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Venezuela is facing one of the worst natural disasters in its modern history after two powerful earthquakes struck the country less than a minute apart on June 24. The earthquakes caused widespread destruction across Caracas and the surrounding regions. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck roughly 160 kilometres west of the capital before a stronger magnitude 7.5 tremor followed less than a minute later. Buildings collapsed across multiple cities, power and communications networks have been disrupted, and emergency crews are overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster. Early casualty figures continue to rise as rescue workers search through mountains of rubble for survivors.

It was announced that thousands of Venezuelans are feared to be dead under the rubble left by the earthquakes. Early figures have confirmed that more than 180 have been killed, but according to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are more than 30,000 people unaccounted for across the country. The worst-affected area, La Guaira state, near Caracas, has become a disaster zone according to the head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodriguez. Rodriguez claimed that at least 1,520 people were injured and at least 250 buildings had been damaged or destroyed.

Website tracking missing people

A website has been created by the Venezuelan government to track missing people; it is currently being shared by politicians in the country as well as political rivals from outside of Venezuela. While news sources could not verify every report, the grassroots approach of the website is encouraging. Currently, the site claims there are more than 30,000 people unaccounted for.  The 7.5 magnitude quake was Venezuela’s strongest since 1900. The country lies on the boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates and has ‌suffered devastating earthquakes, including ⁠one that killed an estimated 30,000 people in 1812.

Venezuela’s economy already in dangerous territory

Before the earthquakes, Venezuela was already suffering from an economic crisis. Inflation is still estimated at more than 400 per cent. GDP per capita is projected to reach only about US$4,140 in 2026, leaving many families unable to afford basic necessities. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country since the crisis began, creating one of the world’s largest displacement crises. Years of underinvestment have also left critical infrastructure in disrepair, with frequent power outages, unreliable water systems and crumbling transportation networks disrupting businesses, reducing productivity and making it even harder for the country to attract investment or sustain long-term economic growth. Venezuela also experienced a violent regime change in 2026, with President Nicolas Maduro being kidnapped by the US, and Rodriguez being pushed in his place.

International response

There has been an overflow of positive responses from around the globe, including from countries with which Venezuela is at odds. With international rescue teams on their way, Rodriguez thanked both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin for their support. Trump and Putin both committed significant time and energy to destabilizing Venezuela’s economy this year, but have set aside their judgments to help the country during this national disaster. Trump commented on the incident, claiming the US is willing to help, and calling Venezuela America’s ‘friend’.

The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends.

-Donald Trump via Truth Social

U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher has said the U.N. was coordinating the deployment of international rescue teams. Fletcher stressed that conquering this disaster will require a massive collective effort from countries across the globe. Before the earthquake, there were already eight million Venezuelans in need of humanitarian aid. The U.N.’s Venezuela human rights mission urged the government to lift restrictions on some social media, saying it was a « matter of life and death ». Access became available ​in some areas of the country, where ⁠cell services are unreliable. Access to social media networks in Venezuela remains heavily restricted by state regulators following a period of extended censorship and political upheaval.

Canada prepping assistance

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke about the disaster on June 25. Carney claimed that Canada was ready and willing to supply humanitarian aid to Venezuela, but the country needed to figure out the logistics first. Carney cited the lack of Canadian presence in Venezuela, describing the country as one Canada has not seen ‘eye-to-eye’ with in the last few years. Still, Carney said he would be working with international partners to ensure that Canada can play a role in aiding Venezuela. Global Affairs Canada officials are in touch with regional partners and aid groups. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada was dedicated to helping the country. Canada and Venezuela have not formally severed relations, but Ottawa closed its Caracas embassy in June 2019 after Venezuela refused to renew expiring visas for diplomats.

Montrealers gathered on June 24 to honour the two victims killed during Monday’s deadly shooting in Côte-des-Neiges. Separate ceremonies were held for police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and civilian Michael Mizrahi. The funeral for Michel Mizrahi, 68, was held at Paperman & Sons funeral home. The ceremony was attended by more than 100 people, including Mizrahi’s friends from the Jewish community as well as Côte-des-Neiges mayor Stéphanie Valenzuela. A funeral prayer for Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, the 34-year-old police officer killed in the attack, was announced to be private. A second civic ceremony will be held in two weeks, according to the SVPM.

Benredouane, an officer with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, was honoured by colleagues, elected officials and members of law enforcement agencies from across Quebec. Police vehicles lined roadways as officers participated in a formal procession recognizing a man colleagues described as dedicated to public service. The procession began at the Mosque where the prayer for Benredouane was held and travelled to Laval for the burial. Benredouane joined the force in 2021 and was responding to reports of an armed suspect when he was fatally wounded. His death marked the first line-of-duty death of a Montreal police officer since 2002. This is the second time a Canadian police officer has been killed in the line of duty in the last two weeks. On June 11, a Toronto police officer was killed while investigating reports of a gunshot.

