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委内瑞拉连发7级以上强震 当局宣布进入紧急状态

2026年6月25日 11:16 / 联合早报

图为委内瑞拉北部拉瓜伊拉州一栋在地震中坍塌的建筑物。 （路透社）

委内瑞拉首都加拉加斯以西地区周三下午接连发生7级以上强烈地震。委内瑞拉代总统罗德里格斯随后宣布国家进入紧急状态，加拉加斯主要国际机场关闭，学校停课。

委内瑞拉内政部长卡韦略周三（6月24日）说，此次地震影响多个城市，加拉加斯东部多处建筑物倒塌。

委内瑞拉当局尚未公布官方的死伤人数统计，但加拉加斯附近的米兰达州查考市市长杜克在社媒发文说，市内有两处建筑物在地震中倒塌，目前已救出18名受困伤者，500多名救援人员正在展开搜救行动。

视频画面显示，夜幕降临后，救援人员在首都一处倒塌建筑物的废墟中攀爬搜救，焦急的亲属则在为据信被困的家人寻求援助。

美国地质调查局（USGS）说，委内瑞拉蒙塔尔万附近星期三下午先后时隔不到一分钟内发生7.2级和7.5级地震。USGS随后发布红色警报，预计地震将造成重大人员伤亡和经济损失。

日本岩手县近海7.2级地震致4人受伤

6月25日，神奈川县川崎市一电视屏幕上显示福岛第一核电站的实时画面，并附上警示信息，指青森县发生强烈震动，但无海啸风险。（法新社）

另一方面，日本岩手县附近海域周四发生的地震已造成至少四人受伤。

当地时间周四上午7时30分左右，岩手县附近海域发生强震。日本气象厅起初公布的震级为6.9级，后上调至7.2级。

Trump asks Congress for $1 billion to boost pensions of former GM parts company workers

June 24, 2026 9:07 PM UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

June 24, 2026 9:07 PM UTC Updated 16 mins ago

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with the press at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – The White House asked Congress on Wednesday for $1 billion to boost the pensions of workers at former General Motors auto parts unit Delphi that were cut during the Detroit automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy restructuring.

The White House is also seeking $1 billion to help reconstruct New York’s Penn Station and $500 million to support ongoing construction projects at Washington’s World War II memorial and the Tidal Basin as part of a supplemental funding request.

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The White House also wants Congress to let the Federal Aviation Administration reallocate any remaining funds in the $12.5 billion air traffic control modernization effort approved last year to any specific priority — rather than the air traffic spending plans set by Congress last year.

The Delphi cuts affected just over 20,000 salaried retirees, including about 5,000 in Ohio. Some experienced pension reductions of up to 70%, and lawmakers have been pushing for years to restore the cuts.

As part of the 2009 $50 billion government auto bailout of GM during the Obama administration, the automaker agreed to assume the liabilities from hourly Delphi employees, but the pensions of salaried workers were turned over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

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GM declined to comment.

Last month, the Transportation Department said it is providing another $200 million to begin construction by the end of next year on an $8 billion plan to rebuild Penn Station, a key transit artery.

U.S. passenger railroad company Amtrak said the plan includes expanding track capacity, building a grand entrance on Eighth Avenue to a new train hall and replacing aging walkways with open modern concourses. Penn Station is the busiest transit hub in the U.S., serving 10 million Amtrak passengers annually and 100 million total including regional train systems.

The announcement means New York will not opt to move Madison Square Garden, which sits on top of Penn Station and is home to the New York Knicks basketball team, the New York Rangers hockey team, various other sporting events, concerts and shows.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sonali Paul

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump White House asks Congress to approve year-round E15 gasoline sales

2026-06-24T20:54:19.924Z / Reuters

By Jarrett Renshaw

June 24, 2026 8:54 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

A sign advertising E15, a gasoline with 15 percent ethanol, is seen at a gas station in Clive, Iowa, United States, May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• The House narrowly approved year-round E15 sales earlier this year
• The measure faces long odds in the Senate, where major bills typically need 60 votes
• A White ​House-backed spending bill could provide a new path to passage

June 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s White House asked Congress on Wednesday to pass a law allowing year-round sales of gasoline containing higher volumes of ethanol, reviving a long-sought priority of the biofuels industry.

