Morning Brief: Russia pounds Ukraine's grid despite energy ceasefire; Houthis vow more Saudi attacks; Pope Leo recovering after cancer surgery
Also: Trump touts Greenland oil and mineral exploration and pardons two diesel mechanics in Alaska; a 10-day refugee rule takes effect; and the Supreme Court hears Salazar v. Paramount today after adding a DOGE records case.
World Brief Now6 AM CT · Wed, Oct 14
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Russia launched 39 ballistic and cruise missiles and 128 drones at Ukraine overnight, mainly at energy sites in Kyiv, the Kyiv region and Kharkiv, Ukraine's air force said, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least 600,000 people lost power, the BBC reported. At least six people were killed across Ukraine, including three in Kyiv, Al Jazeera reported; Russia's defense ministry called the strikes "massive" and said they hit energy and communications facilities used by Ukraine's military. Zelenskyy said there was "once again, no early warning from our partners" and called it a deliberate strike on the infrastructure covered by the energy ceasefire President Trump announced Sunday. Separately, a Zelenskyy adviser said SpaceX put a speed limit on Starlink terminals overnight that disrupted some Ukrainian missions; SpaceX has not commented, the BBC said.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Wednesday they will keep targeting Saudi Arabia's international airport and oil infrastructure "in the coming days" and told civilians and shipping companies to stay away, CBS News reported. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted another Houthi ballistic missile fired at Riyadh on Wednesday, after Saudi Civil Defense said debris from two intercepted missiles injured four people and damaged 15 homes on Tuesday; Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry reported a "limited fire" with no casualties at an Aramco building in Dhahran. The coalition said it struck Houthi-linked oil sites in Sanaa, Dhamar and Saada, and President Trump has said he is considering joining attacks on the Houthis, who have threatened U.S. personnel and interests if he does.
Pope Leo XIV, 71, had a calm night at Rome's Gemelli Hospital after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung on Tuesday, the Vatican said Wednesday, Euronews reported. His doctors said an examination during the roughly 90-minute operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, that the surgery succeeded with no complications, and that more tests on the removed tissue will follow, Vatican News reported. The Vatican said the cancer was detected early and was localized, expects about a week of recovery and has canceled his audiences until Oct. 20; it is unclear whether his planned Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru will go ahead.
President Trump posted on Truth Social early Wednesday that "Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland," saying experts believe its easily available oil is "far greater than that of almost any land" and that the island is "second to none" for U.S. and European defense, Fox News reported. He did not say when or how exploration would begin. Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark that controls its own mineral resources, stopped issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses in 2021; last month the U.S., Denmark and Greenland signed a security agreement expanding the U.S. military role on the island, Fox News and Reuters reported.
At a Tuesday night rally in Wasilla, Alaska, for Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich, President Trump signed unconditional pardons for diesel mechanics Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, saying they were "wrongfully charged," the New York Post reported. Both pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act after the Justice Department said they removed or tampered with emissions equipment on at least 37 vehicles; each was fined $66,000, and Czubak was sentenced to five years' probation. Trump also urged Alaskans to repeal the state's ranked-choice voting and warned about a second Dan Sullivan on the Senate ballot.
A Trump administration rule taking effect Wednesday cuts the time refugees have to respond to a notice of intent to terminate their status from 30 days to 10, and it took effect without the usual advance notice-and-comment process, Fox News reported. The Department of Homeland Security cited an "alarming erosion of integrity" in Biden-era refugee vetting, and the administration has ordered a review of at least 185,000 refugees admitted then who have pending green card applications. Refugee groups Global Refuge and HIAS said 10 days is not enough time to find a lawyer or gather records and warned that people could be deported to danger.
The Supreme Court hears one hour of oral argument at 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT) today in Salazar v. Paramount Global (No. 25-459), with attorneys Joshua I. Hammack and Paul D. Clement listed on the Court's day call. The case asks whether the Video Privacy Protection Act, passed after a 1987 newspaper story listed Judge Robert Bork's video rentals, covers Michael Salazar, who subscribed to a newsletter from Paramount-owned 247Sports.com and says the site shared his video-viewing history with Facebook through a Pixel without his consent, SCOTUSblog reported. The Sixth Circuit said he was not a covered "consumer"; Paramount argues his reading would expose "virtually any company with a website" to class-action liability.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear three new cases, including the Trump administration's appeal in U.S. DOGE Service v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over how much discovery the watchdog group CREW can take to learn whether DOGE is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, SCOTUSblog reported. The justices also took up Blanche v. Ozurumba, on whether a Nigerian man's six months as a cook in a camp run by the separatist "Unknown Gunmen" counts as "material support" for terrorism that bars asylum, and Berry v. United States, on appeals by prisoners. CBS News reported the DOGE case will likely be argued in early 2027, with a decision by that summer.
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