Sole survivor of a 400-foot rock climbing fall told 911 dispatcher he could 'hardly breathe'

Sole survivor of a 400-foot rock climbing fall told 911 dispatcher he could 'hardly breathe'

A rock climber who surviveda long fall that killed his three companionshiked back to his car despite serious injuries and told a 911 dispatcher that he could "hardly breathe," according to a recording obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. Anton Tselykh and his climbing partners were descending a gully between towering granite spires in Washington's North Cascades mountains on Saturday evening when an anchor securing their ropes tore out the rock. All four plummeted hundreds of feet. Tselykh lost consciousness and awoke several hours later in a tangle of ropes. Hemanaged to trekto his car over snowy and rocky terrain and drive about 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the unincorporated community of Newhalem, where he called 911 early Sunday. He apologized to the dispatcher for his voice and said he could barely breathe. He reported that three of his companions had been killed in the fall, but he could only find two of their bodies in the dark. "The whole team went down," Tselykh said. "We basically slid and rolled down, like all of us, to the bottom of the couloir and a little bit lower." A couloir is a sheer gully that runs down a mountain. Despite suffering brain trauma and other serious internal injuries, he told the dispatcher that he didn't think he needed immediate medical help. "My face is very well beaten, hands and my ribs, I can hardly breathe," said Teslykh. "But I feel OK, I mean, I don't need emergency." The dispatcher asked him to stay were he was so that medics could check him out and authorities could take his report. He was later hospitalized. By Wednesday morning, he was in satisfactory condition at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, meaning he was not in the intensive care unit, Susan Gregg, a spokeswoman for UW Medicine, said in an email. ___ Bedayn is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.Report for Americais a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

byKonstantin Pynzar

in

May 15, 2025

Sole survivor of a 400-foot rock climbing fall told 911 dispatcher he could 'hardly breathe'

Sole survivor of a 400-foot rock climbing fall told 911 dispatcher he could 'hardly breathe' A rock climber who surviveda long fall ...

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Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn’t give up'

Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn't give up'

