White House's Ukraine order, Oregon shooting and California's ballot battle

Hi, I'm Kim Van Nel in Whanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Christopher Waljasper in Chicago. It's Friday, October 16th, today. Trump's new press secretary is out just seven days into the job. A shooter kills four at an Oregon elementary school. Zelensky criticizes Trump's diesel deal with Russia while calling on the EU for more aid. And the Houthis attack the seat of Yemen's government. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. This is a protein bar's 75 sports drinks. And that's just pregame. He knows teamwork, and BJ's knows savings. This is your home, coach. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer, new members only. BJ's, home of the Save. White House press secretary Katie Zachariah has been let go after just seven days on the job. The news comes following questions about her legal credentials and a shaky debut press briefing. I'll have to get back to you on that. President Trump told reporters he advised her to reconsider the role, saying she's been brutalized by the media. Despite Trump initially describing her as an attorney, it was revealed this week that Zachariah's never passed the bar exam. I met the family yesterday. Beautiful kids. It's like from a picture postcard. And I just. He said he should reconsider because you don't want to go through it. The White House has not yet indicated who will replace her. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at a European Union summit in Brussels, warning that the U.S.-Russia diesel deal could lead to loosening of other sanctions on Moscow, fueling Russia's offensive against Ukraine. The diesel deal, I don't want to be in war. If he attacks us, we will respond. It's our rule. Don't involve us to some diesel deal. The criticism comes after Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery on Thursday, with Zelensky rejecting Trump's energy ceasefire as Russia continues to strike the Ukrainian energy sector. Zelensky told the Financial Times, quote, We're done. That's it. Block is out. Adding to the apparent frustration this week, Ukraine's battlefield communications and defensive capabilities were throttled by limits on the Starlink systems it uses to attack the U.S. and Ukraine. The U.S. and Ukraine's defense capabilities were throttled by limits on the Starlink systems it uses to attack the U.S. and Ukraine. The White House did not respond to questions about whether other administration officials may have made the request. Ukraine reported issues with its Starlink battlefield service during days of intense Russian attacks, including on its energy infrastructure. Kiev resident Inna Kozub says the country desperately needs help from its allies, calling Washington's actions unacceptable. White House reporter Graham Slattery says, this could be a turning point in the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. I'm personally saying we have to hit these refineries. If we're not hitting refineries, we're fighting with two arms tied behind our back. Trump on the other hand says, you know, look, we've given you a lot of intelligence, we've given you weapons, this war's gone on for four years and change, and we're asking you to do this one thing, so just do it. And the two sides are at a really nasty impasse. A gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon on Thursday, killing three children and a 10-year-old. The shooter was 16 years old. Police say he fired through locked doors to get inside Silver Rail Elementary School. An armed member of the community followed him in and shot him dead before police arrived. The community gathered for a candlelit vigil last night. Bend resident Carlos Castellon among them. While we're standing here putting up the candles and trying to keep the candles lit up, we were able to see how the forensics were here, taking out the bodies. And there's three vehicles, one black truck and two vans that we saw that left. And it was very heartbreaking to see something like that. The children were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child and a teacher remain in hospital in critical condition. Masked Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians who were harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank. Witnesses say the attackers burned trees, and threw rocks in what appeared to be a coordinated assault. About 80 people descended on the village of Abu Fala, injuring at least two people, including a Washington Post photographer who says she was kicked repeatedly, despite wearing press identification. The Israeli military says it fired warning shots after arriving on scene. The settler violence has surged during this year's harvest, with an Israeli monitoring group identifying, at least 170 attacks recorded since late September. Tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25% off grocery store prices. Beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com. And save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Yemen's Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on the presidential palace in Aden, killing five people in the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed government. Yemeni officials say the prime minister and cabinet are safe. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia says the Houthis have launched 20 attacks, on Riyadh's main international airport this month, killing 17 people and wounding more than 300. The Iran-backed group is targeting Saudi airports, as well as ports and oil facilities as part of the wider regional war. Over in California, the Trump administration is asking a federal judge to stop the state from counting mail ballots for more than 20,000 voters it says could be non-citizens. The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to stop the state from counting mail ballots for more than 20,000 voters it says could be non-citizens. The Justice Department says the voters were identified by matching voter rolls against Homeland Security databases. The administration wants the ballots set aside until the voters' immigration status can be verified. California is pushing back, accusing the Justice Department of creating confusion just weeks before Election Day. Our Justice Department correspondent, Andrew Goodswood, explains. If the department, you know, succeeds in this lawsuit, that could cause a lot of uncertainty in the California, at least, and, you know, potentially, if there are close races, those 20,000 votes could prove significant. California hasn't formally responded to the lawsuit in court, but they have, you know, released a statement saying that they have procedures in place to protect their elections. Los Angeles County has said that there are potential privacy issues with looking at this list of voters that the government, the federal government has given. And we also know that there are, you know, concerns about potentially, you know, purging voters right before an election. It's actually a federal law that says that you can't do mass purges of voter rolls within 90 days of an election, which we're clearly within here. Andrew says it's unclear if this dispute will work its way through the legal system before Election Day. It's always possible that there's, you know, quick rulings, that this reaches the Supreme Court potentially. And obviously, we're less than three weeks away now. The court may be pretty reluctant to intervene in a way that would cause chaos or disruption to the midterms. Police in Albania's capital, Tirana, fire water cannon, tear gas and sound grenades as they try to break up crowds of student protesters. The demonstrators smashed windows, set up barricades and clashed with security forces, demanding that Prime Minister Eddie Rama step down. Here's protesters in Albania. Here's a video of the protest. down, but says he is ready to discuss the rising cost of education. And finally, Tesla has unveiled its long-delayed Roadster, although it's not exactly clear who or where one might want to drive it, given this version is designed to fly through the air. In a showy demonstration, the electric sports car drove up a loop, going upside down using a suction system before turning in the air and landing with built-in thrusters. Production is slated for 2028, although analysts say it's more of a symbolic offering, showing off Tesla's engineering and technology. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJs.com/Mosquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJs. Home of the save. For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. There's a link in the description to download it and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.