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At Least 32 Dead, 700 Injured In Venezuela Earthquake; Global Oil Prices To Fall To Lowest Level Since Iran War Began; Air Conditioning Now France's Hottest Political Debate; Ukraine Hits Crimea Fuel, Triggering Major Shortage; Ukraine Hits Crimea Fuel, Triggering Major Shortage; at Least 32 Dead, 700 Injured in Venezuela Earthquakes; Northern California Hit by 5.6 Magnitude Earthquake; Trump Won't Sign Housing Bill, Demands Election Reform; OpenAI Designs First Custom Chip to Help Power ChatGPT; From Goldfish to Lions, Animals Pick World Cup Winners. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 25, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:31]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone, I'm Rosemary Church.

We begin with breaking news in Venezuela. The scale of the devastation is starting to become clear, just hours after back-to-back earthquakes rocked the country's northern coast. Venezuela's acting president confirmed earlier at least 32 people are dead, 700 more injured, and those numbers are surely expected to rise.

There's extensive damage reported in the capital, Caracas, where rescues are ongoing, homes and buildings have collapsed, while others are badly damaged. First responders and security forces are deploying nationwide, searching for survivors. The government declaring a state of emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, ACTING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): At this time, 20 aftershocks have already been recorded. This is a serious event with severe consequences, and several states have been particularly affected in the capital city, Caracas. Buildings have collapsed in different districts. The state of Miranda, La Cuesta, as well as Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcon have also been severely affected, where we have recorded incidents. Our first message to the people is to remain united in order to save lives immediately following these two earthquakes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.S. Geological Survey says a 7.2 magnitude quake struck near Venezuela's northern coast just after 6:00 p.m. local time. Less than a minute later, an even stronger quake hit, a 7.5 not far from the first one. That second quake is the strongest to hit the country in more than a century, going back to 1900.

The USGS warns that thousands of casualties and widespread destruction are likely, though the full extent of the damage is not yet clear. CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon felt the tremors hundreds of miles away in Bogota, in neighboring Colombia, and he spoke with my colleague Elex Michaelson about the quake's impact.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: According to preliminary -- a preliminary estimate, at least 15 buildings have collapsed in that particular state of La Guaira, so that is where they're trying to reach as quickly as possible, providing as many emergency services and first responders there.

Delcy Rodriguez in her last message from two local radio, also said that several countries have already offered to send in some teams of first responders, among them is, of course, Colombia, where I am. We were able to speak with the unit of first responders from the Colombian government. They are saying that they're standing by and trying to reach Caracas as quickly as possible.

Of course, one of the challenges is that the Caracas International Airport in Marseille, which is in that particular state, La Guaira, that is being so badly damaged, is currently closed.

Jorge Rodriguez, the statesman that I was able to speak with, told me that they believe they hope to be able to open it in the upcoming hours, or perhaps early on Friday. But at the point, as of right now, which is early Thursday morning, that airport remains closed.

And a lot of people in Caracas are sleeping outside, for example, I was able to speak with several residents over the last half an hour or so, and they're telling me that they, they are too afraid to go back into their houses, they're too afraid to go back into their flats. Some are speaking -- are speaking about sleeping in their cars, others in like tents.

I mean, as much as you can, perhaps sleep or trying to catch some rest after such a dramatic experience, like going through those two earthquakes that hit the capital within seconds of each other, 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, those were big big quakes.

And one of those people they were able to speak with was a local resident, this is what they told us.

AVILIO GONZALEZ, CARACAS RESIDENT (through translator): Fortunately, my family, my wife, my granddaughter, and I were out of the apartment building when we got back. We saw it was completely destroyed. Luckily, the neighbors managed to save their lives too. What can I say? How many families will end up like this with destroyed buildings in Caracas? Even though it hadn't happened in a while, Caracas is located in a seismic zone. POZZEBON: Now, this is one of the perhaps the strongest earthquake that has been felt in Venezuela in at least a hundred years. It's a catastrophe that has really no precedent in the last 20 years, and come on the back of the most dramatic economic crisis of a country not at war in recent history.