Baillie Hillman knew something wasn't right. In the cool spring morning, she had put three horses out on the fresh grass of her front yard. Now, instead of grazing, the horses were standing still, heads down – a large cloud of flies surrounding them. "When she went outside, she realized it was actually bees," said Shane Stalnacker, administrative officer with the Comanche Volunteer Fire Department in Texas. The huge swarm was attacking. Over the course of that morning on May 9, Hillman, her partner James Ramirez, firefighters from two counties, emergency medical technicians and veterinarians would fight to protect the horses from the bees, believed to be Africanized honey bees — known as killer bees. Despite all their efforts, they would fail. All three horses succumbed to the attack and died. When the yard was finally cleared of bees, thanks to Stalnacker's quick thinking and a bottle of Dawn dish soap, the cause was discovered. A tree at the edge of their property was infested with the bees. When it was cut down the next day, authorities discovered just how many bees they'd been dealing with. "The hive was approximately seven feet long. There were millions of bees in there," said Stalnacker. When Hillman ran out to check on the horses, she immediately realized it was not flies but bees that were attacking them. "They attacked me as soon as I got outside," said Hillman. "They were in my ears, my glasses, my hair," She went back inside to call first Ramirez and then 911. The Comanche Volunteer Fire Department, local emergency services and sheriff's officers arrived to help, finding swarms of what they believe were Africanized honey bees in the area where the horses were standing. "We haven't had it confirmed that they were Africanized, but everyone's saying they couldn't imagine it being anything else due to their sheer numbers and their extremely aggressive behavior. They didn't give up," said Hillman. "We got assistance from the Guthrie Volunteer Fire Department, who brought bee suits," Stalnacker said. He also thought to ask them to bring some Dawn dishwashing soap so it could be mixed in with water to spray on the bees and the hive, to make them unable to fly. The soap was added to the firetruck's water tank and the horses were sprayed with soapy water which killed the bees. "The Comanche firefighters and Ramierez donned the bee suits and proceeded to do what they could to clear the bees that remained on the horses," he said. In the process, one of them kicked Ramirez but he continued working to save the animals. The horses were finally moved away from the bees, but sustained tens of thousands of stings, many of them around the their eyes nostrils and mouths. "Their bodies were covered in welts," said Hillman. A local veterinarian and vet tech arrived to treat the horses but unfortunately, their injuries from the massive numbers of bee stings were too great and all three horses died. "I just hope the story can get out there so people can be aware," said Hillman. "You hear that the Africanized bees are here and that they're around but you don't realize what that means. If they can kill three horses, what could they do to kids or an elderly person that can't run." "They just had tens of thousands of stings all over their bodies," Hillman said. The three were all American quarter horses, nine-year-old Clovis, five-year-old Pepper and six-year-old Ace. "James is a rodeo cowboy with the PRCA Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. I compete as an amateur," said Hillman. "Pepper was my up-and-coming carrel horse, Clovis was my team roping horse. Ace was James' up-and-coming calf roping horse," she said. Clovis died in the couple's backyard within hours. "His head swelled up and we think he died of a seizure," she said. Both Ace and Pepper made it to the veterinarian. Despite working on Ace for 45 minutes, they were unable to save her from massive seizures and eventually had to euthanize her. Pepper's throat swelled up so much the veterinarian had to perform a tracheotomy so she could breath. But after a day, she too ended up having seizures and died. After some hours the authorities were able to work out what had happened. The grass in the front lawn had been allowed to grow uncut during the spring, for the horses, so the owners had not been out into the area to inspect it. Next door, the neighbors had just mowed their lawn early that morning. "Bees are pretty dormant in the cool mornings, then when the temperature started to warm up, the bees came out and were upset and they found the horses and attacked them," said Stalnacker. The hive was discovered in a tree just at the property line between the two houses. A beekeeper who came to take down the hive told the couple he believed it might have been an existing honey bee hive that was taken over by killer bees. Known asusurpation, Africanized honey bees are known to do this, killing the resident queen. Prior to the attack, Hillman said she'd never once been stung by a bee. The bees are believed to be Africanized, a cross between local honey bees and African honey bees that first appeared in 1956, when a beekeeper in Brazil accidentally released 26 Tanzanian queen bees and their swarms into the wild. The bees had been brought from Africa in an attempt to increase honey production. Once they escaped, they thrived. While similar in appearance to common honey bees, the African bees are much more dangerous. They have a high tendency to swarm and exhibit highly defensive behavior,according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By the early 1990s Africanized bees began showing up in the southern United States and have now been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Invasive Species Information Center. Killer bees have been seen in the area before, said Stalnacker. "Last year an individual was clearing some land and disturbed a hollow tree that had bees in it and they went after him," he said. "They placed the gentleman in the back of a truck and they raced down the road – it was half a mile before the bees gave up." (This story has been updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas

byKonstantin Pynzar

in

May 15, 2025

Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn’t give up'

Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn't give up' Baillie Hillman knew something wasn't right. In the coo...

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Supreme Court appears skeptical of allowing Trump to implement birthright citizenship plan

Supreme Court appears skeptical of allowing Trump to implement birthright citizenship plan

