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US judge revives union contract for 320,000 workers at veterans’ agency

By Daniel Wiessner
March 13, 2026 9:42 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

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The seal of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is seen outside of their office in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Several agencies nixed contracts after Trump executive order
• Judge said move was retaliation for union’s political activity
• A number of lawsuits are pending

March 13 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday reinstated a union bargaining agreement covering 320,000 employees ​of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that the agency had canceled to carry out an ‌order from President Donald Trump.

The ruling, opens new tab by U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in Providence, Rhode Island, is among the most significant so far in a series of lawsuits stemming from Trump’s 2025 executive order stripping most of the federal workforce of the ability to collectively ​bargain.

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DuBose agreed with the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 federal workers, that ​the VA canceled its bargaining agreement in August as retaliation for the union’s opposition to ⁠Trump administration labor policies.

VA CITED NATIONAL SECURITY ROLE

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In court filings, the VA claimed Trump properly exempted the agency ​from collective bargaining because of the role it plays in maintaining national security – namely, as “the primary backup” for healthcare services ​required by the military during a war or national emergency.

But DuBose said the VA had provided no evidence that national security had motivated the decision to cancel the union contract, and reinstated it pending the outcome of the union’s lawsuit.

“There is zero indication from ​the Defendants that the termination decision would have been made or implemented without the retaliatory motive,” wrote DuBose, ​an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden.

The VA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The agency operates a ‌sprawling ⁠network of hospitals and other medical facilities for veterans and has more than 400,000 employees, making it one of the largest employers in the federal government.

AFGE President Everett Kelley said the VA singled out the union for retaliation because of its opposition to cuts and other changes that the union claimed would harm veterans.

“Today’s ruling holds this administration ​accountable and makes clear: no ​one can retaliate against ⁠workers for standing up for their rights,” Kelley said in a statement.

Trump’s executive order exempted the VA and more than a dozen other federal agencies from obligations to bargain ​with unions. They include the departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, and Health and ​Human Services.

The ⁠order applies to agencies that, according to Trump, “have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work.” It significantly expanded an existing exception for workers with duties implicating national security, such as federal law enforcement agents.

Trump’s order has ⁠been challenged ​in at least three lawsuits, while unions have filed many more challenges to ​individual agencies canceling bargaining agreements. Last month, a federal appeals court in San Francisco rejected a bid by AFGE and other unions to block ​Trump’s order while their case proceeds.

Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Man charged with selling stolen firearm used in Old Dominion shooting, officials say

March 13, 2026 / 6:58 PM EDT / CBS News

A Virginia man is facing federal charges, accused of selling a stolen firearm to the gunman who used it in Thursday’s deadly shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, according to officials and court documents.

Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, is charged with three counts of making false statements while purchasing a firearm, and one count of selling a firearm without a proper license.

The three counts of false statements are for unrelated gun purchases Chapman allegedly made in 2021, authorities said. He made his first court appearance on Friday, the Justice Department said.

“Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran, and he will finally face the full weight of justice,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Friday.

Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a 36-year-old former Virginia National Guardsman, killed one person and injured two others Thursday in an Old Dominion classroom, authorities said. A law enforcement source told CBS News that Jalloh walked into a classroom in the school’s business college, asked if it was an ROTC class, and when told yes, opened fire. The ROTC instructor of the class was killed.

Jalloh died after being “subdued” by students in the classroom following the shooting, Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, told reporters. CBS News has learned that one of the students killed the gunman with a knife.

A Glock 44 .22-caliber firearm with a partially altered serial number was recovered from the scene, according to a federal law enforcement affidavit. Authorities said Thursday that it was the only gun found on the suspect.

In an interview with federal investigators Thursday after his Smithfield home was raided, Chapman allegedly admitted that earlier this week, he had sold Jalloh a Glock 44 .22-caliber firearm for $100, but denied knowing whether its serial number had been altered, according to the affidavit.

Chapman told investigators that he had stolen the gun about a year prior to the shooting from a vehicle in Newport News, Virginia. Chapman showed agents the $100 bill used in the purchase, the affidavit states.

A phone belonging to Jalloh was found next to his body in the classroom, and a review of his recent contacts in the week leading up to the shooting led investigators to Chapman, according to the affidavit. When his home was searched, .22-caliber ammunition was found consistent with the gun recovered from the shooting scene.