[02:05:15]

So, it's almost creating a perfect storm of a catastrophic condition for death toll to grow further and further.

Right now, we are reporting 42 killed by this earthquake in Venezuela. Unfortunately, probably that number is destined to grow much, much higher.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: People in Caracas are speaking out about their frightening experiences when these earthquakes hit. CNN's Elex Michaelson spoke earlier with journalist Tony Frangie Mawad in the Venezuelan capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY FRANGIE MAWAD, JOURNALIST: The moment I got into the elevator, the elevator started to shake from side to side really strongly and go all the way down on a very quick pace.

At first I thought it was just malfunctioning, but my friend was like, no, it's -- this is clearly a sort of earthquake. So, we -- you know, we grabbed the long thing that the elevator has until it opened in the basement of the building, and we managed to get out, and there was no signal.

Actually, I still -- my Wi-Fi is working, but my carrier isn't working.

So, we went out into the gardens of the building, and all the neighbors and my family started to come out, and when we got some signal, and some people managed to connect to some Wi-Fi, we started to see the first reports and messages about, you know, major damages in parts of the city.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Have you been able to walk around, what's it look like outside?

MAWAD: Oh, I've stayed in my home all day with my family. We stayed a few hours in the gardens of the building, and then people started to go up again.

But I know that in the northern side of the city, where many of my friends leave, the damage has been actually widespread, and many buildings have collapsed, so I also know about the coast in La Guaira having major damages. That's a major city near Caracas, where, like, tens of buildings have actually collapsed.

So, at least not in my area the damage is wide, but in areas near Caracas and in northern Caracas, there's report of many buildings, but we don't know yet how many casualties and injured people.

MICHAELSON: How are you processing this? How are your friends and family processing this?

MAWAD: So, at first I was actually very scared, because I was calling a lot of friends, especially those that live in those parts of the city that had major damage, but I finally managed to contact all of them, and signals started to come back to some, and also Wi-Fi.

So, thankfully, all my friends and family are OK. But now, at this time, we are opening, you know, the WhatsApp groups or Instagram stories, and people are posting a lot of friends and family that are missing, like their friends and their families that are missing and asking for information, so it's actually becoming a sad hour for Venezuela. It's actually becoming a really sad moment, and I suspect that the next days are going to be really overwhelming for all Venezuelans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: One day after senators approved a resolution aimed at limiting U.S. military action against Iran, the Senate rejected a separate effort to advance a similar war powers measure.

President Trump celebrated the vote on social media late Wednesday. He mentioned several Republican lawmakers by name and said the vote puts Iran on notice. The president had criticized the earlier vote, saying it undermined his leverage in negotiations with Iran.

But Republican support for the war in Iran will be put to the test again in Congress. The White House is asking for funding to replenish military resources used during the conflict. The request is for more than $87 billion in supplemental funding, with just over 67 billion going to the defense department.

Well, the U.S. Secretary of State is visiting the Middle East, where he is assuring regional partners that the U.S. will not undermine its allies in the negotiations with Iran. Right now, Marco Rubio is in Bahrain, where he will attend a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council before wrapping up his trip. Rubio also visited Kuwait, where he revealed that expert-level technical talks with Iran are likely to begin next Tuesday.

But Rubio is not meeting with a key regional ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his Middle East visit, even though U.S. mediated discussions between Israel and Lebanon are taking place in Washington this week.

Well, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Kristie. So, what more are you learning about the U.S. diplomatic push for peace in the Gulf region, and of course, how it's impacting the price of oil? What's the latest?

[02:10:11]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Rosemary, you know, oil prices are falling as more and more ships in this slow and steady stream are transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

In fact, on Wednesday in the United States, oil prices fell to their lowest level since the start of the war. Now, we continue to monitor the price of Brent crude of WTI, this is the global oil benchmark, and the U.S. oil benchmark, and the Brent crude, right now, is trading at just over $72.00 a barrel, WTI about $69.00 a barrel.