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices on Thursday expressed concerns about allowing President Donald Trump's radical reinterpretation of the Constitution's guarantee of birthright citizenship to go into effect while litigation continues. In an unusual move, the court heard oral arguments on a series of Trump administration emergency requests seeking to limit the scope of nationwide injunctions that blocked the plan almost as soon as it was announced in January. Amid a more than two-hour oral argument, the justices vigorously debated various ways to limit the number of nationwide injunctions, but on the birthright citizenship issue specifically a majority appeared to think such an approach may have been justified, especially in cases brought by states. Even if the Trump administration loses on its efforts to narrow injunctions in the birthright citizenship cases, any decision that sets new limits on when nationwide injunctions are acceptable couldhelp the administration implement other policiesvia executive actions, many of which have also been blocked nationwide by lower court judges. There is also a chance the court could change course and quickly take up the merits of Trump's proposal, with several justices indicating the administration would lose. That would allow the court to quickly reach a definitive decision on the subject. The argument as it related to birthright citizenship specifically centered on whether a nationwide injunction was justified as to 22 states that sued, led by New Jersey and Washington state. The question of what the justices could do with a third case brought by individual plaintiffs and immigrant rights groups was less clear. In all three cases, judges issued nationwide injunctions. In court, New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum told the justices that the states need a nationwide injunction because the imposition on each state caused by the plan could not be remedied by a state-specific injunction. He pointed out, for example, that people constantly move between states and there would be "chaos on the ground where people's citizenship turns on and off when you cross state lines," depending on how states deal with the issue. He noted that each year, New Jersey alone has 6,000 babies that were born elsewhere and the state would have to determine whether they were citizens or not to determine whether they are eligible for certain benefits. Two justices in the court's conservative majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both seemed sympathetic to those arguments. "Why wouldn't they be entitled to an injunction of the scope of the one that has currently been entered?" Barrett said to Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who was arguing the case on behalf of the Trump administration. Gorsuch pushed back when Sauer dismissed that argument on the grounds that it would justify nationwide injunctions in almost any case. "What do you say though to the suggestion, General, that in this particular case, those patchwork problems for, frankly, the government as well as for plaintiffs, justify broader relief?" he asked. The three liberal justices all seemed solidly opposed to allowing the birthright plan to go into effect, even if they agreed that there should be some limitations on nationwide injunctions. "So as far as I see it, this order violates four Supreme Court precedents," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said. "And you are claiming that not just the Supreme Court, that both the Supreme Court and no lower court, can stop an executive, universally, from violating that holding, those holdings, by this court." The justices have yet not agreed to take up the bigger legal question of whether Trump's plan comports with the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Thelongstanding interpretationof the provision as understood by generations of Americans, including legal scholars on the left and right, is that anyone born on U.S. soil is an American citizen with a few minor exceptions, including people who are the children of diplomats. As part of Trump's hard-line immigration policy, he wants to limit birthright citizenship to people who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or is a permanent U.S. resident. Trump first seized upon the fringe legal theoryduring his first termas a way to rally his base. It has been promoted by some right-wing anti-immigration groups as well as John Eastman, one of Trump's former legal advisers during his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. "Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the 'SUCKERS' that we are!" Trump said in aTruth Social postThursday morning. Activists supporting the current interpretation of birthright citizenship gathered outside the court ahead of the arguments, holding signs and chanting slogans. "Trump must go now," one banner said. In line with the historical understanding of the 14th Amendment, every court that has ruled on the plan so far has blocked it. Trump filed three separate emergency applications at the Supreme Court seeking to narrow the injunctions issued by judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state. The Trump administration has complained vociferously about judges who have issued "universal injunctions" blocking various policies rolled out during the president's first few months in office. The Justice Department says there have been 40 such rulings on a host of issues, including the administration's ban on transgender people serving in the military, which the Supreme Courtrecently allowedto go into effect. Trump has relied in large part on aggressive executive orders to enact his agenda, rather than seeking legislation from Congress or regulatory actions by federal agencies. The administration's argument is that federal judges simply do not have the authority to issue broad rulings that affect people other than the litigants appearing before them. As a result, when judges rule that a government policy is unlawful, the decision should apply only to the individual plaintiffs or entities that sued, the administration says. In response, the challengers say that on an issue like birthright citizenship, a nationwide injunction is appropriate in part because it is vital to have uniformity on such a fundamental right. Even if some nationwide injunctions cannot be justified, the Supreme Court should not use the birthright citizenship case to curb the ability of judges to issue them at all, lawyers for the plaintiffs argue. The administration has asked the court to limit the injunctions to individual people or organizations that sued, and potentially the 22 states that filed separate lawsuits on birthright citizenship. Depending on what action the court takes, the proposal could go into effect in more than half of all U.S. states but not others, or against anyone who has not themselves sued or is not a member of the immigrant advocacy organizations CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. If the court grants the administration's request in some form, people affected by the executive order may have to file their own lawsuits or join a class action lawsuit. All of this is taking place amid widespread agreement among legal experts that the Supreme Court would ultimately rule against Trump when the case eventually reaches the justices on the merits. In recent years, five of the six members of the court's conservative majority have raised concerns about individual judges having the power to block a president's actions nationwide, an authority that is traditionally reserved for the Supreme Court. Such rulings have stymied not just the Trump administration but recent Democratic administrations as well.

byKonstantin Pynzar

in

May 15, 2025

Supreme Court appears skeptical of allowing Trump to implement birthright citizenship plan

Supreme Court appears skeptical of allowing Trump to implement birthright citizenship plan WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices on Thursday e...