The affidavit alleges that the pair, who met at work, spoke six times between March 5 and the day of the shooting, with the most recent call being “minutes before” it took place.

Chapman had been investigated in 2021 for straw purchases of three guns, and at the time admitted to obtaining them illegally, the affidavit states. Two of the guns were recovered from the scene of a homicide, and a third was recovered from a drunk in public incident, according to the affidavit. He received a warning letter and was asked to write a letter of apology.

Jalloh pleaded guilty in October 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the terror group ISIS and served federal prison time from 2017 to 2024, Evans said. Because he was a felon, Jalloh could not legally purchase or own a firearm.

While being interviewed, Chapman also allegedly admitted to knowing Jalloh had spent time in prison, but denied knowing he was a felon, the affidavit states. The affidavit alleges that Chapman “had no idea” that Jalloh would commit an attack, alleging that Jalloh told him he needed the gun for protection as a delivery driver.

If convicted as charged, Chapman could face a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Chapman has an attorney representing him.

中国官方宣布加大对大字吸睛、小字免责等广告乱象整治力度

发布时间 / 来源：2026年3月14日 07:51 / 联合早报

中国官方宣布，将加大对“大字吸睛、小字免责”等广告乱象整治力度。

中国国家市场监督管理总局星期五（3月13日）在官网公布，市场监管总局印发《关于强化广告中提示性用语监管工作的通知》，部署对相关广告乱象开展为期半年的清理整治工作。

这份通知确定了六方面重点任务，即整治“误导性大小字”广告、依法查处未显著标明提示性用语的广告、依法查处违法使用绝对化用语的广告、加强引证广告监管、强化广告主自证广告内容监管、强化对主要广告发布媒介监管。

这份通知要求各级市场监管部门切实加大对“大字吸睛、小字免责”“随意宣称第一、首创、最佳”“萝卜坑式引证”，以及弱化标示对消费者不利信息等营销乱象的清理整治力度，坚决查处严重欺骗误导消费者、扰乱市场竞争秩序的广告违法行为，积极推动优质广告资源与高品质产品对接，缓解广告主“营销焦虑”，引导广告活动各方经营者主动摈弃“文字游戏”式广告。

中国官媒新华社曾不点名批评手机巨头小米的争议“大小字”海报，指小米用显眼大字标注“逆光之王”，却在偏僻角落用小字注解“逆光之王是产品设计目标”，质问“商家的胆量为何这么大？”

延伸阅读

新华社不点名批小米广告“大小字陷阱”：胆量为何这么大

小米去年9月发布新款手机Xiaomi 17 Pro，在这款手机的宣传海报上，主体部分宣传标语写着“逆光之王”，但细看右下角，又有小字写着“逆光之王是产品设计目标”，另一张海报主体部分大字写着“小尺寸续航之王”，右下角小字又写着“目标：小尺寸续航之王”，被指是“小字文学”“文字游戏”，引发争议。

Live Nation antitrust trial resumes Monday on state claims after settlement talks break down

3 hr ago | Published Mar 13, 2026, 4:57 PM ET | CNN Politics

The show will go on.

The antitrust trial involving events operator Live Nation will restart Monday after the ticketing giant failed to reach a settlement with a consortium of state attorneys general.

During a court hearing in New York on Friday, Judge Arun Subramanian said the states dropped their motion for a mistrial and the trial would pick up next week with witness testimony.

Michael Rapino, the chief executive of Live Nation, and musician Kid Rock, an outspoken critic of the ticketing industry, are on the states’ witness list.

The civil trial, which began earlier this month, was interrupted this week when the Justice Department and Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, announced a settlement that caught the judge and the states off guard. Tuesday, Subramanian called the top officials from both sides to court. The judge expressed exasperation and ordered the deal makers to remain at the courthouse through the week to try to work out a deal.

The Justice Department’s deal with Live Nation still requires the Subramanian’s approval. Under the terms of the deal, Live Nation agreed to allow competitors, like SeatGeek or StubHub, to offer tickets to its events, cap ticketing service fees at 15%, and divest exclusive booking agreements with 13 amphitheaters. It also includes a $280 million settlement fund for state damages claims.