Different story, however, when it comes to price at the pump, the price of gas per gallon in the United States still remains at pretty elevated levels. Let's bring up the latest price type from AAA, it's at $3.92 a gallon, and that is something that U.S. President Donald Trump has taken notice of. He doesn't like seeing that elevated number. In fact, he is calling out big oil name-checking companies like Chevron, like Exxon Mobil, and accusing them of, "Gouging consumers." He's even asked the Justice Department to look into the matter.

I want to share with you his Truth Social post that he wrote about this again. This is from the U.S. president, writing, "The big oil companies are not dropping the price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices that they are paying for oil."

And analysts, I do need to point out this, analysts do underscore that gas prices do not move in lockstep with crude oil. It's important to point that out. Now, separately, we are keeping an eye on the diplomatic front. America's top diplomat, Marco Rubio, is in the region meeting with key Gulf allies there, and although Gulf allies welcome the end of the war, there's still a lot of skepticism of the finer points in the U.S.-Iran framework in that MOU, among them the top of mind is the issue of the $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, which requires the buy-in of Gulf nations.

Now, we do want to keep an eye on the Strait of Hormuz, because we do have some important developments happening there. What we've learned is that in the last 24 hours, shipping traffic there in the Strait has doubled. In fact, this is the highest level since the war began.

We've also learned from the U.N. Shipping Agency, this is the International Maritime Organization, that they have launched an initiative to evacuate ships and seafarers stranded in the Gulf. It's estimated there's around 500 to 600 ships still stranded the Gulf, 11,000 seafarers still struck there.

It's an important data point I wanted to share with you, Rosemary, because this day is the International Day of the Seafarer. Back to you.

CHURCH: Yes, very important. Kristie Lu Stout bringing us up to date there, many thanks for that live report.

So, as we just heard from Kristie, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is picking up, according to marine traffic data. Shipping traffic has doubled over the past 24 hours, reaching its highest levels since late February. At least 34 vessels exited the Strait, while another 20 sailed into the Persian Gulf. That's still far from pre-war levels, but it is the highest volume of traffic since late February.

So, for more, we're joined now by Cormac McGarry, a director at Control Risks, a strategic intelligence and security firm. He's speaking from Amsterdam. Appreciate you joining us.

CORMAC MCGARRY, DIRECTOR, CONTROL RISKS: Morning.

CHURCH: Wonderful. So, as a result of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, we are now seeing some vessels move in and out of these Strait of Hormuz. How is that being done safely without vessels hitting mines or perhaps colliding with each other? What is the process involved to make sure that happens safely?

MCGARRY: The IMO has delivered perhaps the best news that we in the maritime community have heard in over 3.5 months, which is quite specific guidance, and that's what shipping needs to be reassured of security and safety. That guidance is telling vessels that effectively you will -- you will be contacted by military coordination organizations that are from neutral countries, neutral countries in this war, they will contact ships, prioritize who gets out first.

Those ships will go to a waiting area, and from that waiting area, you, as a ship, as a ship owner, will have a choice to either sail through a route, a route through Iranian waters to the north or through Omani waters to the south, and if you go through Iran, you then coordinate with Iran. If you go through Oman, you coordinate with Oman.

What's not available is the pre-war shipping channels, right through the middle of the Strait. They're not available because, according to the IMO, there is a risk of mines.

So, that's the logistics here. Those two channels are restricted compared to the pre-war channels, which is one of the reasons we're going to continue to see a relatively much lower volume of vessels compared to the pre-war volumes, but we are still -- we are seeing a major uptick in vessels getting out and in.

[02:15:04]

CHURCH: Right, and of course, as we did report, Marine Traffic data indicating the number of vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz has doubled over the past 24 hours to its highest level since the start of the war, but it's still less than half the pre-war levels of around 110 vessels exiting the vital waterway each day. So, how long do you expect it will take to get back to those normal levels?

