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Air Canada Flight Diverted After Captain Suffers Medical Emergency; Supreme Court Hands Trump Two Immigration Wins; 188 Killed, 1,500+ Injured in Venezuela's Twin Earthquakes; Trump & Johnson Meet Amid GOP Stalemate Over Priorities; Judge Halts Trump Order Aimed at Limited Mail-in Voting; Great American State Fair Opens to Public Today. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired June 25, 2026 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": -- the cockpit. The first officer diverted the flight and landed the plane alone. Moments later, video from the scene shows the captain being helped down the stairs before getting into an ambulance. No word yet on his condition. There were 61 passengers on board at the time.

And an incredible rescue caught on camera. A police officer in Toledo, Ohio goes into a burning home to rescue a disabled woman trapped inside.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to put that walker down. I will carry you. Come on. You're going to die in here. Come on.

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KEILAR: The officer had to bust through a blocked door to get the woman out. He soon learns that her brother was also trapped inside. Firefighters arrived moments later, saved the brother. Both siblings surviving. They were treated for smoke inhalation.

The new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Scenes like a horror movie. People in Venezuela describing what they are seeing after a pair of devastating earthquakes. At least 188 people losing their lives in the disaster.

Plus this hour, President Trump and House Speaker, Mike Johnson sitting down at the White House. Up for discussion. The President's frustration with Republican lawmakers and vice versa as well.

And two wins for the White House at the Supreme Court. Opinions on immigration that could help the president carry out his crackdown, with consequences for potentially millions of people living in the United States.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

We begin this hour with the death toll in Venezuela jumping just now to 188. 20 hours since deadly back-to-back earthquakes hit, one of them the biggest to strike the country in more than a century. There is terrifying video that captures the moment that buildings collapsed as the powerful quakes ripped through the country. Watch this.

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SANCHEZ: You can see and hear the fear and panic as people run for their lives. And take a look inside the country's main airport.

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SANCHEZ: Ceiling panels crashing to the floor. Debris raining down as panicked passengers scrambled for safety. The port city of La Guaira near Caracas was hardest hit. Video showing the raw scope of the damage that a 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks inflicted.

Many people remain trapped beneath the rubble of some 250 collapsed or damaged homes and apartment buildings. Rescuers are now in a desperate race against time to reach them. Let's go to CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar.

Allison, it is highly unusual, isn't it? To see two earthquakes of this magnitude striking within a minute.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So again, this area is very seismically active. This is not uncommon for them to get earthquakes in this area. What is uncommon is to have two earthquakes this strong, this close together. Now, you take a look at this.

The term for that is actually called a doublet. So basically what we had was we had the initial quake of a 7.2 and then roughly 40 seconds later, we had a 7.5, which is deemed the main quake in terms of both of these quakes that took place. Now, the interesting part of this was Caracas, which is not that close to the epicenter, still suffered a pretty significant amount of damage.

And a lot of that has to do with how the fault lines are set up in this region and the direction in which that earthquake kind of propagated out. And unfortunately, the rupture propagated toward the city of Caracas, which in turn ended up triggering some pretty significant damage for them because that energy that was produced kind of produced stronger ground motion heading toward the city.

Also, soil matters in this type, very much like we saw with the earthquake in Haiti several years ago. The type of soil, the sedimentary particles that are there can sometimes actually make the earthquake, as it kind of goes through, it can amplify the shaking. And that is what we saw with this particular quake as well. One of the biggest concerns going forward here is really going to be the aftershocks. So typically, when you have a main quake that is about a 7.5, you're going to have at least one aftershock that is magnitude 6.5 or larger, 10 that are 5.5 in magnitude, and at least 100 of them that are 4.5. This is important because under normal circumstances, a 4.5 may not necessarily be that strong. But when you've already had this type of damage to buildings and homes, they are now structurally compromised. So even a 4.5 or a 5 is enough to trigger substantial damage even going forward. So that's why this is still going to be a big deal in the coming days.

[14:05:00]

Also, as you mentioned, the death toll is going up, and it likely will continue to. This has been deemed a red pager by the USGS, and they're still looking at thousands of deaths likely to result from these two quakes that occurred.

SANCHEZ: Allison, what does the forecast look like as rescuers try to get in and reach those who are trapped?

CHINCHAR: Yeah, unfortunately, it's not good. In fact, when you look over the next several days, there are rain and thunderstorm chances pretty much every single one of the next several days. This is really going to hurt and impact a lot of those rescue and recovery efforts that these folks are going into.

So not only do we have the problem of having the aftershocks, which could cause more damage and lead to additional rescues, but you also have the rain chances that are going to come in. You also have to understand that with large earthquakes like this, liquefaction can be a concern. Now you add rain on top of that, it just makes a lot of that soil very muddy, very difficult to get through.

So this is also going to be a big concern for a lot of these areas too, not just the aftershocks, but all of the rain showers that are going to come into play.

SANCHEZ: For those of us who are not familiar with liquefaction, Allison, what exactly does that mean?

