Latest news with #Vicodin
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fashion Designer Testifies Diddy Dangled Her Off Balcony, Called Himself 'The Devil'
Back in November 2024, a fashion designer who worked with Sean 'Diddy' in the past sued the mogul, saying he threatened her life and dangled her from a 17th floor balcony in 2016. The woman, named Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, testified in court Wednesday (June 4) and spoke about her interactions with Combs and what she witnessed in regard to his relationship with Cassie Ventura. While on the witness stand, Bongolan said the balcony incident 'left her with night terrors' and added that there were times where she 'would scream in her sleep,' per NBC. The lasting psychological impact included feelings of paranoia, sometimes leading her to 'peek her head out at her own home just to make sure the area was clear.' She said he held her over the ledge for '10 to 15' seconds and yelled, 'You know what the f**k you did.' The witness also said the father of seven allegedly told her 'something along the lines of, 'I am the devil and I can kill you.'' It's worth noting Ventura included the balcony event in her 2023 lawsuit against Combs without mentioning Bongolan, her friend, by name. The designer claims she witnessed several instances of abuse from Diddy towards Cassie throughout the years. She also testified both she and Ventura were regular drug users during the years they were immersed in Diddy's social circle. She confirmed during cross-examination that she did ketamine, marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and Vicodin in this time of her life. Per court documents obtained by Rolling Stone last year, Bongolan sued the Bad Boy founder for sexual battery, infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment, among other claims. The 17-page lawsuit read, 'Ms. Bongolan refuses to allow this fear to control the rest of her life and brings this action to demand that Mr. Combs takes responsibility for the trauma he intentionally and maliciously inflicted.' Diddy is facing one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in NYC on Sept. 16, 2024, and held at MDC Brooklyn without bail. His trial is expected to last all of June and into July. More from Cam'ron Questions Male Escort, The Punisher, About Diddy's Alleged "Freak-Offs" Jamie Foxx Says Diddy Accusations Hurt The Black Community: "That Was Our Hero" Diddy Heckler Kicked Out Of Courtroom After Yelling "Pull Your Gun Out"
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Do it for every veteran': Hemp business leaders call for Abbott to veto THC ban
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — 'Like thousands of us, I went through the government's solution — a never ending parade of pills: Vicodin, Valium, Tramadol, Neurontin, antidepressants, sleeping pills, the list goes on and on. Those drugs nearly destroyed me,' Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Dave Walden said on Monday. 'Legal hemp-derived consumable THC gummies brought me back.' Walden spoke on behalf of the Texas Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), who are vehemently opposed to Senate Bill 3 — the THC ban bill. 'Since 2018 I haven't touched a single opioid or any of the other drugs that I mentioned above. I've rebuilt my life. I've become a better leader, a better husband, a better father. And ultimately a better man,' Walden said. 'But now Senate Bill three wants to turn this into contraband. It wants to turn me and thousands of other veterans into criminals for choosing an alternative that works for us.' Currently, the fate of the Texas Hemp industry lies in Gov. Greg Abbott's hands. He has until June 22 to either veto or sign SB 3. If he fails to make a choice, the bill will go into effect unsigned. 'Today, over 10,000 hemp business owners — women and men — request that Governor Abbott veto SB 3,' President of the Texas Hemp Business Council Cynthia Cabrera said. Cabrera is also the Chief Strategy Officer at Hometown Hero, an Austin-based consumable hemp company. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tossed a package of Hometown Hero Cereal Bites at reporters while arguing the dangers of THC products, saying 'nobody knows what's in it.' 'Make no mistake, the idea that no one knows what is in these products is false. For the past six years, Texas law has mandated third-party lab testing and clear labeling,' Cabrera said. 'The only goal of these scare tactics was to frighten legislators and the public into going along with an agenda they did not ask for. The Texas hemp industry is comprised overwhelmingly of law-abiding, compliant entrepreneurs, mom and pop stores, distributors and ancillary businesses.' The conference featured hemp industry leaders from all sectors, including hemp farmer Colton Luther. While he acknowledged he will still be able to grow hemp, he said his fields are currently empty because he's uncertain of this year's demand is SB 3 goes through. 'If you take away the market that creates the demand that the farmers are upholding, What business do we have left,' Luther said. 'It is a shame that we are trying to ban these things and take away the market that these farmers depend on to sell their crop.' Later Monday, the group Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas held a competing news conference to preach the harms of THC. 'What you never hear people discussing is the impaired driving consequences resulting from use of these intoxicating products in Texas. While alcohol remains the leading cause of fatal crashes, alcohol combined with cannabis is the second most common cause of deadly impaired driving crashes,' their CEO Nicole Holt said. 'In our state, the combination of alcohol and cannabis is the most common drug combination in impaired driving crashes in our state as well. And young drivers are particularly at risk. 26% of crash fatalities among those 25 and younger involve both cannabis and alcohol. 'Those are real lives. Those deaths are someone's life ended too soon, those families will never be the same, and when there's an impaired driver on the road, we are all at risk.' They also invited State Rep. David Lowe, R-Fort Worth, a war veteran. 'I'm deeply troubled that veterans are being used as props,' Lowe said. 'I believe passing Senate Bill three is one of the greatest accomplishments of this legislative session, and I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for his strong, steady leadership when it mattered most.' However, the Texas VFW says Lowe does not speak for them. 'Our national convention and our state convention… set the number one priority… as protecting any alternative to opioids,' Walden said. 'That's one veteran's opinion. I have written consent that I speak for 64,000 veterans in Texas, not just one.' Abbott has until June 22 to make a decision on whether or not to veto SB 3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Mint