MCGARRY: So, what's important here is that the IMO evacuation plan is just that, it's an evacuation plan, it's not a return to normal plan.

So, the two channels that I mentioned, these are being designed primarily to get ships out. They haven't really mentioned anything about getting ships in, even though there's an implicit understanding that ships will be getting in via these routes as well.

Given the restrictions in those channels, they're relatively much more narrow. They have to be controlled. One of the reasons you have ships will have to coordinate with various bodies and countries is precisely to avoid collisions. That means that there has to be a restriction on the amount of ships that go in and out.

So, there essentially will be kind of like air traffic control being run on the water here in two separate channels, and only so much ships can go at any one time.

Now, to answer your question, Rosemary, unfortunately, while this is all good news, it's still looking like it's going to be months at least before we get back to any kind of pre-war normal. What that normal looks like realistically, it's probably going to be a new normal, so we're probably not going to go back to how business was before.

CHURCH: Right. And as you pointed out earlier, Oman is saying it intends to keep the Strait of Homos open to shipping without imposing any tolls, and of course you mentioned those two routes and has designated two temporary routes to the to facilitate that safe passage of vessels.

But that's not what Iran is saying, is it? So, how likely is it that Tehran will end up applying tolls on every vessel leaving the strait and entering the strait? And how will that complicate the situation?

MCGARRY: One of the most difficult things for shipping, and one of the reasons shipping has remained relatively stationary over the last nearly four months now is because we keep getting these contradictory messages from Iran, and even in the last week, which has been relatively extremely positive, as you can see with the sailing numbers, we still on an almost daily basis get something out of Iran, that is threatening and contradictory to what we're hearing elsewhere.

So, even in the last 24 hours, we've had messages coming through Iranian media, which is often where the state releases some of its opinions, saying that it doesn't actually recognize one of these shipping channels.

We've also -- on the water, I have heard of vessels receiving radio communications from within Iran threatening vessels with missile action, unless the vessels reverse course.

So, this is what's happening on the water. It is still murky, a hell of a lot more positive than it was a week ago, but it is still quite a murky picture, and it's subject to change on a daily basis, that will be subject to the ongoing negotiations, the broader geopolitical game here at control risks. We're helping our clients understand that broader geopolitical game, because that's what can change the picture on the water on a day-to-day basis.

CHURCH: Right, we're all watching very carefully on that, of course. Cormac McGarry, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.

MCGARRY: Thank you.

CHURCH: Of course. Well, NATO's chief is praising President Donald Trump's leadership on Iran, even though the alliance stayed out of the Iran war. Secretary General Mark Rutte met Mr. Trump in Washington on Wednesday. They spoke ahead of an upcoming NATO summit in Turkey, where some leaders fear Trump could announce a major shift in U.S. support for the alliance.

In his statement, Rutte focused on Iran's nuclear capabilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I really want to make clear how important it is, what you are doing on Iran. This is first of all about the nuclear capability in Iran was basically getting its hands on -- its hands on, and it would have been a threat to the region, it would have been a threat to the whole world. This is a country which is exporting chaos, it is exporting terrorism, and they were very near to getting their hands on the nuclear capability.

You've seen last week in the G7, all the leaders in the G7 applauding the fact that their nuclear capability has been degraded. This is extremely important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump has railed against NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran, and he made it clear, he is still not happy with them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:20:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We were let down. We didn't need help on this at all. We demolished them in literally the first week, but it would have been nice if they would have said we'd like to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Next, Ukraine is hitting Russia where it hurts, fuel supplies inside Crimea. The growing crisis now forcing gas limits and halting sales. What it means for the war. That's after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Back to our breaking news. A pair of powerful back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela have killed at least 32 people and left 700 injured. That is according to Acting President Delcy Rodriguez who declared a state of emergency and says the casualties are expected to rise. The quakes on the country's northern coast have collapsed homes and buildings, including in the capital, Caracas. Hundreds of rescuers and security forces are being deployed to help find those trapped beneath the rubble.

