Thousands Feared Dead After Twin Earthquakes Rock Venezuela
JUN 25, 2026
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has declared a state of emergency, after scores of people were killed and over 1,000 injured by two powerful earthquakes that struck near the capital Caracas on Wednesday evening. The death toll is currently at 164 and likely to continue rising, as rescue workers frantically search for survivors in the rubble of “dozens” of collapsed buildings. The first quake registered 7.2 on the Richter scale and was followed less than a minute later by an even more powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake. This is a survivor.
Avilio González: “Fortunately, my family, my wife, my granddaughter and I, were out of the apartment building. When we got back, we saw it was completely destroyed. Luckily, the neighbors managed to save their lives, too. What can I say? How many families are going to end up like this with destroyed buildings in Caracas?”
The U.S. Geological Survey warns there’s a high chance the death toll could rise into the tens of thousands — or even top 100,000. Wednesday’s earthquakes follow U.S. airstrikes on Caracas and other Venezuelan cities in January, which came after two decades of devastating U.S. sanctions that left Caracas’s electrical grid and other infrastructure in disrepair. We’ll have more on the disaster after headlines.
White House Requests $87.6 Billion in Supplemental Funds, Mostly for Iran War
JUN 25, 2026
The White House has asked Congress to approve nearly $88 billion in supplemental funding, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war on Iran. That’s down from the $200 billion request floated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March, but still dwarfs the pace of military spending during the height of the U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Gulf allies in Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. He said technical talks with Iran are scheduled for next week in Geneva, and ruled out any deal in which Iran would charge a fee for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or a fee for the use of the straits. That’s just not — that’s not going to happen. The president has been abundantly clear.”
Israel Kills Two in Southern Lebanon, Straining U.S.-Iran Ceasefire
JUN 25, 2026
Israeli attacks killed at least two people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, coming despite the renewed ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which requires an end to Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. On Wednesday, the U.S. hosted another round of talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats; once again, Hezbollah was not a party to the talks.
In Tel Aviv, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would not withdraw from southern Lebanon.
Israel Katz: “The IDF is prepared, and we are not retreating. We announced that, in any case, we are not withdrawing. And as of this moment — this is a political achievement — there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.”
Drone Kills 12-Year-Old in Gaza as U.N. Inquiry Finds Israel Targets Children in Ongoing “Genocide”
JUN 25, 2026
In Gaza, an Israeli drone struck a tent housing displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi on Wednesday, killing a 12-year-old child and wounding several others. The attack came one day after a United Nations commission of inquiry reported that Israel’s deliberate targeting of children is part of an ongoing genocide against Gaza’s Palestinian population.
Palestinian Journalist’s “Shocking” Photo Shows Effects of Torture, Medical Neglect in Israeli Jails
JUN 25, 2026
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed a 29-year-old Palestinian man during a raid on the town of al-Yamoun west of Jenin.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian journalist Mujahid Bani Mufleh has released shocking images taken before and after he was jailed by Israel — without charge — in a so-called administrative detention. Bani Mufleh says during his six months in captivity he was starved and abused. He suffered a severe brain hemorrhage just two days after his release and had to have part of his skull removed. In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society says Bani Mufleh is not an isolated case and that “thousands … have been subjected to systematic violations inside Israeli prisons, including torture, starvation, denial of treatment, physical and psychological assaults, in addition to continuous psychological terror.”
Professor Fired for Pro-Palestinian Activism Reinstated by San José State
JUN 25, 2026
San José State University has been ordered to reinstate a tenured professor who was fired for her pro-Palestinian activism. An arbitrator issued the order to rehire professor Sang Hea Kil after finding that her dismissal was “excessive and disproportionate.” Kil hailed the ruling as a “victory for academic freedom on campus and pro-Palestine speech.” Kil had been fired after participating in three on-campus demonstrations over the war in Gaza. She also served as faculty adviser to Students for Justice in Palestine.
Trump Clashes with GOP Senators over Iran and Blocks Housing Bill to Force SAVE Act Vote
JUN 25, 2026
President Trump abruptly called off plans to sign a bipartisan housing bill on Wednesday, less than two hours before a scheduled signing ceremony. On social media, Trump declared that the event was “hereby cancelled until such a time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.” The legislation would require voters to produce passports or birth certificates showing their current name in order to register to vote or update voter registration information. Voting rights experts say it could disenfranchise millions of citizens.