While Trump has long backed year-round sales ​of gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, the decision marks the first formal push ​by his White House to enact the policy and signals a willingness ⁠to challenge U.S. refiners that have opposed the measure over concerns it could raise costs ​and complicate fuel distribution.

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The effort also marks the White House’s latest attempt to curb gasoline ​prices that have risen since the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran in late FebruaryIran, with supporters arguing the higher-ethanol blend provides motorists with a cheaper alternative to conventional gasoline.

In a supplemental bill released on ​Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget asked Congress to address the “urgent ​and needed fix that codifies the permanent, year-round sale of E-15.”

Gasoline containing 10% ethanol can already be ‌sold ⁠year-round, but sales of the 15% blend, known as E15, have been restricted during the summer because the fuel evaporates more readily in hot weather and can contribute to smog.

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Legislation allowing year-round sales of E15 gasoline had narrowly cleared the House of Representatives earlier ​this year, handing a ​victory to ethanol producers ⁠and farm-state lawmakers who have pushed for the change for years.

But the proposal faces a steeper climb in the Senate, where ​major legislation generally requires 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles.

With ​the chamber closely ⁠divided and some lawmakers aligned with refining interests opposed to the measure, supporters have struggled to assemble the bipartisan coalition needed for passage.

As of Wednesday morning, the national average for a ⁠gallon of ​regular gasoline was $3.93, and has been falling since the ​United States and Iran agreed to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping artery ​for global oil and gas supply.

blob:https://www.reuters.com/adab1e6c-dd1d-498e-8d65-5e6a311c103a

Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gaffen

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump seeks additional $11 billion in farm aid

2026-06-24 21:52:16 UTC / Reuters

By Leah Douglas

June 24, 2026 9:52 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

Item 1 of 2 A farmer drives a tractor to till a field in Wiggins, Colorado, U.S., May 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt

[1/2]A farmer drives a tractor to till a field in Wiggins, Colorado, U.S., May 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked Congress to approve more than $11 billion in additional aid for farmers facing high fuel ​and fertilizer costs since the Iran war, according to a White ‌House supplemental funding request reviewed by Reuters.

The new funding would add to $12 billion in aid the administration has already disbursed to farmers this year, as the industry sags under high ​production costs and low crop prices, made worse by Trump’s current ​trade policies and the war with Iran.

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Farm and industry groups have ⁠said that money was key to helping farmers prepare for spring planting, but insufficient ​to make them whole.

Fuel and fertilizer prices have jumped this spring due to ​shipping disruptions from the Middle East, though flows have improved since Washington and Tehran hashed out an initial plan earlier this month to end the conflict.

Farmers are a loyal voting ​bloc for Trump, whose Republican Party will defend slim majorities in Congress in ​November’s midterms.

Trump’s approval rating among rural Americans fell in June to a new low of 50%, ‌down ⁠from 60% in February 2025, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

According to the funding request signed by Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, $10 billion of the new aid would be allocated to row and specialty crop ​farmers for crops ​planted in 2026.

The ⁠remaining $1.1 billion would be allocated to Florida farmers affected by winter storms in late 2025 and early 2026.

If the White ​House request is approved, the administration would be forecast ​to send ⁠about $55.4 billion in direct payments to farmers this year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

That would comprise roughly 33% of total farm income in 2026, the highest ⁠level ​in direct payments since 2001, according to Wesley ​Davis, a partner at Meridian Agribusiness Advisors, an agricultural economics consultancy.

Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; ​additional reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Sonali Paul

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Abelardo de la Espriella, right-wing millionaire backed by Trump, declared winner of Colombia’s presidential runoff election

2026-06-24 19:10:09 EDT / CBS/AP

Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire political neophyte, will be Colombia’s next president after electoral authorities on Wednesday declared him the winner of Sunday’s runoff election.

The businessman and lawyer, whose ventures include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, earned President Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for office. He defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point, or more than 251,000 votes.

The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups.

Studies have found that Petro’s attempted peace negotiation policies have resulted in the expansion of power and membership of armed criminal groups. Cepeda has participated in and continued throughout the campaign to promote negotiations with guerrillas and cartels.

The issue has been particularly salient for low-income families living near fields of coca, the shrub used to make cocaine, as human rights organizations documented more than 50 massacres in Colombia just this year.

Abelardo de la Espriella during the presidential elections in Barranquilla, Colombia, on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Cristian Acosta/Anadolu via Getty Images

Electoral authorities published all but a fraction of the vote count hours after polls closed Sunday. Petro and Cepeda did not accept those results, with the latter saying he would wait for a recount to do so. Authorities finished the recount before declaring de la Espriella’s victory.

De la Espriella’s victory adds Colombia to a growing list of countries that have turned to political outsiders in search of solutions to complex social, security and economic challenges.

Similar to Mr. Trump, de la Espriella was seen as a combative political outsider. He got into multiple clashes many considered disrespectful, especially with women journalists, during the campaign. He was also known for using pyrotechnics during his campaign events

Abelardo de la Espriella during an election night rally in Barranquilla, Colombia, on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Carlos Parra Rios / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The self-proclaimed representative of “the never-before-seen” promised voters fearful of renewed internal conflict to take a heavy-handed approach to combating violent crime with strategies borrowed from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s playbook, including building mega-prisons. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.

De la Espriella during the campaign proposed building 10 maximum-security megaprisons inspired by El Salvador’s CECOT model. De la Espriella has envisioned prisoners being held “ten stories underground,” surviving on “bread and water.” He has also echoed Bukele’s justification for limiting due process, claiming the left cares more about the rights of criminals than their victims. He has also promised to resume the halted aerial fumigation of coca fields with glyphosate and to take down small aircraft and sink boats carrying drugs.

Earlier Wednesday, Cepeda conceded Colombia’s presidential election to de la Espriella and accepted a Senate seat reserved for the runner-up in the presidential election.

“We assume with serenity, responsibility and absolute resolve — and let there be no doubt about it — the role that circumstances demand of us,” Cepeda said in an address to the nation. “We will exercise a democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.”

De la Espriella, 47, will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.

In a statement on Wednesday, his campaign said the president-elect’s “purpose is to work for national unity, with the people and for the people.” The campaign also stated his government will be committed to guaranteeing “the right to political opposition and peaceful protest, within the framework of the Constitution, the law and respect for democratic institutions.”

A day earlier, de la Espriella announced he was putting together his Cabinet. He also said he plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition of countries purportedly aimed at cracking down on criminal groups in Latin America.

Historically, Colombia has been the United States’ top ally in counternarcotics and one of its most important trade partners in the Western Hemisphere. But U.S.-Colombia relations deteriorated sharply under Petro. In 2025, Mr. Trump formally determined that Colombia had”failed demonstrably”in its counternarcotics commitments and threatened military strikes on the country’s land.

The State Department withdrew Petro’s visa to the U.S. and the Treasury sanctioned him personally. Tensions between Mr. Trump and Petro cooled somewhat after the two met at the White House in February, during which Mr. Trump described his Colombian counterpart as “terrific.”

Still, Mr. Trump gave de la Espriella his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” and warned that “The results of this Election are very important to the future of Colombia and its relationship to the United States,” leading Petro to accuse the president of interfering with his country’s election.

Petro told CBS News earlier this month the disagreements between his government and the White House were “because we are progressives, because we are on the left, and because we disagree on issues like Gaza.”