18-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Spotify's fake podcasts advertising prescription drugs sales online: How the issue surfaced and what we know so far
A CNN investigation has exposed a troubling loophole on Spotify, revealing that dozens of podcasts masquerading as legitimate shows were actually promoting illegal online pharmacies. These fake podcasts, found through searches like 'Adderall' and 'Xanax,' often featured generic or AI-generated voices pushing prescription drugs like Oxycodone, Vicodin, Methadone, and Ambien — frequently advertising 'FDA-approved delivery without prescription,' which is illegal under US law. Some podcast titles left little to the imagination — 'My Adderall Store,' 'Order Xanax 2 mg Online Big Deal On Christmas Season,' and ' — with links in episode descriptions pointing to questionable pharmacy websites. CNN's review found at least seven drug-pushing podcasts in the first 100 results when searching for 'Adderall,' and as many as 20 in the first 60 when searching 'Xanax.' These pages had existed for months in some cases and were easily discoverable on Spotify's platform. Even after the issue was flagged, CNN was able to find new fake podcasts cropping up. In some cases, shows like 'Adderall 10 mg blue pills' disappeared only after CNN engaged with them — suggesting reactive rather than proactive enforcement. After CNN said it provided Spotify with a list of 26 offending podcasts that were live as of a Thursday afternoon, the company acted within hours to remove them. However, new ones were spotted on the platform the very next morning. 'We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service,' a Spotify spokesperson told CNN, acknowledging that the removed podcasts violated their rules, which ban illegal and spam content. Spotify allows open podcast publishing but enforces rules that prohibit hate speech, sexually explicit content, illegal material, and spam. Its creator guidelines also forbid content made solely to promote a product or service — particularly when such content leads users to harmful or unlawful services. The company claims to use both automated tools and human moderators to identify rule violations. Despite those efforts, online safety experts argue Spotify's current systems are insufficient. The situation has sparked fresh concerns about the role of tech platforms in preventing illicit drug sales — especially as AI tools make it easier to mass-produce spammy or dangerous content. Advocates and parents have called for stricter safeguards, citing recent teen overdose deaths from pills purchased online.
Mint
18-05-2025
- Mint
Spotify removes fake podcast pages promoting online prescription drug sales: Report
Spotify has begun removing numerous fake podcast pages that promoted the illegal sale of prescription drugs, including Adderall and Oxycodone, after a news outlet's investigation flagged the content. The podcasts, masquerading as legitimate health or comedy shows, as per CNN investigative report, directed users to questionable online pharmacies — many of which claimed to sell highly addictive medications without requiring a prescription, a violation of US law. The news outlet reported that a search for 'Adderall' on Spotify turned up podcasts titled 'My Adderall Store' and others with similarly explicit names. These pages often included links to websites that purportedly offered Adderall, Vicodin, Methadone, Ambien, and more — often with no prescription needed. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spotify is scrambling to remove dozens of podcasts promoting online prescription drug sales
If you search 'Adderall' on Spotify's podcast page, you'll find health podcasts about ADHD, shows about addiction recovery and comedy podcasts where hosts talk about using the medication. You may also come across multiple pages masquerading as podcasts that direct users to buy drugs from potentially dangerous and illegal online pharmacies. The intention of many of these pages is obvious from their names. Podcasts with titles, such as 'My Adderall Store' — which has a link in the episode description to a site that purportedly sells Adderall, as well as potentially addictive pain medications like Oxycodone and Vicodin, among other drugs — were listed within the first 50 suggested results, a CNN review this week found. CNN identified dozens of these fake podcasts across Spotify, advertising sales of medications ranging from Methadone to Ambien, in some cases claiming that the drugs can be purchased without a prescription, which is illegal in the United States. Spotify is now scrambling to remove these fake podcast pages, which violate its rules and which, at best, may be spam and, and worst, could direct users to sites that violate the law. Within hours after CNN sent Spotify a list of 26 podcasts promoting online pharmacies that were live as of Thursday afternoon, the platform had removed them. A spokesperson said they violated its rules, which prohibit illegal and spam content. Still, even after Spotify removed the podcasts CNN sent on Thursday, others continued to appear on the platform Friday morning. 