The briefing for Monday, February 9.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration Friday to restore $16 billion in funding for a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, ruling just hours before construction was set to shut down. U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in Manhattan granted New York and New Jersey's request for a temporary restraining order, citing public interest in the critical infrastructure project.

The administration had halted funding months earlier during a government shutdown, with officials citing concerns about unconstitutional spending on diversity, equity and inclusion principles. The Gateway Development Commission had warned that without the funds, approximately 1,000 jobs would be lost immediately when work stopped Friday afternoon. The new tunnel is designed to ease strain on an existing 110-year-old tunnel serving Amtrak and commuter trains, where delays can cause backups along the entire East Coast.

The funding suspension was viewed as leverage against Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. President Trump suggested on Air Force One that he would unfreeze the funds if Schumer agreed to rename Penn Station after Trump, a claim Schumer called an 'absolute lie.' New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling 'a critical victory for workers and commuters,' while the Gateway Development Commission said it would work quickly to restart operations once funds are released.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party secured 316 seats in Sunday's parliamentary election, achieving a two-thirds supermajority for the first time since the party's founding in 1955. Together with coalition partner Japan Innovation Party's 36 seats, the ruling bloc won 352 of 465 seats in the lower house, far exceeding the 261 needed for an absolute majority.

The landslide victory came just three months after Takaichi took office as Japan's first female leader, calling the snap election as a gamble on her personal popularity despite the LDP's recent struggles with funding and religious scandals. The opposition proved too splintered to mount an effective challenge, with the new centrist alliance between former coalition partner Komeito and the Constitutional Democratic Party projected to fall to half their combined preelection share of 167 seats.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index surged more than 5% Monday morning, briefly crossing 57,000 for the first time as markets welcomed Takaichi's pro-business agenda. The prime minister now has breathing room to pursue conservative policies including revising security and defense measures by December, boosting Japan's offensive military capabilities, and addressing economic concerns over rising costs and sluggish wages. U.S. President Trump congratulated Takaichi on the 'landslide victory,' praising her decision to call the election as one that 'paid off big time.'

Former Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai received a 20-year prison sentence Monday, the harshest punishment yet under China's national security law that has effectively silenced dissent in the territory. Lai, 78, was convicted in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. Six former employees of his Apple Daily newspaper and two activists received sentences ranging from 6 years and 3 months to 10 years.

Judges ruled that Lai was the mastermind behind the conspiracies, finding he harbored 'a rabid hatred' of the Chinese Communist Party and 'an obsession to change the Party's values to those of the Western world.' They noted his hope that the party would be ousted or that leader Xi Jinping would be removed. Lai's Apple Daily newspaper, known for critical reports against governments in Hong Kong and Beijing, shut down in June 2021 after senior journalists were arrested under the security law.

The sentencing heightened diplomatic tensions, with U.S. President Trump saying he felt 'so badly' after the verdict and noting he had spoken to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about Lai's release. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has also called for the release of Lai, a British citizen. Lai's son Sebastien called the sentence 'heartbreakingly cruel,' saying it 'signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system.' His sister Claire added that if carried out, 'he will die a martyr behind bars.'

Opening arguments begin this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court for the first of several landmark trials seeking to hold social media companies responsible for harms to children. Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube face claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm young users, with TikTok and Snap having already settled for undisclosed sums.

The bellwether case centers on a 19-year-old identified as 'KGM,' who claims her early social media use addicted her to technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. The lawsuit argues this resulted from deliberate design choices by companies seeking to maximize youth engagement and boost profits. Plaintiffs claim the companies 'borrowed heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry,' embedding features aimed at creating self-destructive feedback loops.

Meta disputes the allegations, arguing that the lawsuit oversimplifies teen mental health issues and ignores multiple stressors including academic pressure and socio-economic challenges. The company points to safeguards added over recent years and argues it is not liable for third-party content under Section 230 protections. The trial's outcome could profoundly affect how thousands of similar lawsuits play out and determine what damages, if any, may be awarded. Separately, New Mexico's attorney general began a trial Monday focused on child sexual exploitation on Meta platforms.

Israel's security cabinet approved sweeping measures Sunday aimed at deepening Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weakening the Palestinian Authority's already limited powers. The decisions would make it easier for Jewish settlers to force Palestinians to give up land, cancel prohibitions on West Bank land sales to Israeli Jews, and transfer construction planning authority at sensitive sites to Israeli hands.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has cabinet-level authority over settlement policies, announced the decisions would allow Israel to make 'proactive' land purchases to 'guarantee land reserves for settlement for generations to come.' The measures also enable Israeli enforcement of environmental and archaeological matters in Palestinian-administered areas. Israeli authorities will be able to demolish construction in Palestinian-controlled areas if deemed harmful to heritage or the environment.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the decision 'dangerous' and an 'open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion,' urging the U.S. and U.N. Security Council to intervene immediately. Jordan's foreign ministry condemned what it called an effort to impose 'illegal Israeli sovereignty,' while Hamas called for intensified confrontation. The decision came days before Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to meet President Trump in Washington. More than 700,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories the international community overwhelmingly considers illegal settlements.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday reapproved the weed killer dicamba for use on genetically modified soybeans and cotton, despite widespread concerns about the pesticide's tendency to drift and destroy nearby crops. The agency said dicamba is critical for farmers fighting fast-growing weeds, imposing what it called strong protections including limits on application amounts, restrictions on hot-day use, and buffer zones.

Courts had previously blocked similar EPA approvals in 2020 and 2024. Advocates sharply criticized the decision, warning that allowing dicamba's use on these two common crops will drastically expand application volumes and increase harm to neighboring farms, trees, and other plants. The Gateway Development Commission had warned dicamba drift has damaged immense acreage, devastating vegetable farms and critical plants across affected regions.

The American Soybean Association applauded the decision, saying clear rules would help farmers prepare for the growing season and control destructive weeds. However, environmental groups argued the EPA's restrictions are insufficient, with Kelly Ryerson of the Make American Healthy Again movement saying 'new restrictions on use are not sufficient' and will perpetuate a 'chemical treadmill.' A 2020 study linked dicamba exposure to increased risk for some cancers, including liver cancer and certain types of leukemia. Bayer, a dicamba manufacturer, said it will now seek state approvals and launch applicator training.