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What to know:

• The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes are among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X early Thursday that the United States is “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Venezuelan earthquakes, in photos
  
  
• WATCH: Devastation in Caracas
  
  
• Powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes off northern Japan
  
  
• WATCH: Rural area in Northern California jolted by its biggest quake since 1940

POLITICS

Senate Republicans reject war powers resolution after Trump berates them

Senate Republicans held the late-night vote Wednesday to try to appease the president, after he harangued them face to face earlier in the day for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday. Read more.

What to know:

• In the meeting, President Donald Trump exchanged particularly harsh words with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with Democrats on the measure. Cassidy later changed his position after he received a White House briefing on the war. 
  
  

• Trump also called off a scheduled signing ceremony on a bipartisan housing bill that GOP lawmakers were touting as an election-year achievement. Trump said he wouldn’t sign the legislation until they send him the SAVE America Act, his bill to require proof of citizenship for all voters. North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis said he doesn’t know why Trump is holding the housing bill “hostage” for the voting bill that “will never pass in this Congress.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• What Trump’s refusal to sign the housing bill means to homebuyers and renters

  
  
• Trump’s showdown with Republican Sen. Cassidy: Inside the blow-up on Capitol Hill
  
  
• Federal judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote
  
  
• Trump is frustrated gasoline prices don’t mirror oil’s decline. Experts say it’s not that simple
  
  
• White House seeks $87.6B from Congress for Iran war costs, US farmers and Ebola response
  
  
• FACT FOCUS: Netanyahu’s claims about Iran’s nuclear program run counter to public evidence
  
  
• New York sweep by Israel critics shines light on a fraught issue for Democrats
  
  
• Ex-chief of staff to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams charged with taking bribes 
  
  
• Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for all recruits as boot camp outbreak sickens nearly 300 
  
  
• Trump-endorsed de la Espriella declared winner of Colombia’s presidential runoff election 
  
  
• Court filing reveals President Trump spoke to Live Nation CEO before antitrust case was settled
  
  
• Michigan Senate candidate accuses Trump of keeping Canada-US bridge closed to help donor
  
  
• IRS did better than expected in tax season after slashing staff, except on the phone, watchdog says

POLITICS

Trump turns America 250 kickoff into a campaign-style rally

The president hosted a rally Wednesday night on Washington’s National Mall, including a series of booming flyovers by stealth bombers, music from military bands and Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the USA.” Read more.

Why this matters:

• The rally comes as midterms loom. The president has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters — causing his approval rating to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent AP-NORC polling. Trump said he’d restored the country to greatness, proclaiming, “Nobody's laughing at us anymore.”
  
  

• Trump’s appearance was only announced after several musicians — including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores — canceled their concerts because of concerns the event had become politicized.