Michigan
Man faces murder charge in stabbing death in Warren
Dominick Robinson, 30, was arraigned on a murder charge related to the alleged stabbing death of a man in a Warren, Mich., residence, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
On December 12, 2025, Warren Police were dispatched to Robinson’s residence where a death was alleged to have occurred. It is alleged that Robinson stabbed the victim multiple times, resulting in his death. Robinson was in the residence and would not exit. The investigation escalated into barricaded situation involving the Special Response Team. After six hours of negotiation, Robinson surrendered.
On Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, Robinson was arraigned before Judge Steven Bieda at the 37th District Court in Warren. Robinson is charged with First-Degree Premeditated Murder, a felony punishable by life imprisonment without parole.
Judge Bieda set Robinson’s bond at $2,000,000 cash only, no 10%. He was ordered to have a mental health evaluation. If released, Robinson must wear a steel-cuff tether. A Probable Cause Conference is set for Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, and a Preliminary Exam is set for Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, both at 8:45 a.m. before Judge Michael Chupa.
Michigan
Clinton Township woman arraigned on charges after allegedly stabbing her ex-boyfriend
Laquinn Smith, 24, was arraigned on charges related to her allegedly stabbing her ex-boyfriend, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
It is alleged that Smith and her ex-boyfriend were residing together in Clinton Township. On Thursday, December 11, 2025, they had a verbal dispute. Smith allegedly stabbed the victim twice.
It is alleged that Smith fled the scene in the victim’s car and was involved in a major accident involving several vehicles in the area of Hall Road and Romeo Plank in Sterling Heights. The accident remains under investigation.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, an interim arraignment was held for Smith before Magistrate Jean M. Cloud in the Macomb County Jail. Smith is facing the following charges: Assault with Intent to Murder, a life or any term of years felony, and Aggravated Domestic Violence, a 1-year misdemeanor.
Magistrate Cloud set Smith’s bond at $250,000 cash/surety only, no 10%. Smith will be arraigned before a District Court Judge at a future unconfirmed date.
Washington
Trump sues BBC for $10B, accusing it of defamation over editing of Jan. 6 speech
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”
The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices.
The BBC said it would defend the case.
“We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” it said in a statement.
The broadcaster apologized last month to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejected claims it had defamed him, after Trump threatened legal action.
BBC chairman Samir Shah had called it an “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC’s top executive and its head of news.
The speech took place before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.
The BBC had broadcast the hourlong documentary — titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
Trump said earlier Monday that he was suing the BBC “for putting words in my mouth.”
“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn’t say, and they’re beautiful words, that I said, right?” the president said unprompted during an appearance in the Oval Office. “They’re beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn’t say that, but they put terrible words.”
The president’s lawsuit was filed in Florida. Deadlines to bring the case in British courts expired more than a year ago.
Legal experts have brought up potential challenges to a case in the U.S. given that the documentary was not shown in the country.
The lawsuit alleges that people in the U.S. can watch the BBC’s original content, including the “Panorama” series, which included the documentary, by using the subscription streaming platform BritBox or a virtual private network service.
The 103-year-old BBC is a national institution funded through an annual license fee of 174.50 pounds ($230) paid by every household that watches live TV or BBC content. Bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial, it typically faces especially intense scrutiny and criticism from both conservatives and liberals.
New York
Judge refuses to grant Sarah Palin a new trial in her libel lawsuit against the NYT
NEW YORK (AP) — Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin ‘s bid for a new libel trial against The New York Times was rejected Monday by a New York federal judge who also refused Palin’s request that the judge recuse himself.
Judge Jed S. Rakoff said in a written opinion that he was “scrupulous” in affording Palin a fair trial last April, when a jury concluded that the Times did not libel the former Alaska governor in a 2017 editorial.
It was the second jury to reach that conclusion after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a new trial after Rakoff in February 2022 said while the jury in the first trial was deliberating that he planned to dismiss the lawsuit because Palin had failed to show that the newspaper had acted out of malice.
Regarding the request to recuse himself, the judge said the trial transcript shows he frequently ruled in Palin’s favor during the trials.
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the newspaper, said in an email that the Times was pleased with the decision.
“The jury reached the right verdict in rejecting Palin’s libel claim, and today’s decision reaffirms the jury’s decision,” she said.
Lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Palin sued the Times for unspecified damages in 2017, a decade after she was chosen by then-U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona as the Republican vice presidential nominee. McCain died in 2018.
The lawsuit said Palin was libeled by an editorial about gun control published after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded in 2017 when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a congressional baseball team practice in Washington.
In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin’s political action committee contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that depicted Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.
The Times corrected the article less than 14 hours after it was published, saying it had “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting” and that it had “incorrectly described” the map.
