"A federal judge in Kentucky Friday threw out a defamation lawsuit filed against The Washington Post by Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann..."

"... and his family over the paper's reporting of an incident between the young man and a Native American man this past January in Washington. The lawsuit, which was filed in February, sought $250 million in damages and accused the Post of practicing 'a modern-day form of McCarthyism' by targeting Sandmann and 'using its vast financial resources to enter the bully pulpit by publishing a series of false and defamatory print and online articles ... to smear a young boy who was in its view an acceptable casualty in their war against the president.'... In a 36-page ruling, U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman noted that the Post never mentioned Sandmann by name in its initial coverage of the incident, referring only to groups of 'hat wearing teens.' Bertelsman added that 'the words used contain no reflection upon any particular individual' and thus could not be constituted as defamation. The judge also ruled that the newspaper used language that was 'loose, figurative,' and 'rhetorical hyperbole which is protected by the First Amendment....  Judge Bertelsman said in the ruling that he accepted Sandmann's contention that 'when he was standing motionless in the confrontation with Phillips, his intent was to calm the situation...' But he noted that Phillips asserted that he was being blocked from passing, and Phillips' opinion was reported by the newspaper. 'They may have been erroneous ... but they are opinion protected by The First Amendment,' Bertelsman wrote."

Fox News reports.

We're told there will be an appeal, but I think there is good reason to believe the district judge got it right.