Good morning, it's Saturday, Oct. 10. President Trump eased sanctions on Russia to get Vladimir Putin's diesel onto the market, and Ukraine says it's paying the price.

Also in today's issue: A voter roll ruling, An execution livestream fight, A White House date for Lisa Cook, Suppressor rules dropped, A Bronx ICE shooting, Prosecutors on the campaign trail.

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The quickest route to cheaper groceries this fall now runs through Moscow, and Ukraine says it's the one paying the toll.

On Friday, President Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a phone call to ship 300,000 tons of diesel "immediately," then 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons in December. Another 3 million tons could follow, he said. To make it possible, the Treasury Department temporarily waived sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Sanctions are penalties that block or limit trade with a country.

One number in that announcement tells you how long the first shipment would keep America's trucks moving. The answer is measured in hours, not weeks.

Here's why it matters. Diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. A year ago, it was $3.68. For a trucker filling a 250-gallon tank, that gap adds up to roughly $650 per fill-up. Diesel moves almost everything you buy, so that cost shows up in grocery aisles and delivery fees.

Now the reversal. For more than four years, Washington has used sanctions to squeeze the oil money that pays for Russia's war in Ukraine. Last month, Trump signed a law to tighten that squeeze, with steep tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy. Friday's waiver points the other way.

The case for it is simple. The White House already tried delaying the diesel tax and allowing cheaper dyed diesel on highways, but neither adds a gallon of supply. Russian fuel does. Trump said prices will come "tumbling," and the Kremlin said the agreement would help the whole global economy.

The case against came fast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a weak decision by strong partners and said it lets Russia keep fighting longer. On Saturday, Russian bombs hit apartment buildings in Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 15 people, including three children (CBS News). Zelenskyy said Moscow had thanked Washington with those strikes. The announcement also came while Trump's envoys were meeting Ukrainian officials in Miami about a peace plan.

Back to that number. A ton of diesel is roughly 7.5 barrels, so the first shipment is about 2.2 million barrels. The U.S. uses about 3.7 million barrels of diesel and heating oil a day, according to the Energy Information Administration, the government's energy statistics office. That first shipment covers about 14 hours of American demand. And it's headed to the global market, not just ours. Even all 4.8 million tons would cover roughly 10 days, spread over months.

That doesn't make it meaningless, since prices often move on expected supply. But neither government has said how the fuel will be delivered or where it goes, PBS News reported, and analysts doubt it can tame prices alone.

So watch the pump. If diesel falls below $6 before the Nov. 3 midterms, the White House gets its proof just as voters decide. If prices barely move while Russian strikes go on, the lawmakers who passed last month's sanctions law may start asking why it was set aside so quickly.

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A federal judge struck down the Justice Department's push to check state voter rolls against a federal citizenship database on Friday. In a 78-page ruling, Judge Sparkle Sooknanan found that collecting states' voter files, running them through the database and urging states to drop flagged voters broke federal voting and privacy laws. The administration argues the checks keep noncitizens, who can't legally vote, off the rolls. But the judge noted the database has known errors that have flagged real citizens. Her ruling covers files already sent by 18 states. Federal law already bars mass removals this close to Nov. 3, so the bigger effect may come after the election. The department says it is reviewing the decision.

Lawmakers in both parties objected Friday to the Pentagon's plan to livestream the Dec. 3 firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Thursday. Hegseth says people need to see that such crimes carry serious consequences. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the plan "beyond disgusting," and Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis urged a rethink. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy called public executions medieval. Vice President JD Vance said he doubts it will happen and won't watch if it does. Some experts say a public execution brings openness to a secretive process. Critics, including some death penalty supporters, warn the video could become propaganda for terrorists. America's last public execution was in 1936.

Fed Governor Lisa Cook now has a date at the White House. President Trump created a three-person "committee of inquiry" to decide whether there is cause to fire her over claims that she listed two homes as her main residence on 2021 mortgage applications. Cook denies wrongdoing and hasn't been charged. The panel, which includes Trump's top economic adviser, will hold a closed hearing on Nov. 5, two days after the election. In June, the Supreme Court let Cook keep her job but left room for a second try with a proper hearing. No president had tried to remove a Fed governor in its 113-year history. The Fed sets the rates behind mortgages and car loans, and markets trust it only if it's independent. The full memo even caps the hearing at four hours.

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Buying a suppressor or short-barreled rifle no longer needs federal approval. The ATF, the federal agency that regulates guns, said Friday it will stop enforcing the application, registration and tax-stamp rules for suppressors (silencers) and short-barreled rifles and shotguns. The 1934 law behind them targeted Prohibition-era gangster weapons. The change follows a Texas judge's ruling, which the Justice Department chose not to appeal, that the rules collapsed once Congress cut their $200 tax to zero last year. Gun-rights groups call it a win for legal owners. Many department lawyers had urged an appeal. Dealer background checks still apply, machine guns stay fully regulated, and stricter state laws still stand. Enforcement could return if courts or Congress change course, according to the ATF's guidance for gun owners.

New police bodycam video released Friday shows the minutes after an ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in the neck in the Bronx on Thursday. His 5-year-old son was in the back seat and wasn't hurt. Federal officials say Belgal, who they say is here illegally with a criminal record, tried to ram officers with his car, and that agents didn't know a child was inside. DHS has since moved him to a detention center outside New York. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul called President Trump, asking for his release and an end to ICE operations in the state. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called Belgal "a thug" and blamed sanctuary policies. Immigration agents have reportedly shot at least two dozen people since January 2025.

Top Justice Department officials can now campaign. A memo sent this week lets the attorney general, the FBI director, U.S. attorneys and other Senate-confirmed department officials speak at rallies, knock on doors and even serve as political party officers, as long as they act in a personal role. In 2024, the department barred its political appointees from attending any partisan event at all. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who spoke at the Republican convention in September, says he has broken no rule. Supporters say officials don't give up their own political rights when they take office. Critics say people who decide whom to investigate and charge shouldn't be seen campaigning, especially three weeks before an election.

That's how many states fully handed the Justice Department their voter files, including sensitive personal details, under the policy a judge struck down Friday. Her ruling covers those files too. Curious about your state? Here's which states refused and got sued.

P.S. Is cheaper diesel worth easing Russia sanctions? Hit Reply — one word is enough.