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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
VENEZUELA QUAKE – TOLL AND RESCUE
A 4.6 magnitude aftershock struck the northern state of La Guaira yesterday, after the Venezuelan government said there had been more than 600 aftershocks since Wednesday’s quakes. Leader of the National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez said there were no reports of damage, but the shock sent residents in the capital of Caracas screaming into the streets. Juan Pablo Arraez and Isabel Debre report for AP News.
The death toll from last week’s quakes has risen to 1,719 people, with more than 5,000 injured and 15,800 displaced, the Venezuelan government said yesterday. The official numbers are probably a vast undercount. Doctors have said that in La Guaira officials have been processing about 750 bodies each day. The United Nations has procured 10,000 body bags because many collapsed buildings have yet to be fully excavated, the U.N. coordinator in Venezuela, Gianluca Rampolla, told reporters. While Rodríguez said the number of damaged or collapsed buildings had reached 855, a preliminary assessment by NASA put that number at 58,870 buildings. Isayen Herrera, Fabiola Ferrero, Luis Ferre-Sadurni, and Leo Sands report for the New York Times; Juan Pablo Arraez and Isabel Debre report for AP News.
VENEZUELA QUAKE – RELIEF POLITICS
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said yesterday that she is “willing to do whatever it takes” to enter Venezuela to help with the country’s recovery efforts. In a brief statement, the U.S. State Department told Reuters yesterday evening that it is “solely focused on continuing to advance our efforts in response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela” and did not refer to Machado’s reported requests for Washington to facilitate her return. Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR – U.S.-IRAN TALKS
President Trump said on social media yesterday that U.S. and Iranian officials would hold talks in Qatar on Tuesday, at Tehran’s request. The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would fly to Doha this week for the sessions. A U.S. official said that following the weekend’s strikes, both sides will cease hostilities as “technical talks are slated to continue in all areas of the [memorandum of understanding].” Shirin Hakim and Hari Raj report for the New York Times; Cheyanne M. Daniels reports for POLITICO.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi yesterday confirmed that an Iranian delegation would be in Doha, but denied that they would meet directly with U.S. officials. Gharibabadi said the Iranians would meet with Qatari mediators instead. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the arrival of the Iranian delegation in Doha had “no relation” to the Americans’ visit and no talks between the two sides were scheduled. Shirin Hakim and Hari Raj report for the New York Times; Andrew Mills, Parisa Hafezi, and Bo Erickson report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – STRAIT OF HORMUZ
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday said he was working with Oman to de-escalate tensions and would cooperate with partners to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz. Gharibabadi responded with a post on social media, stating that the removal of mines was to be carried out solely by Iran according to the 14-point MOU. He warned France against complicating the situation. Andrew Mills, Parisa Hafezi, and Bo Erickson report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. lawmakers yesterday questioned Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the first broad congressional briefings on Trump’s Iran deal. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) raised concerns about Witkoff’s business interests in the Middle East as he’s negotiating with Iran, prompting a sharp defense from Rubio, two sources said. Two other sources said that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) went back and forth with Rubio and Witkoff over the lifting of the oil sanctions on Iran, adding that the officials eventually cut off the conversation and ended the call. An administration official said the call was cut off due to technical difficulties. Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill, and Riley Rogerson report for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli airstrikes in southern and central Gaza yesterday killed at least eight people, including two children, and wounded at least 20 others, according to health officials and emergency services. Wafaa Shurafa and Sam Metz report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Moscow came under a major drone attack overnight, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who added that Russian air defenses had shot down more than 60 drones and that emergency services were working at crash sites. Sobyanin did not say where the drones had come from, and there was no comment from the Ukrainian authorities at the time of writing. John Yoon reports for the New York Times.
Russian missiles and drones yesterday killed at least 12 civilians and injured 40 others, according to Ukrainian authorities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his plea for Europe to step up its development of air defenses to block Russia’s ballistic missiles, saying “people need greater protection from such horrific attacks.” Hanna Arhirova and Barry Hatton report for AP News.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
The U.N Human Rights Council received a request from countries including Britain and Germany for an urgent debate on the situation in Sudan’s al-Obeid, a council spokesperson said today. The spokesperson said the debate will likely take place on Friday. The request follows reports that the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary and allies are massing forces around the city. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Israeli troops on Sunday entered the southern Syrian town of Abdin, where residents blocked roads and threw stones in protest, prompting warning shots and artillery fire that caused most villagers to flee, though no injuries were reported. One resident said Israeli soldiers come into the village every few days in 4×4 armored vehicles, roam around the village, and search houses. Omar Sanadiki and Ghaith Alsayed report for AP News.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has banned public gatherings in four provinces, including the capital, Kinshasa, citing proximity to areas affected by the recent Ebola outbreak. The ban comes ahead of a planned protest in Kinshasa on July 8 against constitutional reform, with opposition figures calling it “politically motivated.” Reuters reports.
