Earthquakes Rock Japan, Venezuela And U.S. On Same DayA series of earthquakes, including two major ones, rocked Japan, Venezuela and the U.S. on Wednesday. Two major, back-to-back earthquakes hit central Venezuela Wednesday evening. The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.1, happened less than a minute before a second earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5, leading to building collapses in the country's capital of Caracas.A brief tsunami advisory was issued for the coastal areas of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone died as a result of the two earthquakes, but due to their size, the U.S. Geological Survey predicted they would bring high casualties. A 6.9-magnitude earthquake also struck the North Pacific Ocean on Wednesday evening, about 22 miles northeast of Kuji, Japan. It wasn't immediately clear if any casualties occurred as a result of the earthquake. And early Wednesday, a moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Northern California near Redwood Valley. Local officials said some injuries were reported, but no deaths. Latest Live UpdatesLegendary Songwriter's Estate Slams Trump For Planned Use Of Song During Freedom 250 RallyThe estate of the late legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen strongly objected to President Donald Trump’s promise to use his song “Hallelujah” ahead of Wednesday’s Freedom 250 rally on the National Mall.“The Leonard Cohen Estate has learned that the song ‘Hallelujah’ is to be performed at a Donald Trump rally on June 24,” the singer’s estate posted to social media on Wednesday. “This use is not authorized, and the Estate does not support or approve of this or any similar usage.”In an apparent dig at the way Trump often ends his lengthy Truth Social posts, the Cohen estate concluded its statement with: “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”Trump first announced that “Hallelujah” would be performed three weeks ago, after changing the event from a series of planned concerts to a political rally because numerous artists slated to perform had backed out. In his June 4 announcement, Trump said that the event would be “the Greatest Rally, EVER!” and “a Rally to end all Rallies!” and insulted the artists who decided not to perform.“We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep — we’ve told them all to stay home,” Trump wrote at the time. “All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years! We will have the fabulous Lee Greenwood introducing me with what has turned out to be one of the Greatest Hits of All Time, ‘GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.’”Read more here: White House Asks Congress For Another $67.1 Billion For Iran WarThe White House on Wednesday asked Congress to give President Donald Trump another $67.1 billion to continue the war in Iran.“On behalf of the President, I am transmitting to the Congress a request for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding,” Russ Vought, the president’s budget director, said in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “Most of this request will address urgent needs related to Operation Epic Fury (OEF)."Trump’s request for more war funding comes after he’s spent months repeatedly claiming U.S. military operations in Iran are nearly over, only to carry on with more. The war remains deeply unpopular with Americans, as does the president, his approval ratings show. Just Tuesday, in a bipartisan vote, the Senate rebuked Trump for continuing his war with no clear goal or end in sight.The White House’s latest war funding request comes after the Pentagon received a whopping $1 trillion for 2026."Outrageous," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “The administration has yet to provide the committee with detailed answers to basic questions about what the hell we are doing in Iran.”People Who Got COVID In Prison To Receive Compensation In $49M SettlementOregon has agreed to pay $49 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed in 2020 by a group of incarcerated people who accused the state of failing to take proper steps to protect people in its custody from contracting COVID-19. Oregon's Department of Corrections has "willfully and wantonly ignored the public health threat caused by this global pandemic," the plaintiffs alleged at the time, arguing that the lack of medical care and precautions violated protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In a settlement agreement filed on Wednesday, the state agreed to pay $871,052 to the estates of 38 people who died in custody. People who contracted the virus and are still alive are eligible for anywhere between $1,000 and $41,000, depending on their severity of their illness. "We initiated this suit to protect the lives of some of our society’s most vulnerable people, packed into aging facilities with no ability to social distance," Juan Chavez of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, which represented the plaintiffs. “The horrors that then came to pass during the pandemic shocked and saddened us. But we also saw, and were inspired by, the resilience and solidarity held amongst incarcerated people.” Trump Spends 10 Minutes Defending His Reflecting Pool Mess: ‘Everything I Do Works’Sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte before a crowd of reporters, President Donald Trump took a question about the state of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which will require another new coating. The fresh coating applied earlier this month appears to have failed, with pieces of the material peeling off and floating to the surface.For more than 10 minutes, no one could ask any other questions while the president asserted — with no evidence — that the coating had been vandalized.“Ready?” he began, motioning with his hands. “Thugs.”He then added embellishments to a story he has been telling repeatedly this week, claiming that vandals sliced the bottom with “probably a box cutter or a very sharp razor” and hoisted up swaths of the material, which is “not rubber but it’s like rubber.”“And then the side of the pool, right at the water level, they took razors and they started cutting this very expensive stuff,” Trump said.