[02:25:24] Well, Europe is sweltering under a relentless heat dome, with France at the epicenter of the extreme heat. The U.K. has broken its record for the hottest June temperature for the third time in a day, reaching nearly 97 degrees Fahrenheit, or 36 degrees Celsius. Spain has also hit new temperature records for any day this month, and more records are likely to be set there in the coming hours.

In parts of Italy, the excessive use of air conditioning to combat the heat wave has apparently caused electricity outages. Only about half of Italian homes have A.C., according to a local power company.

In France, air conditioning has become the focus of a fierce political debate. As CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reports from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: France is arguing over something many people wouldn't think twice about: air conditioning. A.C. is it a given across much of Europe, which is currently sweltering through a heat wave. Here in France, many schools, hospitals and homes don't have it, and that's become the focus of a fierce debate. Is it a central protection against extreme heat or an indulgence the planet cannot afford?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I don't need it because I'm young and I can survive this kind of event. It's not a big deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a solution. It's going to help people feel good, but it's not going to help the environment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's a good thing for planets.

VANDOORNE: With France battling record temperatures and parts of the country grinding to a halt, now the debate on how to stay cool is heating up too. Turning air conditioning into a political issue ahead of next year's presidential election.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has promised a massive nationwide air conditioning plan if elected. She argues the French shouldn't have to suffer through increasingly intense heat waves.

(MARINE LE PEN, NATIONAL RALLY SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

VANDOORNE (voice-over): But her rival on the far left, Jean-Luc Melenchon says installing A.C. everywhere would only make the problem worse by increasing energy consumption and emissions.

VANDOORNE: Le Pen's plan also sparked outrage among the center-left climate-focused marines, who say the A.C. heats up the air outside, and France should adapt differently by renovating buildings to improve insulation and planting more trees.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): But as temperatures climb, more French people are looking for relief, with some even sleeping outside. Fans and portable cooling units are flying off the shelves with long lines forming outside Paris stores. VANDOORNE: And despite the debate, air conditioning has become more common, with the share of homes equipped with A.C. nearly doubling between 2016 and 2020 according to the country's Ecological Transition Agency.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Now to Russia's war on Ukraine, which has been stepping up strikes deep inside Russian-controlled Crimea. It's targeting fuel depots, pipelines, and supply routes that keep Russia's war machine running. The attacks are sparking what officials call the worst fuel crisis there since Russia seized the peninsula in 2014.

Russian installed leaders have reportedly halted civilian fuel sales as shortages worsen. Ukraine says the strikes are aimed at weakening Russia's logistics as the war grinds on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russian leadership is now pulling more air defense assets to Moscow, Valdai, and Putin's bridge across the Kerch Strait at the expense of air defense elsewhere. They are protecting their power, the source of this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Kyiv is Andriy Zagorodnyuk. He is Ukraine's former defense minister, now an adviser to the Ukrainian government, and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. Thank you, sir, for joining us.

ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK, FORMER UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, Ukraine has been targeting these refineries, depots, and pipelines in Crimea, resulting in the worst fuel crisis on the peninsula since 2014 when it was illegally annexed by Russia, how big a blow is this to Moscow, and what impact could this have on the direction of the war do you think?

ZAGORODNYUK: So, Crimea has several meanings in this military, and generally a war and geopolitical context.

[02:30:00]

First of all, Crimea is a huge nuclear base. So when Russia annexed Crimea, occupied Crimea, they essentially brought enormous amount of their weaponry and restored a lot of the Soviet bases, established new ones. And then -- and then they used this as a platform to attack south of Ukraine.

Also they use this to, as there is even a saying in the maritime domain specialists, that the Crimea is an unsinkable carrier in the Black Sea. So this is a huge military -- navy base through which they project power well outside even the Black Sea, but also they use it to control the Black Sea.

