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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs likely settled Cassie lawsuit ‘quickly’ to prevent hotel tape from coming out: ex-FBI agent
Sean "Diddy" Combs likely settled the lawsuit filed against him by ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura one day after she filed to prevent the hotel surveillance footage of him allegedly beating her in a hallway in 2016 from becoming public, author Tracy Walder, who previously worked for the FBI and CIA, said.
The video — obtained by CNN on Friday allegedly showing the 54-year-old rapper brutally beating Ventura in a hotel hallway in Los Angeles — is likely the reason Combs "settled so quickly with his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in November 2023," she told People magazine, adding, "Diddy never expected the video to get out."
Walder said it’s "upsetting" that the alleged actions in the video exceeded the statute of limitations in Los Angeles.
"Since this stemmed from a 2016 incident, she wouldn't be able to file assault or battery charges in Los Angeles," Walder said.
The LA District Attorney's office issued a statement confirming the rap artist is "unable" to be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations.
"We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles," the statement, released on Instagram, began. "We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch."
"If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted," the statement continues. "As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services."
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Walder told People that the video "really throws water on Diddy and his legal team's argument that the government used too much force in his search warrants."
She said she suspected he "knew of this video, knew of other things he had been accused of, though he was acquitted of his charges, knew he had an armed security team, and thus this was entirely an appropriate use of force."
She added that the timing of the release of the tape was "interesting."
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She suspected "either [Cassie's] attorney or the hotel gave CNN the footage since the hotel only got paid $50,000 to keep it quiet," according to Ventura's lawsuit.
"I’m wondering if Cassie or her attorney are frustrated there haven’t been criminal charges yet federally and that’s why they did this. I would imagine Sean Combs won’t be fighting any civil cases now," she posited.
Walder called the video "enraging."
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"I hope everyone calling her a gold digger feels awful."
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley defends 'friend' Harrison Butker after 'out of touch' left's 'absurd meltdown'
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., came to Kansas City Chiefs place kicker Harrison Butker's defense this week after the 28-year-old pro-baller's commencement speech at Benedictine College.
Butker came under fire after delivering a speech to new graduates of the Catholic liberal arts college, focusing on the importance of being "unapologetically Catholic."
His address included barbs at President Biden for his pro-abortion stance and supporting young women in the "vocation" of marriage and motherhood.
BILL MAHER DEFENDS HARRISON BUTKER AMID SPEECH UPROAR: 'I DON'T SEE WHAT THE BIG CRIME IS'
Most controversially, Butker referred to pride month as a "deadly sin."
For Butker's stances on faith and family, both the media and the NFL alike condemned the speech. The NFL explicitly distanced itself from Butker, saying "his views are not those of the NFL as an organization."
Hawley, himself a Christian, defended his "friend" on X amid the onslaught.
Hawley first posted to his X acount, the site formerly known as Twitter, with a photo showing him alongside Butker. "Never more proud to call Harrison Butker my friend," Hawley said.
The Missouri Republican also posted later that same day citing jersey sales for the Kansas City Chiefs kicker reaching an all-time high, saying, "Nice work, libs! I’m ordering one for all my kids."
Hawley also joined KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City Friday morning, calling the left "hilariously out of touch" when it comes to Butker's views.
The NFL has sold out of Harrison Butker jerseys for women in the days that followed his commencement address at Benedictine College.
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The full text of Butker's address can be found here.
Juan Soto accomplishes career-firsts after launching two long homers into Yankee Stadium bleachers
In case you didn't realize, it is not hyperbole when people call Juan Soto a "generational talent."
He's one of just six players ever to have an on-base percentage of .400 and a slugging percentage of .500, and to have hit 150 home runs through the age of 24. The others are Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, and Albert Pujols.
But as talented as he is, there was still something he had yet to accomplish in his already incredible career.
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The 25-year-old is enjoying his first (and possibly final) season in New York Yankees pinstripes, and it sure sounds like he is open to extending with them before he hits what should be a fascinating free agency.
And what he did Saturday is exactly why he'll be in the running to pass Shohei Ohtani's $700 million contract.
Soto blasted two home runs on Saturday, both into the Yankee Stadium right field bleachers, in the Bombers' 6-1 win over the lowly Chicago White Sox.
It was the 18th multi-homer game of Soto's career (he still hasn't had three in a game, yet), as they traveled a combined 854 feet.
But, according to MLB stat guru Sarah Langs, it was the first time that Soto hit both of the homers at least 110 mph.
His first one, a solo shot in the first inning, left the bat at 112.5 mph, traveling 417 feet. So no, this was no short-porch shot, as it would have been a homer in all 30 MLB parks.
But his second one was even more impressive, going several rows into the bleachers after leaving the bat at 110.2 mph, traveling 437 feet.
METS OWNER STEVE COHEN DELETES X POST THAT SEEMED TO REVEAL TEAM'S TRADE DEADLINE PLANS
Oh, and sandwiched in between those dingers was a 107.3 mph single, and then he added another single that left his bat at 110.1 mph.
It was the first time Soto ever had three batted balls at over 110 mph, Lang says.