More than 30 state attorneys general are also part of the case against Live Nation. The majority said they opposed the terms of the DOJ deal.

During the hearing Friday, a representative for several states said five reached settlements with Live Nation on similar terms as the DOJ settlement: Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas and South Dakota. South Carolina and Iowa are also negotiating and may reach a deal, he said.

This week, the states brought on Jeffrey Kessler, a well-known antitrust attorney with Winston & Strawn, to co-lead the case.

Subramanian said on Monday that Kessler can introduce himself to the jury now that the Justice Department attorney, who has presented most of the evidence and discussion before the jury, has left the case.

美国正向中东增派海军陆战队和军舰 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月14日 06:47

阿联酋哈伊马角的海岸线延伸至霍尔木兹海峡入口处。3月11日，在哈伊马角海域在可见到一艘油轮。 （路透社）

《纽约时报》星期五（3月13日）引述两名美国官员说，鉴于伊朗加大了对霍尔木兹海峡的袭击力度，美国约2500名海军陆战队员和多达三艘军舰正从印太地区前往中东。

报道称，这批海军陆战队员将加入已部署在中东的5万多名美军。近两周来，伊朗持续向霍尔木兹海峡及附近海域进行空袭和远程炮击，导致这条重要航道陷入瘫痪，冲击全球经济。

同日早前，三名美国官员向《华尔街日报》披露，战争部长赫格塞斯已批准美军中央司令部请求，调动一个两栖戒备群及附属海军陆战队远征队前往中东。该部队通常由数艘军舰和5000名海军陆战队员组成。

《华尔街日报》还说，驻日本的美军“的黎波里”号两栖攻击舰及其搭载的海军陆战队正前往中东。目前不清楚这是否属于上述增派兵力的一部分。

三名美国官员说，美国海军陆战队此前已在对伊朗军事行动中提供支援。

霍尔木兹海峡是一条具有重要战略意义的水道，连接波斯湾和阿拉伯海北部。伊朗南部海岸线沿霍尔木兹海峡延伸，所有通过这条海峡的军用和民用船只在进出波斯湾时，都会受到伊朗当局通过海上无线电通讯进行的例行盘问。

全球约五分之一的石油由大型民用油轮经霍尔木兹海峡运输。自2月28日美国和以色列对伊朗发动大规模空袭以来，由于安全方面的担忧，途经霍尔木兹海峡的油轮暂停通行，这导致全球油价飙升，并推高了美国消费者的汽油价格。

为应对能源价格飙升，美国财政部12日颁布为期30天的临时许可令，允许各国购买目前滞留在海上的俄罗斯原油及石油产品。美国财长贝森特说，这一举措旨在稳定全球能源市场，并强调不会为俄罗斯带来显著的财政收益。

许可措施授权交付和销售3月12日后装船的俄罗斯原油和石油产品，有效期至华盛顿时间4月11日午夜。

President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. had carried out a bombing raid on Iran’s Kharg Island, a strategically important island in the Persian Gulf that serves as one of the country’s main oil export hubs.

Located off Iran’s southern coast, Kharg Island is home to major oil terminals that have long been central to Iran’s energy trade and economic lifeline.

Because so much of the country’s crude oil exports pass through the island, it is widely viewed as one of Iran’s most sensitive and strategically important pieces of infrastructure.

“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” he added.

Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.

Trump touts Middle East ‘win’ as question | CNN Politics

2026-03-13T21:13:12.452Z / CNN

Trump touts Middle East ‘win’ as questions remain about US troops on the ground

President Trump calls recent Middle East conflict a ‘win’ as gas prices rise across the US. Strikes intensify in the Middle East as questions remain about whether US troops are needed on the ground. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports on the week at the White House.

