2 Powerful Earthquakes Rock Venezuela; Trump Touts Drop in Oil Prices, Demands Lower Gas Prices | NTD Good Morning (June 25)

Powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday night, collapsing buildings and killing at least 164. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes rattled much of the region, with tremors felt as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, a thousand miles away from Caracas. President Delcy Rodríguez urged the population to remain calm and asked health care professionals to report to hospitals to assist the injured.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he has instructed the Department of Justice to immediately probe oil companies for not lowering gas prices in line with the falling costs, accusing them of price “gouging.” The falling price of gas follows an agreement between the United States and Iran to continue the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is asking Congress for a supplemental funding package meant to help fund military operations, humanitarian needs, and support U.S. farmers. The $88 billion package is likely to be a party-line package and would be in addition to the annual defense appropriations that Congress is working on right now. The largest part of the package is $67 billion for the Department of War for expenses related to the operations in Iran.