“Here’s the bottom line: We temporarily patched it,” he added. “It’s so good that with all that damage they did, it’s not leaking, and it looks really beautiful. I just had pictures taken. It’s reflective. It’s beautiful.”But he was not done. The president reiterated the story about the vandals multiple times between boasting about the capital’s lower crime rate and complaining about an anti-Trump stunt that left “86 47” emblazoned in a grassy area nearby."You know, grass has a life just like people have a life," he said, before returning to the pool. “And then the fake news tries to say, ‘Oh, well, it didn’t work.' Of course it works. Everything I do works. What I do works."Trump Blames Interest Rates On Not Signing The Housing BillPresident Donald Trump claimed that he isn't going to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act because of the high interest rates, contradicting what he wrote on Truth Social earlier in the day. "Look, I made billions of dollars with housing," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "I know housing better than anybody maybe anywhere. It's all about the interest rate. Lower the interest rates and you can have all the housing you want. I don't want to hurt people that own houses, too."Earlier in the day, Trump announced he was holding the bill hostage until Congress passed the SAVE America Act, election legislation that was designed to give Republicans an advantage in the midterms. As he wrote on Truth Social: "Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency."Trump Brands U.K.'s Likely Next Prime Minister 'Extremely Liberal'President Donald Trump appeared unimpressed with the British politician set to become the U.K.'s next prime minister.Asked for his thoughts on Andy Burnham, Trump told reporters Wednesday that he didn't "know anything" before acknowledging that "I guess he was a mayor of a town.""I hear he's extremely liberal," Trump went on. "Extremely. So that means he probably won't open up the North Sea."Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, is the odds-on favorite to succeed departing Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader and prime minister.He was sworn in as a member of Parliament last week after winning a special election in northern England, and could become prime minister within weeks if no one challenges him for the leadership of his party.Trump has repeatedly criticized Britain's leaders for holding back on drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.At the White House, Trump called Aberdeen, the Scottish city synonymous with the U.K.'s oil industry, the "hottest city in the whole continent."Rep. Ted Lieu Suggests Trump Could Be Secretly Dealing With A Terminal IllnessCalifornia Rep. Ted Lieu (D) suggested that President Donald Trump canceled the signing of a bipartisan housing bill on Wednesday because he might be fighting a terminal illness and dealing with side effects from an experimental drug.“The White House needs to come clean,” Lieu said.Lieu called attention to what he described as “erratic behavior” by the president. Examples include Trump being unable to stay awake at meetings, having visible arm weakness, and swelling in his hands, he said.The congressman pointed to a recent report that a 79-year-old person, who is well-connected, was granted exclusive access last year to a weight loss drug called retatrutide on a “compassionate use” basis. Trump, who recently turned 80, has expressed an interest in weight-loss drugs, although the White House denied that Trump was the recipient in question.Approving a drug for someone under this “compassionate use” provision means the person “basically has a terminal illness,” Lieu said. That description generally matches the one on the drugmaker's website.“Did Donald Trump get this special drug from Eli Lilly and did he get it under that provision and if he did, why is that the case?” Lieu asked.GOP Senator Calls Out Trump To His Face In Testy Capitol Hill MeetingSen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and President Donald Trump had it out during a closed-door meeting at the Capitol on Wednesday. It started with Trump demanding to know why anyone would vote for a resolution to end the war in Iran, as four Republicans had done on Tuesday, despite ongoing peace negotiations. Read more here:White House To Seek More Than $1.4 Billion For Ebola Outbreak Response: ReutersThe White House is planning on requesting more than $1.4 billion from Congress to help address the growing Ebola outbreak overseas, a Trump administration official told Reuters.The request may come as early as Wednesday, according to the news outletPart of the funds would reportedly go to the creation of a quarantine center in Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus.It would also go towards efforts like disease surveillance, to prevent the virus from spreading to the U.S.Housing Advocates Urge President Trump To Sign Historic Bipartisan Housing LegislationHousing advocates urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday to sign the landmark bipartisan housing legislation into law after he abruptly canceled the signing ceremony and demanded Congress first pass an unrelated election law bill.The National Association of Realtors called the bill's passage a "major milestone," saying realtors "have worked tirelessly to help build that momentum.""The overwhelming bipartisan support for this legislation reflects a growing consensus that America needs more homes and more pathways to homeownership," Shannon McGahn, the association's executive vice president and chief advocacy officer, told HuffPost.Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said he's confident the bill will be signed despite delay from Trump on the formal signing."Voters are demanding action on housing supply and affordability, and Congress has delivered a historic bill to address their concerns," he said in a press release. "Although there was no bill signing today, we are confident the 21st Century Road to Housing Act will eventually become law."The National American Indian Housing Council offered measured support, praising the bill's broader goals that aim to address shortages, but stated the bill still underserves Tribal communities. "Tribal Nations continue to face some of the most severe housing shortages in America, and the legislation stops short of addressing the unique legal and administrative realities of Tribal housing programs," NAIHC executive director Rudy Soto told HuffPost, adding that Congress should also pass the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act to make sure Native communities "share fully in the benefits of America's housing investments."The historic bill passed the House in a 358-32 vote and the Senate with widespread support — a historic feat in a divided Congress. See All Updates