Lawyers on both sides delivered impassioned closing arguments on Thursday as Zachary Young’s high-profile defamation lawsuit against CNN heads to the jury.

CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt defended his story on Zachary Young, a security consultant who charged $14,000 or more to evacuate people from Afghanistan.

The Florida case centers on coverage of a Navy veteran who helped with Afghanistan evacuation, but has broader implications for media industry.

CNN will have to fork over at least $5 million to a U.S. Navy veteran after it lost a defamation trial in Florida on Friday. A Panama City, Florida, jury ruled that CNN had defamed security contractor Zachary Young when it aired a 2021 report that said he was part of a “black market” that price-gouged those attempting to flee Afghanistan after the U.

Zachary Young alleged CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021.

Zachary Young claimed CNN ruined his business and reputation when the network ran a story on private contractors charging Afghans trying to flee their country, but he says he didn't participate in the