The Latest: Federal judge tosses Trump’s $15B defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

A federal judge in Florida on Friday tossed President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.

The lawsuit named a book and an article written by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig that focuses on Trump’s finances and his pre-presidency starring role in television’s “The Apprentice.”

Trump said in the lawsuit that they “maliciously peddled the fact-free narrative” that television producer Mark Burnett turned Trump into a celebrity — “even though at and prior to the time of publications defendants knew that President Trump was already a mega-celebrity and an enormous success in business.”

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The Senate on Friday confirmed Mike Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, filling the last vacancy in President Trump’s Cabinet after eight months of delays and the withdrawal of a previous nominee.

The bipartisan vote for Waltz came after a recent procedural hurdle sent his nomination back to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it had to be voted on again on Wednesday.

The Senate did not vote on a separate matter that would formally designate Waltz as a representative at the General Assembly, due to objections from Democrats, according to a person familiar with the Senate deliberations.

It is unclear how or whether Waltz would be able to participate at the annual gathering in New York next week. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

Trump said on his social media site that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would be coming to Washington, with plans to discuss the purchases of Boeing aircraft and a deal for F-16 fighter jets. There will also be negotiations over the sale to Turkey of F-35 fighter jets, which Trump said “we expect to conclude positively.”

The U.S. president said on Truth Social that he has “always” enjoyed a “very good relationship with Erdoğan.

Trade will also be part of their Sept. 25 conversation, but Trump did not indicate whether they would discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine. The president has said he would place tariffs on China for buying Russian oil if other members of NATO, including Turkey, also committed to stop buying Russian energy products.

Sen. Ted Cruz said on his latest podcast that Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr’s threat to punish ABC over comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is “dangerous as hell.”

Cruz said Friday that while Carr is a “great guy” and he’s glad ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air indefinitely, threatening ABC’s broadcasting license eventually “will end up bad for conservatives.”

“There will come a time when a Democrat wins again, wins the White House,” Cruz said. “They will silence us. They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly.”

Carr said Wednesday on Fox News: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

But Cruz, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees the FCC, said Carr’s comments sounded “right out of a mafioso.”

The Education Department on Friday imposed greater oversight over the Ivy League school’s finances and threatened sanctions if it refuses to provide more data on admissions.

The actions mark an escalation of the administration’s feud with Harvard, which has sued over the White House’s demands for extensive reforms.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the university is refusing to comply with the department’s demands for admissions records. The department says universities need to demonstrate they are not using race in the admissions process.

The department also said it was placing the school on “Heightened Cash Monitoring,” which will force Harvard to use its own funds for student financial aid and then seek reimbursement from the government.

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments saying that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has “let him down” over Moscow’s war in Ukraine are “understandable,” the Kremlin told Russian state media Friday.

Speaking with state news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov characterized Trump’s statements as emotional.

“We can assume that the United States and President Trump himself still maintain the political will and the intention of continuing their efforts to facilitate a settlement in Ukraine,” Peskov said when asked about Trump’s statement, which he made while on a state visit to England Thursday.

He also stressed that Putin was still willing to end the war, which Moscow triggered when it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor 3-1/2 years ago, “politically and diplomatically.”

“Of course, President Trump is quite emotional, so to say, about this issue. That is completely understandable,” Peskov said.

The Senate rejected competing measures to fund federal agencies for a few weeks when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, increasing prospects for a partial government shutdown on that date.

Leaders of the two parties sought to blame the other side for the standoff. Democrats accused Republicans of not negotiating with them to address some of their priorities on health care as part of the funding measure.

Republicans said Democrats were making demands that would dramatically increase spending and were not germane to the core issue of keeping agencies fully running for a short period of time while negotiations continued on a full-year spending measure.

Alex Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who oversaw a plea agreement with Jeffrey Epstein in 2008, is defending his handling of the case in a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, according to lawmakers.

“He would not admit — as a matter of fact — stands by the decision to give him Mr. Epstein a sweetheart deal,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, told reporters.

Under the 2008 non-prosecution agreement Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. He served 13 months in a work-release program and was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.

Acosta described a case that had limited evidence to pursue higher charges, according to a Republican lawmaker.

“He had to go with what he had,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., “He apparently didn’t have what we all thought he had.”

The U.S. attorney whose office has been investigating mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James has been told to resign or be fired, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press Friday, amid a push by Trump administration officials to bring criminal charges against the perceived adversary of the president.