Soto had entered the day in quite a slump - he had been 4 for his last 31. So, naturally, he made up for lost time by going 4-for-4, tying his career-high with 10 total bases.
Soto is the frontrunner to win the AL MVP, albeit early in the season. He is hitting .317 with 11 homers, 37 RBI, and a .975 OPS. His performance on Saturday helped the Yankees win their sixth in a row and improve to an AL best 32-15 on the season.
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Minnesota Republican Party issues surprising endorsement of BLM protest leader seeking to oust Dem senator
The Republican Party of Minnesota tossed its support behind Royce White, a former NBA player and Black Lives Matter protest leader turned GOP Senate candidate, in his bid to oust Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
The state party's decision to back White came at the Minnesota GOP convention in St. Paul's RiverCentre on Saturday.
White, a former professional basketball player, was introduced on stage at the convention by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
White received 67% of the vote on the first ballot at Saturday's convention to receive an endorsement from the party to challenge Klobuchar, who has represented Minnesota in the upper chamber for nearly two decades.
TRUMP PREDICTS 'JACKED UP' BIDEN AT UPCOMING DEBATES, BLASTS BIDENOMICS IN BATTLEGROUND SPEECH
"I'm a 'We the People' guy through and through," White told Minnesota's Star Tribune on Saturday.
White unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination to challenge "Squad" Rep. Ilhan Omar for Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District during the 2022 election cycle, losing to fellow Republican Cicely Davis in the primary election by more than 1,000 votes.
Hundreds of Minnesota Republicans — several of whom held signs that read "The People Are Coming" — packed into the room where White delivered a speech after receiving the state party's endorsement.
Prior to joining the Republican Party and running for Senate, White led Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis at the height of the controversy surrounding the death of George Floyd.
The GOP Senate hopeful also has made controversial remarks in the past, including one where he claimed to be a Christian and a "real Jew" while responding to a social media user.
"Shut up shill. I’m a Christian and Jew (Real Jew)… I can smell the [bulls--t] in this tweet from a mile away. It is weird to see a bunch of people deny that Black Jews exist and could theoretically be here in America. What in the rewritten history is this? Lol," White wrote in a November 2022 tweet.
During the same month, White appeared to praise notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan and rebuked Black people who had "sold out" in a social media post, writing, "The Minister Louis Farrakhan is very gracious in his age and wisdom. He lives and speaks with a certain love and empathy for all Black ppl, even when he knows they’ve sold out. I hold no such quarter for them. I’m not the judge, but I will speak the tough word. Stop Selling Out!"
Amid Israel's war with Hamas, White took to X in December and claimed, "Israel has a right to exist but not to be the lynchpin of New World Order."
"I pray my Jewish brothers and sisters stop letting their identity be used to justify globalism. . . . The same way I pray Black people stop letting their identity be used to justify marxism. This unwavering support for Israel from MAGA, knowing full well that Israel and a World War II is used to call anybody who is a nationalist, a fascist or a Nazi, really has me stumped," White wrote at the time. "Nationalism is not synonymous with Fascism or Nazism, I'm sick of hearing it. Especially from a country that takes our tax money to be ethno-national. Israel has a right to exist but not to be the lynchpin of New World Order."
White's campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the support he received from the Minnesota Republican Party on Saturday, or his past remarks.
On his campaign website, White lists four goals he hopes to achieve or build on if he's elected, including "Term Limits," "No Taxes (American jubilee)," "American Manufactering," and "Energy." No additional explanation for how White will accomplish those goals was shared on the website.
A Republican operative who attended the Minnesota GOP convention Saturday said she expected delegates to do a better job of selecting a candidate to take on Klobuchar and support former President Trump's re-election bid.
"I truly believe at the end of the day that the Minnesota GOP handed Amy Klobuchar a win on a silver platter," the Republican operative told Fox News Digital.
The operative placed some of the blame on the state party's nominating committee, which allowed White to be on the convention's endorsement ballot as "qualified, with reservations."
White is one of several Republicans who were seeking the GOP nomination. Minnesota holds an August 13 primary election, and the deadline to register for the primary is June 4. The winner of that election will go on to face off against Klobuchar, the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, in the state's general election on November 4.
Philippine mayor accused of acting as Chinese asset amid investigation, tensions
A Philippine mayor faces accusations of acting as a Chinese asset amid a growing territorial dispute between the two countries.
"No one knows her. We wonder where she came from. That's why we are investigating this, together with the Bureau of Immigration, because of the questions about her citizenship," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos told reporters this week.
Alice Guo, the 35-year-old mayor of Bamban, has found herself in the middle of a potential scandal over her origins and allegiances. She claimed to have grown up on a pig farm and had raised no concerns prior to a strange discovery made in her town this month, the BBC reported.
Law enforcement discovered that an online casino by the name of Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator (Pogo) in Bamban actually served as a front for a "scam center," which had close to 700 workers — including over 200 Chinese nationals — who were posing as "online lovers."
