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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Zelensky says Trump at Vatican meeting was ready to sanction Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Tuesday that President Trump was supportive of imposing further sanctions on Russia after the two leaders met in Vatican City in late April. 'President Trump supported that if Russia does not stop, there will be sanctions. Our conversation was positive from the point of view that I perceive our conversation as a confirmation of the U.S. policy of imposing strong sanctions against Russia if [Russia's President Vladimir] Putin does not agree to a ceasefire,' Zelensky said during a briefing, according to The Washington Post. The meeting between the two presidents took place at the Vatican on April 26, just ahead of Pope Francis's funeral. The United States has not slapped new sanctions so far. Republicans Senators have pushed the president to impose new measures against the Kremlin. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote on Tuesday that it is time 'FOR SANCTIONS STRONG ENUF SO PUTIN KNOWS 'game over.'' Senators have readied a new sanctions package that has garnered support from more than 80 lawmakers in the upper chamber. The measure includes a 500 percent tariff on imported goods from countries that purchase Russian uranium, gas and oil. When asked Wednesday about instituting new sanctions on Russia, Trump told reporters he thinks he is 'close to getting a deal; I don't want to screw it up by doing that.' The Trump administration has pushed to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has refused to sign onto an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, a proposal Ukraine is supportive of. Trump has ramped up his criticism of Putin in recent days as Kremlin forces have continued to launch drones and missiles into dozens of Ukraine's regions, including the capital Kyiv. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now a top national security official, appeared to warn Trump about the possibility of World War III as tensions have risen. 'Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,' Medvedev said Tuesday on the social platform X. 'I hope Trump understands this.' Zelensky met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday in Berlin. Merz said that Germany will increase its support for Ukraine, including sending military equipment and bolstering the production of weapons made in Ukraine. The cooperation, worth north of $5.5 billion, would entail helping make air defense systems, weapons. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cassie Ventura finishes emotional testimony in Sean 'Diddy' Combs's trial
NEW YORK — Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura wrapped up her fourth and final day of testimony in Sean 'Diddy' Combs's federal sex trafficking trial on Friday, as the defense concluded cross-examination of the government's star witness and prosecutors introduced two more: singer Dawn Richard and Homeland Security agent Yasin Binda. The packed day of testimony revisited accounts of Combs's alleged abuse and revealed new details about the scene of his arrest in September. The music mogul is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution — offenses that could carry a life sentence if convicted on all counts. He has pleaded not guilty. Ventura, 38, who appeared tired on the stand, spent most of the day under exhaustive questioning from Combs's lawyers, who continued to suggest that she was more sexually mature and enthusiastic about Combs's sex parties than she expressed in her testimony. They also tried to cast doubt about her recollections of her years-long relationship with Combs, 55. In her final moments on the stand, Ventura also revealed that she had reached a $10 million settlement with the InterContinental Hotels Group — whose Los Angeles location was the site of Ventura's beating by Combs in 2016. In an email to The Washington Post, IHG declined to comment. Anna Estevao, one of Combs's defense attorneys, resumed her cross-examination of Ventura on Friday with the 2016 incident at the InterContinental hotel. In text messages between the former couple shortly after the assault, Combs appeared to feel sorry about the incident and proposed having sex with Ventura. 'We need a different vibe,' she wrote back. The couple signed off by texting each other, 'Love you.' When asked what she recalled after the incident, Ventura said she had done press for her 2016 film, 'The Perfect Match,' whose premiere was two days later. 'After that, I don't really remember too much,' she said. Ventura said she also attended a 'spa' in Sedona, Arizona, for a week to detox from heavy drug usage after the beating. The defense questioned Ventura on the events of Sept. 27, 2018, when she and Combs had consensual sex weeks after he allegedly raped her. In previous testimony, Ventura said: 'We'd been together 10 years; you just don't turn feelings off that way.' On that night, Ventura missed a video call from her then-boyfriend and current husband, Alex Fine. Ventura has testified that Fine punched a wall upon learning she had sex with Combs that night. Ventura said that Combs had reached out to her multiple times since she saw him last in 2018. He texted her to congratulate her on a pregnancy and to tell her he missed her, was 'sending her love and light' and had a dream about her. A big moment of Friday's cross-examination was an audio recording in which Ventura threatened to kill a DJ who said he had seen a lurid video of her having sex with Combs. In the audio, Ventura is heard asking politely to see the video before she starts shouting. 'It's my f---ing life, and I will kill you. I will kill you. I will cut you up, and I will hide you,' she is heard saying. 