Latest news with #Feds'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cassie Ventura Reveals Black Eye, Fat Lip & 2016 LAPD Visit In Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Testimony
'I have a black eye and a fat lip,' Cassie Ventura told the courtroom in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial Wednesday, reading aloud a text she sent to Combs after a beating from the 'All About The Benjamins' performer at an L.A. hotel in 2016. 'You are sick for thinking it is okay what you've done. Just stay away from me,' she added with a broken voice. More from Deadline Cassie Ventura Breaks Down In Tears At Trial Detailing Sex Sessions & How Sean "Diddy" Combs Controlled Every Aspect Of Her Life - Update Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Testimony Gets Carnal & Violent As Paid Sex Partner Of Cassie Ventura Unveils What Went On Behind Closed Doors - Update Feds' Sean "Diddy" Combs Case In Danger As Key Witness Remains AWOL On Eve Of NYC Trial Start The continued testimony from the very pregnant 'Me & U' singer Wednesday follows a day of sordid revelations on May 13 of the wide-spread cruelty and control Ventura and federal prosecutors claim she suffered at the hands of Diddy during their decade-long relationship. Combs responded to Ventura's accusations with more texts imploring her to call him and falsely telling her that he was being arrested at that moment for the incident in the hotel. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, a friend of Ventura's called the LAPD to the singer's nearby apartment. When the police arrived, however, Ventura declined to tell them who had given her the fat lip and black eye. 'Just in that moment, I didn't want to hurt him that way,' she explained today. 'At that moment, I wasn't ready'. Combs later showed up at Ventura's apartment, banging on the door, demanding to be let in. Ventura was not at the apartment at the time, she said, today. The court was also shown a photograph of a heavily made up Ventura wearing sunglasses just before she attended a movie premiere with Combs days after the hotel incident in March 2016. The singer said she was wearing the sunglasses to hide her black eye. She also said that as much as she tried, she could not cover up all the bruises on her body. With only a few breaks for the expectant mother, the jury Tuesday heard tales of inflatable swimming pools full of baby oil in hotel suites, and multiple paid partners having sex for days with Ventura as Combs directed the action and pleasured himself in the corner. Over the approximately five hours Ventura was questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson, there were stories of beatings, threats of more beatings, manipulation, degradation, drugs and more drugs from a young woman who admitted she was searching for self-worth at almost any cost from a man she still says she loved and would do anything to please. Estimated by presiding Judge Arun Subramanian to last eight to 10 weeks, the criminal trial of the much-accused and currently incarcerated Combs follows his arrest last September on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and more. Now seemingly about to have her and husband Alex Fine's third child any day, Diddy's ex Ventura was paid off in the tens of millions in late 2023 to quickly drop her own assault and abuse civil suit against the Bad Boy Records founder. Though withdrawn with that settlement, that short-lived suit by Ventura opened the flood gates of rape and other such accusations against Combs (with a handful now dismissed) and drove a direct path to the criminal trial underway now in Manhattan. The 55-year-old Combs is looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars in federal prison if found guilty by the jury in this case. As he has in every single case against him, Combs has entered a not guilty plea. The one-time mini-mogul's defense team have admitted in various court filings and their own opening statement on May 12 that their client is a domestic violence preparator, a drug user, a self-avowed swinger and often out of control. However, with that preemptive swipe at the prosecution and having previously rejected a plea deal, they rightly insist that is not what he is charged with. They also insist that no one was coerced into anything and everyone, including Ventura, was a consenting adult in Combs so-called unconventional lifestyle. Ventura and Combs self-described 'toxic relationship' was back in the media foreground in the spring 2024 when CNN obtained and broadcast a seemingly irrefutable and now defense disputed 2016 L.A. hotel security footage of a half-naked Combs beating his then-girlfriend in the hall and dragging her back to their room. For months, the defense alleges the footage, which their client had previously apologized for the violence he is shown committing and then deleted the apology, was doctored and doesn't tell the whole story. Now, after repeated viewing of the footage in the trial's first days, and May 12 testimony from the then InterContinental Hotel security guard who arrived on the scene that March day nine years ago, the Combs' legal team is taking the stance that the footage merely shows a dust-up between lovers over a phone that spiraled out of control but de-escalated rapidly too. Throughout Ventura's soft-spoken and often succinct testimony on Tuesday, a sweater-wearing and white-haired Combs sat just a few feet away in the jam-packed courtroom of Judge Subramanian. Unlike the first day of the trial on Monday, the 'I Need A Girl' performer was in near constant motion on May 13 as Ventura testified. Speaking and passing notes to his defense team, and shifting with apparent agitation in his chair, as the day went by, Combs looked less and less like the stuffy old man persona he was trying to pass off. Unless she goes into labor, Ventura is expected to testify most of this week. To that, the Marc Agnifilo, Teny Geragos and Brian Steel-led defense are widely expected to take turns eviscerating