Trump refiles $10bn defamation suit against WSJ over report on Epstein ties
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Donald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge dismissed an earlier version due to legal deficiencies.
The lawsuit is among several that the former president has filed in his personal capacity against news organizations, which critics argue is part of a broader campaign to pressure the media.
The suit alleges that the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper damaged Trump's reputation with an article describing a birthday card to the deceased sex offender Epstein as bearing Trump’s signature.
Trump and his legal team maintain that the card is fake, despite its release by lawmakers investigating Epstein’s case, according to . The amended lawsuit seeks at least $10bn in damages, the same amount as previously sought.
“At the time of publication, Defendants recklessly disregarded whether the Defamatory Statements were true and/or they purposefully avoided the discovery of the truth,” lawyers for Trump wrote in the amended complaint.
This development coincides with investigations into E Jean Carroll, the writer who accused Trump of sexual assault.
Prosecutors, as reported by the New York Times and CNN on Wednesday, are examining whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury during a 2022 deposition in her civil lawsuits against Trump, where she stated she did not accept external financial support for her legal battles.
In related news, Jill Biden, the former first lady, revealed that she was “frightened” watching her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during a debate against Donald Trump. When asked to explain, Jill Biden said:
“I don’t know what happened. I mean as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”
Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced plans to introduce legislation explicitly prohibiting the construction of President Trump’s proposed “triumphal arch” outside Arlington National Cemetery.
Cam Higby, a right-wing activist disguised as a pro-Palestinian advocate, disrupted a news conference with Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
The Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island has commenced. Democratic candidates for Michigan’s Senate, including Haley Stevens, Mallory McMorrow, and Abdul El-Sayed, among others, are scheduled to debate each other at the conference on Thursday, according to reports.
The event serves as a platform for political candidates to discuss their campaigns during the election year. This year’s conference focuses on “A Quest for Common Ground,” aiming to bridge partisan divides and encourage lawmakers and officials to set aside differences for Michigan’s economic future.
PCE data shows a rise in inflation
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy, on Thursday morning.
The PCE price index increased in April at an annual rate of 3.8%, up from 3.5% in March and 2.8% in February.
This is the first inflation report released under Kevin Marsh, the new Federal Reserve chair.
The index measures the prices paid by people living in the US, or those purchasing on their behalf, for goods and services. It is often referred to as the core PCE price index because it excludes food and energy to provide a clearer view of underlying inflation.
Abortion restrictions impact miscarriage care in the US
Abortion restrictions in the US have made accessing care for miscarriages more difficult, according to a new study.
The research found that since the June 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v Wade, pregnancy care has become fragmented along state lines. It is increasingly challenging to obtain healthcare for miscarriages in states with abortion restrictions.
In states where abortion bans took effect following Dobbs, miscarriage management is shifting away from medications, especially mifepristone, toward a wait-and-see approach. This limits options for patients experiencing miscarriages and falls below US standards of care.
“We wanted to understand how, when you restrict access to abortion, that might affect people who are having a pregnancy loss or an early miscarriage,” said Maria Rodriguez, lead author of the study, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and director for the Center for Women’s Health at Oregon Health & Science University. “What we found was that people had fewer choices to the type of care they got, and they were receiving lower-quality care as well.”
The study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association on 18 May, analyzed data from 123,598 people with private insurance. Of these, 54,181 resided in states with abortion restrictions triggered by the Dobbs decision, while 69,417 lived in comparison states.
States with trigger bans experienced a 2.8 percentage point increase in expectant management—meaning more patients were sent home to wait and see the outcome of their miscarriages—and a 2.2 percentage point decrease in medication management, indicating fewer patients were prescribed standard-of-care medications for miscarriage management. Patients prescribed medication in ban states saw a 13.8 percentage point increase in misoprostol-only treatment, which is safe but not the US standard of care and may prolong the process, causing more discomfort.
Judge declines to block Trump’s mail-in voting rules
On Thursday, a judge declined to block President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening rules on mail-in voting, marking a loss for the Democratic party. Democratic lawyers argued the rules could disenfranchise millions of voters.
The decision comes as Republicans, led by Trump, are engaged in a close contest to retain control of both houses of the US Congress in the November midterm elections.
Trump has repeatedly asserted, without evidence, that his 2020 election loss was due to widespread voter fraud and has criticized mail-in voting.
The executive order, signed by Trump on 31 March, directed his administration to compile a list of confirmed US citizens eligible to vote in each state and to use federal data to assist state election officials in verifying voter eligibility.
It also required the US Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list and mandated states to preserve election-related records for five years.
Trump threatens Oman over Strait of Hormuz control
Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman if it fails to “behave” during a cabinet meeting, as the US works to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The president made the threat following reports of talks between Iran and Oman about jointly charging a toll for ships passing through the strategic waterway, which has been nearly closed since the start of the conflict in the region.
“The strait is going to be open to everybody,” Trump declared on Tuesday. “Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. We’ll watch over it. But nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have.”
Oman, with a population of 5.3 million, has longstanding military and economic ties with the US and has played a mediation role in the war. The country has also been targeted by Tehran.
For further updates, see our Middle East crisis live blog.
California governor opposes Trump’s $1.776bn lawfare fund
California Governor Gavin Newsom is seeking to block Trump’s $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund by imposing a 100% tax on any payout received by state residents.
In May, the Department of Justice announced a fund to compensate alleged “victims of lawfare and weaponization.” Eligibility criteria remain unclear.
The fund resulted from a settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, the agency Trump sued over his leaked tax returns.
Critics, including Newsom, have condemned the fund as a “boondoggle” intended to divert money to Trump’s allies. Speculation suggests beneficiaries could include individuals arrested during the 6 January 2021 US Capitol siege. Trump has described the rioters as patriots and pardoned many charged in connection with the attack.
“People who assault cops and overthrow democracy don’t deserve a taxpayer-funded payday,” Newsom wrote in a Wednesday post to X, following his announcement at a news conference.
Guatemala agrees to joint strikes with US against drug traffickers
Guatemala has agreed to conduct joint operations with the United States targeting drug traffickers within its territory, according to the New York Times.
The move represents an escalation of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on drug cartels operating in Latin America.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo consented to the strikes during a call last week with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Times reported, citing two sources familiar with the discussions.
The Central American nation has formally requested “cooperation in operations led by Guatemalan security forces against drug trafficking organizations” in a letter to Hegseth, Arevalo’s office confirmed to the Times.
Both officials indicated that the US and Guatemala have also agreed on “other military action” targeting drug gangs, though further details were not disclosed.
