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By Hannah Jewell and Izin Akhabau

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Good morning. It’s Thursday, June 25, and our columnist makes a strong case that the Reflecting Pool drama is the much-watch show of the summer. Now let’s get to the news.


	Back-to-back earthquakes toppled buildings in Venezuela’s capital.

Police officers evacuate an injured victim from a collapsed building. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty)

Last night: A 7.2-magnitude quake followed by a 7.5-magnitude quake violently shook Caracas. At least 164 people have died, with 971 injured.
In response: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S., which toppled Venezuela’s leader in January, would send search teams and humanitarian aid.

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The Senate reversed course on Iran under pressure from President Donald Trump.

A day after passing a measure to block further strikes: The Senate rejected a similar resolution. It followed a contentious lunch between Trump and Senate Republicans.
Also yesterday: Trump abruptly canceled the signing of a bipartisan bill on affordable housing, saying in a post that the Senate must first pass his bill to impose new rules on elections.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intervened to thwart a top general’s career.

What happened? Gen. Christopher Donahue submitted retirement paperwork after behind-the-scenes efforts by Hegseth, who has been purging senior military leaders.
Other administration news: The Post investigated mysterious memos that guided former Trump official Tulsi Gabbard’s career. Three clips show her repeating them almost verbatim.

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Meet the megadonors pouring more than $1.3 billion into the 2026 election.

Miriam Adelson is fifth on The Post's list of top donors, giving $67.6 million in large donations. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

This year: Republican-leaning donors have given over $800 million, while Democratic-leaning ones gave over $290 million. Lots of cash this cycle came from Elon Musk and crypto firms. Track it here.
The biggest losers: Wealthy Americans have spent hundreds of millions of their own money trying to join Congress. Most of the time, it doesn’t pay off — as these people found out.
One more thing: AI companies flooded the New York primaries with tens of millions of dollars.

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	An internal memo ordered staff not to reveal deaths at National Parks.

The new policy: Interior Department employees are prohibited from directly notifying the public about deaths or severe injuries. An average of about 350 people die in national parks each year.
Why the change? Officials say it’s to respect investigations and protect privacy. But current and former park staffers told The Post it will make it harder to keep visitors safe.

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People of all ages are heading South.

According to census data released today: Between 2020 and 2025, roughly 7.6 million people moved to southern states. That’s more than the rest of the country combined.
Who’s moving there, and why? The young, the old and the middle-aged. Jobs, family and feverish development seem to be pull factors. See which areas are growing fastest here.

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Old, unknown goalkeepers are the breakout stars of this World Cup.

Ghana’s goalkeeper Benjamin Asare, 33, saved several goals during the team’s match against England. (Richard Pelham/Getty)

In the tournament’s first two weeks: Keepers from African and Caribbean countries have repeatedly held back richer nations’ teams. It has turned them into instant, unlikely celebrities.
The U.S. men play today: They have already secured their place in the next round, but this player could show how far the team will go. Meanwhile, a healthy Christian Pulisic presents a big dilemma.

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Before you go... are you getting sleep all wrong? Test your knowledge with this quiz. Plus: What a plant-based expert eats for protein, calcium and more.

One more good read: She lost her hearing at 32. This treatment might have prevented it.