star witness Ventura's testimony as that of an old lover who never got over her jealousy and the fact she was not the so-called 'soulmate' to Combs that the now deceased Kim Porter was. As was raised yesterday, at one point Ventura's husband Fine may be called to testify by the defense over the issues of an alleged 2018 rape of the singer by Combs and a series of harsh and potentially threatening text messages Fine sent Combs in 2023. Known as Victim-1, Ventura's testimony was supposed to be followed by Victim-2, Victim-3 and Victim-4 and more recently added Victim-5. The majority of that schedule is still in place, but Victim-3 has disappeared, and the government admits they have lost contact with her. Seen as late as this past weekend as a likely roadblock the tight trial schedule going ahead to plan or grounds for a mistrial motion by the defense, the continued absence of Victim-3 was essentially waved through by Judge Subramanian earlier this week on the hopes she turns up or the feds find her soon. Still, as sources tell me, the no-show of Victim-3 is already being penciled in as a rationale for a later mistrial motion by the defense or grounds for an appeal if the jury verdict is against Combs in early July. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Too Frequently': Cassie Ventura Tells Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex Trafficking Trial Of Extremely Violent Relationship With Rapper
'There were violent arguments that usually resulted in some form of physical abuse,' testified Cassie Ventura this morning at the sex trafficking trial of her former longtime boyfriend Sean Combs. In the opening of her testimony, Ventura detailed to prosecutors how Combs 'mashed in my head, dragged me along the floor, kicked me, stomped on my head,' adding that this happened 'too frequently.' More from Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Testimony Gets Carnal & Violent As Paid Sex Partner Of Cassie Ventura Unveils What Went On Behind Closed Doors - Update Feds' Sean "Diddy" Combs Case In Danger As Key Witness Remains AWOL On Eve Of NYC Trial Start Final Jury Selection For Sean "Diddy" Combs' Sex-Trafficking Trial Delayed Again; Vital Prosecution Witness Still AWOL The soft spoken eight months pregnant Ventura is by far the most anticipated witness of the Combs trial, and, in many ways, the flame that started this legal fire. Ventura took the stand today at approximately 11am Eastern Time. The public downfall of Diddy truly started when Ventura ( a.k.a. Victim-1) went public with her tales of abuse and assaults in quickly settled ($30 million) civil suit in November 2023, As more and more women and men came forward with similar stories involving Combs, Ventura found herself back at the center of things in spring 2024 when CNN obtained and broadcast a seemingly damning and now defense disputed 2016 hotel security footage of a half-naked Combs beating Ventura in the hall and dragging her back to their room. For months now, the defense alleges the footage, which their client had previously apologized for the violence he is shown committing, was doctored and doesn't tell the whole story. Estimated by Judge Arun Subramanian to last eight to 10 weeks, the criminal trial of the much-accused Diddy follows his arrest last September on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and more. Charges that could see the 55-year-old behind bars for the rest of his life if found guilty. Repeatedly denied bail and incarcerated in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since last fall, Combs has insisted he is not guilty and everything he did in the so-called 'freak offs' and otherwise was with consenting adults, however kinky and disturbing it became. With the defense out of the gate in their opening statement Monday strategically acknowledging Combs led an unconventional sex life, used drugs and committed domestic violence, they hope to dull the dark litany of accusations and evidence the prosecution will present. To that, defense attorney Brian Steel's slicing up of the testimony of former hotel security guard and current LAPD officer Israel Florez on Day 1 of the trial yesterday was the approach of the Combs' team in microcosm — find the contradictions, and the leaps of faith and pound on them. In that sense, the decade-long relationship between Combs and Ventura was definitely a tale of two very different realities in the May 12 opening statements. Facing the jury on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Johnson said 'if Cassie didn't do what the defendant wanted, the consequences were severe.' Along with persistent alleged violence and assaults, Ventura was forced to let a male prostitute urinate in her mouth, and live in fear of videos of the freak-offs being made public to destroy her career. 'Her livelihood and safety depended on keeping him happy,' AUSA Johnson added of the 'Me & U' chart topper. 'This was a relationship, it was not based on coercion, it was not based on force,' defense lawyer Teny Geragos said in her own opening statement in court in Lower Manhattan on Monday. Hoping to undermine one of the government's key pieces of evidence, the now infamous 2016 L.A. hotel security video, Geragos introduced a new tone. She told jurors: 'the video is overwhelming evidence of domestic violence.' However, the defense says, 'it is not evidence of sex trafficking,' claiming what the jury sees on screen is sadly 'a fight over a phone' and the consequence of the 'toxic relationship between two people who loved each other.' The defense claim that Ventura finally broke up with Combs in 2018 around the time of the death from pneumonia of Kim Porter, the mother of four of Combs' children. After Combs had publicly called Porter 'my soulmate,' Ventura realized 'for the first time ever … all the things she wouldn't be' to him, Geragos told the jury. The feds' version of events is that the now married mother of two Ventura escaped from Combs in fear of her life. The jury was seated Tuesday