'I have never killed anyone in my life, but I will kill you. … And it's not going to be my hands. There's not going to be blood on my hands. It's going to be someone else.' The defense also questioned Ventura about a 2013 birthday party for her brother, where she allegedly got into a physical altercation with a woman and told Combs she 'tried to kill the b----.' Binda, the Homeland Security agent, testified that she participated in a raid on Combs's hotel room at the Park Hyatt in Manhattan in September. He was arrested in the lobby of the hotel. In the room, agents found large zip-top bags filled with baby oil and lubricant, plus additional bottles stored in a bathtub and on a nightstand. They also found a Louis Vuitton bag with a bottle of medication prescribed to 'Frank Black' and, in separate pill bottles, ketamine and MDMA. Agents also recovered an external hard drive. Binda described finding a black fanny pack with $9,000 in cash. Still at the witness stand, she cut open an evidence bag of cash and fanned the bills so the jury could see. Part of the reason Combs was in New York at that time was to meet with federal agents about his surrender. Late in the day, the prosecution called witness Richard, who performed in two bands managed by Combs. The Danity Kane singer testified that in 2009, she was at Combs's Los Angeles home to record music when Combs attacked Ventura in the kitchen — an incident she recounted in a lawsuit she filed against Combs last year. (Combs denied the 'series of false claims' in Richard's complaint). 'He came downstairs angry and was saying, where the f--- was his eggs and he was telling Cassie she never gets anything right and where the f--- was his food,' Richard told the jury. 'And he came over to the skillet with the eggs in it and tried to hit her over the head and she fell to the ground.' Combs continued to beat Ventura as she was on the floor, Richard testified, then dragged her upstairs. Richard said that the following day, Combs invited her and her bandmate Kalenna Harper, who also saw the alleged attack, to record music in his studio. Richard testified that Combs told the two women that the violence they had witnessed was 'passion.' And she said he threatened that 'where he comes from, people who say something can end up missing.' Richard will return on Monday but it is unclear how much of her testimony from Friday will be admissible. But prosecutors have argued that Combs's alleged abuse created a culture of violence and fear that allowed him to carry out more-serious crimes. Kingsberry reported from Washington.
The Hill
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Zelensky says Trump at Vatican meeting was ready to sanction Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said to reporters on Tuesday that President Trump was supportive of imposing further sanctions on Russia after the two leaders met in Vatican City in late April. 'President Trump supported that if Russia does not stop, there will be sanctions. Our conversation was positive from the point of view that I perceive our conversation as a confirmation of the U.S. policy of imposing strong sanctions against Russia if [Russia's President Vladimir] Putin does not agree to a ceasefire,' Zelensky said during a briefing, remarks of which were published Wednesday by The Washington Post. The meeting between the two presidents took place at the Vatican on April 26, just ahead of Pope Francis's funeral. The United States has not slapped new sanctions so far. Republicans Senators have pushed the president to impose new measures against the Kremlin. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote on Tuesday that it is time 'FOR SANCTIONS STRONG ENUF SO PUTIN KNOWS 'game over.'' Senators have readied a new sanctions package that has garnered support from over 80 lawmakers in the upper chamber. The measure includes a 500 percent tariff on imported goods from countries that purchase Russian uranium, gas and oil. When asked on Wednesday about instituting new sanctions on Russia, Trump told reporters he thinks he is 'close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that.' The Trump administration has pushed to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has refused to sign onto an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, a proposal that Ukraine is supportive of. Trump has ramped up his criticism of Putin in recent days as Kremlin forces have continued to launch drones and missiles into dozens of Ukraine's regions, including the capital Kyiv. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now a top national security official, appeared to warn Trump about the possibility of World War III as tensions have risen. 'Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,' Medvedev said Tuesday on social media platform X. 'I hope Trump understands this.' Zelensky met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday in Berlin. Merz said that Germany will increase its support for Ukraine, including sending military equipment and bolstering the production of weapons made in Ukraine. The cooperation, worth north of $5.5 billion, would entail helping make air defense systems, weapons.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Double-dipping may seem gross, but it's not as risky as you think
The question: Is it true that double-dipping can spread germs? Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The science: Like George Costanza on 'Seinfield,' many of us have done it - dip a chip into a communal bowl of salsa or stick a veggie into the hummus, bite it and then go for a double-dip. Yes, double-dipping can transmit bacteria and viruses from your mouth to the shared bowl. And yes, in theory, those microorganisms can be spread to other eaters. But in most cases, that might not be as risky as it seems. Researchers at Clemson University discovered that there were more bacteria in double-dipped situations compared with the single-dipped. In a series of experiments, the team analyzed how many bacteria were transferred from a bitten cracker into a cup of sterile water compared with an unbitten cracker. They found that if someone had taken a bite before dipping, the water contained significantly more bacteria. Additionally, the researchers reported that the type of food mattered. After double-dipping, salsa, which has a high acidity, had lower levels of bacteria two hours later than dishes made with cheese and chocolate, which have a low acidity. While people may be introducing bacteria or viruses into the communal bowl, it does not mean these organisms are the type that can make you sick, said Benjamin Chapman, department head of agricultural and human sciences at North Carolina State University. Pathogens that cause the common cold, influenza and covid, for instance, have not been shown to be transmitted through food, Chapman said. Respiratory illnesses such as these are much more commonly spread by coughing and sneezing around people at a party than by eating or drinking after them, he said. One strong exception is norovirus. Research shows that the virus - which causes the notoriously unpleasant 'stomach bug' linked to outbreaks on cruise ships and in other places with close quarters - can be spread through direct contact such as hand-shaking, through contaminated food and water, through aerosols, and, most important to this conversation about double-dipping, through saliva. 