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Criminal defendants in Oregon who have gone without public defenders for weeks have filed a lawsuit against the state claiming a violation of their constitutional rights. The complaint, which seeks a class-action status, was filed in Portland on Monday comes as state lawmakers and the Office of Public Defense Services struggle to address a huge shortage of public defenders. The system to provide attorneys for criminal defendants who can't afford them was underfunded and understaffed before COVID-19, but a significant slowdown in the courts during the pandemic pushed Oregon to a breaking point as a backlog of cases flooded courts.

Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders have announced a breakthrough deal on a broad framework for parceling out a massive budget surplus with just a week remaining in the session. The bipartisan deal would devote $4 billion to tax relief, and another $4 billion to spending on education, public safety and health care. It would also leave $4 billion in the bank to guard against downturns. The agreement also calls for $1.5 billion for a public works package known as a bonding bill. Walz told reporters there's a lot of hard work ahead, but the main parameters have been set.

Elisabeth Borne has been appointed France’s new prime minister. She's only the the second woman to hold the post in the country. The 61-year-old Borne succeeds Jean Castex who resigned as expected Monday after French President Emmanuel Macron’ was reelected last month. Macron and Borne are expected to appoint a new French government in the coming days. Borne served as labor minister in Macron’s previous government since 2020. Before that she was transport minister and minister of ecological transition. She is now also expected to take a senior role in Macron's efforts to fight climate change. Some left-wing politicians were upset with the choice of Borne, saying she reduced social payments to 1 million unemployed people.