New Zealand MMP Electoral System Faces Fresh Referendum Debate 
U.S. Unseals Charges Against Five Alleged CJNG Leaders, Raises Reward for New Cartel Chief 
North Korea May Deploy 120 Missiles to Russia 
Taiwan President Lai Oversees Coastal Strike Drills in Han Kuang War Games 
Bezalel Smotrich Faces Election Battle as Israel’s Far-Right Vote Fractures 
Ukraine Agrees to Protect Kazakhstan Oil Exports via Black Sea 
Trump Faces Tough Choices as Iran War Drags On 
Russian Strikes on Ukraine Kill Six, Wound Dozens in Balakliia and Sumy 
Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Democratic Senate Primary, Sets Up Key Midterm Showdown 
Colombia President Abelardo De La Espriella Pledges Drug Crackdown, Economic Reforms 
Rubio, UK’s Miliband Stress Stronger European Security Role in Washington Talks 
Russian Strikes Kill Six in Eastern and Northern Ukraine, Dozens Injured 
Iran-Oman Near Strait of Hormuz Deal as Shipping Tensions Persist 
Trump Administration Weighs Executive Order on Vaccines and Autism Research 
Zelensky Urges Faster NATO Action on Air Defense Missiles 
Joe Biden’s Prostate Cancer Has Spread Further, Hunter Biden Says 
Russia Intensifies Drone and Bomb Attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Deepening Civilian Fear 
Aside from ongoing criminal investigations, former President Donald Trump also faces several ongoing lawsuits. This week, a New York judge has ultimately dismissed Trump’s libel lawsuit against news outlet New York Times.
New York Supreme Court Justice James d’Auguste ultimately dismissed Trump’s lawsuit against the news outlet Tuesday for libel. Trump and his campaign filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times over its op-ed piece titled “The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo,” written by Max Frankel. In the piece, Frankel said that there was an “overarching deal” of Russia helping Trump and his campaign smear then-candidate Hillary Clinton back in 2016 in exchange for a pro-Russia foreign policy under the Trump administration. The piece was also published at the time when special counsel Robert Mueller was conducting an investigation towards possible Russian interference during the elections.
d’Auguste dismissed the case citing that the op-ed piece was a “nonactionable opinion” and that even if it was not the case, Trump has failed to provide proof of malice in what he claimed was a defamatory piece.
Trump filed the lawsuit back in February of 2020. The date of filing may be seen as unusual given that presidents do not usually take up legal battles during a reelection campaign. Because the dismissal was with prejudice, the Trump campaign can no longer re-file the lawsuit over the opinion piece. Despite the dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit against the outlet, the judge also declined a request by the New York Times to seek monetary sanctions on the campaign over the lawsuit.
In other related news, Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, revealed that he met with the Manhattan District Attorney’s prosecutors for the seventh time. The meeting, held virtually over Zoom, lasted for two hours, according to Cohen, also comes in the wake of district attorney Cyrus Vance’s investigation into Trump’s taxes, having obtained his financial records a few weeks prior.
Cohen said that he spoke with lead investigator Mike Pomerantz, general counsel Carey Dunne, assistant district attorney Solomon Shinerock, and Vance during the meeting. Trump recently visited New York for the first time since leaving the White House. The former president was seen visiting Trump Tower and left with boxes of files before returning to Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he resides full time.