'If you are recovering from norovirus, double-dipping would be really risky' for other eaters, Chapman said. But because 'people infected with norovirus get sick very promptly, they're unlikely to spend a whole lot of time during the very brief incubation period sharing a dip with someone else,' said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases and preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University. There is no real evidence showing that double-dipping can cause foodborne illness outbreaks, though experts said double-dipping often happens in small groups that may not be tracked. What else you should know: The double-dipping controversy may be more about social etiquette. 'The presumption is, 'We don't want to make people sick,' but really it's more the 'ick' factor than it is the risk of passing a foodborne illness,' said Keith Schneider, a professor in the food science and human nutrition department at the University of Florida. But here are some best practices, experts said: - If you are sick, skip the party and protect others from potential illness. - In any case, wash your hands or, in a pinch, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers before handling food. - Cover your nose and mouth with your elbow or a tissue when you cough and sneeze. Then wash your hands again. - If you are the one planning the party, you could consider using individual dishes for dips rather than communal bowls since, theoretically, a person also could spread the norovirus if they accidentally dip a finger or two into a shared snack. The bottom line: While double-dipping can spread bacteria and viruses, in most cases, it is unlikely to make you sick, experts said. Related Content Despite ceasefire, India and Pakistan are locked in a cultural cold war The D.C. plane crash took her mom and sister. She turned to her piano. Johnson again corrals GOP factions to pass Trump's sweeping tax bill
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Pentagon rattled by leadership rift as Pete Hegseth's inner circle feuds - is the Defense Secretary's job on the line?
A man in Australia is in trouble for lying about medicine sales. Police took his 12 fancy cars, including Ferraris and Lamborghinis. He may go to jail if found guilty. The case is part of a big fraud investigation. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Pentagon is said to be facing a 'Cold War' inside the department, but it's not about Russia. It's about drama and fights among top people. Two senior aides working for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are fighting, and it's causing big problems for the department, according to the reportsMany people working in the Pentagon told the paper that things look fine from the outside, but behind the scenes it's messy, with fights, inexperience, and missing staff. The Washington Post report said, 'There's a cold war that exists in between flash points,' and described how tempers often flare among Hegseth's main fight is between Eric Geressy and Ricky Buria , two of Hegseth's closest aides. Geressy is a retired soldier who once served with Hegseth in Iraq and mentored him. Buria used to be a military assistant to Hegseth but was later promoted to acting chief of staff, states believes Buria is trying to sideline other staff to make himself look better to the Trump team. Things got worse during the Signalgate scandal in March. Geressy was left out of meetings during a Pacific trip and blamed Buria for it. Geressy also said too many people in the Trump administration were using the Signal app, and claimed the White House saw Buria as arrogant. Geressy leads a team called JSIAG, which includes Special Forces and other government workers. They focus on fighting Mexican drug cartels, as mentioned by The Washington Post once gave Geressy the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery in combat. Buria is a former Marine Corps pilot and earlier worked with President Biden's Defense Secretary. In February, Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short without saying why, and gave Buria her role, a three-star general's job. This sudden promotion of Buria made other top military officers the temporary assignment ended, Buria wanted to retire from the military and stay on as a civilian adviser, with support from Hegseth's wife, Jennifer. When Hegseth's previous chief of staff Joe Kasper quit in April, people started wondering if Hegseth could still manage his staff. Hegseth then made Buria the acting chief of staff, but it's not clear if the White House will approve him long-term, as per reportsBuria once called Trump and Senator Vance 'crazy' and 'dumb', according to a New York Post report. Trump said he didn't know who Buria was, and if it's true, 'we don't take him.'Geressy is tired of the chaos and thought about quitting, but he's stayed because he's loyal to Hegseth and his team, as per the CNN fights between Geressy and Buria show how unstable the Pentagon is, especially after Hegseth has had a number of scandals. Some defense officials say it's unclear how long Hegseth can keep his job unless he brings order to his staff. Around the same time Buria got promoted, Hegseth fired three senior officials, Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, saying they leaked info to the three fired officials said they were unfairly attacked and that the accusations were totally false. Hegseth's spokesperson, Sean Parnell, tried to downplay the drama, saying staff changes are normal in 'effective organizations.' Parnell also said Hegseth is focused on putting the right people in the right roles to carry out Trump's plans. He said the public doesn't care about 'palace gossip', but about real action from the Defense Department, as mentioned in the insisted Hegseth's team is united and working to focus on warfighting and getting results. After the firings, Hegseth hired three new senior advisers, Sean Parnell, Justin Fulcher, and Patrick Weaver. Fulcher came from the Department of Energy, and Weaver worked in Congress, the National Security Council, and Homeland Security, according to The Washington Memorial Day, Trump supported Hegseth, calling him a 'tough cookie' and praising his work for troops and veterans, saying he had 'gone through a lot.'He is accused of earning illegal money by making fake medicine he is found guilty, the government will sell the cars to fund crime prevention programs.