CHINCHAR: Right, it's basically where, for lack of better terms, it's where a solid ground basically turns into liquid. If you think of maybe perhaps the best analogy would be quicksand, something you would normally be able to stand on top of is no longer as stable as it used to be.

This is very common with earthquakes. This is not uncommon. But in this particular area, because of the type of fault they are on, this is going to be a big concern for this area. And then like I said, you also then have to add in some mud to the area, which may make it even more difficult.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Tough conditions for those folks. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Brianna? KEILAR: Now to Washington and the standoff on Capitol Hill. Moments ago, House Speaker, Mike Johnson arrived at the White House with the Republican agenda hanging in the balance. President Trump is demanding that Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would overhaul elections a little more than four months before the midterms.

The president calling it a national emergency. And now, hardliners on the Hill are warning they'll hold up other legislation until this priority of his gets pushed through. CNN's Kristen Holmes is live at the White House with the latest. Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Brianna, this is an ongoing conversation in Washington. Who has the worst job in Washington, D.C.? Is it Speaker Mike Johnson or is it Majority Leader, John Thune? And the general consensus is it changes every day. But right now, Speaker Johnson is in a really tough spot because what we know is that President Trump is fixated on getting the SAVE America Act through Congress.

And here are some details about what that is, just to remind our viewers. This is a federal elections bill, as you mentioned, it would say that you must provide citizenship in order to vote. You must present photo ID to cast a ballot and submit copies of IDs when mail- in ballots are requested and submitted.

President Trump has been fixated on this. He has been told a number of times that it cannot pass in the Senate. And now this has somehow become Speaker Johnson's problem because as you noted, hardliners on the House side, which by the way, as Speaker Johnson noted before he came over to the White House, the House has actually passed the SAVE America Act three times, but those hardliners are saying we're not doing anything on the House floor until we get the SAVE America Act through.

So what he has to do now is walk a fine line because there's still this Housing Bill that's hanging in the balance and that has bipartisan support. Now, if there's anyone who can convince Donald Trump on how to act or change his mind, it is likely Speaker Johnson, but it's still going to be an incredibly heavy lift just given how fixated Trump has been on the SAVE America Act and the elections, even just going back to 2020 and his claims that he won that election or that there was widespread election fraud.

So now, you're going to see what Speaker Johnson can do to try to, one, get this Housing Bill passed, as well as navigate this conversation with President Trump. These hardliners, they are big supporters of President Trump. They will fall in line with President Trump. But right now, President Trump, again, totally fixated on trying to get the SAVE America Act through Congress.

First, it would have to go through the House. So that's what we're seeing right now. Speaker Johnson is going to likely walk him through all of the different obstacles that they have right now. He's going to likely back him on a number of these claims. That's what we've seen before. That's how Johnson has been successful in his relationship with Trump. And we're waiting to see if Trump moves at all in terms of trying to get other legislation passed in the House and getting that bill signed for the Housing Bill.

KEILAR: All right, we'll be looking for that. Kristen Holmes, live for us from the North Lawn. Thank you.

Still to come, the White House calls it a tremendous win, while one Supreme Court justice warns people will die. What we know about today's major immigration rulings from the high court. Plus, talk about awkward timing. Hours before President Trump is due to meet with farmers, Iran is trash-talking a White House claim that Iran will buy American crops using funds released in a peace deal.

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And then later, he has his sights set on the White House, hear which Senators' presidential aspirations are grabbing the attention of Vice President J.D. Vance and annoying Trump allies. We have that and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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SANCHEZ: President Trump's immigration enforcement efforts saw back- to-back wins in the Supreme Court today.

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In one of the 6-3 rulings, the court cleared the way for a controversial policy that allows officials to block asylum seekers arriving at the border from entering the United States. In the majority opinion, Justice Alito, writing that arrive does not mean attempting to arrive, likening it to a running back being tackled on the one-yard line, as opposed to getting into the end zone.

Justice Sotomayor, in a scathing dissent, arguing the consequences of today's decision are predictable. More people will die.

We're joined now by Michael Gerhardt. He's a distinguished professor at UNC School of Law, also the author of "The Law of Presidential Impeachment: A Guide for the Engaged Citizen." Michael, I hope you'll wait to answer that email that just came in. I wonder what the arrival decision will mean practically at the border. Does it actually change anything?

MICHAEL GERHARDT, BURTON CRAIGE DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, UNC SCHOOL OF LAW: It does, although the practice of policy at the border under these conditions has vacillated over the years. To some extent, President Trump is trying to go back to a policy that President Obama had. But what we're talking about here are over 300,000 people who are trying to at least seek asylum.

And the court has basically said, you can't do that if you haven't arrived yet in the United States. There's a federal statute that kind of spells out the conditions for when you can seek a temporary status. And then during that temporary status, the administration will review the claims that the immigrants are making.

That is why I think the dissent says there could be a lot of people dying because a lot of people who ask for asylum are operating under the threat of death. They want to get away from dangerous circumstances. And once they're turned back at the border, they're vulnerable to further violence.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, Justice Jackson dissented by arguing that the court should not have even taken the case, arguing that that process of metering or capping daily crossings was actually rescinded years ago. She described this as an advisory opinion. Does she have a point?

