What happened
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified yesterday at his corruption trial, becoming Israel's first sitting leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant. The trial has been underway for four years.

Who said what
Allegations of Netanyahu's corruption have "defined and disrupted Israeli public life for nearly a decade," The New York Times said. His legal perils have "bitterly divided Israelis and shook Israeli politics through five rounds of elections," Reuters said, though Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack pushed the allegations "off the public agenda as Israelis came together in grief and trauma."

Netanyahu derided the bribery, fraud and breach of trust allegations in a bid to "dwarf the events described in the indictment and present them as minor details unworthy of a leader of his stature," Haaretz said. He testified he was glad to "refute the ridiculous charges" against him, while complaining he was busy "managing a country" at war "on seven fronts."

What next?
Beginning next week, "Netanyahu will be required to testify three days a week, six hours per day, for several weeks," The Washington Post said. Initially, he will "answer open-ended questions from his own attorneys," and "political observers say Netanyahu may try to avoid" the subsequent grilling by prosecutors "for as long as possible."

What happened
A federal judge in Oregon yesterday temporarily blocked Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of rival supermarket giant Albertsons, agreeing with the Federal Trade Commission and eight states plus the District of Columbia that the merger would reduce competition and raise grocery prices. Hours later, a state judge in Seattle permanently halted the merger in Washington state.

Who said what
Kroger and Albertsons, the country's two largest traditional supermarket chains, "engage in substantial head-to-head competition and the proposed merger would remove that competition," said U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson in Portland. She said the merger was "presumptively unlawful."

During three weeks of hearings, lawyers for the supermarket chains argued that they needed to combine to compete with big box giants like Walmart — the No. 1 seller of groceries nationwide — Costco and Amazon's Whole Foods. Kroger and Albertsons said they were "disappointed" by the ruling and considering their options.

What next?
Nelson's ruling "doesn't immediately kill the deal," The Wall Street Journal said. The case moves next to an FTC in-house administrative court, though "the deal could fall apart" before another judge gets to weigh in, The Associated Press said.