Germany faces its second change of leader in fewer than four years after the head of the center-right opposition, Friedrich Merz, won Sunday’s election, which saw a surge for a far-right party and a stinging defeat for outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
After the collapse of Scholz’s three-party government in November, it’s now up to Merz to restore stability to the European Union’s most populous country and traditional political heavyweight, which also has the continent’s biggest economy.
Billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk violated the law with his weekend demand that federal employees explain their accomplishments or risk being fired, attorneys for the workers said Monday in a lawsuit.
The updated lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in California and was provided to The Associated Press, is trying to block mass layoffs pursued by Musk and President Donald Trump, including any connected to the email distributed by the Office of Personnel Management on Saturday. The office, which functions as a human resources agency for the federal government, said employees needed to detail five things they did last week by end of day on Monday.
The Vatican on Monday announced the start of nighttime prayers for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square, and invited Romans and others to join in, as the 88-year-old pontiff battled a complex lung infection and complications.
The Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is to lead the first prayer on Monday evening. Francis, who has double pneumonia and the early stages of kidney insufficiency, was awake and in good spirits Monday.
Sabrina Thompson can be reached at thom4836@stthomas.edu.
