dismissed

Sept. 19 (UPI) — A $15 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the New York Times was rejected by a federal judge Friday.

Judge Steven Merryday in Tampa, Fla., said Trump’s lengthy lawsuit had too much praise for the president and “superfluous allegations.”

Merryday said Trump’s two civil allegations against the newspaper are only mentioned in the last few pages of the 85-page complaint. The other pages are full of complaints about his political enemies and boasting of his accomplishments.

Merryday gave Trump 28 days to file another version of the lawsuit.

“As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective — not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,” Merryday wrote. “A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner.”

“This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner,” the judge wrote.

The Times company wrote in a statement when Trump’s lawsuit was filed that his complaint is “without merit.” Times executive editor Joe Kahn on Thursday said he was confident the paper would win.

“He’s wrong on the facts; he’s wrong on the law. And we’ll fight it, and we’ll win,” Kahn said at an Axios Media Trends Live event Thursday. He said he did not see a scenario in which the Times would settle with the president.

When he filed the suit on Monday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to accuse the newspaper of being a “virtual mouthpiece for the Radical Left Democratic Party,” but did not give details of the alleged falsehoods.

The action for damages amounting to more than the full market capitalization of The New York Times Company, was, Trump said, motivated by an imperative to “restore integrity to journalism.”

“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” Trump said.

He also criticized the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president in the 2024 election.

Experts have said it was another instance of a strategy of using lawsuits of doubtful legality to gag critical voices and suppress free speech.

Trump has won multi-million dollar settlements from ABC News and CBS News, in December and July, respectively, prompting groups representing the journalism industry to warn that opting to settle out of court was only fueling Trump’s “lawfare.”

Addressing the Reporters & Editors 50th anniversary gala in New York on Monday, before the latest suit was filed, Times publisher AG Sulzberger warned of a growing so-called “anti-press playbook” trend among “aspiring strongmen” globally of leveraging civil law to exert financial pressure on media.

The 27-year-old US shooter still faces a second-degree murder charge and eight criminal counts.

A New York State court in the US has dismissed two “terrorism” related counts against Luigi Mangione over the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson.

The court handed down the decision on Tuesday.

Mangione, 27, still faces charges of second-degree murder and eight other criminal counts related to Thompson’s death in December.

Justice Gregory Carro ruled that prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to the grand jury that Mangione acted with the intent to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy, which would have been necessary to prove murder as an act of “terrorism”.

“While there is no doubt that the crime at issue here is not ordinary ‘street crime’, it does not follow that all non-street crimes were meant to be included within the reach of the terrorism statute,” Carro wrote in his decision.

Mangione was led into the courtroom in Lower Manhattan handcuffed and with shackles on his feet, wearing tan prison garb.

The judge set Mangione’s next court date in the case for December 1 – nearly a year after Thompson’s death. Thompson was killed on December 4, 2024, outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where his company was hosting an investor conference.

Mangione still faces significant penalties in the case against him, including life in prison if he is ultimately convicted of murder in the second degree, which is defined as an intentional killing.

He also faces a separate federal indictment over the killing of Thompson, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance unit UnitedHealthcare. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both the state and federal charges.

Mangione faces seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of possessing a false identification in the state case against him.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement, “We respect the court’s decision and will proceed on the remaining nine counts, including murder in the second degree.”

The US Justice Department is seeking the death penalty in the federal case against Mangione. Carro’s dismissal of the state-level “terrorism” counts has no bearing on the federal case.

Steep healthcare costs

While the killing of Thompson was also widely condemned by public officials across the political spectrum, Mangione has become a folk hero to some Americans who decry steep healthcare costs.

A small group of Mangione supporters gathered outside the courthouse on Wednesday morning. One was dressed in a green costume of the Nintendo character Luigi, and another held the red, white and green Italian tricolor with the words “Healthcare is a human right” inscribed on the flag.

About two dozen members of the public – mostly young women – secured a seat in the back of the courtroom to watch the proceedings. One wore a black T-shirt with the words “Free Luigi” written in white letters.

Trial dates have not yet been set in either the state or federal cases. Mangione has been held in federal custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last year.

Joe Root is dismissed for 105 after he is caught behind off Prasidh Krishna to leave England six wickets down in their chase of 374 to beat India on day four of the fifth and final Test at the Oval.

FOLLOW LIVE: England v India – Day four

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A New Mexico judge has dismissed Alec Baldwin’s lawsuit alleging that he was maliciously prosecuted — one year after the actor-producer was cleared of a criminal charge in the “Rust” shooting death of the film’s cinematographer.

