2 earthquakes in Venezuela kill at the least 164. And, Trump cancels housing invoice signing

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At the very least 164 individuals have died and 971 had been injured after two consecutive earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, the nation’s performing President Delcy Rodríguez introduced early at the moment. The preliminary earthquake, measuring 7.2 in magnitude, occurred round 6 p.m. yesterday, adopted by one other quake of seven.5 magnitude lower than a minute later, in keeping with the U.S. Geological Survey. Greater than 20 aftershocks have since been recorded. The federal government has declared a state of emergency on account of fears of great casualties.

• 🎧 Based mostly on images and movies from Venezuela, the harm seems to be fairly intensive, reporter John Otis tells Up First. The pictures present huge clouds of mud rising from collapsed buildings, with rescue staff pulling survivors out of the rubble on stretchers. Folks rushed for canopy beneath restaurant tables and hurried out of their houses into the streets. Fashions developed by the U.S. Geological Survey point out that an earthquake of this magnitude may lead to tens of 1000’s of casualties. Many individuals are already posting on-line to search for their lacking family members. President Trump stated on social media that he has ordered U.S. businesses to organize for a immediate response. The U.S. State Division says it has mobilized a catastrophe help workforce and activity drive to assist Venezuela. They may even ship search-and-rescue groups, together with medical and humanitarian provides.

Trump canceled plans yesterday to signal bipartisan laws aimed toward lowering housing prices throughout america. In a social media publish, the president wrote that he wouldn’t signal the invoice, which he known as “of minor importance,” till Congress accredited the strict voter ID regulation he has been advocating for months often called the SAVE America Act. The housing invoice would have addressed some of the vital considerations amongst People: the rising value of residing.

• 🎧 Trump seems to be extra targeted on having Republicans loyal to him than on making certain a majority that may cross his laws, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez says. The president criticized senators yesterday over their stance on the battle in Iran. Trump’s choice to cancel the signing may presumably alienate Republicans who had been hoping to current this legislative victory to voters forward of the midterm elections. Many Republicans have urged him to shift his focus from Iran to home points, notably the financial system. The invoice may have doubtlessly improved his standing within the polls, Ordoñez says.
• ➡️ Trump has stated for months that he will not signal any invoice till Congress passes the SAVE America Act. He believes it will be sure that Republicans by no means lose one other election for at the least 50 years. Here is what’s truly within the invoice.

Military Gen. Chris Donahue is predicted to announce his retirement quickly, in keeping with two U.S. officers who usually are not approved to talk publicly. This information caught many individuals abruptly. Donahue, a Particular Forces soldier, presently oversees U.S. Military operations throughout Europe and Africa. He’s presumably finest often called the final American soldier to depart Afghanistan in 2021 through the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces beneath the Biden administration.

• 🎧 NPR’s Quil Lawrence says that nobody he has talked to appears to know precisely why Donahue is abruptly retiring. On social media, some trolls are specializing in the truth that Donahue was answerable for the evacuation efforts at Kabul airport. Many blame him for the debacle that marked the chaotic finish of 20 years of army involvement. A suicide bombing on the Abbey Gate entry level of Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghans. Donahue arrived after Kabul fell and he wasn’t answerable for Abbey Gate. He stepped in to supervise the withdrawal and coordinated a whole lot of flights, which probably saved 1000’s of lives. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth has been lowering the ranks, and greater than half of these reduce have been girls and Black officers. Donahue, being a white man, does not align with Hegseth’s trims however as a substitute is extra carefully aligned with the secretary’s slim imaginative and prescient of a “war-fighter,” Lawrence says. He provides that this example seems extra like when Hegseth fired Military Chief of Employees Gen. Randy George with no clarification.

Life recommendation

Denis Novikov/Getty Photos

The summer season solstice arrived earlier this week. Take advantage of out of the season earlier than it flies by. Gretchen Rubin, the writer of The Happiness Mission, has been sharing workout routines on social media to assist make your summer season extra memorable and satisfying. Listed here are some you may attempt:

• ☀️ Select a single phrase or phrase that you just need to embrace — one thing that encapsulates the sensation you need to have over the subsequent few months. For instance, you might decide the phrase “juice,” which may lead you to ripe peaches or to feeling vibrant in your physique in a swimsuit.
• ☀️ Create a summer season bucket record that features not solely stuff you need to do, but additionally targets you may have, like deep cleansing your house or studying learn how to swim.
• ☀️ Setting a enjoyable problem for your self may help you gamify some objects in your bucket record or provide a special type of dare. For example, you might put your self as much as the duty of attempting 10 new burger spots or studying 5 books in a brand new style.

For extra steerage on learn how to make your summer season safer and brighter, learn this NPR Life Equipment article. Subscribe to the Life Equipment publication for skilled recommendation on love, cash, relationships and extra.

Image present

Girls sift gold-bearing sediments looking for gold on the Maidede mine, situated just a few meters from the Mongbwalu Well being Zone in Mongbwalu, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on June 16, 2026.

Arséne Mpiana for NPR

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Arséne Mpiana for NPR

The gold-mining city of Mongbwalu, one of many epicenters of japanese Congo’s Ebola outbreak, faces a number of challenges as officers work to comprise the illness. In keeping with the World Well being Group, the outbreak is believed to have originated there, though this has not but been confirmed. Earlier than the Congolese authorities declared the outbreak, there was a string of deaths within the space. At first, the reason for these deaths was unclear. After a big delay, Congo’s authorities ultimately recognized the sickness as Ebola. Now, much more than a month after the outbreak was declared, Ebola infections proceed to unfold broadly within the city. Mongbwalu’s inhabitants of roughly 130,000 individuals predominantly consists of impoverished gold panners and ailments are frequent amongst this marginalized neighborhood. Pushed by deep-rooted superstition and worry, many residents are reluctant to hunt medical care once they develop into sick. The fast unfold of the illness is exacerbated by the character of gold mining, which includes muddy pits stuffed with miners surrounding the city. Check out Mongbwalu by NPR’s reporting and images.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

U.S. Postal Service mail provider Marc Jacques makes a supply in Miami in March.

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Joe Raedle/Getty Photos

1. The U.S. Postal Service is now not on monitor to expire of cash and stop deliveries subsequent yr, Postmaster Normal David Steiner confirmed yesterday. USPS’s money disaster has been delayed till at the least 2031.
2. On this week’s version of Far-Flung Postcards, NPR’s Rob Schmitz sends greetings from the waterfront in Lucerne, Switzerland, the place soccer followers gathered round jumbo TVs to observe a World Cup match. As an alternative of the crisp mountain air he is used to, Schmitz stated it felt extra just like the tropics.
3. Camp Mystic has filed for chapter after a number of lawsuits by households arguing the camp failed to guard campers and counselors. Twenty-five campers, two counselors and the camp proprietor died when the Guadalupe River flooded practically a yr in the past. (by way of KUT Information)

This article was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.