This story has been updated. Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza announced Monday that he is dropping his defamation suit against fellow Councilman Garry Bredefeld, who has accused Esparza of attempting to extort the city attorney. Esparza said he was withdrawing from the lawsuit to save the city the...
Judge: Trump Can’t Be Replaced as Defendant in Defamation Suit
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday denied President Donald Trump's request that the United States replace him as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit alleging he raped a woman in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. The decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan came after...
Tesla CEO Musk Facing Defamation Trial for 'Pedo Guy' Tweet
LOS ANGELES — Elon Musk is going on trial Tuesday for his troublesome tweets in a defamation case pitting the billionaire against a British diver he allegedly branded a pedophile. The Tesla CEO will be called to testify early in the case in Los Angeles federal court to explain what...
Will Devin Nunes Stop Talking to the Visalia Times-Delta, Too?
Cheers to the Visalia Times-Delta editorial board for calling Rep. Devin Nunes'Â $150 million defamation lawsuit against The Fresno Bee what it is:Â "poppycock." Many outlets have characterized The Bee as Nunes' "hometown newspaper."Â But the Times-Delta publishes in Tulare County, where the congressman resides. It is truly Nunes' hometown paper. In...
Johnny Depp's Ex-Wife Asks Judge to Dismiss His Lawsuit
FAIRFAX, Va. — Actress Amber Heard asked a judge Thursday to dismiss a $50 million defamation lawsuit her ex-husband Johnny Depp filed over an op-ed about domestic violence she wrote in The Washington Post, and provided new evidence toward her allegations of abuse. In the motion filed in the Circuit...
Lies? Truth? Neither Side Backs Down in Explosive Trustee Debate
An explosive battle between two State Center trustees over one’s nomination as board vice president led to the district engaging in a fact-finding mission. At the Dec. 11 board meeting — the first meeting of the new term — Trustee Bobby Kahn objected to colleague Eric Payne’s nomination as board...
Shooting Suspect Had Bitter History With Maryland Newspaper
A man who police say opened fire at a Maryland newspaper office Thursday, killing five and injuring two others, had a long, acrimonious history with the newspaper, including a lawsuit and years of harassment of its journalists on Twitter. Jarrod Warren Ramos, swiftly arrested by police after the attack, was...