More than 26 million people voted in the polarizing runoff, setting a historic record. Of those, over 426,000 people chose a third, no-name option on the ballot that allows voters to express dislike of both candidates. About 29,000 people cast blank ballots.

contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-backed-populist-wins-close-colombia-presidential-runoff-election/

Mamdani’s sweep in New York a ‘political earthquake’ among Democrats

2026-06-24T23:26:42.408Z / reuters.com

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani scored a massive political victory on Tuesday when his trio of insurgent congressional candidates toppled two incumbents and ​the establishment favorite in an open seat, results some described as “a political earthquake” for Democrats.

All three of Mamdani’s candidates have ties to the Democratic Socialists of America ‌and favor issues such as universal health insurance and ending U.S. support to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. On Wednesday, many Democratic members of Congress doubted the tremors would extend beyond the biggest U.S. city in an era when President Donald Trump has labeled even some mainstream Democratic officials as “radical left lunatics.”

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“The American people in New York and increasingly all over the country are sick and tired of status quo establishment ​politics,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent and democratic socialist who ran for president in 2016. “They want members of Congress having the guts to stand ​up to big money and create a government that works for them and not just a few.”

Mamdani endorsed activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, former ⁠New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and state Assembly Member Claire Valdez. Avila Chevalier ousted Representative Adriano Espaillat, and Lander beat Representative Dan Goldman.

Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio ​Reynoso, who was endorsed by retiring Representative Nydia Velazquez.

The results built on Mamdani’s surprise victory over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in last year’s mayoral race. They dealt a blow ​to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the political establishment.

Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive political group Our Revolution, said the results show candidates are not doomed to lose if they refuse donations from corporations and the pro-Israel lobby and support policies such as Medicare for All.

“This is not an accident, and it is not isolated to New York,” he said. “The same energy that elected Zohran Mamdani as ​mayor just elected an entire slate behind him.”

American Priorities, a super PAC created to counter pro-Israel groups, said the results reflect a foreign policy shift among the Democratic base of voters.

“Candidates ​with a principled and clear position on Israel and Palestine reflect the prevailing views of Democratic voters,” the group wrote in a Wednesday memo. “It’s now the establishment and party leaders that are out ‌of step.”

ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT ⁠ENERGY

Progressives have prevailed in Democratic primaries across the country, including the Washington, D.C., mayoral race; congressional races in safe Democratic seats in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; and in battleground House districts from Maine to California.

But House Democratic leaders highlighted Tuesday’s win by moderate candidate Cait Conley in New York as one of the night’s most significant victories.

Conley, a combat veteran and national security expert, will face Republican Representative Mike Lawler in November. Lawler represents one of just three Republican-held seats in districts Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris won in 2024, making it a top ​Democratic target.

Representative Chuy Garcia, a retiring progressive Democrat from ​Illinois, expressed optimism that Avila Chevalier, Lander ⁠and Valdez would be pragmatic members of the caucus once they come to Washington.

“Once you arrive here, you realize that in order to move an idea forward, a proposal, you need at least 218 votes, and getting there is no easy feat,” he said. “It requires ​relationships. It requires knowledge. It requires working with a variety of political forces in your own caucus.”

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut ​called Mamdani’s sweep “a New ⁠York story more than anything else” but said voters were “clearly telling us they want us to be bolder” in policy proposals and political tactics.

“I don’t want to bend over backwards to extrapolate too much based on one state’s elections,” Murphy said. “I’m not sure those results would reproduce themselves in every other state, but yeah, you’d be silly not to read something into yesterday’s results.”

Senator ⁠John Fetterman of ​Pennsylvania, a Democrat, was less welcoming. He called Tuesday “a banner night for the dirtbag left in New York.”

Senator ​Jacky Rosen, a moderate in Nevada, also cautioned against drawing nationwide conclusions from a few local races in a single state.

“Every district, every state … has a different flavor, a different reason for what’s going on,” she told Reuters. “So you’re going ​to have to look at multiple elections, and they’re way different in Nevada than they are in New York City.”

Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Editing by Michael Learmonth and David Gregorio

World court judges sue Trump administration over sanctions

2026-06-24 20:34:00 UTC / Reuters

By Daphne Psaledakis

June 24, 2026 8:34 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

An exterior of The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, September 22, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

• Summary

• Three ICC judges filed lawsuit on Wednesday
• Lawsuit argues sanctions were unlawful
• Trump administration’s dislike of ICC goes back to his first term

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – Three International Criminal Court judges on Wednesday sued U.S. President Donald Trump and ​his administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful.

In the lawsuit ‌filed in the federal court in Manhattan, judges Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Benin said the sanctions were designed to exert extrajudicial pressure with the objective of punishing and coercing the judges.

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The State and Treasury ​departments and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on several ​judges at the International Criminal Court last year in an unprecedented retaliation over the war ⁠tribunal’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case ​into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Sanctions severely hamper individuals’ abilities to carry out even routine financial ​transactions as any banks with ties to the United States, or that conduct transactions in dollars, are expected to have to comply with the restrictions.

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The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member ​states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council.

Although the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, ​crimes against humanity, and genocide in its 125 member countries, some nations, including the U.S., China, Russia, and Israel, do not recognize ‌its authority.

The ⁠Trump administration’s dislike of the court goes back to Trump’s first term. In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the court’s work on Afghanistan.

JUDGES CHALLENGE LEGAL BASIS

The lawsuit argues that the sanctions were against the law as they exceeded the scope of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and were ​not based on a genuine ​national emergency or extraordinary ⁠threat.

blob:https://www.reuters.com/04b0142e-1187-4b8f-9cf0-b4ce24cb5c51

“The Sanctions Regime … is designed to exert extra-judicial pressure on these judges and their colleagues on the ICC bench by targeting their financial and other personal interests, with the ​objective of punishing them for prior judicial decisions and coercing them into prioritizing their ​private interests over ⁠deciding cases on the basis of the law and facts,” the lawsuit said.

“Being subjected to such sanctions under IEEPA is tantamount to the financial death penalty. Due to the sanctions, Judges Prost, Bossa, and Alapini-Gansou are no longer able, among other ⁠things, to ​use credit cards; access banking services; use common online platforms, such as ​Amazon and Google; book travel; and in some cases, obtain health insurance,” it said.

The judges also said that the sanctions bar the submission of ​evidence and argument in any pending or future proceeding before them.

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Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis

US Air Force requested to bring back mandatory flu shots weeks before basic training outbreak

2026-06-24T23:00:14.386Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/24/politics/flu-shot-outbreak-air-force

A worsening flu outbreak among recruits attending basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, began earlier this month while an Air Force request to reinstate a mandatory flu shot requirement axed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wound its way through the Pentagon bureaucracy, according to a defense official and a source familiar with the situation.

The outbreak “is getting worse” and has sickened at least 275 recruits since it began, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, whose district includes Lackland, told CNN. The Air Force confirmed that a recruit there died in a military hospital on June 16 after experiencing a “medical emergency” a few days before, but it’s unclear whether his death is linked to the flu outbreak.

Around 60% of previously unvaccinated trainees at Lackland initially declined the flu shot during the vaccine requirement’s lapse, according to the defense official. The option to decline the vaccine was opened to recruits after an April order from Hegseth instructing Pentagon leadership to eliminate the flu shot requirement.

Hegseth’s order allowed for military services to request exemptions, but it was put into effect before those exemptions could be processed.

The vaccine mandate for Air Force recruits was restored on June 11, and within weeks, unvaccinated trainees at Lackland received the flu shot, according to the defense official and source.

But by that point the outbreak at Lackland had already gained steam.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, said in a statement that the Defense Department had “granted exceptions to policy” enabling mandatory vaccines for specific populations across the military.

“The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations,” Parnell said.

When Hegseth announced via social media video in April that the flu vaccine was no longer mandatory for US troops, he said the military’s all-encompassing mandate was “overly broad and not rational.”