4:05 • Source: CNN

美国悬赏征集伊朗最高领袖和高级官员信息

发布/2026年3月14日 07:19

美国悬赏高达1000万美元（约1282万新元），征集有关伊朗新任最高领袖穆杰塔巴以及伊朗高级军事与情报官员的信息。

路透社报道，美国国务院网站星期五（3月13日）发布消息，此次悬赏针对10名与伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）有关的官员。这支军队成立于1979年伊朗伊斯兰革命之后，效忠于伊朗最高领袖，负责保护什叶派宗教机构。

穆杰塔巴8日正式接替遭美以空袭身亡的父亲哈梅内伊，成为伊朗最高领袖。哈梅内伊与多名伊朗高级官员在美以2月28日空袭首日丧生。

据信在空袭中受伤的穆杰塔巴成为最高领袖后一直未公开露面，尽管他于11日发表了首次声明。

除征求穆杰塔巴的信息，美国也寻求有关伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书拉里贾尼（Ali Larijani）、情报部长哈提卜（Esmail Khatib）、内政部长莫梅尼（Eskandar Momeni）以及伊朗最高领袖办公室两名官员的信息。

经路透社核实的多个视频显示，拉里贾尼13日与总统佩泽希齐扬及外交部长阿拉格齐一同出席了在德黑兰举行的声援巴勒斯坦集会。这与美国战争部长赫格塞斯关于伊朗领导层正在地下“躲藏”的断言相悖。

Powell’s attorneys discussed the possibility of his remaining on Fed board

March 13, 2026 10:54 PM UTC / Reuters

By Howard Schneider

节点运行失败

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell arrives at the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

• Summary

• Documents part of case on criminal subpoenas
• Powell’s attorneys met with Pirro on January 29
• If he stayed on board, Powell could be swing vote

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) – Attorneys for Fed Chair Jerome Powell raised the possibility he ​might remain as a member of the central bank’s board of governors after his term as ‌chair ends in May, a precedent-breaking decision, at a meeting with the Department of Justice in January, documents unsealed on Friday said.

The documents were part of a case in which the Fed sought to block Justice Department subpoenas in a criminal investigation into ​Powell’s handling of renovations of the central bank’s Washington headquarters. A District Court judge ruled in favor ​of the Fed and blocked the subpoenas on Friday.

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In an argument opposing the Fed’s motion in ⁠the case, a Department of Justice lawyer said Powell’s attorneys told U.S. District Attorney Jeannine Pirro at a ​January 29 meeting: “The Chair (Powell) feels like he would not leave the Board when his term as Chair expires, if ​he was still under investigation; and while he could not say the converse is true, it would be a different look to the Chair if he was not facing criminal investigation and the Chair would be free to make a decision that would focus ​on his family.”

Powell’s attorneys also said, according to the document, that as it stood President Donald Trump, who ​has pressured Powell to lower interest rates, “does not have enough votes in the Senate to confirm a new Board Chair.”

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Trump’s nominee to ‌succeed ⁠Powell, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, faces obstacles to confirmation.

Powell, 73, has not stated publicly his plans for the end of his term, but the possibility he could remain as a governor would take on added significance, with his seat a potential swing vote on the Fed’s seven-member governing board.

By tradition Fed chairs leave their board seats when ​a new chair takes over, ​but concerns about Fed ⁠independence and Trump’s added impact if he fills another spot have stoked speculation Powell might remain.

There is no template for how he might function in the job as a ​former chair still commenting and voting on monetary policy, or how he would relate ​to Warsh.

Powell’s term ⁠as governor extends to January 2028, past upcoming midterm elections in November and during the final year of Trump’s administration.

The Fed had no comment about the material in the unsealed documents.

Justice Department attorneys in the document said they regarded the ⁠comments from ​Powell’s lawyers as “strongarming” the U.S. attorney with the suggestion he would ​leave the board if the investigation was withdrawn.

“By making this peculiar suggestion, the Board morphed the Subpoenas into the exact thing about which they ​complain,” by trying to inject politics into the discussion, the document argued.

Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Vance’s distance from the Iran war is getting more conspicuous

Analysis by Aaron Blake
3 hr ago
PUBLISHED Mar 13, 2026, 4:33 PM ET

Vice President JD Vance speaks at The Power House in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Friday.

Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Mere hours after President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last June, his vice president appeared on two separate Sunday shows to hail the success of the mission. JD Vance was so effusive that he used the word “incredible” or “incredibly” four times in less than one minute.

Within hours of Trump’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Vance was on X posting a combative defense of the legality of the operation.

It’s now been two weeks since Trump launched a war with Iran, and Vance has yet to offer anything like these public votes of confidence.