His passing is a great loss for our organization

Statement from SVPM

During the ceremony, speakers focused on Benredouane’s commitment to policing, his devotion to his family and the sacrifice he made while responding to a dangerous situation. Benredouane left behind a wife and a three-year-old child, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family. Fellow officers stood shoulder to shoulder in dress uniforms as tributes highlighted his professionalism and sense of duty. Several police organizations from outside Montreal also participated in the memorial. Public officials in attendance emphasized the risks officers face while responding to emergency calls and expressed condolences to Benredouane’s family, including his wife and child.

Mizrahi ‘larger than life’

At the funeral for Michel Mizrahi, hundreds of people from the Jewish community came to show their support. Mizrahi’s nephew, Marcus Mizrahi spoke at the ceremony. He described his uncle as ‘larger than life’ and spoke about how giving nature. Mizrahi’s nephew told a story describing how Mizrahi dressed his son for his bar mitzvah. Michel Mizrahi owned a tailoring business, which his nephew described as ‘more than just a job’. At the end of his speech, Mizrahi tearfully kissed the black cloth covering his uncle’s coffin.

Rabbi Mendel Raskin, Mizrahi’s rabbi for 30 years at the Beth Chabad synagogue in Côte Saint-Luc, also spoke at the ceremony. Raskin shared accounts of Mizrahi’s final moments. According to Raskin, Mizrahi helped guide others away from the scene of the shooting before his death.

He cared about people and wanted them to look and feel their best,

-Marcus Mizrahi

Benredouane ‘an extraordinary father’

Hours before the prayer near the mosque on June 24, CBC spoke with Benredouane’s older cousin, Nadir Ahcene Djaballah. Djaballah said that he and Benredouane were neighbours back in Algeria, and that Benredouane came from a large, notable family. Djaballah revealed that Benredouane had a twin brother and that there is a community in mourning back home in Algeria. Djabbalah described Benredouane as a happy, smiling boy back in Algeria and was quoted as saying that he only has good memories of the deceased officer.

There were no media members present at the private ceremony. In videos circulating online, mourners can be seen outside the Islamic Centre of Quebec, standing shoulder to shoulder in long rows to pray and honour Benredouane’s memory.

“Mystery meat” is not a phrase many people want to think of when grocery shopping, but sometimes consumers accidentally purchase strange or unusual cuts.

One man is going viral for buying what he thought was run-of-the-mill raw pork steak from H-E-B. Then he opened the packaging and found something strange inside.

What was wrong with the meat?

H-E-B customer Nelson Acevedo (@nelson.el.potro) shared footage capturing his recent purchase of an H-E-B bone-in Boston butt pork steak. The video has since accumulated more than 150,000 views.

“Okay, can somebody please tell me if this is normal?” Acevedo asked. He moved his camera to point it at a wooden cutting board covered in chopped-up bits of raw steak. Then he said, “So I noticed that little piece right there, had like this little looking… like a pimple, thing.”

Acevedo showed his viewers a white lump on one of the pieces of steak.

“So I was curious, and I punch a hole in it, and squeeze,” Acevedo said, pressing down on the steak piece. “Look at this.”

As Acevedo pressed down on the meat, the hole he’d poked in it oozed a thick, white discharge.

“That is—ew,” Acevedo said. “Yeah, that is [expletive] disgusting.”

In an email to Buzz News, Acevedo expanded on his consumer experience and said H-E-B gave him a refund for the pork steak.

“While preparing the meat, I noticed an unusual cyst-like structure in one of the pieces,” Acevedo said. “When I punctured it, a thick substance came out. I posted the video because I had never seen anything like it before and wanted to know whether anyone else had experienced something similar. HEB was very helpful and refunded the purchase.”

Acevedo also noted in his caption that while H-E-B also gave him a new “entire pack of meat,” it’s still important to always check the quality of the meat purchased.

“Please, check the meat before you cook and make sure there’s nothing on it,” he wrote.

@nelson.el.potro

This happened today. I was preparing the meat to make “Paisa Rice” and noticed a cyst looking thing on one of the small pieces I already chopped. A made a small puncture with the knife and puss popped out of it. That’s when I decided to record and squeezed it to see how much it was in it and as you can see, there was a lot. I contacted the store and they were very helpful and received the entire pack of meat and gave me a refund. With that being said, please, check the meat before you cook and make sure there’s nothing on it.

♬ original sound – Nelson (El Potro)

How to identify a steak abscess—and whether that steak is good to eat

Acevedo’s experience is by no means singular. Reddit is filled with posts written by concerned would-be consumers of suspiciously oozing steaks. As it turns out, most meat products can get abscesses, which can make them unsafe to eat.