During this year’s trial, former Times editorial page editor James Bennet tearfully apologized to Palin, saying he was tormented by the error and worked urgently to correct it after readers complained to the newspaper.
Palin, who earned a journalism degree in college, testified that death threats against her increased and her spirits fell after the editorial was published.
New Mexico
Judge orders release of Iranian bodybuilder after nearly 5-month detention
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge is ordering the release of an Iranian migrant and bodybuilder held by U.S. immigration authorities for over five months. Attorneys for Hamid Ziaei said Monday he was detained without apparent progress on deportation to a country other than Iran, where he fears persecution.
Ziaei’s attorneys told a judge in Albuquerque that he was being held in violation of due process protections at an immigrant detention facility in New Mexico nearly six months after being taken into custody at a check-in appointment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California.
“The (U.S.) government provided no evidence that there was any likelihood of Mr. Ziaei’s removal in the reasonable, foreseeable future,” said Rachel Landry, a staff attorney at Innovation Law Lab.
Court filings on Ziaei’s behalf say he fled Iran after speaking out against the government there, arriving in the U.S. in San Diego in January 2024. Though an asylum request was rejected, Ziaei was released in mid-2024 with authorization to work based on concerns he would be persecuted if returned to Iran. That type of provisional release is far less common than asylum and allows authorities to pursue removal to another, safer country.
He made a living in Irvine, California, in elderly care, food delivery and as a personal trainer before being taken back into U.S. custody in June.
In court documents, an assistant field officer for ICE said the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division began vetting Ziaei for removal to a third country in August, and initiated procedures to “coordinate an interview with a foreign embassy that may accept him.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in New Mexico, which is representing immigration authorities, declined to comment on the case Monday. In court filings, immigration authorities argued that they have at least six months to make removal arrangements, under a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling often invoked by immigrants detained for even longer.
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Garcia said he would issue an order for Ziaei’s release within 24 hours, said Landry and fellow Innovation Law Lab attorney Tiffany Wang.
In a statement signed Dec. 2, Ziaei said his prolonged detention at the Torrance County Detention Facility has led to anxiety and panic attacks, while dental work for three tooth infections was deferred until release, and he lost weight and muscle.
“This will make it hard to earn my livelihood as an athlete in the future,” he said of the weight loss.
Ziaei’s petition for release was among thousands of habeas corpus petitions in recent months to determine whether immigrants are lawfully held in custody.
Man faces murder charge in stabbing death in Warren
Dominick Robinson, 30, was arraigned on a murder charge related to the alleged stabbing death of a man in a Warren, Mich., residence, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
On December 12, 2025, Warren Police were dispatched to Robinson’s residence where a death was alleged to have occurred. It is alleged that Robinson stabbed the victim multiple times, resulting in his death. Robinson was in the residence and would not exit. The investigation escalated into barricaded situation involving the Special Response Team. After six hours of negotiation, Robinson surrendered.
On Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, Robinson was arraigned before Judge Steven Bieda at the 37th District Court in Warren. Robinson is charged with First-Degree Premeditated Murder, a felony punishable by life imprisonment without parole.
Judge Bieda set Robinson’s bond at $2,000,000 cash only, no 10%. He was ordered to have a mental health evaluation. If released, Robinson must wear a steel-cuff tether. A Probable Cause Conference is set for Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, and a Preliminary Exam is set for Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, both at 8:45 a.m. before Judge Michael Chupa.
Michigan
Clinton Township woman arraigned on charges after allegedly stabbing her ex-boyfriend
Laquinn Smith, 24, was arraigned on charges related to her allegedly stabbing her ex-boyfriend, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
It is alleged that Smith and her ex-boyfriend were residing together in Clinton Township. On Thursday, December 11, 2025, they had a verbal dispute. Smith allegedly stabbed the victim twice.
It is alleged that Smith fled the scene in the victim’s car and was involved in a major accident involving several vehicles in the area of Hall Road and Romeo Plank in Sterling Heights. The accident remains under investigation.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, an interim arraignment was held for Smith before Magistrate Jean M. Cloud in the Macomb County Jail. Smith is facing the following charges: Assault with Intent to Murder, a life or any term of years felony, and Aggravated Domestic Violence, a 1-year misdemeanor.
Magistrate Cloud set Smith’s bond at $250,000 cash/surety only, no 10%. Smith will be arraigned before a District Court Judge at a future unconfirmed date.
Washington
Trump sues BBC for $10B, accusing it of defamation over editing of Jan. 6 speech
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”
The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices.
The BBC said it would defend the case.
“We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” it said in a statement.
The broadcaster apologized last month to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejected claims it had defamed him, after Trump threatened legal action.
BBC chairman Samir Shah had called it an “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC’s top executive and its head of news.
The speech took place before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.