Of course, the control of the Black Sea is somewhat a problem right now for Russia because we've been attacking their ships, so they moved mainly to the east part. But Crimea remains extremely important in a navy perspective, Crimea remains important in an air power perspective, and of course, as a training base, supply base, logistical base, and so on.

So Ukraine attacks all that in order to make sure that Russia cannot use Crimea properly and ultimately, wouldn't be able to use at all for military purposes. Also, of course, Crimea has a lot of fuel storages and they are used for supplying this military. So for us, this is absolutely a key --

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Right.

ZAGORODNYUK: -- key part of survival. And obviously, Crimea has a symbolic meaning because Crimea was the first region which Russia occupied and it's very close to Kremlin regime, and any issues with holding Crimea, with controlling it --

CHURCH: Right.

ZAGORODNYUK: -- of course, it's a problem for the regime, which is somehow at least bringing the war to a possible end in our case.

CHURCH: You think that's possible? You think that that action could actually bring Putin to the negotiating table? Is that what you're saying?

ZAGORODNYUK: So if there is one percent of chance that Russian government will consider de-escalation, that de-escalation will come when they see that they're losing some critical assets, so they're losing the control over the critical assets. Crimea is absolutely critical asset.

Ukraine strategically, absolutely focused on returning Crimea eventually, because we will never recognize Russian occupation, which is also the position of Europe and the Western states. But right now, the key thing is that if we want to stop the war, we need to show Russian regime that they cannot successfully continue, that they're losing critical assets. And maybe there is like a tiny chance that this may work with them.

If it doesn't work, which is the rest 99 percent, then in this case, Ukraine at least disable Russia from controlling Crimea. Ukraine is clearly cancelling its military meaning eventually. And also, this is a problem for Russian economy and Russian social -- some confidence. And that would -- may bring the regime to some crisis out of which they will abandon the war.

CHURCH: We'll watch to see if that indeed does occur. Andriy Zagorodnyuk in Kyiv, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

ZAGORODNYUK: Thank you. CHURCH: And we will have an update on the situation in Venezuela after a short break. The country left reeling after two powerful back- to-back earthquakes just hours ago. We'll have details on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:38:11]

CHURCH: More now on our Breaking News. Search and rescue operations are underway across Venezuela following two back-to-back earthquakes. The second quake, a 7.5 magnitude, was the strongest to hit the country since 1900. Venezuela's acting president confirms at least 32 people are dead, 700 more injured and those numbers are expected to rise.

The government has declared a state of emergency. We are seeing extensive damage in the capital, Caracas. First responders and security forces are deploying nationwide searching for survivors. One resident described the harrowing moments trying to get to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I was here when I managed to get dressed. He helped me and all the walls were cracked. We managed to open the door however we could. There was a cloud of smoke that wouldn't let us see and when we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie. We had to climb over the rubble and everything. The building superintendent with the baby and all the neighbors coming down, but from that building, I only saw that one family got out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Harrowing there and of course, the quake struck near Venezuela's northern coast just after 6 p.m. local time, Wednesday. A tsunami warning was initially issued for the region but has since been canceled. CNN Producer, Mary Triny Mena is in Caracas with more on the aftermath of the quakes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY TRINY MENA, CNN PRODUCER: I'm at the residential area of San Bernardino in the city of Caracas. This is the aftermath of the two powerful earthquakes that hit the capital of Caracas of Venezuela and several areas of the country. Here there are heavy machinery that search and rescue team are using in order to locate possible survivors.

[02:40:00]

Here in this residential area, one building collapsed. This building had six floors and they are struggling since 6 p.m. when the first earthquake happened to looking for some of the -- under those debris and rubble, looking for people alive. They were able to take some people to the hospital but they have informed that sadly some people died during this event.

