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Oct. 17 (UPI) — President Donald Trump refiled a dismissed federal lawsuit accusing The New York Times of defaming him during the 2024 election cycle and seeking $15 billion.

The president refiled the lawsuit on Thursday after U.S. District Court for Middle Florida Judge Steven Merryday in September dismissed the original filing.

The judge ruled the initial 85-page filing was too wordy and took too long to detail any formal complaints against the news outlet, The New York Times reported.

Merryday gave Trump 28 days to refile his lawsuit, which the president did on Thursday in the same federal court.

Trump’s revised filing is 40 pages long and accuses The Times’ reporters Peter Baker, Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig of writing “false, malicious and defamatory statements” against him in two news articles, according to NBC News.

Baler and Buettner also wrote a book titled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.”

Trump’s legal team argues that he asked The Times to retract defamatory and false information, which its leadership refused, The Hill reported.

“Defendants rejected President Trump’s reasonable demands for retraction and instead doubled down and expanded on the malicious and defamatory falsehood,” the legal team says.

“These breaches of journalistic ethics are further proven by The Times’ enthusiastic aiding and abetting of the partisan effort to falsely link Russian interference to President Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election,” Trump’s filing says.

The claims of Russian interference on behalf of Trump “is well on its way to becoming one of the most profoundly disturbing criminal political scandals in American history,” Trump’s legal team argues.

Officials for The New York Times in a statement on Friday said the lawsuit lacks merit.

“Nothing has changed today,” the statement said. “This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate [public relations] attention.”

The Times’ executive editor Joseph Kahn previously said the news outlet will not settle the case, which other news outlets have done to end similar cases filed by the president.

Warner Bros. said Wednesday it will renew the contract for studio heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy after the two orchestrated a string of back-to-back hits at the box office.

The news is a notable reversal of fortune for the co-chairs and co-chief executives of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.

Only six months ago, the pair was on thin ice after a series of underperforming films, including Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi thriller “Mickey 17” and the Robert De Niro-led mob movie “The Alto Knights.”

But the studio’s prospects dramatically changed in April with the release of “A Minecraft Movie,” which hauled in nearly $958 million worldwide. Shortly after, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” became a lasting hit at the box office, followed by “Final Destination Bloodlines,” “F1 The Movie” (which Warner Bros. distributed), James Gunn’s “Superman,” horror flick “Weapons” and the final installment of “The Conjuring.”

The studio recently released the Paul Thomas Anderson film “One Battle After Another,” which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, that is generating awards buzz and has so far grossed $106 million in global ticket sales.

In a memo to staff Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav credited Abdy and De Luca for the improved performance at the box office.

He touted the studio’s “balanced” slate with big blockbusters, films based on established intellectual property, horror movies and original works.

“Mike and Pam’s unwavering leadership and commitment to this business has been critical to our success this year,” he wrote. “We have a lot to be grateful for and much to celebrate including several of this year’s best reviewed movies, many of which have pierced the culture zeitgeist in profound ways while also delighting moviegoers around the world.”

Warner Bros. recently surpassed $4 billion at the global box office, the first time it has done so since 2019 and the first studio to reach this mark this year.

“We have the privilege to do this job because of the support and trust [Zaslav] has put in us, and in all of you,” De Luca and Abdy said in an internal note to employees. “We could not be more excited to be leading this team as we introduce an exciting slate of films in the coming years and continue making every film experience an event worthy of the Warner Bros. shield.”

The Trump administration renewed its request Sunday for a federal appeals court to let him fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, a move the president is seeking ahead of the central bank’s vote on interest rates.

The administration filed a response just ahead of a 3 p.m. Eastern deadline Sunday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing that Cook’s legal arguments for why she should stay on the job were meritless. Lawyers for Cook argued in a Saturday filing that the administration has not shown sufficient cause to fire her, and emphasized the risks to the economy and country if a president were allowed to fire a Fed governor without proper cause.

Sunday’s filing is the latest step in an unprecedented effort by the White House to shape the historically independent Fed. President Trump’s move to oust Cook marks the first time in the central bank’s 112-year history that a president has tried to fire a governor.

“The public and the executive share an interest in ensuring the integrity of the Federal Reserve,” Trump administration lawyers argued in Sunday’s filing. “And that requires respecting the president’s statutory authority to remove governors ‘for cause’ when such cause arises.”

Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has accused Cook of signing separate documents in which she allegedly said that both her Atlanta property and a home in Ann Arbor, Mich., also purchased in June 2021, were “primary residences.” Pulte submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department, which has opened an investigation.

Trump relied on those allegations to fire Cook “for cause.”

Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, referred to the condominium as a “vacation home” in a loan estimate, a characterization that could undermine claims by the Trump administration that she committed mortgage fraud. Documents obtained by the Associated Press also showed that on a second form submitted by Cook to gain a security clearance, she described the property as a “second home.”

Cook sued the Trump administration to block her firing, and a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.