at approximately 9:50 am Eastern Time, with cross examination of Daniel Phillips, the paid sex partner of Ventura and Combs, picking up from Monday. As he did previously, defense attorney Xavier Donaldson emphasized over and over that it was Ventura who was in control and command of their sexual relationships with Phillips, at least initially. Previous to that, Tuesday, saw a discussion among the lawyers and the judge of media access to the explicit, so called freak off videos that will be shown in court during this trial at present, given a partial unsealing of that material is TBD. Additionally, the feds and the defense once again bickered over whether or not material of 'prior bad acts', by Ventura should be included in the trial. Specifically, they were speaking of an incident of violence at a birthday party for Ventura's brother in Connecticut. Combs' defense wanted to see this evidence introduced as emblematic of Ventura's character and her substance abuse of her own outside of the admittedly toxic relationship with Combs. Prosecutors argued that the incidents are essentially irrelevant. The judge decided that these text exchanges between Ventura and Combs on the evening of the Connecticut incident will be admissible in the trial. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Ari Aster's 'Eddington' So Far Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Touts Reduction In China Tariffs For At Least 90 Days: 'I Take Them At Their Word'
Donald Trump touted a 90-day pause on his trade war with China, which will see both countries back away from sky high tariffs that had ground shipments to a halt. In a joint statement, the U.S. and China said that they would suspend their tariffs for three months as negotiations continue. The U.S. tariff on Chinese imports will drop to 30%, from its current 145%. China's tariffs on U.S. imports will go from 125% to 10%. More from Deadline Feds' Sean "Diddy" Combs Case In Danger As Key Witness Remains AWOL On Eve Of NYC Trial Start John Oliver Mocks Trump's Comments About Dolls: "Every Single Way This Man Refers To Girls Makes My Skin Want To Turn Inside Out" 'Shogun' Showrunner Celebrates BAFTA Win By Declaring: Good TV Is "Borderless" Amid Trump Tariff Threat 'The relationship is very good. We are not looking to hurt China,' Trump said, adding that he will speak to China's president Xi Jinping, 'maybe at the end of the week.' Markets spiked on the news of the tariff pause. Trump said that the flow of fentanyl from China will be a significant part of the negotiations. 'There's a very big incentive for China to stop, and I take them at their word they're going to work on that, I think, very hard.' Even though it's unclear what concessions China made for Trump to back down, the president tried to make the argument that his economic policy was a success. A rationale for imposing across-the-board tariffs worldwide, unveiled as Liberation Day in April, was to compel companies to move their manufacturing to the United States. He said that he spoke to Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning, and 'he's going to I think he's going to even up his numbers, $500 billion, he's going to be building a lot of plants in the United States for Apple.' Also unclear is whether China will back away from its pledge to reduce imports of U.S. made films. Trump also has proposed 100% tariffs on movies made in other countries, although the White House has cautioned that no decisions have been made and the president plans to meet with industry representatives. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Is Robert Francis Prevost the most progressive Pope? His views on Trump's policies spark debate
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope on May 8 — the first American in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. The 69-year-old took the name Pope Leo XIV . #Operation Sindoor India responds to Pak's ceasefire violation; All that happened India-Pakistan ceasefire reactions: Who said what Punjab's hopes for normalcy dimmed by fresh violations Leo XIV has spent years amplifying criticism of President Trump's policies on social media — with the Catholic Church's first American leader taking particular aim at the Republican's hardline immigration stance. His past remarks and affiliations provide a window into some of his views — particularly around immigration and climate change. Here are ten things you need to know: -Leo XIV, until last week, shared or retweeted the opinions of colleagues using his verified account @drprevost on X, formerly known as Twitter. The election of Pope Leo XIV has added a new dynamic to the intersection of religion and politics in the United States. His last post on X before being elected by the conclave in the Sistine Chapel was a retweet of a message from Philadelphia-based Catholic commentator Rocco Palmo. The post on April 14 slammed Trump's partnership with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele on deportation of illegal migrants. -'As Trump & Bukele use Oval to [laugh emoji] Feds' illicit deportation of a US resident… once an undoc-ed Salvadorean himself, now-DC [auxiliary bishop] Evelio [Menjivar] asks, 'Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?'' the tweet reads. Live Events -In some matters, Leo XIV has aligned ideologically with his predecessor, Pope Francis , especially on the treatment of immigrants and the environment. Earlier this year, Francis criticized Trump's administration over its immigration agenda, which includes mass deportations. -On Feb. 3, Prevost shared a link to a National Catholic Reporter article headlined 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.' Prevost was also an active participant in US political discussion during Trump's first term — in 2017 retweeting a post from Palmo that said, 'Calling refugee bans 'a dark hour of US history,' [Chicago Archbishop] Blase [Cupich] says 'the world is watching as we abandon our commitment to American values'.' -Also in January 2017, the new pope retweeted a message from Jesuit priest James Martin, who wrote: 'We're banning all Syrian refugees? The men, women and children who *most* need help? What an immoral nation we are becoming. Jesus weeps.' -The same year, he shared a message that reads, 'Saying Trump's 'bad hombres' line fuels 'racism and nativism,' Cali bishops send preemptive blast on DACA repeal.' -In October 2017, Prevost retweeted a call for new US gun control from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) after a gunman murdered 60 people in Las Vegas. 