Trump's WSJ lawsuit dismissed for good, Iran Hormuz proposal, D.C. arch lawsuits, G20 talks, clocks fall back
A judge dismissed President Trump's lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice, Iran's leader warned of a response with no geographic limits as a Hormuz proposal was discussed, D.C. and Virginia sued over the planned arch, G20 foreign ministers ended talks without consensus, and daylight saving time ends tonight.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami on Saturday dismissed President Trump's refiled defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The suit, which sought at least $10 billion, was over the Journal's 2025 story about a letter bearing Trump's name in a 2003 birthday album for Jeffrey Epstein. The judge ruled Trump again failed to show actual malice, which a public figure must prove in a defamation claim.
President Trump saysHe denied writing the letter and called the Journal's story false, malicious and defamatory. His lawyers argued the story should have been dropped after he denied involvement.
The judge ruledJudge Gayles wrote that Trump failed to show actual malice, called the Journal's reporting a "thoughtful and detailed investigation," and said the amended complaint was "grasping at straws."
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said any threat from the U.S. or Israel should get an immediate response without geographic limits, according to the official IRNA news agency. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a new proposal with mediators could shorten the time to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to two days, as Iranian diplomats held talks in Qatar.
Iran saysForeign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran is not planning to meet U.S. officials but sees recent U.S. efforts toward "broader dialogue" as positive; Tehran wants the U.S. to first ease its naval blockade and release frozen Iranian assets.
The U.S. saysVice President JD Vance, in a letter to Iran's security chief, said Washington's main goal is preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon. The U.S. rejected Araghchi's earlier proposal to reopen the strait.
The District of Columbia and Virginia sued in federal court Saturday to block the planned 250-foot arch near the bridge connecting Washington with Arlington National Cemetery, bringing the number of lawsuits to three. The administration says construction could begin as early as next week. Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing Friday in the first lawsuit and did not rule immediately.
D.C. and Virginia sayAttorneys general Brian Schwalb and Jay Jones say the project is "flagrantly unlawful," exceeds D.C.'s 130-foot height cap, lacks approval from Congress, and would cause traffic snarls, pollution and interference with emergency services.
The White House saysSpokesman Davis Ingle says the arch will beautify the nation's capital and serve as "a gateway to Arlington National Cemetery for veterans"; officials say it will have a national security function.
G20 foreign ministers ended two days of talks in Atlanta on Saturday without a joint communique, divided mainly over Russia's war in Ukraine, with the Iran war, U.S. tariffs and China's actions in the South China Sea also weighing on talks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the host, released a chair's statement instead and said, "I cannot say we are aligned on how to solve it."
Russia saysForeign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would not accept a situation where Ukraine poses a "military threat to legitimate security interests of the Russian Federation."
Poland's foreign minister saysRadoslaw Sikorski said, "We have wars going on, and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it's very difficult to agree on a common line."
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 1, when clocks fall back one hour, giving an extra hour on Halloween night. The U.S. returns to standard time, with more daylight in the morning and less in the evening. Halloween and the end of daylight saving time won't coincide again until 2037. Daylight saving time starts again March 14, 2027.
