Latest news with #Manhattan
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Farewell to ‘Hot Lips': ‘M*A*S*H' actress Loretta Swit dies at 87
NEW YORK, May 31 — Loretta Swit, the US actress who brought Major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan to life in the seminal Korean War comedy series M*A*S*H has died. She was 87. Swit who played the high-strung but flirty Houlihan for the entire TV run of the smash series, was nominated for 10 Emmy awards for her work, winning two of them. Her death, at her home in Manhattan, was announced by her publicist, who said she was believed to have died of natural causes. M*A*S*H, which sprang from an Oscar-winning 1970 film, aired initially in 1972 and was a hit until it finished in 1983. The comedy was set in a field hospital for the US Army during the Korean War, and starred Alan Alda as Benjamin 'Hawkeye' Pierce. The series tackled a range of issues from the tragic to the light-hearted, and was sometimes seen as a satire on US involvement in Vietnam — a war that was still happening when it first began airing. 'Few actresses captured the imagination of generations of television viewers with the certainty and charm of Loretta Swit,' a statement from publicist Harlan Boll said. 'As the quick-witted, impassioned Major Margaret Houlihan... Ms. Swit became an American icon.' Alongside an extensive stage repertoire, Swit appeared in over 25 movies, including playing Christine Cagney in the TV movie that became the long-running cop show Cagney and Lacey. Obligations to the makers of M*A*S*H meant she could not continue into the TV series' lengthy run, and the role was ultimately filled instead by Sharon Gless. Other movies during Swit's career included Race With the Devil, a 1975 horror starring Peter Fonda, and 1972's Stand Up and Be Counted with Jacqueline Bisset. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
‘M*A*S*H' actress Loretta Swit dies aged 87
Loretta Swit played Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan in the seminal Korean War comedy 'M*A*S*H'. (AP pic) NEW YORK : Loretta Swit, the US actress who brought major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan to life in the seminal Korean War comedy series 'M*A*S*H' has died. She was 87. Swit who played the high-strung but flirty Houlihan for the entire TV run of the smash series, was nominated for 10 Emmy awards for her work, winning two of them. Her death, at her home in Manhattan, was announced by her publicist, US media reported. AFP has sought confirmation. 'M*A*S*H', which sprang from an Oscar-winning 1970 film, aired initially in 1972 and was a hit until it finished in 1983. The comedy was set in a mobile hospital for the US army during the Korean War, and starred Alan Alda as Benjamin 'Hawkeye' Pierce. The series tackled a range of issues from the tragic to the light-hearted, and was sometimes seen as a satire on US involvement in Vietnam – a war that was still happening when it first began airing.
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
NYPD officers entangled in crypto torture case after Bitcoin investor escaped from townhouse of horrors
Two New York Police Department officers could find themselves in hot water over potential connections to a shocking case of torture in the stately SoHo district of Manhattan. The NYPD confirmed to Fox News Digital that its officers "were modified" and "the matter is under internal review." The issue involves two detectives, one of whom reportedly served on Mayor Eric Adams' security detail, the New York Post reported. The case at the heart of the scandal is tied to two men who allegedly tortured an Italian cryptocurrency millionaire in a New York City townhouse. One detective is suspected of driving the alleged victim, a 22-year-old Italian Bitcoin millionaire, from the airport to the townhouse where the savagery occurred on the day he arrived in New York, according to the Post. The other is accused of working with the man's alleged captors, John Woeltz and William Duplessie, in an "unauthorized capacity." Woeltz, 37, and Duplessie, 33, are accused of kidnapping the man, a former business partner, on May 6 and torturing him when he refused to reveal his Bitcoin password. A criminal complaint obtained by Fox News says the brutality lasted for nearly three weeks. The pair allegedly shocked the man with electric wires, bashed his head with a firearm, pointed a firearm at his head and threatened to kill him and his family, and hung him over a second-floor ledge. Eventually, the man escaped the residence and flagged down a traffic cop. Both suspects have now been charged with assault, kidnapping in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree and criminal possession of a firearm. Woeltz was arrested last Friday, just after the man escaped. Duplessie turned himself in on Tuesday. The latter reportedly appeared in front of a judge in a Manhattan courtroom Friday, waiting to be officially indicted. He is being held without bail.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation
Assistant US Attorney Madison Smyser, center, asks Special Agent Gerard Gannon, far right, to stand and show the jury the high heeled platform red shoes found along with fire arms during a search of Combs' Star Island residence during Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) Warning: Some of the content below may be triggering NEW YORK — Sean 'Diddy' Combs ' lawyers confronted his rape-alleging former personal assistant on Friday with her social media posts praising the hip-hop mogul as a mentor, 'my brother' and 'friend for life' for years after she says he assaulted her. Defense attorney Brian Steel quizzed the woman about some of the dozens of posts she made about Combs in the wake of the alleged rape, portraying the warm messages as contradictory to her claims that working for him was often toxic and terrifying. The woman, testifying under the pseudonym 'Mia' for a second day at Combs' federal sex trafficking trial, read some of the messages aloud as they were displayed for jurors. Mia told the jury that the posts were a facade: 'Instagram was a place to show how great your life was, even if it was not true.' Defense team takes on assistant's rape allegation Steel highlighted a post from 2013 celebrating Combs' 44th birthday, showing a still image from a comedy video featuring Combs as a doctor helping Mia give birth to a fake baby. Below it, Mia wrote: 'Shout out to my mentor. Thank you for always letting me give birth to my dreams.' 