The move to replace Erik Siebert, a career prosecutor in the prestigious Eastern District of Virginia, was described by a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. It was not immediately clear who told Siebert he was being removed, what reason was given or who might replace him.

Spokespeople for Seibert’s office and the Justice Department declined to comment Friday.

The development comes as Trump administration officials have been aggressively pursuing allegations against James arising from alleged paperwork discrepancies on James’s Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home. The Justice Department has spent months conducting the investigation but has yet to bring charges and it not clear that prosecutors have managed to uncover any degree of incriminating evidence necessary to secure an indictment.

-By Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker

A federal judge in Florida on Friday tossed President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against New York Times.

The lawsuit named a book and an article written by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig that focuses on Trump’s finances and his pre-presidency starring role in television’s “The Apprentice.”

Trump said in the lawsuit that they “maliciously peddled the fact-free narrative” that television producer Mark Burnett turned Trump into a celebrity — “even though at and prior to the time of publications defendants knew that President Trump was already a mega-celebrity and an enormous success in business.”

The three-and-a-half minute video features the remarks by his widow, Erika Kirk, when she spoke for the first time after he was assassinated in Utah on Sept. 10.

There also are clips of the 31-year-old conservative activist giving speeches and media interviews, on his wedding day, with his wife and two children and with Trump, along with scenes from memorials and vigils that have been held for him.

Kirk was one of Trump’s biggest supporters and the president is expected to attend the funeral Sunday in Arizona.

The fate of TikTok’s U.S. operations are still somewhat uncertain after Trump’s call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The U.S. president wants an American buyer of the social media site’s U.S. operations for national security reasons and his post on social media about his call with Xi acted like a deal was ready.

Trump posted on Truth Social: “appreciate the TikTok approval.”

But it’s unclear just what Xi approved regarding the sale of the assets by the Chinese company ByteDance.

The Chinese government statement said the Chinese government “would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides. The U.S. side needs to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors.”

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to halt a judge’s order allowing transgender and nonbinary people to continue to choose the sex marker on their passports.

The court order allows transgender or nonbinary people to request a male, female or “X” identification marker, rather than being limited to the marker that matches the gender on their birth certificate.

▶ Read more on this developing story

The resolution honoring Kirk’s “life and legacy” had a number of other clauses that Democrats took issue with, including a line that said Kirk’s “commitment to civil discussion and debate stood as a model for young Americans.”

The resolution also said that Kirk’s “steadfast dedication to the Constitution, civil discourse, and Biblical truth inspired a generation.”

“While I condemn his violent murder, this resolution sought to elevate Charlie Kirk as a role model,” Rep. Bennie Thompson said after he and 57 other Democrats voted against the resolution.

In a statement following the vote, the Congressional Black Caucus condemned political violence, including the assassination of Kirk, but added: “We strongly disagree with many of the beliefs Charlie Kirk promoted.”

After months of delay, entreaties from Washington, D.C. officials and public support from Trump, House Republicans put a fix into the spending bill that passed on Friday. It could restore the $1 billion the House cut in D.C. funding earlier this year.

The fix is part of the overall bill the House passed to avert a shutdown. The Senate, which unanimously passed a stand-alone bill allowing D.C. to access its own locally raised revenue, takes up the overall bill next.

The original cut came when the House enacted a continuing resolution setting D.C.’s budget at 2024 levels although the city was midway through its next budget year.

Trump says on his social media site that he made progress on trade, TikTok and Russia’s war in Ukraine in his Friday call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Trump said he and Xi will meet in person on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea that runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

Trump also said he would visit China “in the early part of next year, and that President Xi would, likewise, come to the United States at an appropriate time.”

Trump’s post suggested that Xi had approved the proposed TikTok deal but he provided no details.

Few details have emerged about the U.S. military strike that killed 11 people on a Venezuelan boat, which the Trump administration claims carried drugs for the Tren de Aragua gang.

But fishermen on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula told The Associated Press they don’t blame people who have repurposed fishing boats to smuggle drugs, migrants, wildlife and fuel. “There is no revolution here,” said retiree Alberto Díaz, referring to the Venezuelan government’s self-described socialist movement. “What there is here is hunger, sacrifice, pure pain.”

The Trump administration hasn’t explained how the military determined the boat was carrying gang members and drugs before sinking it, marking a paradigm shift in the U.S. response to drug trafficking.

Christopher Sabatini, a research fellow at Chatham House in London, said the Trump administration “has completely exaggerated” these Venezuelans’ illicit activities by deeming them an immediate threat to the U.S. “These are small-scale fishermen — and now small-scale drug traffickers,” he said.

