Judge appears unlikely to immediately halt DOGE access and firings

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday hinted she might not throw up immediate roadblocks to Elon Musk's infiltration of the nation's government agencies, where he and his team have accessed sensitive data and enacted a flurry of firings.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said at a hearing Monday that she needed to see more evidence of imminent harm before she granted a request by a group of states for a temporary restraining order to stop Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team from entering federal agency data systems and prohibited their making personnel decisions about federal employees.

Ohio sex worker charged with fatally drugging 4 customers can stand trial, judge rules

An Ohio sex worker charged with fatally drugging four customers and trying to kill a fifth has been found competent to stand trial.

Rebecca Auborn, 34, understands the nature and objective of the proceedings and can assist in her defense, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Karen Phipps said in the order Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether a trial date has been set.

American Sports & Culture

Irish top AP women's poll for 1st time since 2019

Notre Dame is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll, ascending to the top spot Monday for the first time since 2019.

Sources: D-backs' Perdomo lands $45M extension

Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and the Diamondbacks are in agreement on a four-year, $45 million contract extension that includes a club option for 2030, sources told ESPN, locking up the All-Star to a deal that deepens Arizona's already strong core.

Canada on finals vs. USA: We can beat those guys

Nathan MacKinnon, who helped Canada earn a spot vs. the U.S. in the 4 Nations final with a win over Finland, said they're looking forward to a rematch.

American Business & Markets

Southwest Airlines to slash 15% of corporate jobs in 'unprecedented' move to cut costs

Southwest is cutting about 1,750 corporate jobs in a race to cut costs.

'Game on': Tech execs say DeepSeek ramps up China-U.S. competition but won't hurt OpenAI

At France's AI Action Summit, tech bosses told CNBC that DeepSeek demonstrates that China can't be counted out as a serious player in AI.

Stock futures rise to kick off a shortened trading week: Live updates

Investors, shrugging off ongoing concerns around trade and inflation, are searching for the next catalyst to send stocks higher.

American Fact of the Day!

On February 18, 1930, Pluto was discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Pluto was considered the ninth planet in our solar system until it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. The discovery sparked interest in space exploration and expanded our understanding of the outer solar system.

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