Judge Tosses Palin's Suit Against New York Times

A federal judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin brought against the New York Times over an editorial, the AP reports. Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said Tuesday there were a few factual inaccuracies somewhat pertaining to Palin that were rapidly corrected. He says it may have been negligent but was plainly not defamation of a public figure. The editorial titled "America's Lethal Politics" was published in June after a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers in Virginia, wounding US Rep. Steve Scalise.

The piece originally accused a Palin GOP political action committee of distributing a map depicting Democratic lawmakers beneath crosshairs before the 2011 shooting of Democratic US Rep. Gabby Giffords. The newspaper issued a correction noting that the map actually showed electoral districts, not people, in crosshairs. (More Sarah Palin stories.)