Ukraine is still unable to use its interceptor systems against Russian drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, because of speed restrictions imposed on Starshield, an upgraded military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink, amid an ongoing row with President Trump.”Unfortunately, we can’t use Starlink or Starshield technology on our territory today to shoot down jet-powered Shaheds,” Zelenskyy said in an online group chat with reporters at the EU Summit. “They fly, and we can stop them with aircraft and other air defense, but we don’t use Starlink for that, unfortunately. God willing, this will be restored.”Zelenskyy said Kyiv was discussing the issue with U.S. officials, and he was told the restrictions were linked to technical issues. The Ukrainian president added, however, that Starlink appears to be operating at higher speeds on European Union territory.”Yes, we are in dialogue at the level of the military, the Ministry of Defense and diplomats, in touch with everyone including SpaceX. Nobody there is answering our military or the Ministry of Defense now,” Zelenskyy said. “At various levels they say these are technical problems.””Here (in Ukraine) Starlink works up to a speed of 161 km/h, then shuts off,” he continued. “In the EU it works at 180-plus and works constantly. Here it shuts off in the second minute after 161 km/h and stops working. We lose both drones and connectivity.”Denys Sienik, the chargé d’affaires of Ukraine to the U.S., told CBS News in a statement later Saturday that Ukraine had still not received a response from the Pentagon or SpaceX regarding its inquiries about Starlink or Starshield service, “including confirmation that unlimited speeds have been restored and that Starshield is operating as it did previously.”Sienik said “based on the data currently available to us, we cannot confirm that these capabilities have been fully restored.”Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday he had not limited Ukraine’s access to Starlink, adding he didn’t believe Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, was responsible either.”Well, I don’t know if it was anybody because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Mr. Trump said while leaving the White House to travel for a rally in Georgia. “And from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been.”Musk said Wednesday he isn’t responsible for deciding how Starshield is used, writing on X: “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”Starshield is essential to Ukraine’s armed forces as it allows personnel to communicate and carry out strikes, including by maintaining contact with drones across long distances.On Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russia carried out a large attack on Ukraine’s energy sector, targeting more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities across the country. A day earlier, the president said the current restrictions on Starshield had left people vulnerable to Russian drones, which was “very painful and frustrating”Ukrainian officials and soldiers told CBS News the country’s military began experiencing sudden difficulties with Starshield equipment late Tuesday, including speed limits that made it more difficult to carry out missions with fast-moving drones. Sources in Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said SpaceX had unilaterally imposed the Starshield restrictions.Mr. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Zelenskyy in recent days, blaming the war between Russia and Ukraine for high global energy prices. The Trump administration waived restrictions on buying Russian diesel last week in an effort to ease pressure, a move Zelenskyy argued could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.In a social media post on Saturday, Zelenskyy called the move “unfortunate,” adding the act, championed by late Sen. Lindsey Graham, “could have helped enormously.” Later, he told journalists he believed the Trump administration will lift more sanctions on Russia.”Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue. I believe the ‘diesel deal’ is just the first step,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “President Trump has been clear that he wants to see this brutal war come to an end. As talks continue, this Act provides the President with additional authorities to pursue a peaceful resolution,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told CBS News on Saturday in response to a question about lifting the sanctions. “Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing U.S. efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. The President retains the ability to exercise these authorities at any time if he determines that doing so would advance national interests.” Mr. Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop striking each other’s energy infrastructure — announcing an “energy ceasefire” over the weekend. Zelenskyy initially said Ukraine was willing to abide by such an agreement, but that Russia’s strikes never ceased, and several days later he told the Financial Times his country would no longer hold off on striking Russian refineries because Russia was still attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.The Russian government never confirmed it had agreed to a ceasefire.In a Newsmax interview late Thursday, Mr. Trump called Zelenskyy “not a good guy for us to deal with,” argued Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries would be a “disgrace,” urged both sides to make a deal and said the Ukrainian leader is harder to deal with than Putin.”I’m not a big fan of Zelenskyy,” Mr. Trump said.On Wednesday, Musk had tweeted: “Time for Zelensky to go.”This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-trump-zelenskyy-starlink-russia-war-drones/