Hegseth’s April 20 memo implementing the change immediately made the flu shot optional for all US troops, regardless of situation or mission. The memo had instructions for how the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Marine Corps could submit packages to reinstate the vaccine requirement for certain at-risk populations.

The military branches each rushed to submit exception requests – including one for recruits at boot camp – after the Pentagon chief’s announcement, the official and source said. The Air Force submitted its exception request for basic training attendees on May 5.

But the exception requests took more than a month to get through the military bureaucracy, first clearing the office of Hegseth’s top health advisor, Keith Bass, before going to the office of Anthony Tata, the controversial retired one-star general now serving as the Pentagon’s undersecretary overseeing personnel & readiness.

Tata approved the Air Force’s request to reinstate the flu shot at basic training on June 11, according to the official and source. But by then, the outbreak among trainees at Lackland was underway – base officials did not learn until June 18 that the shots were again mandatory, according to an Air Force official.

Hegseth’s “effective immediately” method of rescinding the vaccine requirement resulted in a lapse for shots for some troops, physician and former Pentagon health official Terry Adirim argued. Adirim served as a top official in the Defense Department’s health affairs office during President Donald Trump’s first administration before returning during the Biden administration as the office’s acting chief.

“There can be a real disruption of national security if the medical experts cannot give the best advice to protect the force, and this is an example” said Adirim.

Adirim said that such coordination and policy assessments typically occur before the department implements sweeping changes to health policy. She said that coordination, which typically involves weeks of back and forth between the Pentagon and the military services, would enable medical experts to provide crucial input to ensure the policy was safe from the moment it was issued.

In the case of the flu shots, though, those weeks of bureaucratic coordination to process policy exception requests didn’t begin until Hegseth had already rolled back the requirement.

Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nQ0Als06mM

‘Rogue’ Obama judge’s smackdown of Trump election rules provokes ominous warning from White House deputy

June 24, 2026 5:53pm EDT / Fox News

Judge Denise Casper ruled the president has no direct constitutional authority over the election process

By Elaine Mallon

President Donald Trump arrived on Capitol Hill to meet with GOP senators, criticizing the rise of socialist candidates within the Democratic Party. Trump directly labeled some as “communists” and discussed the importance of passing the Save America Act. The meeting also addressed ongoing concerns about the Iran nuclear deal and its impact on the nation.

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An Obama-appointed federal judge on Tuesday struck down key parts of President Donald Trump’s election integrity executive order, prompting a stark warning from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller about the judiciary’s course.

U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper ruled that major sections of Trump’s March 25, 2025, executive order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” exceeded presidential authority and violated the Constitution’s separation of powers. Casper found that the order went beyond enforcing existing law and instead attempted to create or change election rules on its own.

“While the Constitution vests the President with ‘executive Power’ and commands him to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’… it does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” Casper wrote in the ruling. “As a result, the President ‘plays no direct role in the process’ of appointing electors, ‘nor does he have authority to control the state officials who do.’”

In response, Miller posted on social media that he hoped Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts “understands the path these rogue judges have charted for the judiciary.”

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN PARTS OF TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION

Former President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson held a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 12, 2024, to discuss election integrity.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The chief justice serves as the institutional head of the federal judiciary, and while he does not exercise direct authority over lower-court judges, Miller’s reference to Roberts echoed broader conservative criticism that the Supreme Court has not moved aggressively enough to curb lower-court rulings blocking Trump administration policies.

Casper previously issued a preliminary injunction blocking key provisions of the order while the lawsuit played out in court. After more than a year of litigation, the judge on Tuesday largely sided with the plaintiff states.

The lawsuit was brought by 19 states challenging the order and was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case, hailed the ruling as a victory for the states.

“We sued President Trump over his attempt to unilaterally impose voting restrictions across the country — and we won,” Bonta said. “Today, a federal district court ruled that every provision we challenged in the Executive Order is unlawful and reaffirmed that the power to regulate elections is reserved to the States and Congress.”

