Venezuela was rocked by the strongest earthquake in more than a century.

The lead starts right now.

A nation in shock. Two strong earthquakes in Venezuela just seconds apart.

The death toll regrettably rising as rescuers from around the world are now headed to the

disaster zone. I'm going to talk with one of the world's most respected seismologists about the

threat of a powerful aftershock coming next. Plus, from immigration to guns, new major decisions

from the U.S. Supreme Court as Justice Samuel Alito accuses another justice of blindsiding

him. And a growing divide in the Democratic Party is the agenda of the far left, even willing

to work with the Democratic establishment, or is their plan to throw all of them out?

Welcome to the lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to begin with breaking news in our world lead.

At least 188 people are dead. More than 1,500 are injured. And more than 200 people are currently trapped under the rubble of collapsed or damaged buildings.

After two back-to-back earthquakes devastated Venezuela nearly 24 hours ago.

The first, a 7.2 magnitude 4 shock, followed by a larger 7.5 magnitude quake just 39 seconds later.

Right now, intense search and rescue operations are going on.

The death toll is expected to rise significantly because the quakes leveled entire buildings

across the nation. In some areas, it looks as though entire streets are gone. The word devastation

does not even begin to cover this. Social media is full of desperate police

from people inside and outside Venezuela looking for any information about their loved ones.

To give you a better sense of the scope of this, Venezuela is roughly one and a half times the size

of Texas. About 30 to 34 million people call Venezuela home home with the vast majority living on the northern

coastal regions of the country, and that northern coast was the epicenter of both earthquakes.

Venezuela was already in the midst of a deep political and financial crisis.

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