▶ Read more about the impact in Venezuela of the U.S. military strikes

A resolution honoring Charlie Kirk passed overwhelmingly in the House on Friday — but 58 Democrats voted against it, and another 38 voted “present.”

Ahead of the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted there was “no excuse” for the measure not to receive unanimous support.

The vote was contentious after several Democrats voiced concerns that Republicans are politicizing Kirk’s death.

The vote was 217-212 for the short-term spending bill to extend government funding for seven weeks and avoid a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1. Republicans would need 60 votes to pass it in the Senate, where the two show no signs of budging.

Democratic leaders are adamantly opposed to voting for the measure if Republicans don’t let them have a say.

“Every House Republican should UNIFY, and VOTE YES!” Trump said on his social media site.

Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats are working to protect the health care of the American people, and with the GOP controlling the White House and Congress, “Republicans will own a government shutdown. Period. Full stop.”

The House vote sends the bill to the Senate where Majority Leader John Thune said they’ll vote on it along with a dueling Democratic proposal. Neither is expected to advance.

Voters in southern Arizona will send a new representative to Congress after Tuesday’s special election to replace the late Democratic U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who died in March of complications from cancer treatment.

The seat will not decide control of the U.S. House, but it is one of two remaining vacancies in heavily Democratic districts that could chip away at Republicans’ slender 219-213 majority in the chamber. A third vacancy in a heavily Republican Tennessee district won’t be filled until December.

The major contenders in the district where Democrats have a 2-1 voter registration advantage are former Democratic Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, daughter of the late congressman, and Republican nominee Daniel Butierez, a contractor and small business owner. Two third-party candidates are on the ballot.

Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Friday they are “a planning organization” and routinely review how they would respond to contingencies across the globe.

“We are always ready to execute any mission at the President’s direction,” Parnell’s statement said.

Zakir Jalaly, an official at the Taliban Foreign Ministry, dismissed the idea.

“Afghanistan and the U.S. need to interact with each other and can have economic and political relations based on mutual respect and common interests,” Jalaly said on X. “The Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but the door is open for further interaction.”

The regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury on Friday detail the occupations covered, who will qualify and what counts as a qualified tip:

1. The tip must be voluntarily given, so mandatory tips or auto-gratuities would not qualify for the “no tax on tips” benefit.

2. Tip pools and similar arrangements qualify, so long as they are reported to the IRS and voluntary.

3. The benefit is not available to married individuals who file their taxes separately.

4. The tip must be given in cash, check, debit card, gift card or any item exchangeable for a fixed amount of cash, unlike digital assets.

5. Any amount received for illegal activity, prostitution services, or pornographic activity does not qualify as a tip

A provision in the Republicans’ massive tax and spending law allows certain workers to deduct up to $25,000 in “qualified tips” from their federal income taxes each year from 2025 through 2028. The deduction phases out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income over $150,000.

Access to COVID-19 shots is under debate as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine advisers reconvene Friday.

Many people have reported difficulty proving eligibility for updated shots, which were restricted by the FDA to those over 65 or at higher risk. CDC advisers must now decide who should get them, a move that shapes insurance coverage and pharmacy access.

The composition of Kennedy’s panel, which includes vaccine critics, has raised fears of further curbs.

On Friday, the group delayed a vote on a newborn vaccine for hepatitis B. They are poised to recommend that hepatitis B shots for newborns be postponed from the day of birth to age 1 month. That idea has drawn criticism from pediatric and infectious disease specialists.

Trump and Xi began their call at around 8 a.m. Friday Washington time, according to a White House official and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Topics for discussion included efforts to finalize a deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States.

Readouts from the call may offer clues about whether the two leaders might meet in person to hash out a final agreement to end their trade war and provide clarity on where relations between the world’s two superpowers may be headed.

▶ Read more about the Trump-Xi call

Colleges around the United States are under intense pressure to police insensitive comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This leaves them with no easy choices:

6. They can defy the Republican campaign and defend their employees’ speech rights, risking the kind of federal attention that has prompted billions of dollars in cuts at Harvard and other universities.

7. Or they can bow to the pressure and risk what some scholars see as a historic erosion of campus speech rights, as Clemson University just did, firing three employees after first saying it stands for free speech and was committed to protecting the Constitution.

“This could very much signal the end of free expression in the United States,” said Lara Schwartz, an American University scholar on constitutional law and campus speech. “People should be reading this not as like a little social media battle, but as a full-on constitutional crisis.”

▶ Read more on how colleges are responding