Twin earthquakes devastate Venezuela; GOP senators reverse course after Trump clash

Two major earthquakes hit Venezuela just 39 seconds apart

Now crews are racing to find survivors as the full scope of the damage comes into focus

Plus, a closed-door GOP meeting turns heated on Capitol Hill. Why President Trump and Senator Bill Cassidy ended up in a shouting match over Iran

And the White House wants to keep a lower-cost gasoline at the pumps year-round

Now Congress holds the keys to that plan. The stories that matter, clear and credible from across the country to around the world

These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow. Hi, everyone. I'm Simone del Rosario. And today for Craig Negrelli, we begin this morning in

Venezuela, where two major earthquakes struck just 39 seconds apart, leaving a trail of destruction

across the country. Venezuela's acting president declared a state of emergency after a 7.5

magnitude earthquake hit less than a minute after one measuring 7.2. Officials say at least 164

people are dead and more than 900 others are injured. That death toll could still rise as

search crews continue digging through the collapsed buildings. The coastal state of La Guayra appears

to be the hardest hit. Dozens of buildings have collapsed. The main international airport remains

closed after part of its roof caved in and metro and rail services are suspended. The earthquake

struck just hours before President Trump took the stage at a rally on the National Mall

During his speech, Trump referenced Venezuela while discussing the U.S. capture of former

President Nicolas Maduro, but he didn't mention the earthquakes. In one hour, Venezuela was finished

In a flawless and breathtaking operation earlier this year, America's armed forces captured the

dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and brought him back to face American justice

One of the great military raids in history, if you remember. After the rally, Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States

stands ready to help, saying he has directed federal agencies to, quote

get ready to move quickly Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveling in Bahrain later said the U is deploying search and rescue teams medical resources and humanitarian aid

President Trump went to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, hoping to rally Republicans around his agenda

Instead, he ended up in a heated exchange with one of his party senators

Trump spent more than an hour behind closed doors with Senate Republicans, and by several accounts, it got testy. The biggest flashpoint came when Trump questioned

why four Republicans joined Democrats in backing a war powers resolution, directing him to pull troops from hostilities against Iran

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, one of those four Republicans, pushed back, saying lawmakers still haven't received a full briefing on the war or its objectives

According to people in the room, the exchange quickly escalated with both men raising their

voices. Cassidy later told reporters he makes no apologies for standing up to the president

saying, quote, he didn't particularly care for my comments, raised his voice. I lost my temper

It's the Irish in me. But again, I matched his tone and his volume and it went back and forth

Now, tensions have been growing between Trump and some Senate Republicans over Iran

the SAVE Act and Trump's decision to put a bipartisan housing bill on hold

until Congress acts on his election reform priorities. Despite the fireworks, Trump emerged from the meeting calling it a success

I think we had a really great meeting and we're very proud of the party. We like our leader. We

like everybody really in the room. I don't like a few people, but that's okay. I think you know

who they are. But we, I'll give you, I'll give you that information someday. But for the most part

we have a really well-unified party. Trump also used the meeting to press Republicans to pass

the SAVE Act, a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Even as GOP leaders continue

to say it doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate. Well, just hours after that tense meeting with Senate Republicans, a separate War Powers

vote went Trump's way. In a late night vote, Senate Republicans blocked another resolution that would have required

Trump to get congressional approval before taking more military action against Iran

The reversal came less than a day after four Republicans joined Democrats in backing a very similar measure This time only Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted with Democrats

Trump quickly celebrated the result on Truth Social, singling out Senator Bill Cassidy

for changing his vote and saying the decision put Iran on notice

Cassidy says he only switched positions after a reassuring meeting with Vice President J.D

Vance and Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff. Senator Rand Paul, who also changed his vote

to present, said his decision followed Wednesday's lunch with the president. The vote does not change the House War Powers Resolution the Senate approved on Tuesday

which remains in place, though largely symbolic. The Trump administration lost another court fight

over its effort to get detailed voter information from states across the country

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Michigan does not have to hand over sensitive

voter information to the Justice Department. The administration has been seeking unredacted

voter files from dozens of states, including birth dates, driver's license numbers, and partial

social security numbers. But in a two-to-one decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

said the 1960 civil rights law cited by the Justice Department does not give it the authority

to demand the records. Writing for the majority, Judge Andre Mathis said, quote

back then, the government used this power to ensure that everyone who had the right to vote

could freely exercise that right. But today, the government invokes Title III for an inverse

purpose, to ensure that some people have not voted. Now, this is the first appeals court to

weigh in on the issue. The Justice Department says data is needed to verify voter eligibility

Michigan and other states argue turning it over would compromise voter privacy

The White House is pushing to make a popular ethanol blended fuel available year-round

The Trump administration has formally asked Congress to allow E15 gasoline to be sold nationwide 365 days a year

They included the request in a supplemental package sent to lawmakers late Wednesday

As you can probably tell by the name, the fuel blend contains 15 percent ethanol

It's currently only available during part of the year under temporary EPA waivers

Under current EPA rules E15 is generally restricted during the summer because it evaporates quicker in hot weather which can contribute to smog Supporters say E15 often sells for about 25 cents less per

gallon than regular gasoline, giving drivers a cheaper option at the pump. Smaller refiners

have long opposed the change, saying it could raise costs and complicate fuel distribution

The proposal now goes to Congress, where its path forward in the Senate remains uncertain

If you think cotton candy and giant planets don't belong in the same sentence

NASA has some news for you. Data from NASA's test mission revealed two giant planets that are nearly the size of Jupiter

but so light for their size that their average density is comparable to cotton candy

They orbit a sun-like star about 1,100 light years from Earth and have been nicknamed

super-puff planets. Don't let the name fool you. They aren't soft or sweet

They're still gas giants. Their material is just spread over such a huge area that they're incredibly light for their size

Scientists say only a handful of super-puff planets have ever been found

and discovering two in the same solar system makes this find even more unusual

Researchers hope the discovery helps answer a long-standing question about how some of the biggest planets in the universe end up so fluffy

All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today. First, we get a fresh read on the economy with a May consumer spending report and the Fed's preferred inflation measure

Also this morning, we'll be watching the Supreme Court, where we're expecting rulings in major cases still

including challenges to birthright citizenship, voting rights, and Trump's firing of federal officials

Also on Capitol Hill, Homeland Security officials face lawmakers during an oversight hearing on the department's operations and priorities

before Vice President J.D. Vance delivers remarks at the Nixon Presidential Library in California at one o'clock

Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes of news. Watch us anytime at san.com or on our app

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Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Thursday. We're going to see you right back here tomorrow

For all of us here at Straight Arrow News, I'm Simone Del Rosario. Have a great day. Thank you