For CNN, Mary Triny Mena, Caracas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Haunting video shows the moment a wildfire closes in near a cabin in southwest Utah. The property owner says he does not know if his structures are still intact after losing the camera feed. He told CNN many of his neighbors have lost their homes. The fire is one of several burning across Utah, forcing evacuations and threatening homes. The state is grappling with dangerous fire weather and extreme drought.

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck northern California on Wednesday. One resident captured the moment the shaking hit inside his home. Officials say there were some injuries but no immediate reports of major damage to buildings, thankfully. More than 6,000 residents have experienced power outages in towns near the epicenter.

Now to Washington where President Trump insists his party is unified despite a shouting match with Republican Senators behind closed doors. The president abruptly cancelled the signing ceremony for a landmark bipartisan Housing Bill on Wednesday.

He's demanding the Senate approve his election reforms known as the SAVE America Act, but party leaders say they don't have the votes. The president also clashed with Senator Bill Cassidy over new limits on his war powers in Iran. One source says he called Cassidy a lunatic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY, (R-LA): The president didn't want to hear my question, interrupted me. I didn't care to be interrupted. I felt like I was trying to get answers for the American people and I'm not going to be bullied when I'm trying to get answers for the American people, and so it escalated from there. At some point, it de-escalated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Cassidy said later he received a thorough briefing on Iran from Vice President J.D. Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

And we'll have the latest on the powerful Venezuela earthquakes just ahead. The country's president now confirming dozens are dead, hundreds more injured. We'll have details after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:47:25]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. I do want to update you on the Breaking News in Venezuela. At least 32 people are dead after two back-to-back earthquakes hit the country Wednesday evening. That is according to Venezuela's acting president, who says at least 700 others are injured.

The quakes have caused widespread damage, but Reuters is reporting that critical oil infrastructure appears to be largely spared. The U.S. Geological Survey says the stronger of the two quakes, a 7.5 magnitude, was the country's largest in over a century. Earlier, one expert explained which factors could determine how deadly the aftermath could be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM YECK, RESEARCH GEOPHYSICIST, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: When a big earthquake like this occurs, what we're worried about is not just the size of the earthquake, but how shallow the earthquake is and how close it is to dense population centers. And then in those population centers, how fragile the buildings are, what's the likelihood that they could collapse from shaking.

So we've seen examples of buildings that have collapsed. In this case, it was a very shallow earthquake. It occurred close to people. So it's very worrying, and we expect it to be very damaging. And I think it's going to take days to weeks to really understand the extent of this damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: OpenAI has unveiled its first custom A.I. chip designed to help power ChatGPT. The processor, called Jalapeno, was developed with Broadcom to handle the workloads for future A.I. developments. Designing its own chip puts OpenAI on a similar track as tech giants like Google and Amazon, which have also developed custom A.I. chips.

The announcement comes as OpenAI is reportedly preparing for an Initial Public Offering, or IPO, that could potentially value the company at $1 trillion.

Well, it was another exciting day of triumphs and defeats at the FIFA Men's World Cup on Wednesday. Mexico completed a perfect group stage, winning all three games in Group A with a 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic. Also in Group A, a stunning upset, South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0. South Africa sits second in the group now, with South Korea knocked down to third. And a shutout in Group C, with Brazil beating Scotland 3-0 to take the top spot in that group. Scotland now sits in third place.

Animals around the world are getting in on the World Cup action. They are making their own predictions on who will win it all.

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CNN's Don Riddell shows us which prognosticator might have the hottest streak.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Swimbappe, a goldfish in Toronto who "predicts World Cup matches" every morning. The competing countries' flags are placed above the tank and below in the water, Swimbappe swims either left or right to put in his prediction. His owners say he has a good record of the decisive outcomes. So far, the fish has correctly predicted around 75 percent of the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is kind of our way of participating in this big cultural moment that's happening for our city here in Toronto and also for our country here in Canada. But we'll see what happens. We have to trust the fish.