By Janis Laizans, STAMOS PROUSALIS and Yann Tessier PARIS, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Rioting erupted in cities across France on Saturday as demonstrations against rising living costs and declining public services spiralled out of control in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed for decades. While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in street marches in scores of cities, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets ‌and attacked police vehicles and officers. In Limoges the city hall was set ablaze, in Marseille black-clad protesters broke into City Hall and defaced the building with anarchic graffiti and in Lyon protesters torched the city’s tourist office. French ‌Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the government would not be “intimidated” by violence, and blamed the unrest on the “far-left” and criminals just months before a presidential election next year. “To those who clearly want to use this violence as a ‘warm-up’ before the presidential election, I say clearly: We will not let ourselves be ​intimidated. No one will impose their political agenda through violence,” he wrote in a post on X. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters that about 400 people had been arrested after violent incidents, most of whom were adults. Around 550,000 people had participated in the demonstrations across the country, he said. The CGT union told Reuters it estimated protesters at 800,000 people. President Emmanuel Macron vowed to prosecute and punish people who had performed such attacks. “We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who only seek to undermine our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so,” he wrote in a post on X. Belgium, Portugal and Italy also faced smaller-scale protests on Saturday as living costs rise in Europe, while protesters in Albania again rallied against perceived government ‌corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards. Protesters said most people had marched ⁠peacefully, and put much of the violence down to troublemakers who had set out to cause damage and clash with the police. Many held signs bearing slogans against the police, the president and the wealthy. “We are fighting because the cost of living is too harsh, because the price of fuel is too high, because high school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all ⁠over the country just for trying to protest and ask for more teachers and decent learning conditions,” said Lola, a 19-year-old protester in Paris. TEAR GAS, FIRE AND LOOTING Most protests kicked off around midday, with some beginning before the official start of the demonstrations. In some parts of Paris, police fired tear gas rounds as they retreated in the face of mostly young protesters, many of whom were dressed in black and wore hoodies, masks and goggles to protect against tear gas. Rioters tried to break into the Galeries Lafayette department store, smashed up banks, ​ransacked ​a Lacoste store as well as other boutiques and looted an SFR mobile phone shop. Protesters had been setting objects ablaze all day, ​including numerous cars. In protests partly inspired by those in France, several hundred mostly young people protested ‌in Brussels, and some clashed with police. Belgian student groups have said they are protesting against rising education costs and reforms they fear will make higher education less accessible. In Albania, police fired what appeared to be rubber bullets at protesters during a fifth day of mass student demonstrations calling for Prime Minister Edi Rama to step down. In Portugal, tens of thousands took to the streets of Lisbon following days of unrest to protest against housing and other living costs. Housing prices in Portugal have doubled since 2017, fuelling one of the worst affordability crises in Europe. In Italy, a march against high costs of living in Milan degenerated into disorder, with police clearing the central cathedral square with tear gas. Police in Bologna used water cannons to try to disperse crowds and made seven arrests after another protest turned violent, the ANSA news agency reported. FRENCH POLICE RESPONSE UNDER SCRUTINY The protests in France began last month at high schools in Paris’ working-class northern suburbs, where anger over teacher ‌shortages and shabby facilities evolved into a broader movement focused on inequality, public spending and living standards. In Paris on Saturday, protesters in high-visibility ​vests blocked streets, recalling the Yellow Vest movement that marked President Emmanuel Macron’s previous term in office. Saturday’s protests eclipsed the size of the crowds at ​the peak of the Yellow Vest movement, though they were far lower than the levels seen at the ​protests in 2023 against Macron’s pension overhaul. Macron is entering the final stretch of his presidency, facing a fragmented political landscape and growing pressure over the economy. France’s efforts to reduce public debt have failed ‌to reassure investors, pushing government borrowing costs to their highest levels in over two decades. Police ​tactics have drawn criticism following injuries among demonstrators, including a teenager ​who lost a hand after picking up a stun grenade. The police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence. Lecornu said more than 900 police officers had also been injured in previous protests. Nunez said