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Shia LaBeouf Shares Alleged Private Emails with Timothée Chalamet to Prove They're 'Good'

Shia LaBeouf Shares Alleged Private Emails with Timothée Chalamet to Prove They're 'Good'

Amanda Edwards/Getty; Daniele Venturelli/WireImage Shia LaBeouf insists he and Timothée Chalamet are "good" On May 12, LaBeouf shared what appeared to be a friendly October 2023 conversation he and Chalamet conducted over email "Timothée Chalamet is doing better work than anyone alive," LaBeouf wrote Shia LaBeoufwants fans to know he andTimothée Chalametare on good terms. On Monday, May 12, LaBeouf, 38, shared an alleged email exchange between him and Chalamet, 29, onXthat was dated from October 2023. "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools," LaBeouf wrote in quotations on his post, quoting Rudyard Kipling'spoem "IF.""Timothée Chalamet is doing better work than anyone alive - we been good," he added of the Oscar nominee days after he called Chalamet's FebruarySAG Awards speech"cute." In the email exchange, Chalamet appeared to reach out to LaBeouf after seeing him in the playHenry Jones. "Absolutely blown away by your work the other night. Totally electric, totally present at every turn, king of your kingdom even if that kingdom is a miserable 4x4 prison cell," Chalamet wrote, per the alleged email. "What a fantastic play. I hope you guys take it to New York. And I hope this is the beginning of your work on stage and not an anomaly !!" LaBeouf responded to Chalamet's message the following day by writing, "Thank you doggy / Every blessing to you / Fun watching you evolve / Take ownership / Bang bang." Representatives for Chalamet did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"Timothée Chalamet is doing better work than anyone alive - we been goodpic.twitter.com/dXRFadP7Cv — Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook)May 12, 2025 In LaBeouf's May 8 interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, theHoney Boyactor referred to Chalamet'sSAG Awards speechwhile discussing his own turn toward Catholicism in recent years. "It changes the way you work, for sure," LaBeouf said in that interview, after detailing aformer feud he and Alec Baldwinhad while they worked on the 2013 Broadway production ofOrphans."Me and Alec would never have these problems now. But I was in an island. Then I hear Timothée Chalamet get up and he says something like, 'I want to be great,' " LaBeouf added. "I so know the feeling. On him, it's cute. On me, it wasn't cute. You know what I'm saying?" In his speech after winning Best Actor forA Complete Unknownat the 2025 SAG Awards, Chalamet said, "I know we're in a subjective business, but the truth is I'm really in pursuit of greatness," he said. "I know people don't usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Amanda Edwards/Getty LaBeouf has been mired in controversy in recent years over alawsuit from ex-girlfriend FKA Twigsthat shefiled in December 2020, alleging he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship in 2018 and 2019. That lawsuit is expected to go to trial later this year. LaBeouf hasdenied "each and every allegation"made against him by Twigs, whose real name is Tahliah Barnett. LaBeouf wasconfirmed into the Catholic Churchin December 2023. He mentioned Chalamet's SAG Awards speech whenTHRasked how his spiritual life has been going. Read the original article onPeople

byKonstantin Pynzar

in

May 15, 2025

Shia LaBeouf Shares Alleged Private Emails with Timothée Chalamet to Prove They're 'Good'

Shia LaBeouf Shares Alleged Private Emails with Timothée Chalamet to Prove They're 'Good' Amanda Edwards/Getty; Daniele Venturel...

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Diddy trial live updates: Cassie describes 'freak offs,' says she shared concerns with Combs

Diddy trial live updates: Cassie describes 'freak offs,' says she shared concerns with Combs

Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Sean "Diddy" Combs'lawyers are cross-examining his former girlfriend, singerCasandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine, followingtwo days of her emotional testimony onhis allegedphysical, sexual and psychological abuse. Combs' federalsex-crimes trialresumed in Manhattan on May 15, and the one-time mogul's lawyers have signaled they'll ask Cassie about what they have called her ownhistory of domestic violence. Therapper's lawyershave also alleged she was motivated by money to get back at him. The defense showed emails and text messages from early in Combs and Ventura Fine's relationship, where they professed love for each other and she sought more attention from him. "I wanted to spend so much time with him, at this point in 2010, because I'd fallen in love with him and I cared about him very much," Ventura Fine told jurors. Cassie's testimony comes a year after CNN released2016 hotel surveillance videothat showed Combs kicking, hitting and dragging the woman during an altercation at a Los Angeles-area hotel. Combsapologized for his violent behaviorsoon after thevideo's release. In court, Ventura Fine said Combs repeatedly threatened to release videos of her participating in his allegeddrug-fueled "freak offs." Combs, 55, wasarrested in September 2024on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Diddy on trial newsletter:Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges. Combs' lawyers asked Ventura Fine todescribe her early careerwhen she and Diddy first met. She said Combs and fellow celebritiesDallas Austin and Britney Spearsall attended her 21st birthday party. One of Diddy's lawyers, Anna Estevao, pointed out that her first album did well, and she had recognizable songs. "You're very beautiful and charming," Estavao said, and Ventura Fine replied, "Thank you," smiling. "It's true," Estevao said, to laughter in the courtroom. Ventura Fine went on to explain how when she signed on to Bad Boy Records, which Combs founded, she had a platonic relationship with rapper. After describing a tough performance on the program "106 & Park," she said Combs came to her aid and supported her. Estevao also pulled up an email from 2007, in whichVentura Fine said Combsis "constantly weary of me" and described herself as "sneaky," "needy" and "a spoiled brat." "I hate that you think I'm a malicious person," Ventura Fine wrote, adding, "You just don't think I'm the right one." The courtroom became tense when defense attorneys questioned Ventura Fine over the effect of her2023 lawsuiton Combs' career. When lawyers asked what happened to Combs' careerafter she filed the case, Ventura Fine paused and said,"That's a lot." "Is it fair to say his career was ruined?" a lawyer for the defense said, at which point prosecutors rapidly jumped in with objections, which the judge approved. In texts from December 2009,Ventura Fine told Combsthat in order for her to "be more open with the things I do in bed," she needed to feel like "this is my husband and the only one who will see this side of me." She went on to write that thealleged "freak offs"were starting to make her "feel a little dirty," adding that she was going "back and forth in my mind" about whether she wanted to do them. Ventura Fine explained on the stand that the"freak offs"became "a very integral part" of their relationship early on, but she wanted to develop the relationship more. Combs' attorneys argued this showed that she put deep thought into the "freak offs" and felt comfortable expressing her concerns to her then-partner. "At that time," she clarified. "Do you recall having conversations with Mr. Combs about theswingers lifestyle?" Estevao later asked, to which Ventura Fine responded, "Yeah." She went on to say the conversations were mainly about protocol, including how you act, and that some see it as a taboo topic. The exchange offered a preview of what is expected to be one of the defense team's main arguments – that while unconventional, Combs wasa "swinger"and not a sexual abuser. Nicole Westmoreland of Westmoreland Law LLC is the latest lawyer tojoin Combs' legal teamafter filing a notice of attorney appearance with the court on May 6. Combs' defense team was already led by attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos. Both are founding partners at Agnifilo Intrater. Geragos is "particularly experienced in defending and investigating allegations of sexual misconduct," according to the firm's website. Brian Steel, who representedYoung Thugin the rapper's RICO trial, is also working with Combs, as are attorneys Alexandra Shapiro, Xavier R. Donaldson, Anna Maria Estevao and Jason Driscoll. Diddy's lawyers read texts between the former couple in the early years of their relationship, includingextremely explicit messages, in court. In messages from August 2009, the couple discussed plans for a freak off. Combs wrote, "When do you want tofreak off?" with Ventura Fine responding, "I'm always ready to freak off. Lolol." He wrote, "You tell me the day, you choose." In more texts from 2009, the court saw sexually explicit messages between them. In one message, Ventura Fine expressed eagerness to have sex, with Combs responding, "I can't wait to watch you. I want you to get real hot."On another occasion, she texted Combs how she anticipated being positioned during sex. The defense repeatedly sought topaint Ventura Fine as a jealous ex-partner."This is about nature of relationships," attorney Marc Agnifilo said before she took the stand. "This is about jealousies." The defense said Combs needed someone to take care of him, and Ventura Fine was one of the only people who saw the "real" him. "You knew how special you were to him," the defense