A federal judge, in a scathing ruling, on Friday tossed out US President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.

District Judge Steven Merryday said Trump’s complaint, as submitted, was “improper and impermissible” and he gave his lawyers 28 days to refile it “in a professional and dignified manner.”

Merryday, an appointee of Republican president George HW Bush, did not rule on the merits of the complaint against the newspaper but he took exception to its florid writing, repetitive and laudatory praise of Trump and its excessive 85-page length.

“A complaint is a short, plain, direct statement of allegations of fact sufficient to create a facially plausible claim for relief,” Merryday said.

“Although lawyers receive a modicum of expressive latitude in pleading the claim of a client, the complaint in this action extends far beyond the outer bound of that latitude,” he said.

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“A complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective,” the judge said, and “not a protected platform to rage against an adversary.”

Trump filed the lawsuit against the Times on Monday, adding to his growing list of legal attacks on news organizations he accuses of bias against him.

Trump, 79, has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, repeatedly badmouthing journalists critical of his administration, restricting access and bringing lawsuits demanding huge amounts of compensation.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was indefinitely suspended by Disney-owned ABC this week after the head of the Federal Communications Commission threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses over comments Kimmel made about the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

– ‘No merit’ –

In his suit filed in federal court in Florida, Trump accused the Times of a “decades-long pattern” of smears driven by feelings of “actual malice.”

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“The Times has become a leading, and unapologetic, purveyor of falsehoods against President Trump on the legacy media landscape,” it said.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the Republican president said “The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!”

The lawsuit also named four Times reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants.
The Times dismissed Trump’s case as having “no merit.”

“It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics,” the newspaper said in a statement.

Trump’s lawsuit alleged that the Times deviated from industry best practices when covering him, writing articles “in the most antagonistic and negative way” and not giving him sufficient time to respond before publishing.

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“Put bluntly, Defendants baselessly hate President Trump in a deranged way,” the complaint read.

The court was asked to grant compensatory damages of not less than $15 billion and additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”

While broad constitutional protections exist for US media, Trump has found success in similar lawsuits brought against other news organizations, winning multi-million dollar settlements from ABC and Paramount-owned CBS.

The settlements in those cases — which are to be paid to Trump’s future presidential library — were seen as being motivated by the desire of the news organizations’ parent companies to stay in Trump’s good graces.

Trump has also sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion after it reported in July on the existence of a birthday letter he allegedly sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Qatar Airways meted out poor treatment to a Nigerian passenger by detaining him for 18 hours, compelling him to sign a document written in Arabic, and paying a hefty fine to secure his release.

The Nigerian passenger’s travails with the airline were revealed by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, in a statement.

According to Achimugu, a Qatar Airways crew member accused the Nigerian passenger of touching her buttocks while wheeling a passenger during boarding for a flight from Lagos to the United States (US) via Doha.

Achimugu added that the female crew member reported the incident when the flight landed in Doha, leading to the Nigerian’s arrest and detention.

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“During the period, his wife suffered mental, physical, and psychological trauma without any form of care. She wondered how her husband could have committed such a despicable infraction given that she was with him throughout the boarding process,” Achimugu said.

He added that the authorities forced the Nigerian passenger to pay a hefty fine and sign a document written in Arabic to regain his freedom and proceed on his journey to the US.

Qatar Airways, however, refused to fly him to the US, prompting the Nigerian to buy tickets on another airline.

Achimugu also said the NCAA invited the country manager of Qatar Airways in Nigeria, but he sent his subordinates to attend in his stead.

READ ALSO:‘Qatar Airways Detains Nigerian For 18hrs, Forces Him To Sign Document Written In Arabic’

“Upon invitation by the NCAA, the airline’s country manager, who has a penchant for evading meetings with the NCAA, only sent his subordinates to attend. However, the NCAA made a determination on that matter along with others.

“As has become typical of @qatarairways, they failed to comply with all determinations made from that meeting. They have also failed to treat subsequent complaints from other passengers escalated to them by the CAA, including total silence upon receipt of a letter of investigation (LOI) sent to them by the NCAA,” Achimugu added.

He condemned the act, adding that Nigeria will not tolerate infringement of consumer protection regulations by international airlines.

“This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY airline not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA.

“It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.”

Nigerian-born leadership coach and author Peter Adeleke has officially set a new Guinness World Record for the longest leadership lesson, after teaching for 28 hours and 45 minutes in Calgary, Canada.

Adeleke, who embarked on the marathon lecture in August targeting between 30 and 48 hours, aimed to surpass the previous record of 24 hours.

In a post on Instagram on Monday, he announced that the Guinness World Records had approved his attempt, making him a title holder.

A screenshot of the confirmation email from GWR partly read, “We are thrilled to inform you that your application for the longest leadership lesson has been successful and you are now the Guinness World Records Title Holder!”

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Confirming the record on its official website, GWR stated, “The longest leadership lesson is 28 hr 45 min and was achieved by Peter Adeleke (Canada), in Calgary, Canada, on 30 August 2025.

“Peter is an author, speaker and qualified leadership expert. He set out to achieve a record in the field to change the narrative of leadership.

“He hopes to raise the bar in leadership development and spark conversation around transformational leadership.”

Also, celebrating the milestone, Adeleke wrote on Instagram, “It’s official! He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms… Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, my fingers to fight, & my mouth to speak.

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“I am humbled and honoured to officially announce that I am now a Guinness World Records Holder for the Longest Leadership Lesson in history.

“This journey was not by strength, but by grace, resilience, and the unwavering support of an incredible team. To God alone be the glory.”

On his website, he further explained why he did not reach his initial 48-hour goal, saying, “Originally, I had set out to teach for 48 hours, but I completed the feat in 28 hours instead.

“And I’ve learned that in leadership — and in life — success isn’t always about hitting the exact target you set. It’s about pushing boundaries, discovering your true limits, and creating meaningful impact along the way.

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“Did I break the record? Yes, I did — and it’s now official and confirmed! What mattered most was surpassing the previous record of 24 hours, and I achieved that by delivering a leadership lesson that lasted 28 hours.”

This achievement makes Adeleke one of a growing number of Nigerians to hold a Guinness World Record.

In a similar development, celebrity chef Hilda Baci last week set a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice, weighing 8,780 kilogrammes (19,356 lb 9 oz) at the Gino World Jollof Festival in Lagos, making her a two-time GWR title holder.

In May 2023, she set the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes, surpassing the previous record of 87 hours and 45 minutes held by Indian chef Lata Tondon.