Austria hit by rare school shooting
A gunman in Austria opened fire on a school in the southern city of Graz, killing himself and at least nine others. The death toll includes teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, the Austrian interior ministry said. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports.
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Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial recap: Ex-girlfriend ‘Jane' faces more cross examination, says she initiated some ‘hotel nights'
The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continued Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, with 'Jane' — a pseudonym for an alleged victim and ex-girlfriend of Combs — returning to the witness stand for a fifth day of testimony in the high-profile sex trafficking case. Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called "freak offs" and used his business empire, along with guns, kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes. In direct testimony, Jane tearfully recounted the 'freak offs'— which she called 'hotel nights' — telling the court that she felt obligated to 'perform' sex acts for Combs with other men because he was paying her rent. She also testified about a brutal assault she endured before Combs ordered her to cover up her injuries and take ecstasy for an impromptu 'hotel night.' Facing more cross-examination by the defense on Wednesday, Jane told the court that she initiated some of the encounters, including one in which she hired two men. She appeared emotional while reading texts she sent to Combs in 2023, calling him a 'blessing' and saying she was grateful that he was taking care of her financially. Combs's defense team said they'll finish Jane's cross-examination Thursday morning. The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday's testimony culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including CNN, NBC News, and the Washington Post. Before Jane's testimony got underway, Judge Arun Subramanian listened to arguments over a prosecution request to dismiss one of the jurors for reasons that have not yet been made public. Prosecutor Maurene Comey told Subramanian that the government was initially reluctant to ask for the removal of juror no. 6, but has since concluded the juror appears to have shown 'a lack of candor with the court that raises serious issues.' Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro objected, saying it was a 'thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.' Subramanian said he would handle the issue on Thursday after hearing in writing from both sides. Under cross-examination by the defense, Jane acknowledged that she once threatened to not participate in a 'hotel night' with Combs for Valentine's Day 2022 after she saw social media posts of him on vacation with another woman. She demanded that he leave the vacation a day early and return to her. When he agreed, she planned the 'hotel night,' decorating the room with rose petals and hiring two male entertainers to have sex with her while Combs watched. Jane testified that it was her idea to have the two men in the room with her at the same time. 'Yes, that was my suggestion,' Jane said in court, adding that Combs was 'excited about that.' In late August 2022, Jane testified that she told Combs how much she appreciated the sexual encounters after a hotel night with him and a sex worker named Paul. Jane texted Combs that she's 'having so much fun' and she would 'never take this for granted and will always make sure you are taken care of.' Big picture: The defense is seeking to refute the prosecution's claims that the alleged victims were coerced by Combs into participating in the marathon sexual encounters by showing they were willing participants. Having Jane acknowledge that she arranged a 'hotel night' with two men, and later saying she was having 'fun' is part of that effort. On the witness stand, Jane read text messages she sent to Combs in April 2023 after a hotel night, right around the time she moved into a rented Los Angeles home, which Combs is currently paying for. 'The fact that you are the reason for my child's joy is a feeling inside me that I can't explain,' Jane read, tearing up. 'You are truly a blessing in my life, I have never had a man take care of me like you do,' Jane continued. 'You are my lover, my partner, my boyfriend,' she wrote.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Baldwin Park shooting suspect makes first court appearance, ordered jailed without bail
The 22-year-old man accused of shooting and killing a Baldwin Park police officer, and another man, made his first court appearance on Wednesday and was ordered to remain jailed without bail until his July 31 arraignment. Eduardo Roberto Medina-Berumen, who was injured in a gun battle with police during the May 31 incident, appeared at the Pomona Courthouse for his hearing in a wheelchair. He faces two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of 35-year-old Officer Samuel Riveros and 43-year-old Darius Wong, a Hacienda Heights man and father of two. He also is charged with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly firing at two other Baldwin Park police officers, one who was wounded by gunfire. Wong was shot and killed as he was attempting to park his car on the street after dropping off his daughters, wife, and sister-in-law at a Baldwin Park family party Saturday evening. Minutes later, just after 7:12 p.m., police responded to reports of a man armed with a rifle, shooting on the 4200 block of Filhurst Avenue. Sheriff Robert Luna said earlier that as two police officers arrived, they found a man lying on the sidewalk "unresponsive, that ultimately, unfortunately, was Mr. Wong." The two officers who arrived in separate cars, were "immediately fired upon by this suspect, who had a rifle" Luna said. "An officer-involved shooting occurred at that time and Officer (Anthony) Pimentel was injured as a result of the suspect's gunfire." Riveros, a nine-year department veteran, arrived shortly after and was struck by gunfire, Luna said. More officers responded to the scene and a second officer-involved shooting occurred with the suspect. Medina-Berumen suffered gunshot wounds and was treated in the hospital. An AR-15-style weapon with two high-capacity magazines was recovered at the scene, Luna said earlier. Medina-Berumen also faces a possession of an assault rifle charge. During Wednesday's brief court hearing, Deputy District Attorney Michael Michelena told Superior Court Judge Ramiro P. Cisneros that prosecutors can prove the defendant was standing outside his home with a short-barrel rifle and "started firing indiscriminately." Michelena said Wong was shot before officers arrived. Officers "took him (Medina-Berumen) into custody after he ran out of ammunition," the prosecutor said.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Atlanta rapper Silentó gets 30 years after pleading guilty to killing his cousin
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Silentó, the Atlanta rapper known for his hit song 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),' pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin. The 27-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement. Hawk also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another. A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. DeKalb County police found Frederick Rooks III shot in the leg and face in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021 outside a home in a suburban area near Decatur. Police said the found 10 bullet casings near Rooks' body, and security video from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the gunshots. A family member of Rooks told police that Silentó had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data and other cameras put the vehicle at the site of the shooting. Silentó confessed about 10 days later after he was arrested, police said. Ballistics testing matched the bullet casings to a gun that Silentó had when he was arrested, authorities said. Rooks' brothers and sisters told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson before sentencing that Silentó should have gotten a longer sentence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The rapper was a high school junior in suburban Atlanta in 2015 when he released 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' and watched it skyrocket into a dance craze. Silentó made multiple other albums, but said in an interview with the medical talk show 'The Doctors' in 2019 that he struggled with depression and had grown up in a family where he witnessed mental illness and violence. 'I've been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,' he said in 2019. 'Depression doesn't leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,' Silentó said then, urging others to get help. 'And while everybody's looking at you, they're also judging you.' 'I don't know if I can truly be happy, I don't know if these demons will ever go away.' Silentó had been struggling in the months before the arrest. His publicist, Chanel Hudson, has said he had tried to kill himself in 2020. In August 2020, Silentó was arrested in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. The next day, the Los Angeles Police Department charged him with assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said he entered a home where he didn't know anyone looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people before he was disarmed. In October 2020, Silentó was arrested after police said they clocked him driving 143 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour) on Interstate 85 in DeKalb County. Hudson said at the time of Silentó's arrest in the killing of Rooks that he had been 'suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.'
