An appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out. The Friday ruling came after the Trump administration asked for an emergency pause on a judge’s order blocking enforcement at roughly three dozen agencies and departments. A split three-judge panel in the nation’s capital sided with government lawyers in a lawsuit filed by unions representing federal employees. The majority ruled on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because the Trump administration has said it won’t end any collective bargaining agreements while the case is being litigated.

“JOE IS A FIGHTER”: Prime Minister Netanyahu tweets his support for former US president Joe Biden who revealed yesterday that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Elon Musk is in a legal fight with Microsoft but made a friendly virtual appearance at the software giant’s annual technology showcase to reveal that his Grok artificial intelligence chatbot will now be hosted on Microsoft’s data centers. “It’s fantastic to have you at our developer conference,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said to Musk in a pre-recorded video conversation broadcast Monday at Microsoft’s Build conference in Seattle. Musk last year sued Microsoft and its close business partner OpenAI in a dispute over Musk’s foundational contributions to OpenAI, which Musk helped start. Musk now runs his own AI company, xAI, maker of Grok, a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also spoke with Nadella via live video call earlier at Monday’s conference.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu insisted during testimony at his corruption trial on Monday that he never asked Walla to alter its coverage of him. He also pointed out that the way the site reported on other politicians was inconsistent, sometimes flattering and sometimes critical.
This stage of questioning marks a crucial point in Netanyahu’s legal defense and is expected to last about a week. The focus is now on the part of the trial where defense attorneys for the co-defendants—Shaul and Iris Elovich and Arnon “Noni” Mozes—are leading the examination before the prosecution begins cross-examination.

Since Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was eliminated by Israel, his brother, Mohamed, has been the most hawkish terror leader in the Strip, the one refusing any hostage release deal that didn’t include ending the war. It was only intense US pressure, combined with the unusual direct talks between Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Hamas officials, that led to the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander. A day later, Sinwar convened a meeting of the military wing’s top brass in the underground complex beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Walla reported. The complex includes a conference room and command center, from where Sinwar managed the war since his brother was eliminated.

The Senate has confirmed real estate developer Charles Kushner, the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. Charles Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Prosecutors alleged that he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation after discovering his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, arranging to have an encounter recorded with a hidden camera. Kushner, who was confirmed 51-45, is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. His son Jared is a former White House senior adviser to Trump who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps. The move, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries. “There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement.

President Donald Trump will look to build momentum for his sweeping tax cut and immigration bill on Tuesday, taking a trip to Capitol Hill to address House Republicans as they try to work out their differences before a planned floor vote later this week. Trump will attend the GOP’s weekly conference meeting, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public. Republicans can afford only a few defections to get the bill through the House, and it’s clear differences remain. Some deficit hawks are insisting on quicker cuts to Medicaid and green energy programs before giving their full support. Others are seeking a large increase in the state and local tax deduction.

The Trump administration has agreed to pay just under $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit that Ashli Babbitt’s family filed over her shooting by an officer during the U.S. Capitol riot, according to a person with knowledge of the settlement. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss with The Associated Press terms of a deal that have not been made public. The settlement will resolve the $30 million federal lawsuit that Babbitt’s estate filed last year in Washington, D.C. On Jan. 6, 2021, a Capitol police officer shot Babbitt as she tried to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby. The officer who shot her was cleared of wrongdoing by the U.S.