Venezuela Earthquakes Aftermath, SCOTUS Immigration Rulings, Trump Offers Farmers Aid

Up First from NPR

This episode of Up First covers the aftermath of devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, where over 500 people have died and rescue efforts face severe challenges due to the country's strained infrastructure and economy. The Supreme Court expanded presidential power to end Temporary Protected Status and restrict asylum claims, impacting hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Meanwhile, President Trump

Key takeaways

• Venezuela's earthquake response is hampered by economic collapse, with public servants earning only $200 monthly and inflation at 500% annually.
• The Supreme Court's 6-3 rulings grant the president unchecked authority to terminate TPS and restrict asylum claims, affecting 300,000+ individuals.
• Farmers, once strong Trump supporters, have lost confidence due to tariffs and trade wars, with approval dropping from +22 to -10 in one month.

Transcript preview

The rescuers in Venezuela are racing to reach thousands still missing after two powerful earthquakes hit within seconds of each other. More than 500 people have been killed and officials say that death toll will likely climb, but people still trapped under rubble. I'm Leela Faldil. That's Michelle Martin, and this is up first from NPR News. Syria, the other makes it harder to claim asylum at the border. And President Trump is courting farmers, a group his own policies have hurt. He's offering $11 billion in additional aid after his tariffs and the Iran war squeezed their finances. Polls show people in farm country have lost confidence in the president. Is this enough to win it back? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day. day. Rescuers in Venezuela continue their search for thousands of people missing after two devastating earthquakes struck in quick succession on Wednesday night. The quakes hit the capital and surrounding areas causing widespread destruction and overwhelming local response efforts. Venezuelan officials now say at least 589 people are confirmed dead and warn the toll is likely to rise as the search continues. Noel Ruida is a neighbor in Colombia and he's with us now to tell us more about what he's hearing. Moyle good morning. Good morning. You've actually been able to get in touch with people on the ground. What are they telling you about conditions there? Well basically what people are saying is that some parts of Caracas look like a war zone because many buildings have collapsed have collapsed entirely and also in La Guaida, which is a city about an hour away on the Caribbean coast. they're sleeping in parks at night. Even people who perhaps their building didn't collapse or sleeping outside because they're afraid of the replicas from the earthquake. So basically what humanitarian groups are saying in Venezuela is that this is going to be a very long effort to support these people. You know, these people are going to need food, shelter, medicines. So this is going to take several weeks. They're going to need support for several weeks there to get back on their feet. And what about right now? Like how is the search and rescue operation working? I mean, it just sounds like the conditions there are really horrific. Yeah, what you have right now is hundreds of people also trapped inside the rubble inside buildings and some of these people are still alive and desperately waiting for help. Venezuela doesn't have much experience dealing with major earthquakes because they just don't happen there so often it's not like California or Japan some journalists have been trying to speak to people who are trapped inside buildings this is a clip from the city of La Guaida where a journalist is trying to get people to scream out their names to prove that they're alive. So you can sort of hear their voices muffled because these people are just behind several feet of concrete like inside a hole or very deep inside a building and they can't get out. And it's not exactly a secret that Venezuela's economy has been severely strained for a number of years. You've certainly written reporting on