RIDDELL (voice-over): A trio of lions at Dallas Zoo are also taking the pitch. Paper mache soccer balls filled with food are scattered around a goal with two flags on either side. Whichever side they go for first represents their pick. However, their lead zoologist says the exercise is more than just being the best guesser.

MAGGIE KLOZA, LEAD ZOOLOGIST, DALLAS ZOO: So this is an enrichment for them. And so enrichment is very important and elicits certain like natural behaviors. So we want them to scratch, to hunt, to search. And this is our way of doing it. So we do something like this every single day for them, so they have the best lives and they're very enriched in their lives.

RIDDELL (voice-over): For some, this isn't their first World Cup. An orangutan from Germany has been participating in this tradition for over 20 years. Walter is faced with two sacks of competing countries. And the one he pulls down is his prediction.

MARCEL STAWINOGA, SPOKESPERSON, DORTMUND ZOO (through translator): There are so many World Cup oracles or football predictors these days. But Sumatran orangutan, Walter, is definitely the most experienced one we have here in Germany. No one else comes close.

RIDDELL (voice-over): Ritinha the shark, Tarak the elephant, and Junior the dog are also making their picks for the World Cup. They're all following in the footsteps or the tentacles of Paul the octopus. The late sea creature rose to fame during the 2010 World Cup when he correctly predicted eight games out of eight. That's a hard act to follow.

But if any of our furry, finned or feathered friends can do something similar, they'll be guaranteed World Cup immortality.

Don Riddell, CNN.

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CHURCH: In any startup, the business might begin as one thing and then change course once the founders have tested the market. Some tweaks might be small or they might take the company in a totally different direction. It happened to YouTube, which actually started out as a video dating site. Now that kind of innovation and evolution is happening right now in Namibia's budding ecosystem for startups. Check this out.

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AUDREY CHEBET, SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, BRITER: Namibia is one of the smaller ecosystems compared to other ecosystems in Africa, but also, it's steadily growing. Most startups at the very beginning have not really refined their business model. You will find them shifting once they go into market and they see the realities of the market. For example, Jabu went from logistics, purely logistics to being a FinTech.

DAVID AKININ, CO-FOUNDER, JABUPAY: JabuPay started as a way to help merchants source their goods. We were in the middle of the COVID pandemic, supply chains broke. Our aim and intention was always to help them move things faster. But then a box was full of cash always in their shops, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and that breaks supply chain more than anything.

So JabuPay pivoted on how to really solve a supply chain issue that was broken due to the cash nature of our business. We actually help them process their cash through our machines, through our wallets, and settle their payments instantly without the risk of where the cash sits.

KEVIN HASSAN, CO-FOUNDER, JABUPAY: We are here in Katutura. Katutura is located in Windhoek and is the heart of the economy of Namibia. This is one of the many townships that exist in the country. For us, it's a very important market. We help them digitize their cash and manage their cash better.

The impact comes from the beginning. It's what we call an ecosystem. So in the bottom of the pyramid, you will have this passage (ph) shop or the shebeen, which will buy from a wholesaler and that wholesaler will buy from a manufacturer. So if we are able to impact on the lower end and allow them to digitize their money faster, to be able to pay to the wholesalers, for those wholesalers to pay to the manufacturers, then the economy keeps growing and we are part of it.

So today, in a few communities, you don't need to drive hundreds of kilometers to deposit your funds. They can go to one of our locations in which we have JabuSafe. They deposit their money under their own PIN and those funds get instantly settled in their bank account.

AKININ: JabuPay operates in four markets. We're in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. Every single country we operate is very different. How people transact, how they trust each other, how they interact with each other on a commercial level is completely different. I think our ability to expand depends on our team's eagerness and interest to localize itself.

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CHEBET: We are seeing a lot of exciting things happening within the African innovation system, seeing how technology is solving very practical issues and not necessarily because the tech needs to be sophisticated. Tech just needs to be connected to what the actual needs of whoever you're serving is.

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CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, after a short break. Stay with us. [02:55:31]

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