The BBC had broadcast the hourlong documentary — titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
Trump said earlier Monday that he was suing the BBC “for putting words in my mouth.”
“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn’t say, and they’re beautiful words, that I said, right?” the president said unprompted during an appearance in the Oval Office. “They’re beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn’t say that, but they put terrible words.”
The president’s lawsuit was filed in Florida. Deadlines to bring the case in British courts expired more than a year ago.
Legal experts have brought up potential challenges to a case in the U.S. given that the documentary was not shown in the country.
The lawsuit alleges that people in the U.S. can watch the BBC’s original content, including the “Panorama” series, which included the documentary, by using the subscription streaming platform BritBox or a virtual private network service.
The 103-year-old BBC is a national institution funded through an annual license fee of 174.50 pounds ($230) paid by every household that watches live TV or BBC content. Bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial, it typically faces especially intense scrutiny and criticism from both conservatives and liberals.
New York
Judge refuses to grant Sarah Palin a new trial in her libel lawsuit against the NYT
NEW YORK (AP) — Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin ‘s bid for a new libel trial against The New York Times was rejected Monday by a New York federal judge who also refused Palin’s request that the judge recuse himself.
Judge Jed S. Rakoff said in a written opinion that he was “scrupulous” in affording Palin a fair trial last April, when a jury concluded that the Times did not libel the former Alaska governor in a 2017 editorial.
It was the second jury to reach that conclusion after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a new trial after Rakoff in February 2022 said while the jury in the first trial was deliberating that he planned to dismiss the lawsuit because Palin had failed to show that the newspaper had acted out of malice.
Regarding the request to recuse himself, the judge said the trial transcript shows he frequently ruled in Palin’s favor during the trials.
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the newspaper, said in an email that the Times was pleased with the decision.
“The jury reached the right verdict in rejecting Palin’s libel claim, and today’s decision reaffirms the jury’s decision,” she said.
Lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Palin sued the Times for unspecified damages in 2017, a decade after she was chosen by then-U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona as the Republican vice presidential nominee. McCain died in 2018.
The lawsuit said Palin was libeled by an editorial about gun control published after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded in 2017 when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a congressional baseball team practice in Washington.
In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin’s political action committee contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that depicted Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.
The Times corrected the article less than 14 hours after it was published, saying it had “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting” and that it had “incorrectly described” the map.
During this year’s trial, former Times editorial page editor James Bennet tearfully apologized to Palin, saying he was tormented by the error and worked urgently to correct it after readers complained to the newspaper.
Palin, who earned a journalism degree in college, testified that death threats against her increased and her spirits fell after the editorial was published.
New Mexico
Judge orders release of Iranian bodybuilder after nearly 5-month detention
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge is ordering the release of an Iranian migrant and bodybuilder held by U.S. immigration authorities for over five months. Attorneys for Hamid Ziaei said Monday he was detained without apparent progress on deportation to a country other than Iran, where he fears persecution.
Ziaei’s attorneys told a judge in Albuquerque that he was being held in violation of due process protections at an immigrant detention facility in New Mexico nearly six months after being taken into custody at a check-in appointment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California.
“The (U.S.) government provided no evidence that there was any likelihood of Mr. Ziaei’s removal in the reasonable, foreseeable future,” said Rachel Landry, a staff attorney at Innovation Law Lab.
Court filings on Ziaei’s behalf say he fled Iran after speaking out against the government there, arriving in the U.S. in San Diego in January 2024. Though an asylum request was rejected, Ziaei was released in mid-2024 with authorization to work based on concerns he would be persecuted if returned to Iran. That type of provisional release is far less common than asylum and allows authorities to pursue removal to another, safer country.
He made a living in Irvine, California, in elderly care, food delivery and as a personal trainer before being taken back into U.S. custody in June.
In court documents, an assistant field officer for ICE said the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division began vetting Ziaei for removal to a third country in August, and initiated procedures to “coordinate an interview with a foreign embassy that may accept him.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in New Mexico, which is representing immigration authorities, declined to comment on the case Monday. In court filings, immigration authorities argued that they have at least six months to make removal arrangements, under a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling often invoked by immigrants detained for even longer.
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Garcia said he would issue an order for Ziaei’s release within 24 hours, said Landry and fellow Innovation Law Lab attorney Tiffany Wang.
In a statement signed Dec. 2, Ziaei said his prolonged detention at the Torrance County Detention Facility has led to anxiety and panic attacks, while dental work for three tooth infections was deferred until release, and he lost weight and muscle.
“This will make it hard to earn my livelihood as an athlete in the future,” he said of the weight loss.
Ziaei’s petition for release was among thousands of habeas corpus petitions in recent months to determine whether immigrants are lawfully held in custody.
