4/21 – Sarah Palin’s defamation retrial against The New York Times began Tuesday. Palin claims the Times “deliberately disregarded” the truth when it erroneously linked her PAC’s campaign materials to the 2011 Tucson shooting that injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. This marks Palin’s third attempt to hold the newspaper liable after a federal appeals court vacated the previous dismissal in 2024. Her lawyers argue the Times’ quick correction was insufficient because it didn’t mention Palin by name or include an apology. The Times maintains it corrected the record “as loudly, clearly, and quickly as possible” after realizing its mistake in suggesting a “clear” link between Palin’s crosshairs map and the shooting. The case tests established legal protections for media against defamation claims by public figures. Under the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan ruling, public figures must prove “actual malice” to prevail in defamation suits – a standard the Supreme Court recently declined to review in a separate case.