said, to which Ventura Fine responded, "Sometimes." Combs' lawyers noted that he lied to and cheated on Ventura Fine and let her down, but she "kept coming back to himfor 11 years."She paused before responding, "I wouldn't use 'coming back.'" Ventura Fine said she was in love with Combs, a "charismatic, big personality that everybody really loved," and described him as "sweet" and "caring" at times. Recalling the"early stages" of her relationshipwith Combs, Ventura Fine said she spent a lot of time feeling hurt. In texts from April 2010, she wrote: "So you hung up…It's like I need … I haven't seen you at all." She testified that she was worried she would lose him if she didn't have sex with him the way he wanted. When asked whether she told him shewanted to do "freak offs"to make him happy, she responded, "No, there's a lot more to that." "I'm sure we'll get to that," the defense attorney replied. Combs' attorneys kicked off their cross-examination bydisplaying kind messagessent between Cassie and Diddy early in their relationship. "I'm truly a lucky man. I love you, I miss you," Combs wrote in one email shown during cross-examination. She emailed back saying that she was a lucky woman. In another text from 2009, Combs wrote, "I love sooooo much it makes me cry," to which she responded "You hungry, pop pop?" Ventura Fine waspreviously asked by prosecutorsabout her and Combs' nicknames for each other. Ventura Fine revealed Combs called her "BG" for baby girl and "CC," which stood for Cassie Combs. Her nickname for him was "pop pop," which he decided on after asking what she called her grandfather. In another text exchange, from a little overtwo years into their relationship, Combs wrote: "I love you so much it consumes my life. I never knew it could be like this." A text from the same year from Ventura fine read: "Pop pop, I really miss you." When the defense asked how often they saw each other, Ventura Fine said there were long breaks between seeing one another since they both traveled for work. Ventura Fine in court testified that in early 2023, around the time before she went to rehab for opioid addiction and began trauma therapy, she experienced suicidal ideation. "I was spinning out" at the time, Ventura Fine testified. "I didn't want to be alive anymore at that point." She recalled a time when she went home to herhusband Alex Fineand children, "I remember telling him, 'You can do this without me.'" Ventura Fine said during testimony it all just felt "too painful" and that "I tried walking out the door into traffic and my husband wouldn't let me." Another major revelation came from 2018, after Ventura Fine and Combs were no longer together and she had started dating her now-husband, Alex Fine. She said she and Combs met up for dinner, during which he was friendly and kind. Afterward, he drove her back to her home and walked her inside. "And then he raped me in my living room," Cassie alleged. She said she cried and told him "no" during the alleged rape. Prosecutors asked how she felt in that moment: "It was like someone taking something from you." Cassie testified about herbrief relationship with rapper Kid Cudiin 2011, whichbegan after they started working together on music. Ventura Fine said she didn't initially tell Combs about Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, but Combs went through her phone during a "freak off" and found out about the relationship. He allegedly became enraged after he saw the emails, lunging at Cassie with a wine bottle opener between his fingers, she testified. As she left Combs' house, Ventura Fine said the rapper kicked her in the back. When she got back to her hotel room, someone had urinated on the floor, knocked over the furniture and defecated in the toilet without flushing it. Cassie alleges Diddy assaultedand threatened her over Kid Cudi relationship Several members of the embattled rap mogul's family, includinghis adult children, have turned out in New York this week as hiscriminal trialgets underway.From stepson Quincy Brown to Combs' biological sons and daughters and former partners,here's a lookat his loved ones who have been spotted at the courthouse. Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling suit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry. He wasarrested in September 2024and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He haspleaded not guiltyto all five counts. Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity. Using RICO law, which is typically aimed attargeting multi-person criminal organizations,prosecutors allegethat Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of. The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings. USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom. Contributing: USA TODAY staff;Reuters This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at988lifeline.org. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental and/or substance use disorders, you can call theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's free and confidentialtreatment referraland information service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It's available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889). If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) andHotline.RAINN.organd en EspañolRAINN.org/es. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Diddy trial live updates: Lawyers read explicit Cassie, Diddy texts

byKonstantin Pynzar

in

May 15, 2025

Diddy trial live updates: Cassie describes 'freak offs,' says she shared concerns with Combs

Diddy trial live updates: Cassie describes 'freak offs,' says she shared concerns with Combs Editor's note: This story contains ...

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