one person lost his hand in clashes with police on Saturday. French media reported he tried to pick up a stun grenade. The UNSA police union posted a video on X showing crowds attacking police vans with clubs and ​bricks in multiple locations. The union warned the government police forces were at breaking ‌point. “Today again, in every corner of France, our colleagues are being used as punching bags. Pelted with stones, injured, trapped in real ambushes,” the union said. “Let everyone take responsibility: this cannot go on indefinitely. The ​rope is stretched to its maximum.” (Reporting by Janis Laizans, Stamos Prousalis, Yann Tessier, Clotaire Achi, Abdul Saboor, Dominique Vidalon, Makini Brice, Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris, Stephane Mahe in Nantes, Petra Wischgoll in Strasbourg, ​Marc Leras in Marseille; Writing by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Mark Potter, Timothy Heritage and Chizu Nomiyama ) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/students-trade-unions-yellow-vests-050603763.html

A fast-moving wildfire in Southern California quickly consumed hundreds of acres and burned multiple homes after sparking in Orange County Friday, county officials said. The Norte Fire began around noon near a neighborhood in the San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano areas and by Friday evening had grown to 570 acres, the Orange County Fire Authority said. It’s one of several fires that have broken out since Thursday amid fierce Santa Ana winds affecting Southern California. “Our actions today will be to continue to attack the fire and work toward getting residents home as soon as it’s safe to so do,” Orange County Fire Authority Captain Greg Barta said Saturday morning in a video on X. Topography and weather conditions allowed the fire to grow rapidly, Orange County Division 3 Fire Chief Mark Backoff said in a video posted to social media Friday afternoon. Six homes have been destroyed or damaged by the fire, and two firefighters suffered “significant” injuries but are stable in area hospitals, fire officials said. Evacuation orders were issued for multiple areas in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, encompassing roughly 4,600 homes and 16,000 people, Orange County Fire Authority Chief TJ McGovern said. Officials asked residents to be patient as they evaluate when it will be safe to return home. Officials said progress had been made against the fire by the evening but warned conditions remained volatile. “A majority of the fire has been knocked down. However, we still have some homes that have been impacted here, and as you can see, the wind is still blowing pretty strong up here,” Orange County Fire Authority spokesperson Steve Concialdi said. The fire is now 5% contained as of Saturday morning. Crews’ objective is “keeping the fire within its current footprint,” McGovern said at a news conference Friday evening. Aerial footage from CNN affiliate KCBS showed multiple houses burning Friday afternoon. Resident Robert Morris called the sudden threat to homes “a wake-up call,” telling KCBS, “I’ve lived here since 1995, and this is the first time we’ve really ever had a fire in this area.” US Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat whose district includes part of Orange County, said his family had to evacuate their San Juan Capistrano home while he attended an event nearby. Levin thanked firefighters for preventing greater damage from the fire and said “year-round wildfire season” has become the “new normal” for Southern California. Cars drive along Interstate 5 towards the Norte Fire in San Juan Capistrano, California, on October 16. Evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Orange County. – Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images Orange County sheriff’s deputies were going door to door in areas under evacuation order, telling people to leave for their safety, Sgt. Lizbeth Gwisdalla, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department, told CNN. Ten schools were dismissed early “out of an abundance of caution” and sports and after-school programs were canceled, Capistrano Unified School District announced. Wind gusts in the area reached 25 mph Friday afternoon and remained elevated into the evening. The Santa Ana winds had eased to gusts of 17 mph by Saturday and are expected to diminish later in the weekend. “We’re going to be here for a number of days,” Concialdi said of the ongoing danger, stressing the need to guard against new fires that could erupt from embers blown by the strong Santa Ana winds. Fires spark across Southern California Several fires have broken out since Santa Ana winds began Thursday, forcing evacuations in other areas of Southern California. In Malibu, more than 7,000 structures were in areas under evacuation orders or warnings on Friday because of the Bryson Fire, which has burned roughly 150 acres and is 52% contained since starting Thursday evening, a Los Angeles County Fire spokesperson told CNN, estimating the number of people under evacuation orders to be in the hundreds. Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire in Malibu, California, on Thursday, Oct. 15. – Jae C. Hong/AP Crews made “great progress” against the fire overnight, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Friday morning. At least one firefighter had “minor injuries” and was taken to the hospital, he said. The chief did not provide additional details except to say, “They’ve been on the line all night, so minor injuries are expected.” The fire is still threatening more than 100 structures in the area, but no damages have been reported. “But obviously, if the winds kick up later this afternoon and we were to lose containment of the fire, a larger area could be affected and under threat,” the chief said. Over 400 firefighters and more than 75 “ground and aerial resources” are committed to the Bryson Fire, he said. Another wildfire to the south has burned more than 3,000 acres near the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton since igniting Thursday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The Henderson Fire forced a temporary evacuation order for one area of the base Thursday and the closure of a nearby portion of Interstate 5 in San Diego County, the Marine Corps said in a statement Friday. Smoke affected visibility along both sides of the highway Friday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol said. The fire is 35% contained as of Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire. The Camp Pendleton Fire Department and Cal Fire continue to actively fight the fire, but it was burning “in a remote section” of the base and there were no active threats to personnel or facilities, the Marine Corps statement Friday said. The dangerous fire conditions in Southern California have also prompted utility companies to temporarily shut off power for tens of thousands over concerns that equipment could spark fires. This story has been updated with additional information. Meteorologist Chris Dolce and CNN’s Kate S. Petersen and Isa Mudannayake contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/16/weather/california-wildfires-santa-ana-winds-climate

Masked settlers are accused of attacking the convoy [Reuters] A delegation of European diplomats has been attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.Belgium condemned the assault on its consul general and the other envoys and called for Israel to bring those responsible to justice.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also condemned what they called “the severe act of violence” and said they were investigating.But the office of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast doubt on what happened and suggested it was part of a “coordinated campaign to smear Israel”.The attack came only a day after a number of Palestinians and Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photographer, were injured in a separate assault by settlers in another village in the West Bank.The diplomats – from Belgium, France, Poland and the Catholic Church – had come to the largely Christian village of Taybeh near Ramallah.They were there to assess the situation on the ground after almost near daily attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians trying to bring in their olive harvest.Video footage from the scene showed masked settlers confronting the convoy. Reports suggest stones were thrown.The Belgian authorities said a car from its consulate had a window smashed and a French mayor was assaulted. Video showed a man wearing a French tricolor sash slumped beside a vehicle.Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot condemned the attack and said Israel had a responsibility to bring those responsible to justice.”Palestinians face this violence every day. Settlers also target journalists reporting on it and diplomats. Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack,” he said. “As the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice. “Impunity for violent settlers must end. Belgium will continue to press for EU sanctions against those responsible for this violence and those who support them.”Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, said he strongly condemned the violence by what he called “Israeli rioters”. He said the foreign ministry was in contact with the ambassadors of the countries involved.But he added: “Without detracting from the severity of the incident, it is unfortunate that the visit was not coordinated with the IDF in advance. Such coordination could have helped safeguard the visitors’ security.”The IDF said they “strongly condemn the severe act of violence that took place in the area of Taybeh, during which diplomatic representatives were attacked by Israeli rioters.””According to a preliminary inquiry, no IDF soldiers were present at the scene at the time of the attack,” they added. Netanyahu’s office named the injured French official as Bernard Baudoux, the left-wing mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries [Reuters] But Netanyahu’s office urged “caution before drawing conclusions” from reports about the attack.It said the images on social media “do not establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility”.A statement continued: “Those circumstances remain under investigation. Israeli police and forensic investigators have launched an investigation to establish the facts and identify those responsible.”It added that “these reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge”.Netanyahu’s office named the injured French official as Bernard Baudoux. The left-wing mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France told the AFP news agency the attack showed a tolerance by Israel’s right-wing government for settler violence.The mayor said the settlers kicked him and beat him with iron bars, throwing him to the ground.”It’s the gratuitous nature of the violence that stuns me,” he said. “They arrived completely enraged.””The whole world needs to know what’s happening there. For me, I’ll go back to my country and everything will be fine. Those who continue to suffer the most are those who are here,” he said. Palestinians and US journalist injured by Israeli settlers in West Bank harvest attack This article originally appeared on BBC at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c962ydpmjm3zo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D

