Crackdown in Japan's red-light district
These bars, where women pay to drink and flirt with men, are a cornerstone of the country's red-light districts. But a sweeping new law aims to rein in their darker side, following reported cases of emotional manipulation and exploitation. CNN's Hanako Montgomery follows up on her report last year of women driven into debt – and even sex work – by their host club obsessions.
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The Hill
42 minutes ago
- The Hill
Mahmoud Khalil: Trump admin wants to ‘make an example out of me'
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil said during a recent appearance on CNN that President Trump's administration wanted use him as 'an example' after he was detained for over three months. 'It's absurd. It's basically to intimidate me. They want to conflate any speech for the right of Palestinians with a speech that's supporting terrorism, which is totally wrong,' Khalil, a green card holder and former Columbia University student, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Federal immigration agents arrested Khalil in early March and he was detained for over 100 days. Khalil was not charged with a crime and ended up being released last month. Khalil's case was the first arrested in a push by the administration to crack down on foreign students protesting on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war. 'The protests were peaceful. We're asking a simple ask to stop Columbia University and the U.S. complicity in the genocide that's happening in Gaza,' Khalil said. 'And that's why I see these accusations as intimidation.' 'This is what's happening or what happened to me and to others. And it's a message that they want to make an example out of me,' he added. 'Even if you are a legal resident, even if you are a citizen, actually that we will find a way to come after you.' Khalil's lawyers filed a claim on Thursday for $20 million in damages against the administration, contending that the Palestinian activist faced political retaliation for his activism. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios that Khali has 'consistently engaged in conduct detrimental to American foreign policy interests.' During the Friday interview, Khalil detailed his experience while in custody in Louisiana. 'I was shackled all the time. And my ankles as well. It felt like I was criminal. I did not know what charges they have against me. And, by the time I arrived in Louisiana, my leg was, was fully swollen, and I couldn't walk to enter the detention center,' he said on Friday. 'So it was very, very dehumanizing experience, for someone who was not accused of any crime, whatsoever,' he continued. Khalil said being denied temporary release to see his son, who was born this spring, was the 'most difficult moment in my life,' adding that it 'could have been avoided.' 'And it's a combination of anger and happiness. I was happy that I'm finally holding him in my hands, but at the same time angry at the system that deprives people from such important moments in their lives,' he said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ty Cobb: Trump pushing out Bondi over Epstein files would be ‘huge embarrassment'
Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb on Friday said that the Trump administration would face humiliation if it were to dismiss Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Jeffrey Epstein file controversy. 'If he terminates one of them, he picked them, and he put them in those senior positions — it'll be a huge embarrassment to him,' Cobb said referring to the hypothetical dismissal of Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing his own firestorm after freezing weapons shipments to Ukraine without the approval of the president, during an appearance on CNN's 'OutFront' with Erin Burnett as highlighted by Mediate. 'The further down the pecking order you go, if you're Trump, in his thinking, if somebody leaves that's further down, if it's not the top dog, it's not as big a reflection on him,' added Cobb, who served in Trump's first administration, as some lower level officials, including the FBI's deputy director Dan Bongino are fuming at the Justice Department's response. Bondi, in recent days, has come under intense scrutiny over her handling of files relating to the Epstein case, drawing backlash from those within her party over comments pledging transparency. The White House maintains that the reported tension is baseless, however. Earlier this year, Bondi provided high-profile conservative influencers with binders labeled 'The Epstein Files Phase I,' which reportedly detailed the sexual exploitation of over 250 underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida, among other locations. It turns out, however, there was no new information to glean from the binders. This sparked uproar from the MAGA world, which has been captivated by the the so-called files for years, prompting conspiracy theories about the financier's death. Earlier this week, the Justice Department and FBI released a memo on Monday stating there was no evidence Epstein was murdered or that he kept a 'client list,' further aggravating the base, including some administration officials, such as Bongino, who have promoted theories about his death. Multiple outlets on Friday reported that he is even mulling resigning from his post at the FBI amid the tiff. Cobb, however, maintained that Bondi is 'not going' anywhere amid the disagreement. 'And I think what you'll see is that Bongino… has to come back from the weekend, and say, 'Gee, sorry I had a bad day,'' Cobb continued, adding that 'he's gone' if that's not the case. Conversative pundits, including Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, have railed against Bondi, with the latter going so far as to say that the Justice Department's top official 'is covering up crimes — very serious crimes, by their own description.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Before the Menendez Brothers and OJ Simpson – Billionaire Boys Club sparked the true-crime obsession
In the greed-fueled landscape of 1980s Los Angeles, a group of young, ambitious men set out to make their fortune—but their lavish dreams quickly spiral into a web of deception, fraud, and murder. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister explores the world's response to the infamous Billionaire Boys Club and the 'greed is good' mentality of the 1980s. Watch the four-part CNN Original Series "Billionaire Boys Club," premiering July 13 at 10pm ET/PT.