According to a Food Republic interview with veterinary doctor Crystal Heath, these abscesses “are symptoms of improper cattle processing” and are “a common injury cattle face.”

“An abscess is a pocket of infection — a walled-off mass of pus made up of dead tissue, bacteria, and immune cells,” Heath says. “Federal inspectors are trained to identify and remove these lesions.”

However, some infected cuts of meat fall through regulatory cracks. Food Republic advises throwing out such cuts of meat “immediately.” If a person consumes the meat, they may experience “nausea, fever, stomach pain, and other signs of gastrointestinal distress.”

Yahoo News explains that cattle abscesses “are often caused by ‘high-energy cereal diets’ and unsanitary conditions,” and that even one abscess can infect the entire slab of meat with bacteria.

“An abscess is a lump in the tissue that feels firm and fibrous,” Yahoo News says. “It may be filled with white, yellow, or green pus when you cut into it … Infected portions should not be fed to pets, either … If an abscess is cut open and pus leaks out, not only does the meat need to be completely discarded, but you also need to sanitize your cutting board, knives, and any surfaces that came in contact with that infection using a bleach solution.”

Buzz News has reached out to Acevedo via TikTok comment and H-E-B via email.

A series of recent public appearances by President Donald Trump has sparked yet another debate about his health and cognitive fitness, with critics, medical commentators and political opponents pointing to several incidents they argue show his declining health. The discussion sparked anew following the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, where video footage appeared to show Trump briefly wandering away from fellow world leaders before being redirected. While the White House has dismissed concerns and has maintained that Trump remains in excellent health, the incident is yet another example proving otherwise.

The wandering Trump

The G7 footage appeared to show Trump separating from a group of leaders during an official event. The president looked around, seemingly confused before being redirected back to the group. The president turned and gave a thumbs-up gesture toward cameras before rejoining the group. Social media users quickly circulated clips of the moment, with some commentators suggesting it reflected confusion or disorientation. Others argued the video was being taken out of context and represented a brief misunderstanding rather than evidence of a larger issue. Regardless of interpretation, the footage generated widespread discussion because it occurred during one of the year’s most closely watched international gatherings.

You could maybe justify giving someone the MoCA once, just on their age, just as part of a physical. If you’re giving it to him three times, that means you’re not assessing dementia. That means you’re monitoring dementia.

-Dr. John Gartner

Dr. John Gartner is a former professor at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, and is claiming that Trump’s regular ‘screening’ tests are likely to calculate the progression of his dementia, not screen him for dementia as the White House has claimed. According to Gartner, frequent checks typically indicate ongoing concerns to monitor cognitive decline. Gartner also claimed that the frequency of these tests would likely improve their scores as patients become increasingly familiar with the questions and format of the test.

Adam James, a popular physiotherapist who has made waves online for his claims about Donald Trump’s health, also pointed to what he described as signs potentially consistent with a neurological event. James cited Trump’s leaning posture, apparent right-sided facial asymmetry and moments of speech difficulty. He argued that these characteristics align with warning signs commonly associated with strokes and cited the widely used BE FAST framework, which helps identify symptoms that require urgent medical attention. However, James acknowledged that he has never personally examined the president and emphasized that no official diagnosis has been made.

A worrying trend in US politics

The controversy is another layer to the broadening trend that has shaped American politics over the past decade. Questions surrounding age and cognitive fitness became major issues during both Trump’s campaigns and those of former president Joe Biden. Trump spent four years calling Biden ‘sleepy Joe’. Now, Trump is being caught snoozing during televised meetings in the Oval Office. American politicians are refusing to give up due to age, and the population is somehow supportive of the trend. Voters often talk about wanting ‘experienced’ politicians, but the result is dozens of decision-makers being over the age of 70. It’s hard to believe that ‘experience’ is worth having a president who is unable to put together coherent sentences.

Trump’s behaviour at the G7 conference has proved worrying for many critics. During the summit, Trump was the only world leader not to reference notes during the broadcasted meetings. In fact, he didn’t even have any notes in front of him. Trump was also caught wandering aimlessly during and after photo shoots, and the president was seen taking the hand of France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron. Some online commenters pointed to the fact that Trump may be so used to walking around with an aide that he continually confused Mrs. Macron with a service worker. It’s been reported by anonymous sources from the White House that Donald Trump does not read anything unless it is rewritten in a form he can understand. Donald Trump also does not often walk around the White House without aids on his elbows.

It’s important to note that no official medical diagnosis has been released supporting claims of cognitive decline, and the White House continues to insist that Trump remains healthy and capable of serving as president. At the same time, every new appearance seems to provide an extra piece of evidence that the president is in fact not healthy. The G7 footage, commentary from medical observers and ongoing debate over cognitive testing have collectively ensured that Trump’s health remains part of the national political conversation. As the president enters his ninth decade, that discussion appears unlikely to fade anytime soon.