'We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service,' a Spotify spokesperson told CNN in a statement. The findings come as parents have urged tech giants to crack down on the sale of counterfeit or illicit drugs to young people through their platforms, after multiple teens have died of overdoses from pills bought online. They also raise questions about Spotify's moderation capabilities as AI makes it easier than ever to churn out fake content. Lauren Balik, who runs a blog about tech company stocks, called on Spotify CEO Daniel Ek to address the fake podcast issue in a post on X earlier this week. Business Insider also published a report on the issue on Thursday that said it flagged hundreds of the podcasts that Spotify subsequently removed. Multiple US government agencies have warned that ordering medications from online pharmacies may be illegal and could have harmful — and potentially deadly — consequences. In 2011, Google was fined $500 million for running ads for Canadian online pharmacies illegally selling prescription drugs to US consumers, after which the internet giant took various steps to combat online pharmacies appearing in ads or search results. And in 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration called on tech platforms, including Facebook, Reddit and Twitter (now called X), to do more to prevent illegal opioid sales on their sites. Still, tech platforms that host content pointing users to those sites, are largely subject to 'a lack of any repercussions, any accountability,' according to Katie Paul, director of the non-profit Tech Transparency Project. That's because federal law generally protects tech platforms from liability over what users post on their sites. 'There's no regulations,' Paul added. Even after the issue was called to Spotify's attention, CNN was easily able to find dozens of these fake, drug sales podcast pages, including some that had been posted on the platform for months. One such podcast, called ' posted eight episodes, each less than 10-seconds long, on November 29, 2024. The episodes featured a computerized voice advertising Xanax, Percocet, Oxycontin or Hydrocodone for sale 'with FDA-approved delivery without prescription.' 'Our platform provides a seamless experience for those seeking solid medications like Xanax,' the podcast description on Spotify read. 'With just a few clicks, you can avail yourself of this trusted medication from the comfort of your home, ensuring discretion and convenience while prioritizing your mental health needs.' Another podcast titled 'Order Xanax 2 mg Online Big Deal On Christmas Season' posted its only episode on December 2 last year. In the 26-second episode, a computerized voice said, 'Are you a health-conscious guy? Presenting the best health advisor episode first time on Spotify,' before describing Xanax. Its description linked users to an online pharmacy that claims to deliver 'Government approved medicine to the customer's doorstep.' The proliferation of text-to-speech tools has made it easier and faster to create large volumes of this kind of spammy content. 'I think podcasts have a bigger blind spot, because … voice makes it much more difficult for moderation,' Paul told CNN. One Spotify podcast titled 'John Elizabeth,' with thumbnail art advertising a pharmacy website, had dozens of episodes featuring a voice that sounds computer-generated. The website advertised was the same as that promoted on another podcast, called My Adderall Store. 'If you're in search of Ativan for sale online with fast delivery, you're in luck,' the voice said in one episode of the show. 'Our online store offers a hassle-free shopping experience, making it easy for you to get the medication you need without any trouble.' On an initial CNN search of Spotify podcasts for 'Adderall,' at least seven podcasts advertising online pharmacies showed up within the first 100 results. On a search for 'Xanax,' 20 of the first 60 results promoted online pharmacies. And on a search for 'Valium,' two of the first five suggested results were promoting online pharmacies. Fake podcasts also surfaced in searches for 'Vyvanse,' 'Codeine' and 'Percocet,' such as a show titled 'How Percocet Dosage Taken No RX' with episodes like 'Order Codeine Online Safe Pharmacy Louisiana' that linked to an online pharmacy along with a coupon code. None of the drug sales podcasts that CNN viewed had been rated by users on the platform, so it's not clear how many people may have viewed or interacted with them. CNN could not confirm if orders placed through these sites would actually be delivered. In some cases, after CNN engaged with these podcasts — including one called 'Adderall 10 mg blue pills' — the site appeared to remove them; links to the shows redirected to a page saying, 'Sorry, that's not currently available.' However, more than two dozen others remained active until CNN asked Spotify about them. Spotify offers free tools that allow anyone to create, distribute and, potentially, monetize podcasts. However, it notes in its creator guidelines that its mission to 'democratize audio' doesn't mean 'anything goes on our platform.' Those guidelines prohibit, for example, hateful content, sexually explicit content, illegal content and spam, including content made 'solely to … promote a product or service.' The platform says it may remove content that violates those creator guidelines. 'Mass publishing identical or indistinguishable content that directs listeners to potentially harmful sites or services, or violates our monetization policies,' Spotify said in the guidelines. Separately, Spotify's platform rules also prohibit 'content that illicitly promotes the sale of regulated or illegal goods,' including illegal drugs. It says it uses both automated technology and human reviewers to enforce its rules. Spotify has previously been criticized over health-related content on the platform. In 2022, several prominent artists raised concerns or pulled their music catalogues from the site, in protest of its popular podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' which had repeatedly spread false claims about vaccines and the pandemic. In response, Spotify added a content advisory to all podcast episodes that discuss Covid, directing users to trusted sources. (Rogan also promised to do more thorough research and provide more balanced information about Covid.) The company continued to ramp up its moderation efforts following that 2022 debacle, including establishing a Safety Advisory Council to provide feedback on Spotify's rules and enforcement. It also acquired Kinzen, a machine learning startup capable of screening audio content for rules violations. But online safety experts say the fake podcasts are a sign that Spotify needs to do more to protect its platform. 'What's true is that anywhere people can post user-generated content, you will find … people selling drugs,' said Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, a non-profit that advocates for child safety online. 'That part is, unfortunately, pretty consistent. It's really about what the companies do to combat it.'
