First Thing: Three young children killed in Oregon elementary school shooting

A four-year-old drawing with chalk at a community vigil in Drake Park after the shooting at Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon. Photograph: Saj Sundaram/EPA View image in fullscreen A four-year-old drawing with chalk at a community vigil in Drake Park after the shooting at Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon. Photograph: Saj Sundaram/EPA First Thing: Three young children killed in Oregon elementary school shooting Attacker also killed a teacher and was shot dead by a community member. Plus, NAZA film-makers describe Israel’s attempts to retaliate Good morning. A 16-year-old shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher, before he was shot dead by a community member. The children killed were five, eight and 11, officials said. The gunman, who was a Bend resident, has not been publicly identified. In the aftermath of the attack, children were taken by bus to a nearby church serving as a reunification center for families. Parents hugged, kissed and held their children’s hands as they walked to their cars, with some bringing along favorite stuffed animals or other comfort items from home. Here is what we know so far. Trump says Zelenskyy ‘more difficult’ than Putin and calls Kyiv strikes on Russian oil refineries a ‘disgrace’ View image in fullscreen A woman holds her daughter in front of a residential building damaged in a Russian missile strike on Kyiv. Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Donald Trump has called Ukraine’s latest strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace”, while renewing his criticism of Volodymyr ⁠Zelenskyy after an energy ceasefire announced by the US president collapsed. Trump said: “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace. I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult ​to deal with ​than Putin.” What have been the diplomatic moves in Europe? Amid growing doubts about long-term US commitment to Ukraine, European leaders declared their support for Zelenskyy. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU intended to increase pressure on Russia, promising a 22nd round of sanctions. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said it was “crucial” that Ukraine received “all the means necessary to protect itself”. Houthi missiles strike Yemen presidential palace, killing five View image in fullscreen A displaced Yemeni family sits beside a makeshift shelter in Aden. Photograph: Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP Yemen’s Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden, killing five people. The attack was the first on Al-Maashiq palace ⁠in the current conflict. Yemen’s prime minister, Shaya al-Zindani, ⁠and cabinet members were said to be safe after the attack. Why is Yemen saying the battle against the Houthis is crucial? Yemen’s former PM Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed has said the Iran-backed militia’s use of drones represents a “new era of radical terrorism”. The adviser to the Yemeni president said he had no doubt that the Houthis intended to seize control of all of Yemen, and he claimed their goal was “to help Iran to expand the chaos” in the region. Trump cancels plan to livestream execution after global condemnation View image in fullscreen Memorials honoring the 13 shooting victims at Fort Hood. Photograph: Rodolfo Gonzalez/AP Donald Trump has shelved a widely condemned plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump said. “That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose.” How did Pete Hegseth’s church allies react to the planned broadcast? The de facto leader of Hegseth’s theocratic Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, Douglas Wilson, had welcomed the announcement, saying he preferred “public execution”. He said he favored “the older forms, like a firing squad, as opposed to attempts to ‘medicalize’ it”, and added: “Executions in the scriptures were public.” Holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial gives first interview since mistrial View image in fullscreen Lindsay Clancy. Photograph: Greg Derr/Reuters Michael Desronvil, the sole holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, has said he never had any reasonable doubt that Clancy was guilty of first-degree murder, adding there was “a lot of evidence to back up my claim”. He said he was struck by “how methodical Lindsay was in the execution of the children”, during an interview with Fox News in which he read a Bible passage and maintained that “constantly praying” had guided him through 38 hours of jury deliberations. In other news … View image in fullscreen Matt Gaetz. Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP The Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz has been accused of participating in the sex trafficking of two young women, in a civil lawsuit filed on Thursday in a district court in Florida. Tyler Ulrich, a college football player, has died five days after a “traumatic injury” during a game. The 21-year-old from Azle, Texas, was in his third season at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma. Saudi Arabia is to execute a man for being at protests and funerals when he was 15, described as a “new low” by rights groups. VW, Ford and Tesla batteries have been linked to destructive deforestation in Indonesia. Satellite analysis shows the mines have led to widespread deforestation of primary rainforest in nickel-rich lands. Police have revealed the identity of a murdered man found in a barrel in drought-stricken Lake Mead four years ago. Stat of the day: Texas sued after glitch delays almost 600,000 voter registrations View image in fullscreen Voting signs in San Antonio. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP Voting registration organizations have accused Texas officials of failing to ensure eligible voters can register properly. The US justice department is also suing California over allegations of noncitizen voting – a regular Trump talking point – and the FBI is investigating letters containing an “unknown substance” sent to US election officials. Culture pick: How Lance Oppenheim made the year’s two buzziest films View image in fullscreen Robert Pattinson (left) with the director Lance Oppenheim. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP Primetime and You Can See Everything are both clammy, audacious awards contenders that challenge our sense of reality. Ryan Gilbey speaks to the 30-year-old director about his drama starring Robert Pattinson as a TV vigilante. Don’t miss this: The pterosaur museum built to thrive in the Gobi desert View image in fullscreen The pterosaur museum in China. Photograph: Turenscape Xiaoying You examines how architects have worked with the harsh environment to create a sustainable building to showcase hundreds of impressive fossils of pterosaurs, ancient flying reptiles related to dinosaurs. … or this: NAZA film-makers discuss Israel’s retaliation View image in fullscreen Yuval Abraham (left) and Rachel Szor at the NAZA premiere in London. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian Since NAZA’s release, the Israeli government has actively targeted those involved. The film’s executive producer, Jonathan Glazer, has said it was expected but that “in my point of view it was much more venal” than anticipated. In this podcast, its directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, speak to Annie Kelly about how they have been called traitors and how Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to hunt down and expose their sources. The film collects the testimony of 24 insiders who helped remotely target homes in Gaza during Israel’s military campaign. Climate check: Evacuations issued for California wildfires amid warning over El Niño View image in fullscreen A firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant in California. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters Multiple wildfires have ignited across California as the state braced for more strong winds and high temperatures. Evacuations have been issued and officials briefly closed part of the Interstate 5. The federal government’s seasonal outlook says El Niño is likely to shift weather patterns later this year to bring more moisture, so that winter in the US looks like it will generally be wetter and warmer. Last Thing: Viennese dog owners told to rinse pets’ urine from trees View image in fullscreen A dog out for a walk in Vienna. Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images A neighborhood in Vienna has introduced guidelines for dog walking, including the use of bottled tap water to rinse away urine to protect vulnerable trees. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com Explore more on these topics US news First Thing newsletter news Share Reuse this content