Red Wedding: Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, is expected to begin massive layoffs today from the company’s work force of 7,500. By some estimates, as many as half will get fired.

  A class action lawsuit has already been filed against Twitter, claiming the company is violating California and federal law by failing to give sufficient notice of mass layoffs. Federal law requires a 100 day notice for companies with 60 or more employees.

  Musk is trying to make Twitter profitable after it has lost money in seven of the nine years it has existed.

  Employees were told in an email not to go to work today and to wait for further word. “In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global work force,” the email said. “We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

  Referring to the massacre scene in Game of Thrones, one employee posted, “Has the red wedding started?”

Bibi’s Back: Despite being on trial for charges of corruption, Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu has risen once more to become prime minister. Current prime Minister Yair Lapid has conceded defeat.

  The right wing Netanyahu was prime minister from 2009 to 2021. After five elections in less than four years, he’s back. He allied himself this time only with far right and ultra-Orthodox parties, shunning the moderates who had previously been the backbone of his parliamentary coalition.

  A core tenet of Netanyahu’s politics over the years has been to be tough with the Palestinians. There’s fear now that he may use his new power to eject them from the country.

The War Room: Ukrainian officials say their military hit a critical air defense system close to the stadium in the eastern city of Kherson. Russian installed authorities have been urging and sometimes forcing Ukrainians citizens to leave the city in anticipation of attack by Ukraine forces. 

  Serhii Khlan, a member of the Kherson Regional Council, posted photos he said showed the “remains of the equipment” and also said Ukraine made further strikes along the Dnipro River in the area of the disabled Antonivsky Bridge, where Russian forces have been reduced to using ferries and pontoon bridges.

  The Institute for the Study of war says it’s unclear whether Russia intends to fight to hold Kerson.  ISW says it “has observed that Russian forces are continuing to prepare fallback positions on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River while continuing to set up defensive positions northwest of Kherson City and transporting additional mobilized forces there.”

  But, they say, “Some Russian elite units — such as airborne forces and naval infantry — are reportedly continuing to operate on the right (western) bank of the Dnipro River and their full withdrawal from northern Kherson Oblast would be a clearer indicator that Russian forces will not fight for Kherson City or settlements on the right bank.”

Slam Dunked: The New York Nets suspended guard Kyrie Irving for at least five games, calling him “unfit to be associated” with the team because he has refused to apologize or disavow antisemitic opinions since he posted a link on Twitter to a film spreading hatred of Jewish people. The film is called “Hebrews to Negroes; Wake Up Black America” and it denies that the Holocaust ever occurred.

  The Nets said in a statement, “Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team.”

  Irving said, “I didn’t mean to cause any harm. I’m not the one who made  the documentary.”

The Obit Page: George Booth, the longtime cartoonist for The New Yorker who drew a world of domestic zaniness populated with leaping cats and a bull terrier that dominated the household has died of the effects of dementia at age 96.

  A classic Booth cartoon was of the bull terrier sitting on the lawn next to a sign that said, “Beware! Skittish Dog.”

  Booth Drew for the New Yorker for 50 years.

The Spin Rack: Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left the hospital yesterday, six days after a man broke into the couple’s home and cracked Pelosi’s skull with a hammer. Ms. Pelosi has said her husband faces a “long recovery.” — The FBI has warned synagogues in New Jersey to step up security after getting what it called “credible information” about an increased level of threat. — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was wounded several times in a leg during an attempted assassination at a rally yesterday. The shooter was captured. — At an appearance in Iowa last night, Donald Trump came within a hair’s breadth of again declaring himself a candidate for president. He said, “In order to make our country successful, and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again.”

Below the Fold: The paradise of Maui has passed a new ordinance to protect the island’s rare and beautiful birds from slamming into buildings and other human constructions at night.

  Maui is home to such fascinating birds as thee wedge-tailed shearwater, white-tailed tropicbird, brown booby, myna, kiwikiu, and nene — the state bird.

  The ordinance imposes a near-total ban on upward-shining outdoor lighting and limits use of short-wavelength blue-light.  Islanders are still sorting out what it means, but there’s some fear that the law could also ban lighting for outdoor events such as luaus at night. That could affect the island’s most common migratory bird that flies there daily, the tourist.

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