Also: Houthis vow more Saudi strikes after Aramco HQ hit as Trump blasts the rebels; Pope Leo walks and eats after lung surgery; and bipartisan senators urge Trump to scrap a Russia diesel deal.
5 PM CT video brief · 1:38Presenter voice and image generated with AI tools.Read transcript
I'm Nora Vale with your Evening Update for Wednesday, October 14. Musk: U.S. sets Starshield limits. Zelenskyy: 600,000 without power despite ceasefire. Aramco Dhahran hit with limited fire; Trump blasts Houthis as Iran-backed. SCOTUS leans toward letting Salazar video-privacy suit against Paramount proceed. DOJ appeals block on White House ban of CNN, Politico and MS NOW. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: There is a Moderate Risk (level 3 of 4) of excessive rainfall over parts of the Southern Plains on Thursday. Thunderstorms with severe wind gusts and some tornado threat are possible this afternoon and evening across parts of the southern Plains. A marginal wind-damage risk is possible across parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, a level 2 of 5 severe storm risk. Our opinion. Clear Starshield answers; pressure Moscow, not diesel waivers; Congress writes privacy law. Full stories and sources are at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale. Thanks for watching.
Elon Musk wrote on X Wednesday that any speed or usage limits on SpaceX's government Starshield service "are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," after Ukraine reported overnight restrictions that disrupted military operations, Fox News reported. A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that Ukraine got no advance warning and that Starshield would be restricted on platforms traveling at 100 mph or higher; Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said connectivity below that threshold was being restored while urging the speed limit be removed entirely. Separately, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian overnight missile and drone strikes damaged 26 power-system facilities and four oil-and-gas sites and left at least 600,000 people without power in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions, despite the energy ceasefire President Trump announced Sunday, CNBC reported.
Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that an attack on an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran sparked a "limited fire" with no casualties or fatalities, and Saudi Civil Defense said debris from two intercepted Houthi missiles wounded four people and damaged 15 homes in Riyadh, Euronews reported. President Trump wrote on Truth Social that "the Houthis are behaving very badly," accusing them of acting "probably at the behest of Iran" and of trying to drive up oil prices before U.S. elections, Euronews reported; he has said he is considering joining Saudi strikes. CBS News reported the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted another Houthi ballistic missile toward Riyadh on Wednesday, and the Houthis vowed to keep targeting Saudi Arabia's international airport and oil infrastructure in the coming days.
Doctors at Rome's Gemelli Hospital said Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV's blood tests and chest X-ray after Tuesday's surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung were within the expected range and that his postoperative recovery is progressing normally, Vatican News reported. The Holy See Press Office said he has begun respiratory physiotherapy, started walking around his room, resumed eating normally with breakfast and lunch, and that "his recovery is proceeding as expected"; Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said the Pope also concelebrated Mass Wednesday afternoon on the hospital's 10th floor. The Vatican has canceled audiences through Oct. 20 and expects about a week of recovery after surgeons confirmed lung adenocarcinoma during the roughly 90-minute operation.
The Justice Department said Wednesday it is appealing to the D.C. Circuit a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly that indefinitely blocks the White House from enforcing its ban on CNN, Politico and MS NOW hard passes, CNBC reported. Kelly, whom President Trump nominated in 2017, ruled Tuesday night that the outlets are likely to succeed on First Amendment claims of unlawful retaliation and viewpoint discrimination over the ban Trump announced Sept. 18, writing there was "no evidence" national security drove the decision "from the get-go" and calling that rationale a "post-hoc justification." The injunction replaces Kelly's earlier temporary restraining order and is not a final ruling in the outlets' lawsuit against Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secret Service Director Sean Curran and communications director Steven Cheung.
Twelve senators from both parties urged President Trump on Wednesday to rescind Treasury General License No. 135 lifting sanctions on Russia's diesel exports, calling the deal "a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies," Fox News reported. Signers include Republicans Thom Tillis, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John Cornyn and Democrats Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jack Reed and Chris Coons; they argue Russian diesel revenues would finance the war on Ukraine and offer "limited to no relief" to American fuel prices. Trump said Tuesday the diesel is "released into the world" for high global prices, not to the United States, after announcing Friday that Russia would supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel to world markets.
The White House said Wednesday that President Trump is visiting Bullhead City, Arizona, and Kalispell, Montana, highlighting Working Families Tax Cuts, border enforcement and private investment. The Arizona release cites about 1.3 million seniors benefiting from a new senior deduction, average 2026 refunds of $3,659, no illegal-alien releases at the border for 16 consecutive months, and major projects including a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Phoenix expansion. NBC News reported the stops continue a midterm campaign blitz for Republican candidates in competitive races.
After nearly 90 minutes of argument Wednesday in Salazar v. Paramount Global (No. 25-459), the justices appeared poised to agree with petitioner Michael Salazar that the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act can cover a consumer of non-video goods or services from a company that provides videos, SCOTUSblog's Amy Howe reported. Salazar alleges Paramount-owned 247Sports.com shared his video-viewing history with Facebook via a Pixel without consent after he subscribed to a newsletter; the Sixth Circuit held he was not a covered "consumer." Several justices voiced floodgates concerns but suggested consent and other statutory limits could check suits, while Justices Thomas, Barrett and Alito questioned whether Paramount is a "video tape service provider" at all; a decision is expected next year.
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