The administration appealed and asked for an emergency ruling just before the Fed is set to meet this week and decide whether to reduce its key interest rate. Most economists expect they will cut the rate by a quarter point.

Suderman writes for the Associated Press.

Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer Neymar has renewed his contract with boyhood club Santos until December.

The 33-year-old returned to the Brazilian club on a six-moth deal in January after the termination of his contract with Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.

Neymar has scored 141 goals and made 69 assists in 243 appearances for Santos.

The former Paris St-Germain and Barcelona forward had been linked with a return to Europe before signing a new deal with Santos until the end of the Brazilian Serie A season, with an option to extend.

“I made a decision and I listened to my heart,” said Neymar.

“Santos is not just my team, it’s my home, my roots, my history and my life. Here I was a boy who became a man, and I am truly loved. Here I can be myself, truly happy.

“This is where I want to fulfil the dreams that are missing in my career. And nothing’s going to stop me. I go, I come back and I stay. Where it all began and where it will never end.”

Neymar was recalled to the Brazil squad after a 17-month absence in March but did not feature in their World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.

He has scored 79 goals in 128 Brazil appearances but has not represented his country since sustaining a knee injury against Uruguay in October 2023.

“It is a historic and remarkable day for Brazilian football, a gift for the fans of Santos FC,” said club president Marcelo Teixeira.

“Our idol, our boy, the prince with our number 10 shirt remains.

“It is a very important moment in this reconstruction process and we needed Neymar, both on and off the field.

“The phrase ‘I’m going, I’m back, I’m staying’ is emblematic and fundamental for the repositioning of Santos FC at its proper level.”

Former United States President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis has rekindled questions about whether he deceived the public about his health while in office, with his successor, Donald Trump, adding his voice to those suggesting a coverup.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, President Trump cast doubt on the timing of Biden’s advanced cancer diagnosis amid renewed scrutiny of the former president’s physical and mental fitness during his tenure.

“I’m surprised that the public wasn’t notified a long time ago,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“Why did it take so long? This takes a long time, it can take years to get this level of danger,” Trump added.

“So, look, it’s a very sad situation, I feel very badly about it. And I think people should try and find out what happened.”

Trump also said that the doctors who had examined Biden while in office were “not telling the facts”.

“That’s a big problem,” he said.

Biden’s office said in a statement on Sunday that the former president was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

The statement said Biden was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing “increasing urinary symptoms” and that he and his family were reviewing treatment options.

Doctors graded Biden’s cancer with a score of 9 under the Gleason classification system, according to the statement, indicating it is among the most aggressive kinds.

Late-stage prostate cancer has an average five-year survival rate of 28 percent, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Biden earlier on Monday expressed gratitude to well-wishers for their words of support and encouragement.

“Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote on social media.

“Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support. pic.twitter.com/oSS1vGIiwU

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 19, 2025

The news of Biden’s cancer diagnosis came as the former president’s health was already under renewed scrutiny ahead of the publication of a new book detailing the alleged coverup of his physical and mental deterioration by his inner circle.

Original Sin, written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, contains various damning accounts of Biden’s alleged decline, including an incident in which the then-president was reportedly unable to recognise Hollywood actor George Clooney at a 2024 fundraiser.

In his comments on Biden’s diagnosis on Monday, Trump drew a link between the former president’s cancer and the alleged concealment of his mental acuity.

“If you take a look, it’s the same doctor that said Joe was cognitively fine, there was nothing wrong with him,” Trump said.

“There are things going on that the public wasn’t informed of, and I think somebody is going to have to speak to his doctor,” he added.

Some doctors have publicly questioned the account of Biden’s cancer diagnosis provided by his office, pointing out that such advanced cancer would have had to progress over a period of years.

“For even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes metastatic,” Steven Quay, a pathologist who is the chief executive of biopharmaceutical company Atossa Therapeutics, said in a post on X.

“Meaning, it would be malpractice for this patient to show up and be first diagnosed with metastatic disease in May 2025. It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed.”

Howard P Forman, a professor of radiology at Yale University, said it was “inconceivable” that Biden’s cancer was not detected before he left office, as it would have been picked up by a blood test known as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.

“Gleason grade 9 would have had an elevated PSA level for some time before this diagnosis. And he must have had a PSA test numerous times before. This is odd,” Forman said in a post on X.

However, Daniel W Lin, a prostate cancer expert at UW Medicine in Washington state, said that while Biden has “very likely” had cancer for years, it is possible he was not given a PSA test.

“There are screening controversies with the use of PSA, and many medical groups do not recommend PSA testing after 70 or 75 years of age, although others recommend based on life expectancy or state of health rather than age cut-points,” Lin told Al Jazeera.

Lin said it was also possible that Biden has a rarer form of cancer that is not detectable by the test.

“This situation is less common, but not considered overly rare. Additionally, when this situation occurs, it is more common in high-grade cancers, such as former President Biden’s case,” he said.

“Playing the odds, he does not fall into this category, however, it can definitely occur.”