Casper’s ruling permanently blocks the administration from implementing provisions that would have required documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form, altered voting requirements for military and overseas voters, and threatened to withhold federal election-related funding from states that refused to adopt certain election rules, including not counting ballots received after Election Day.

Casper declared that sections of the order were “unconstitutional and void because they are ultra vires and violate the separation of powers under the United States Constitution.”

In addition to finding that the executive order violated the Constitution, Casper also concluded that key provisions of Trump’s order conflicted with federal statutes, including the National Voter Registration Act and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

WITHIN MINUTES OF TRUMP SIGNING VOTER DATABASE ORDER, DEM STATES THREATEN LAWSUITS

A ballot box sits outside Contra Costa County’s elections office in Martinez, Calif., on May 27, 2026. June 2 is the last day to vote in person or return a ballot before California’s statewide primary election.(Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)

Trump signed the order on March 25, 2025, arguing that stronger safeguards were necessary to ensure election integrity and public confidence in federal elections, alleging that state officials have failed to comply with court rulings and federal law.

The White House at the time described the directive as an effort to restore trust in elections and strengthen voter citizenship verification.

“Under the Constitution, State governments must safeguard American elections in compliance with Federal laws that protect Americans’ voting rights and guard against dilution by illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error,” the executive order stated. “Yet the United States has not adequately enforced Federal election requirements that, for example, prohibit States from counting ballots received after Election Day or prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote.”

Casper is the second judge to rule against Trump’s executive order.

GOP GOVERNORS, AGS BACK TRUMP SAVE ACT PUSH, WARN SYSTEM GIVES ‘UNDUE INFLUENCE’ TO STATES WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS

Voting signs stand outside Friendship Baptist Church, a polling location in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Georgia midterm primary election on May 19, 2026.

In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked portions of the order that directed federal officials to add proof-of-citizenship requirements to federal voter registration forms, concluding that the Constitution gives Congress and the states the authority to regulate federal elections — not the president. Casper’s ruling went further, striking down multiple additional provisions related to ballot deadlines, military and overseas voters, and federal funding.

Casper’s ruling comes as Republican lawmakers continue pushing the SAVE Act, legislation that would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The House passed a version of the measure earlier this year, but the proposal faces an uncertain path in the Senate.

Trump has continued to push for the SAVE Act, elevating it as a key priority and arguing that Senate Republicans should be willing to eliminate the filibuster to ensure the legislation reaches his desk.

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The only issue left concerns whether the federal government can attach conditions to election-related funding for certain states. The judge gave the parties until July 10 to decide whether to continue litigating that claim.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Venezuela, triggers tsunami advisory for Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

June 24, 2026 / 7:20 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A preliminary 7.1 magnitude earthquake was reported Wednesday evening in northwest Venezuela, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake was centered 17.6 miles southeast of the Venezuelan town of Montalbán, the USGS said, and struck at a depth of 8.2 miles.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Venezuela on June 24, 2026. U.S. Geological Survey

It triggered tsunami advisories in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, per the National Weather Service’s U.S. Tsunami Warning System.

“Based on all available data, there is a tsunami threat to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents that could be a hazard along coasts, beaches, in harbors and in coastal waters,” the weather service said.

Venezuela’s state-run television channel, Venezolana de Televisión, reported that the earthquake was felt across the country, including in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital and its largest city.

People evacuated swaying buildings in Caracas and remained outside, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls that had collapsed, making furniture visible from the street. Dust columns could also be seen in two neighborhoods of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are typically busy.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the quake could be felt in several states, adding that the Altamira neighborhood in Caracas had “alarming situations” with collapsed homes and buildings. He urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.

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Venezuela’s western neighbor, Colombia, said in a social media post that the earthquake had not sparked a tsunami threat to its Caribbean coastline.

The possible extent of the damage and the injury toll of the earthquake was still unclear.

This is a developing story and will be updated.