding uncovered by the investigators include nearly $150,000 for “a pickle maker,” more than $250,000 to “a producer of organic tea and coffee,” and more than $200,000 on items related to premium furniture lines.
The senator first began investigating USAID in November 2023. At that time, she pointed out that while her support for providing military assistance to Ukraine was steadfast, she was weary of doling out billions of dollars in U.S. tax money to subsidize businesses in other countries.
Earlier this month, she told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that in their attempt to limit congressional oversight, USAID has demonstrated what she alleged to be “intentional abuse” of our system.
Meanwhile, the House DOGE Subcommittee recently held a hearing to determine how USAID officials dispatched more than $100 million to a number of organizations in the Middle East with documented links to a variety of terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda.
Trump: Zelenskyy Will Have to Make Concessions for Peace With Russia
Trump says that he expects Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will have to make a number of concessions to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as part of any final deal to bring an end to the fighting between their two countries.The president says that if not for his 2024 election victory, the Russia–Ukraine war would continue and eventually, Putin would seek to take all of Ukraine. He also says that the war would have ended much sooner if it hadn’t been for all of the weapons and equipment that the United States has supplied to Ukraine’s forces.
Additionally, Trump says that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO probably instigated the war, and that right now, joining the alliance will not be possible.
He went on to say that tomorrow, Zelenskyy will visit the White House to finalize a deal in which the United States would gain access to a significant amount of Ukraine’s natural resources, such as rare earth minerals, as compensation for our past and potential future support.
By the way, the deal is seen by many as key to ending the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, which is now in its fourth year.
More Than 100 Intelligence Officials Being Fired Over Secret Chats
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says that more than 100 officials from the U.S. intelligence community are being fired after they were identified as participants in secret chat rooms that discussed sexual topics and other not-safe-for-work issues.She says that those officials, who come from a number of different federal agencies, did not abide by basic rules and standards, and committed what she called an “egregious violation of trust.”
Gabbard says that the fired employees were brazenly using a National Security Agency (NSA) platform that was intended for professional use to engage in what she called “really horrific behavior.”
She says that holding these individuals accountable for their actions is just the beginning of the Trump administration’s efforts to clean house, root out the rot in our system, and rebuild trust in the institutions which are charged with serving the American people.
For their part, the NSA says that investigations are underway, and that the potential misuse of official chat group platforms by a small group of people does not represent the entire intelligence community.
Teachers Union Sues Education Department Over Anti-DEI Policy
The American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association are suing the U.S. Department of Education over a recent letter that warned schools they could lose their federal funding if they do not cease their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs by the end of this month.The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Maryland. It’s asking the judge to rule that the department’s policy is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, and they want the court to bar federal officials from enforcing the mandate.
In the letter, an Education Department official condemned what he described as “racial discrimination” in K–12 schools and universities. He said that under the banner of DEI, those policies have introduced racial stereotypes into everyday training for the past four years. As a result, the schools were given just two weeks to stop any practice that treats people differently because of their race.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) says that the letter was sent to the departments of education in all 50 states.
For their part, with nearly 2 million members, the American Federation of Teachers is our nation’s second-largest teachers union, while the sociological association is a group of about 9,000 college students, scholars, and teachers.
They say that the letter violates free speech protections provided under the First Amendment by forcing schools to teach only the views supported by the federal government. They also say it violates the Fifth Amendment because the directive is so vague that schools won’t know which practices cross the line.
Millions to Receive Retroactive Social Security Payments
The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) says that beginning immediately, more than 3 million Americans are about to score a lump-sum payment as well as a spike in their monthly checks as a result of a new law that was signed early last month by then-President Joe Biden.That law is called the Social Security Fairness Act, and it ended a pair of provisions that had reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for people who receive a pension based on work not covered by the program.
As of January 2024, those provisions no longer apply, and as a result, many Social Security beneficiaries are going to receive one-time retroactive payments which will be electronically deposited into their bank accounts by the end of next month. Depending on a number of factors, they could also begin receiving higher monthly benefits starting in April.
Among the people who stand to benefit under the new rule are firefighters, teachers, police officers, and federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System.
Meanwhile, though the new law received significant bipartisan support, it has also faced some criticism. As one group points out, a number of affected workers were not denied Social Security in the past because of their public service careers but rather because they did not pay any Social Security payroll taxes.
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 Blaise Pascal who said:
“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.”
Pascal was a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, inventor, and quite a bit 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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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.