Baldwin alleged in a January lawsuit that he was the victim of overzealous New Mexico prosecutors and law enforcement. Baldwin claimed he had become the state’s celebrity scapegoat for the accidental on-set shooting of director of photography Halyna Hutchins.

The lawsuit came six months after a judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge that Baldwin had been facing.

Former New Mexico 1st Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ended Baldwin’s trial last July after learning prosecutors withheld potential evidence from Baldwin’s legal team.

Baldwin’s subsequent suit targeted special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey, 1st Judicial Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies, Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies and Santa Fe County Commissioners.

The defendants were “blinded by their desire to convict Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost,” his lawsuit claimed.

On Tuesday, a different judge dismissed Baldwin’s claims against the state, citing a lack of activity in the case.

Third Judicial Dist. Judge Casey B. Fitch wrote that it had been six months since any “significant action” had been filed in Baldwin’s case. Fitch gave the lawyers 30 days to file a motion to keep the lawsuit moving.

The ruling comes as legal proceedings in the “Rust” shooting saga are winding down.

In May, weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez was freed from prison after serving 14 months for her felony conviction of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ October 2021 death on the New Mexico film set.

Baldwin’s case was dismissed a year ago by a Marlowe Sommer, who has since retired, on what was supposed to be the third day of the actor’s high-profile trial.

Instead, his defense attorneys raised serious questions over how New Mexico law enforcement officers and prosecutors handled evidence as they mounted their prosecution.

Baldwin’s attorneys accused the state of misconduct, pointing to a batch of unexamined bullets that a potential witness turned over to sheriff’s investigators in March 2024. Marlowe Sommer appeared furious over the handling of the evidence, which was not given to the defense, and dismissed the single charge against Baldwin.

Earlier this year, when Baldwin’s suit was filed, Morrissey said prosecutors had long been aware of Baldwin’s plans to sue New Mexico. She added: “We look forward to our day in court.”

July 3 (UPI) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of the man accused of attacking a group of Jewish demonstrators in Colorado last month, ruling that despite confusion caused by the Trump administration, they are receiving their full rights under immigration law and their deportation proceedings are not being expedited.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by federal immigration agents on June 3, days after her husband, 45-year-old Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly wounded more than a dozen people attending a weekly Boulder, Colo., event in support of Jewish hostages held by Hamas using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails.

One of the wounded, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died of her injuries, prosecutors announced Monday.

The family has been fighting deportation since their detention, believing their removal process was being expedited, which is not permitted under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as they have been in the country for more than two years.

They received temporary restraining orders preventing their removal as the judge reviewed the case.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia dismissed their lawsuit without prejudice, finding that despite the confusion over whether their deportation was being expedited, they were, in fact, placed into ordinary removal proceedings and would appear before an immigration judge where they could seek protection from removal.

“Accordingly, to the extent that petitioners seek to enjoin their removal on an expedited basis, this request is moot,” Garcia said in her ruling. “And to the extent that petitioners seek to enjoin their being subjected to ordinary, or ‘full,’ removal proceedings, such relief is not available to them.”

The confusion over their removal proceedings arose from Trump administration statements published the day they were detained.

The White House posted a statement to X claiming that “six one-way tickets for Mohamed’s Wife and five kids” had been arranged and that “final boarding call coming soon.” The tweet ended with an emoji of an airplane.

A second tweet from the White House said “THEY COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT.”

The statements prompted the family to file a lawsuit seeking to halt their expedited removal.

Garcia highlighted the confusion caused by the White House messaging in her ruling, but said the government has since clarified that this is not the case.

“The court hastens to remind petitioners that they still have an avenue for seeking their release from detention while their removal proceedings continue,” said Garcia, a President Bill Clinton appointee.

The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the ruling without acknowledging the confusion caused by the White House’s messaging.

“This is a proper end to an absurd legal effort on the plaintiff’s part,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

“Just like her terrorist husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE custody for removal as a result.”

DHS has previously argued that the Soliman family is in the United States illegally.

According to an earlier statement from DHS, Soliman, his wife and their five children first came to the United States on Aug. 27, 2022, and filed for asylum about a month later. They were granted entry until Feb. 26, 2023, and had apparently overstayed their visas since.

Soliman has pleaded not guilty to 12 federal hate crime counts.

BBC Radio Sheffield’s Andy Giddings

Wilder’s second stint was initially a salvage job after a disastrous summer of recruitment hindered predecessor Paul Heckingbottom.

Ultimately it didn’t work, but the seeds of change were sown.