President Trump’s embattled new press secretary Katie Zacharia was forced out Friday after less than a week on the job. Zacharia confirmed widespread reports that Trump had let her go in a post on X just after 9 p.m. ET Friday, alongside a photo of the two of them in the Oval Office. “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man,” she wrote. “I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to. It was an honor to work for him.”White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told CNN in a statement that Zacharia “will continue to support the President as she transitions to a new role.”Zacharia is the shortest-tenured White House press secretary in U.S. history. Her five days on the job fell well short of Anthony Scaramucci’s 11 days as Trump’s communications director in 2017. Trump is unlikely to name a new press secretary anytime soon, two sources familiar with his thinking told NBC News.Earlier Friday, Trump signaled that Zacharia was on her way out, telling reporters that he had asked Zacharia to “reconsider” whether she “need[s] this.” “I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy and I don’t think you could ever be happy in this job,'” Trump said.Asked if he was planning to “fire” Zacharia, the president said no. But, he added, “I want her to have a good life. I don’t want [her] to have a life like she’s led in the last three days. She is being brutalized by the media.” Around the same time, multiple outlets reported that Zacharia had already been let go. Citing “three people familiar with the matter,” the New York Times reported on Friday afternoon that Trump had “fired” Zacharia. A senior White House official told Fox News that Zacharia is “transitioning out” of her role, and CBS News, Politico and the Washington Post published similar reports.Zacharia was in the middle of an interview with the Wall Street Journal at her West Wing desk shortly before 1 p.m. Friday when she was called away, the Journal reported. She had just told the reporters, “There are no staffing changes that are happening.”Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller then knocked on her door and said Vice President JD Vance wanted to talk. “JD wanted to chat with us real quick,” Miller said, according to the Journal. Zacharia left and never returned to the interview.Trump: “I told Katie that in my opinion she was treated very very unfairly by the news. Let’s call it the fake news. I said, ‘Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.’ We’re talking about doing something. I want her to have a good life. She’s being brutalized by the… pic.twitter.com/Ivkk5imCjS— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 16, 2026 The president announced on Friday, Oct. 9, that he had chosen Zacharia, a conservative commentator and former Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the administration in August.Zacharia started at the White House on Monday and gave her first press briefing on Tuesday. But she has spent the days since then facing questions about her own legal credentials rather than Trump’s agenda. In his post on Truth Social announcing her appointment, Trump described Zacharia as an “attorney” as well as “a devoted fan and member of MAGA!” Zacharia holds both a law degree and a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University, and her LinkedIn page says she served as “general counsel” at Fix California, a nonprofit founded by former acting Kennedy Center director Ric Grenell to promote conservative policies in the Golden State. In media appearances, Zacharia has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer. But the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that while Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating from law school, she “didn’t pass.” A senior administration official confirmed to NBC News that Zacharia did not pass the California bar exam. Reuters also investigated her credentials and “could not find records showing Zacharia was registered as an attorney or member of the bar in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia.”Asked by reporters Tuesday on the South Lawn where she passed the bar, Zacharia twice replied, “When I moved to China.” In a phone interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Zacharia said she misheard the question. “I assumed the question was, ‘Where were you after law school?'” she told the paper. “That’s all I could hear over the sound of Marine One. And, wanting to respect protocol, the distance behind the president, kept me from moving closer to hear the question.”Zacharia pointed out that it was only her second day on the job. White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on as President Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn on Oct. 13.AP Photo/Julia Demaree NikhinsonIn a statement to the Washington Post, the White House said that “Katie moved to China with her husband after graduating because of his job at an American private equity firm while she worked on international transaction law.” According to USA Today, Zacharia “worked for a Chinese law firm’s international-practice team on multimillion-dollar shareholder agreements involving investments through the World Bank.” She did not attempt to take the bar exam a second time.On Thursday, Zacharia confirmed that she did not pass the bar, telling the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice that she was “incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited” at the time by her impending marriage and move to China. “We just said… ‘I’ll take the bar and see what happens,'” Zacharia recalled. “The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn’t need the bar in China.” On Wednesday, a nonprofit watchdog group called Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the California bar asking it to investigate whether Zacharia had violated state law by “repeatedly holding herself out as a lawyer.” White House spokesperson Steven Cheung responded on social media by dismissing the Campaign for Accountability as a “radical leftist-organization run by rabid numbskulls suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”Legal experts told the Times that it’s debatable whether a law school graduate can describe herself as a “lawyer” before she passes the bar. But she cannot call herself an “attorney” — someone who is licensed to practice law and give legal advice — nor can she serve as a “general counsel” or as an “associate” at a Chinese law firm, they added.Zacharia told Real America’s Voice that she was “very careful about how I executed this and I never came across as somebody who was an attorney-at-law.””I consulted for a very long time many people in the field — ‘Is it OK and acceptable if I label myself ‘lawyer’ … and provide legal analysis, not legal advice,” she explained. “They said, ‘Absolutely,’ across the board. ‘You can call yourself a lawyer.'”On Thursday night, Fox News host Sean Hannity pressed Zacharia on her halting explanation.”Why not just say, ‘I went to Pepperdine Law School and then took a different career path, and I took the bar once and didn’t pass it’?” Hannity asked. “Why get into this long drawn-out thing about the difference between a lawyer and an attorney?””When I moved back to the United States, I didn’t retake the bar,” Zacharia said. “I had four kids in six years. It was never my intent to go into the practice of law.”Hours before she was forced out, Zacharia told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that no one had asked whether she passed the bar before she was hired. “Those questions weren’t asked,” she said. “I’m being hired as White House press secretary, not White House counsel,” according to The Hill.What happened in Zacharia’s first briefing?White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the Briefing Room on Oct. 13.AP Photo/Julia Demaree NikhinsonZacharia’s first briefing lasted 15 minutes, most of which was taken up by her opening statement.”I am so honored to work for President Trump and the American people as the new White House press secretary,” Zacharia told reporters in the Briefing Room. “I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me. I have wanted to work with him for a very long time.”She took questions from three news outlets — Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail — before ending the briefing.Asked what she planned to do as press secretary, Zacharia said, “I get to do what I was doing on the outside already, which was getting to amplify, multiply and expand upon President Trump’s incredible agenda for the American people.”In his post on Truth Social announcing her appointment, Trump said Zacharia “has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.”Zacharia called the appointment “the honor of a lifetime” in a post on X. Who is Katie Zacharia?President Donald Trump and Katie Zacharia.Katie Zacharia/XThe 42-year-old California native and mother of four left her role as senior communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, which runs Truth Social, to join the White House. Before that, she served for about two months as a deputy assistant secretary and spokesperson for former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was best known for her frequent appearances defending the administration’s policies on Fox News, CNN, Newsmax, One America News and other outlets. She told CNN in April — around the time she left DHS — that she’s a “huge fan of ICE and a big fan of the Border Patrol.”Zacharia first came to Washington in 2006 to intern for the Republican National Committee while George W. Bush was president. She lives in California with her husband and their four young children.During Tuesday’s briefing, she was asked about juggling the competing roles of being a mother and White House press secretary. “The idea of not spending evenings with my kids is completely unacceptable,” Zacharia said, before confusing her spouse with her boss. “So my president — excuse me, my husband — is out here.”Zacharia then praised Trump as the “most family-friendly president we’ve ever had” and said her family will be moving from California to Washington, D.C., soon.CNN reported on Friday that Zacharia’s “selection came about quickly” and that she “was not being considered for the role” as of “last week.” CNN also reported that “on multiple occasions, senior officials had narrowed down the list” of possible press secretaries “only to find that candidates had said something negative about the president, disqualifying them from the position.”In a New York Post column in February, Zacharia recounted a clash with liberal patrons of her “local cardio kickboxing gym” that ended with the gym owner asking her not to wear her red “Team Trump 2024″ hat to exercise class.”I responded that I would never take my Trump hat off to appease the left,” Zacharia wrote. “I refuse to stay silent.”This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/article/katie-zacharia-out-as-white-house-press-secretary-after-5-days-on-the-job-reports-182158704.html