Meanwhile, Trump visited Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans where he castigated them for refusing to abolish the filibuster in order to pass the SAVE America Act. The meeting reportedly devolved into a shouting match between Trump and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who sided with most Democrats and three other Republican senators in favor of a resolution ordering that Trump end the U.S. war on Iran. Following the meeting, the Senate voted 47 to 50 to defeat a second, nearly identical war powers resolution on Iran, after Senator Cassidy reversed his vote and Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul voted “present.”
Ukrainian Drones Kill 3 in Russian-Held Donetsk as Russia Bombards Team Clearing Landmines
JUN 25, 2026
Ukraine is intensifying its attacks inside Russia, striking a major natural gas processing plant — one of the largest in the world. In addition, Ukraine struck two key satellite communications centers inside Russia. A Ukrainian drone also struck an apartment building in a Russian-held area of the Donetsk region. At least three people were killed. Meanwhile, a Russian artillery strike in the Kherson region of Ukraine killed two mine disposal experts from the Oslo-based charity Norwegian People’s Aid.
Moscow Court Sentences Politician to Seven Years in Prison for Antiwar Messages
JUN 25, 2026
In Moscow, the prominent antiwar politician Maxim Kruglov has been sentenced to seven years in prison. He was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian military for posting messages online about civilian deaths in Ukraine. Kruglov is the deputy leader of the liberal Yabloko party in Russia. The party’s former leader, Sergey Mitrokhin, condemned the sentence.
Sergey Mitrokhin: “The prosecutor and the investigator did not even hesitate to accuse him of disagreeing with the political course of the country’s leadership. For that, he was now given seven years. What can I say? I think this is a return to the darkest times.”
Appeals Court Allows Trump Administration to Resume Mass Deportations Without Trial
JUN 25, 2026
A U.S. appeals court cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume the expedited mass deportation of immigrants without a chance to appear before a judge. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit delivered a split 2-1 ruling that overturned a lower court’s ruling that fast-track deportations far from the U.S. border likely violate the due process rights of immigrants. Both of the judges who sided with the Trump administration are appointees of President Trump. In a dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins wrote, “due process does not wait for a final removal order to be issued before it is owed.”
Meanwhile, a federal judge in California has barred the Trump administration from making arrests at immigration courts nationwide. The ruling also limits the amount of time people arrested for immigration violations can be jailed. This follows a ruling by a separate federal judge last month barring arrests at New York courthouses.
Pentagon Restores Flu Vaccine Mandate After Outbreak Sickens Hundreds at Air Force Base
JUN 25, 2026
The Pentagon has reversed course and will once again require flu vaccines for all recruits. In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the flu shot optional, citing what he called “medical autonomy” and religious freedom. However, the Pentagon reinstated the vaccine mandate after a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base sickened nearly 300 people. A source told the Associated Press that just 40% of new recruits opted to receive the flu shot after Hegseth made it optional.
“Five Eyes” Intelligence Alliance Warns AI Models Pose Huge Cybersecurity Risks
JUN 25, 2026
The intelligence alliance known as “Five Eyes” is warning that powerful new artificial intelligence models are rapidly becoming capable of devastating cyberattacks against governments and businesses. In a rare joint statement, intelligence officers from the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada warn that generative AI models could soon lower barriers for malicious hackers, while vastly increasing the speed and complexity of cyberattacks.
This comes after the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to limit access to its Fable and Mythos AI models after they proved highly adept at exploiting critical software vulnerabilities. According to a report in The Economist, an Anthropic AI agent was able to penetrate nearly all classified systems managed by the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command within hours.
Keiko Fujimori, Daughter of Peru’s Former Dictator, Poised to Win Razor-Thin Presidential Runoff
JUN 25, 2026
In Peru, Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former dictator Alberto Fujimori, appears poised to become Peru’s next president. The far-right Fujimori has a 43,000-vote lead over leftist lawmaker Roberto Sánchez. Election officials say only 40,000 ballots remain to be counted. On Tuesday, Sánchez said he would not recognize results of the presidential runoff, alleging that votes cast by Peruvians outside Peru were processed improperly. Sánchez received more votes than Fujimori inside Peru, but Fujimori won the election because she received 65% of the vote from Peruvians living outside the country. Sánchez spoke in Lima on Tuesday.
Roberto Sánchez: “A fraud is underway today before the National Elections Jury. We filed the annulment yesterday precisely to stop this illegality. If the National Elections Jury does not act in accordance with the law, in accordance with transparency, because the transparency we have requested for the vote recount, they do not want to consider it, what are they hiding?”
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30th Anniversary Event
Watch: Celebrating 30 Years of Independent Global News with Democracy Now!
Special guests Angela Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe and more came together to celebrate 30 years of Democracy Now! at a sold out Riverside Church event in NYC on March 23, 2026.