'Here, you have posted on your personal account your rapist delivering the baby,' Steel said. Mia testified Thursday that, just months after Combs forcibly kissed her at his 40th birthday party in 2009, he woke her up then raped her in a bunk bed in his Los Angeles home. The ex-assistant said sexual assault continued sporadically enough that she thought it wouldn't happen again. She is the second of three women expected to testify at the federal trial in Manhattan that they were sexually abused by Combs. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that could put him in prison for life if he is convicted. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday didn't rule out pardoning him, if asked. In other posts Steel presented, Mia praised Combs for 'continuing to inspire me every day.' She wrote 'love you' and joked about the rapper and entrepreneur buying her a vanilla latte at Starbucks after he was named to a top spot on a Forbes list of wealthy individuals. Steel also showed jurors a handwritten letter Mia gave Combs with the words 'Happy 45th Birthday Puff Daddy' in large, red letters, along with her gift to him: a scrapbook of magazine articles that chronicled the early years of his rise to fame. Throughout his cross-examination, the lawyer struck an incredulous refrain, asking: 'Why would you promote the person who has stolen your happiness in life?' Mia said it was only natural to post about the good times, and has previously testified that the 'highs were really high and the lows were really low.' She acknowledged Friday that she referred to co-workers as 'family' and used the word 'love' in correspondence with Combs - even after she alleges he sexually assaulted her. 'That's how we all talked to each other,' Mia said. Former assistant says she can't work because of Combs trauma Mia worked for Combs from 2009 to 2017, including a stretch as an executive at his film studio. However, she said she hasn't held a job since then because of post-traumatic stress. Mia said she would misinterpret emails asking 'where are you?' as scolding because of how Combs treated her. She said someone calling her name would cause her alarm, even if it was an innocent attempt to get her attention. She recalled throwing her phone across a room in terror when Combs' number popped up as an incoming call days after his former girlfriend, the singer Cassie, sued him in November 2023. 'It was just so triggering,' Mia said. After leaving Combs' employment, Mia said, she received a little more than US$200,000 of a $400,000 settlement to reimburse her for bonuses and overtime that weren't paid. The rest, she said, went to her lawyers, whom she never told about the alleged sexual assaults. One phone call from Combs left a witness 'terrified' Mia said one of Combs' former bodyguards also reached out to her in the days after Cassie filed her lawsuit. At first, she said, she was elated to hear from D-Roc, whose real name is Damion Butler, until she realized he was at Combs' house and trying to reconnect her with her former boss. Mia testified that she felt 'terrified, threatened, scared, nervous' that Combs was using an intermediary to reach her. She said she 'wanted to play dumb' and needed a gameplan to protect herself. 'I didn't want my life to be in danger,' Mia said. Combs settled with Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, within a day for $20 million. However, a federal agent testified earlier in the trial that Cassie's lawsuit prompted a criminal investigation that eventually led to Combs' indictment. Mia's testimony echoed concerns that prompted judges to deny Combs bail, keeping him jailed since his arrest last September. Prosecutors said Combs and his allies were contacting potential victims or witnesses to prevent them from cooperating or to get them to alter their recollection of events. At a bail hearing last September, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said Combs contacted at least one victim in November 2023 and was in constant contact with witnesses, including as late as last July. Michael R. Sisak And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
2nd suspect in Manhattan crypto kidnapping and torture case indicted
A second man charged in the kidnapping and torture of an Italian man for his Bitcoin has been indicted. A Manhattan grand jury handed up the indictment Friday against William Duplessie, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg 's office. The indictment will remain sealed until his arraignment June 11. Duplessie, 32, faces charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon, police have said. His lawyer, in an email, declined to comment on the indictment. Prosecutors say Duplessie and fellow crypto investor John Woeltz, 37, lured the victim to a posh townhouse in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood on May 6 by threatening to kill his family. The man, a 28-year-old Italian national who has not been named by officials, said he was then held captive for 17 days, as the two investors tormented him with electrical wires, forced him to smoke from a crack pipe and at one point dangled him from a staircase five stories high. He eventually agreed to hand over his computer password Friday morning, then managed to flee the home as his captors went to retrieve the device. The grand jury decision followed Duplessie's brief appearance Friday morning in Manhattan court. A judge reminded him a protective order was still in effect, though he didn't name who it was concerning. Duplessie, who is listed as a founder or investor at various blockchain-based companies, was escorted in handcuffs and wore a prison jumpsuit. He didn't address the court. Both Duplessie and Woeltz remain in custody. New York City police are also investigating two detectives who worked security at the upscale Manhattan townhouse where the man says he was kidnapped and tortured. The detectives have been placed on modified leave pending the outcome of the inquiry. A lawyer for the labor union representing NYPD detectives said there's 'absolutely no indication' either officer witnessed any of the alleged illegal activity.