Wilder – known as being a skilled planner – set about changing the plan, and despite a slow, nervy start to the transfer window due the protracted takeover of the club, put together the makings of a good squad which amassed 90 points (92 without the deduction) that remarkably wasn’t enough for automatic promotion, and ended with a defeat in the Championship play-off final.

Following that final against Sunderland three weeks ago, it’s believed a split board decided to discuss a ‘change in direction’ last week which has ultimately led to the pending departure of one of United’s most successful managers.

The delay in holding these talks over his future and the time it’s taken to resolve the situation shows a lack of respect to Wilder, in my opinion, a lack of clarity at the top of the club, and a naivety in offering him a new three-year deal in January, when it was known significant changes to the club’s methods of recruitment were coming.

Read Andy Giddings’ full analysis

Uefa advanced its assessment date to 1 March rather than June, but the Cas panel found that this change had been properly communicated by Uefa and that Drogheda ought to have known about it.

A majority of the panel also rejected Drogheda’s submissions on alleged unequal treatment by Uefa.

Drogheda, who are currently third in the League of Ireland Premier Division and face Shamrock Rovers on Monday night, also called the decision “unjust”.

“Rules should protect opportunity, not prevent it,” their statement added.

“Especially for community-driven clubs like ours who fight every day to punch above their weight.

“Nevertheless, we accept responsibility. And we’re sorry. But while we are saddened, we are also emboldened.

“We will not let this setback define us. Instead, we will use it as fuel. Our club has never been handed anything and we’ve earned every inch through grit, resilience, and unity. And we will continue to do so.”

Derry City, who Drogheda beat in the FAI Cup final, are unable to join Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic in the competition as the deadline for a Uefa licence has passed.

Drogheda’s sitaution is similar to that being experienced by Crystal Palace, who qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in May.

It is the only time the Premier League club has qualified for European football in their 120-year history, but Uefa is set to decide whether they breached its rules on teams under one multi-club ownership structure competing in that competition.

Uefa’s final ruling will centre on American businessman John Textor, owner of Eagle Football – which holds a 43% stake in Palace.

Eagle Football also owns a 77% stake in French side Lyon, who – like Palace – have qualified for next season’s Europa League.

In recent seasons, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Manchester United have all been admitted into European competition despite initial concerns over multi-club ownership.

NEW YORK — All 17 experts recently dismissed from a government vaccine advisory panel published an essay Monday decrying “destabilizing decisions” made by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that could lead to more preventable disease spread.

Kennedy last week announced he would “retire” the entire panel that guides U.S. vaccine policy. He also quietly removed Dr. Melinda Wharton — the veteran Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official who coordinated the committee’s meetings.

Two days later, he named eight new people to the influential panel. The list included a scientist who criticized COVID-19 vaccines, a leading critic of pandemic-era lockdowns and someone who worked with a group widely considered to be a leading source of vaccine misinformation.

“We are deeply concerned that these destabilizing decisions, made without clear rationale, may roll back the achievements of U.S. immunization policy, impact people’s access to lifesaving vaccines, and ultimately put U.S. families at risk of dangerous and preventable illnesses,” the 17 panelists wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

The new committee is scheduled to meet next week. The agenda for that meeting has not yet been posted, but a recent federal notice said votes are expected on vaccinations against flu, COVID-19, HPV, RSV and meningococcal bacteria.

In addition to Wharton’s removal, CDC immunization staff have been cut and agency experts who gather or present data to committee members have resigned.

One, Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, resigned after 12 years at CDC, disclosing her decision early this month in a note to members of a COVID-19 vaccines work group. Her decision came after Kennedy decided — without consulting the vaccine advisers — to pull back COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women.

“My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role,” she wrote in a message viewed by the Associated Press.

Those CDC personnel losses will make it hard for a group of new outside advisers to quickly come up to speed and make fact-based decisions about which vaccines to recommend to the public, the former committee members said.

“The termination of all members and its leadership in a single action undermines the committee’s capacity to operate effectively and efficiently, aside from raising questions about competence,” they wrote.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to the JAMA commentary, but instead pointed to Kennedy’s previous comments on the committee.

Kennedy, a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before becoming the U.S. government’s top health official, has accused the committee of being too closely aligned with vaccine manufacturers and of rubber-stamping vaccines.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, created in 1964, makes recommendations to the CDC director on how vaccines that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration should be used. CDC directors almost always approve those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs.

ACIP policies require members to state past collaborations with vaccine companies and to recuse themselves from votes in which they had a conflict of interest, but Kennedy has dismissed those safeguards as weak.

Stobbe writes for the Associated Press.