That continued Friday, when he was asked by a reporter what he had advised Trump initially and more recently.

Vance gave an extended answer but punted on giving his personal view of the war.

“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not going to show up here and, in front of God and everybody else, tell you exactly what I said in that classified room,” he told reporters in North Carolina, referring to the Situation Room.

“Partially because I don’t want to go to prison, and partially because I think it’s important for the president of the United States to be able to talk to his advisers without those advisers running their mouth to the American media,” he continued. (It’s not clear how Vance sharing his opinions would be a crime, and he was asked more broadly about his advice to Trump, not anything classified.)

It was a strange answer — but a telling one when it comes to how Vance has avoided this subject.

In fact, his most newsworthy comments to date have been his assurances that the war wouldn’t be a prolonged one.

Vance’s lack of strong public support has been conspicuous for a while, but it’s getting even more so.

CNN has reported that Vance initially counseled against another Middle East war but shifted his stance when it became clear Trump favored military action and advocated for the president to attack quickly and decisively. The vice president’s initial reservations square with his past commentary espousing the virtues of non-interventionism.

As a senator, he wrote an op-ed in 2023 arguing that Trump was a successful president in large part because he stayed out of wars. In 2024, he said war with Iran, specifically, was not in the US’ interest and would be a “huge distraction of resources.” He warned about war in 2020 when Trump ordered the killing of an Iranian commander. And private messages from “Signal-gate” last year suggested he was skeptical of Trump’s strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

But he is Trump’s vice president. And for a president who often demands obsequious fealty from those around him — including his No. 2 — it’s been astonishing to see Vance try to keep his powder at least somewhat dry.

Critics of the administration will see politics at work — i.e. Vance trying to insulate himself ahead of the 2028 presidential campaign. But his hands-off approach could be a political liability too.

With the war polling poorly in most surveys, the White House has often pointed to its strong support within the MAGA movement. Yet here is the second-most powerful MAGA politician in the country who won’t even lend too much of his political support.

And it’s not terribly subtle, either.

While Vance was quick to take to X to defend the administration after the Venezuela operation in January, he’s been very quiet on social media the last two weeks. In fact, he’s posted just eight times on his personal account since the war began. (It’s worth noting, however, that Vance seems to have taken a step back on social media in recent months, even before the war began.)

While some of the posts on his personal and official accounts are about Iran, those are mostly about killed service members and sharing Trump’s comments rather than Vance’s own. He also posted an interview he did with Fox News about Iran.

But while the subject of that March 2 interview was Iran, Vance largely avoided giving his opinion on the war.

Tellingly, he repeatedly pointed to what Trump was thinking or saying: “the president was looking”; “the president determined”; “he saw that”; “he wanted to make sure”; “the president’s been extremely clear”; “the president just wants”; “the president’s objective”; and “the president will be happy.”

To some degree, that’s Vance job — to talk about the president’s views. But after the June strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, he spoke much more in terms of what he, personally, thought and felt.

And the big headline from that Fox appearance was Vance assuring that this wouldn’t be a decades-long process like in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His other public appearances have been short on Iran comments. He briefly mentioned the killed service members in a speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters on Monday. And in Friday’s speech in North Carolina, he kept mostly to the economy.

Vance is not the only one who’s been asked about daylight between him and the administration. When asked about this subject, neither Trump nor Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have protested too hard about the idea that Vance is in a different place than the president.

When Trump was asked Monday if there was any disagreement between him and Vance, he responded, “I don’t think so. No. No. We get along very well on this.”

But then he suggested there was something to it: “He was, I would say, philosophically a little bit different than me. I think he was maybe less enthusiastic about going, but he was quite enthusiastic.”

Asked on Friday whether there is a “division” between Vance and Trump, Hegseth avoided a direct answer.

“As far as the vice president, he’s an incredible member, leader of this team as well, alongside the president and the secretary of state,” Hegseth said, adding that this team gives Trump options, “and the vice president, every single day, is a key voice in that — an indispensable voice in that, actually.”

For whatever reason — be it philosophical, political or both — Vance isn’t giving us anything to dispute the narrative that he’s not fully on board. And the administration is allowing him to keep his distance.

But it remains to be seen how long that posture can be maintained the longer the war goes on.