GERHARDT: I'm not sure -- she has points, but I'm not sure this is one of her best points. I think that there seems to be a live issue here. And the live issue has to do with whether people who are trying to gain entry, at least temporarily, are able to do that. So I think we have a case that meets all the requirements to be heard in a federal court, but the harm that she's concerned about will still persist.

SANCHEZ: The other immigration case, obviously related to TPS, temporary protected status, the court cleared the way for the administration to potentially deport hundreds of thousands of Syrians and Haitians before courts decide whether the termination of their protected status is legal. What do you make of that ruling?

GERHARDT: Well, that also is going to have enormous consequences. So in that case, we're looking at a federal statute again, and we're trying to figure out to what extent that federal statute precludes courts from reviewing any of the claims of people who have come to the border seeking asylum.

And essentially, what the court has said is, these people can all be turned away and courts do not have the authority to review they're being turned away. And that gives the presidency more power than it's had before. So these are two big victories for President Trump, particularly because they allow for more deportations and less due process or less hearings at all.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

GERHARDT: In other words, people can be deported without any kind of hearing.

SANCHEZ: Before we go, Michael, there are still plenty of consequential outstanding cases, birthright citizenship, the Fed's independence, transgender sports bans. What are you watching for as we head toward this final week?

GERHARDT: Well, you're right to call attention to those cases. I think all of them are very important. To begin with, the birthright citizenship case is really important because it has to do with the plain language of the Constitution, which was written into the Constitution after the Civil War to allow for people who were not previously considered citizens, that is African-Americans, who could, after the 14th Amendment was enacted, be regarded as citizens because according to the language, they were born or naturalized as citizens of the United States.

If the court doesn't track that plain language, there's going to be a huge problem with trying to determine who in this country really is a citizen. The other cases, as you mentioned, I think are socially important.

[14:20:00]

For example, with respect to transgender athletes, that's been a somewhat socially divisive topic and this administration has come down hard on the side of precluding transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. The court, I would guess, would be likely to side with the Trump administration.

That's another thing to watch here, is that the court is generally siding with the Trump administration. Ruling against the Trump administration has been an exception to a pretty persistent pattern that the court is giving the president whatever he wants.

SANCHEZ: Michael Gerhardt, thanks so much for the perspective. Appreciate your time. Brianna?

KEILAR: A federal judge has frozen major parts of an executive order by President Trump that aim to limit mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections. The president's order would have imposed new requirements on states' mail-in voting programs before the U.S. Postal Service delivers ballots.

The judge's order requires USPS to deliver ballots in the 23 Democratic-led states that challenged the president's directive. It also prevents the Trump administration from creating lists of those states' voting-age citizens or from prosecuting election officials who ignore the executive order.

In her ruling, the judge said, quote, "The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections."

Next, flyovers, fireworks and freedom. The Great American State Fair is officially open and we are live on the National Mall, catching all of the action right after this.

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KEILAR: It is the birthday party that's taking over the National Mall. A military flyover today helping mark the opening of the Great American State Fair. All 50 states and territories will be represented as the nation turns 250 years old.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is at the fair for us. All right, Julia, show us around.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. So starting here at the Great American State Fair, we're on the National Mall. And if you make it out here, it is quite a sight because in between the Washington Monument and the Capitol, you have a 110-foot Ferris wheel.

But also, I want to highlight nearby, and this really illustrates the influence that President Donald Trump has had over the Freedom 250 event specifically. This is a mock-up of the Triumphal Arch that he wants to build here in the nation's capital. This one is much smaller than the one he actually wants to build, but he's using this as a time to kind of advertise something that he wants to see here in Washington.

And this event has had some controversy. Big-name musical acts did back out, saying that they believed that they had been misled about the partisan nature of the event. Now, walking down this way, this is something I think is really neat.

Each state and territory is represented in some way. There are 25x30 foot pavilions. And then it was up to each state to find sponsors and donations for how they wanted to fill those pavilions. Everybody did it a little bit differently. And some states did decide that they were not going to directly participate, most of them citing cost. At least one state, Oregon, did say that the political aspects of the event kept them from wanting to go all in for this.

But Freedom 250 has said every single state and territory will be included in some ways. We've been in and out of West Virginia here a couple of times. They're leaning into the song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads." They're letting you drive in a car kind of through the West Virginia winding roads and learn about it while you're there.

So there are just different ways that everybody is seen in doing this. There's also, you might be able to see, it's way down there, but there are rodeo events. There are musical acts. There is food out here as well. And make sure to stay hydrated because it is getting hot out here, too.

KEILAR: Yeah, it certainly is, but that looks like a lot of fun. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much for the tour. And in the meantime, it is a race against time in Venezuela as rescuers are trying to reach people who are trapped under rubble after back-to-back earthquakes.

Officials telling CNN earlier, people can be heard alive but buried. We'll have the latest right after this.

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