'To my colleagues: your cowardice to act cannot be whitewashed by thoughts and prayers. None of this ends unless we do something to stop it,' Murphy wrote. -Back in 2018, social media action shows Pope Leo XIV reposted a statement from Cardinal Blase Cupich, where he criticized the Trump administration's policies on separating families, per CBS News. The outlet also reported that in 2015, he reposted an article from Cardinal Timothy Dolan titled, "Why Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic." -Pope Leo XIV's brother, John Prevost, told The New York Times that he is "not happy with what's going on with immigration." Describing his brother, Prevost told the Times: "The best way I could describe him right now is that he will be following in Francis' footsteps. They were very good friends. They knew each other before he was pope, before my brother even was bishop." Trump on new Pope President Trump responded to the pope's election with praise. "Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope," he wrote on Truth Social. "It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment! However, when the pope's criticism of the Trump administration came up during a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt deflected a question. After being asked about Prevost's remarks, Leavitt said: "The president made his reaction to Pope Leo's announcement yesterday very clear. He is very proud to have an American pope. It's a great thing for the United States of America and the world, and we're praying for him." His remarks were in contrast to reactions from his political base. While Trump celebrated the milestone, far-right figures like Laura Loomer said: "The new Pope @drprevost supports illegal aliens and open borders. He retweeted tweets in support of 'dreamers' aka illegals and attacked President Trump's use of the phrase 'bad hombres' to describe violent illegal aliens. He thinks it's a 'racist' phrase." Vice President JD Vance took a more measured tone, saying on X: "Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election!"
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pope Leo shared content critical of Trump, Vance's immigration policies in social media posts
Prior to being elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV had a presence on Twitter, and later X, where he sometimes shared messages that appeared to be critical of some of President Donald Trump's policies. Cardinal Robert Prevost appears to have an X account with the handle @drprevost and posted, replied and reposted content since 2011, according to his page. A picture of Prevost and Pope Francis holding each others arms in their robes inside a church is the profile image for the account. While most of the new pope's 439 posts involved posting articles about the latest developments from the Vatican and dioceses from around the world, he did share other posts from time to time dealing with political matters. MORE: What we know about Leo XIV, the new American pope He last posted on April 14, when he shared a post from prominent American Catholic commentator Rocco Palmo that criticized Trump and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's controversial immigration policies. " As Trump & Bukele use Oval to 🤣 Feds' illicit deportation of a US resident …, once an undoc-ed Salvadorean himself, now-DC Aux +Evelio asks, "Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?" Palmo's post read. Palmo linked to a Catholic Standard editorial written by Bishop Evelio Menjivar, an auxiliary bishop of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. In an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Pope Leo's brother John Prevost in Chicago said immigration is an important issue for his brother. "I think because the way our country is going, I don't think he necessarily will always agree [with] what's happening. I think a big thing for him is immigration and is it right -- what's going on? I think that will be a challenge for him, because I think he'll say something about it, too." Asked about his brother's X account, John Prevost said, "I know that's his feelings, but I didn't know he was putting it out on social media." MORE: Pope Leo XIV pledges to 'build bridges' in 1st remarks as pontiff The pope's last original X post was on Feb. 13, when he posted a link to an America magazine editorial that criticized Vice President JD Vance about his interpretation of the Latin phrase "ordo amoris." Vance contended in a Fox News interview, that the idea meant that one must love their family first before the community. Pope Francis sent a letter to bishops after Vance's comment rebuking that interpretation without naming the vice president. Pope Leo, however, appeared to criticize Vance directly in a Feb. 3 post, where he linked to a National Catholic Reporter editorial that dismissed the vice president's stance on immigration. He shared the headline of the article "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others" and linked to the full story in his post. Leo had not posted on X between July 2023 and Feb. 3. The Vatican has not immediately commented about the social media account or posts. Vance and Trump both congratulated the pope on his election on social media posts. "I'm sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!" Vance wrote on X Thursday. Pope Leo shared content critical of Trump, Vance's immigration policies in social media posts originally appeared on