Gunmen yesterday attacked and kidnapped students taking exams in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, according to police spokesperson Nahum Daso. “For now, we don’t have the number of how many students were abducted. We have about 10 victims who have been rescued,” Daso said. Amnesty International Nigeria said two teachers and a student were killed in the attack. No group had claimed responsibility at the time of writing. Dyepkazah Shibayan report for AP News.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić yesterday announced that general elections will be held in the next three to four months, and reiterated that he will resign the presidential post ahead of the vote. At a rally on Saturday, Vučić told the crowd that it was likely the last time he would address them as president and said he would step down within weeks. The move is widely seen as a political maneuver that would allow Vučić to become prime minister, though he has yet to confirm whether he is seeking this position. AP News reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
“We evaluate the period [that NATO is] going through not as a crisis, but as a process of adjusting to the changing security environment,” Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guter told Reuters ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara next week, adding that the United States has no intention of withdrawing from NATO. Tuvan Gumrukcu reports.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has struck a deal with Anthropic to expand the use of Claude products across California’s government at a discounted cost. The agreement would make Claude the first artificial intelligence tool available to all state agencies and local governments. Newsom’s administration says the new Anthropic deal was not intended as a rebuke or response to Washington. Christine Mui reports for POLITICO.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Defense Department is planning to begin involuntarily activating military lawyers to serve as immigration judges and to represent the government in cases involving detained migrant children, according to recent recruitment emails. Reserve lawyers in the Marine Corps received a June 26 email seeking an immigration judge to serve a six-month stint “in your hometown” starting in September. “These have not previously been offered as involuntary orders,” but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “has authorized involuntarily activating someone” if they don’t receive a volunteer for the role, the email said. Celine Castronuovo and Ben Penn report for Bloomberg Law.
Advocacy groups have filed a complaint against Ghana before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States on behalf of 27 people deported from the United States to Ghana, according to a statement released today. The complaint said the deportees told authorities they had been granted protections in the United States, but most of them were removed within hours or days of their arrival in Ghana to the countries they had escaped. Reuters reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department is investigating Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) for suspected campaign finance violations, Axios has learned. The DOJ probe comes after the Senate Ethics Committee closed its inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations. The committee found no evidence that Gallego violated Senate rules or applicable law, according to a letter released by his office yesterday. Marc Caputo and Kate Santaliz report; Kate Santaliz reports for Axios.
Guo Wengui (also known as Miles Kwok), a former Chinese billionaire and outspoken anti-Communist activist with ties to prominent figures in Trump’s orbit, was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison for defrauding investors. The judge said he exploited followers who believed in his pro-democracy cause and ruled that the seized assets will be sold to help compensate victims. Michael Forsythe reports for the New York Times.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday that he plans to send the annual defense policy bill and the SAVE America Act to the Senate in a single package. The strategy faces resistance from both House hard-liners and the Senate and could jeopardize passage of the normally bipartisan defense bill. Meredith Lee Hill reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump yesterday cast doubt on whether he would sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill, calling it a “big yawn” as he pressed Congress to first pass the SAVE America Act. Jacob Bogage and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is demanding that U.S. intelligence officials turn over the names of all foreign espionage targets, including suspected spies and potential recruits, to create a master list that some officials feel will be misused or compromise operations, sources said. Senior counterintelligence officials at the FBI and CIA have so far resisted the demands. Devlin Barrett, William K. Rashbaum, and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a Mississippi state law allowing mail ballots to be received up to five days after Election Day, delivering another setback to Trump’s wide-reaching campaign to change election laws. In its 5-4 opinion, the Court said, “As Alexander Hamilton put it, the Constitution lodges power over congressional elections in state legislatures “primarily” and in Congress “ultimately.” Emily Davies and Nick Corasaniti report for the New York Times.
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled 6-3 that Trump could lawfully fire Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democratic commissioner of the FTC, despite federal protections limiting removals to cases of misconduct, significantly expanding presidential authority. The decision has implications for more than two dozen agencies that have traditionally been insulated from presidential control. Ann E. Marimow reports for the New York Times.
In a separate 5-4 ruling, however, the Court held that the Federal Reserve’s unique independence meant Trump could not immediately remove Governor Lisa D. Cook, requiring that she first be given due process to respond to the allegations against her. Ann E. Marimow reports for the New York Times; Josh Gerstein and Victoria Guida report for POLITICO.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that police generally must obtain a warrant to gather detailed location data tracked by smartphones. The majority found that a request by police officers for Google to overturn a robbery suspect’s location constituted a search protected by the Constitution’s guarantee to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Julian Mark and Gerrit De Vynck report for the Washington Post.
The Supreme Court also yesterday declined to hear Trump’s appeal to overturn a jury’s $5 million finding that he sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll. Lindsay Whitehurst reports for AP News.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security
Will States Address Disability Invisibility in the Crimes Against Humanity Convention?
By Janet Lord, Kate McInnes, Gerard Quinn, Jillian Rafferty, Matthew “Hezzy” Smith, Michael Ashley Stein, and Sigurjón Sveinsson
Where Did All These Passports Come From? Russia’s Manipulation of Citizenship as Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine
By Ryan O’Neale
Combat Experience as a Strategic Resource: Lessons of the Red Army Purges
By Michael Schmitt