CHINA'S MILITARY MONITORS ROUTE TAKEN BY FILIPINO ACTIVISTS SAILING TOWARD DISPUTED SHOAL
The raid on the site in March rescued all of those workers, who claimed they were forced to work for the owners. The center tried to con victims with a "pig butchering" scam, in which a scammer adopted a fake identity to gain trust and then offered a romantic relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim.
Guo found herself entangled in the incident when it came to light that she owned half the land where Pogo was located.
LAWMAKERS BRAWL AS TAIWAN'S PARLIAMENT DESCENDS INTO CHAOS
The nation’s Senate brought her into a hearing to testify, and she claimed she had sold the land before she ran for mayor two years earlier, along with assets that included a helicopter and a Ford Expedition, both registered under her name but allegedly sold off before her campaign, the South China Morning Press reported.
Other irregularities raised concerns about her status. She only registered with the Commission on Elections to vote in Bamban one year before she ran and won as mayor.
She also admitted she only registered her birth certificate with local authorities at the age of 17 and gave few details about her background other than she was born in a house and home-schooled in a family compound where they raised pigs.
Senators accused Guo of providing "opaque" answers to their questions about her background, leading one senator to ask if Guo was a Chinese asset. She fired back that she was "not a coddler, not a protector of Pogos."
AFTER DOZENS DIE IN FLOODS, INDONESIA SEEDS CLOUDS TO BLOCK RAINFALL
China and the Philippines have found themselves in renewed territorial disputes as Beijing tries to enforce control over waters around the Philippines, leading to clashes between Chinese Coast Guards and Filipino fishermen.
Last year saw a series of near clashes between the two coast guards near the Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippine authorities protested China’s use of a water cannon and military-grade lasers.
China established a claim to the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, after which the Philippines formally launched a protest that went before a United Nations-backed tribunal. A 2016 ruling went against China, rejecting Beijing’s claims on "historical grounds," but Beijing rejected the arbitration and its outcome.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LeBron James' son, Bronny, not getting love from scouts: 'He is not an NBA prospect'
It was a rough go for Bronny James in his freshman season at USC, and he's not getting much love as he gears up for the NBA Draft.
The son of the NBA's all-time leading scorer declared for the NBA Draft last month despite averaging fewer than five points per game with the Trojans. He can still decide to go back to college.
Perhaps the cardiac arrest he suffered last summer played a factor, as he had been a McDonald's All-American last year in his senior year of high school.
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Despite dropping 13 points in a scrimmage at the NBA Scouting Combine earlier this week, though, one exhibition is not convincing many.
ESPN's Marc Spears read off a list of notes a pair of scouts took of James they had sent him, and not many were great.
One scout said to Spears, "If the Lakers don't draft him, I don't see anyone drafting him. Teams will want him on a two-way [contract], and I don't think [James' agency] Klutch will want that."
Another was harsher.
PAUL PIERCE HOSPITALIZED AFTER GRUESOME, BLOODY FINGER INJURY
"Positional athlete. Doesn't function as an elite athlete. Tweener stuck between two positions. Should be a point guard based on his size, but he can't run an offense. He's handicapped as an undersized shooting guard because he can't shoot…
"His comp - a poor man's Davion Mitchell. He is not an NBA prospect in my opinion."
Mitchell, a backup point guard for the Davion Mitchell, averaged 15.3 minutes and 5.3 points per game this season.
James played 25 games his freshman season and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Bronny measured at a height of 6 feet, 1.5 inches at the NBA Scouting Combine. He was listed at 6 feet, 4 inches at USC.
It's been reported, though, that the Lakers, whom his father plays for, could draft Bronny if it would mean keeping LeBron on the team. The draft is two days before James' deadline to opt out of his deal.
Fox News' Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
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Maher calls out ‘woke excess’ of U.S. medical establishment: ‘Afraid’ to back down on gender care for kids
HBO host Bill Maher accused the U.S. medical establishment of being "afraid" to admit that it has gone too far in allowing minors to undergo gender-altering treatment.
Maher made the statement during the latest episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher," noting that American physicians’ acceptance of gender-affirming care has put the medical establishment here "behind" those in the U.K. and in Scandinavian countries, which have recently re-evaluated such treatments and outlawed them in many instances.
"This is so, to me, symbolic of so much of woke excess, by thinking you’re so progressive you’re actually behind," Maher said, accusing the U.S. of becoming less sophisticated than the other countries on this subject.
The host brought up a recent landmark U.K. medical study led by Dr. Hillary Cass, a prominent British pediatrician. After conducting an independent review on gender-affirming care services for children and teens in 2020, the study published its results in March, which indicated there is "no good evidence" for the medical push to transition children's gender, noting the effort had been "built on shaky foundations."
That same month, England’s National Health Service banned the use of puberty blockers for children seeking treatment for gender dysphoria, and ordered the London-based gender identity clinic at the Tavistock and Portman Trust to shut its doors amid safety concerns.
The Cass Review was also cited in a draft document from U.K.’s Department of Education which is set to mandate that concepts of gender identity will not be taught to U.K. students until they reach secondary school.
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Additionally, Scandinavian countries Sweden, Finland, and Denmark have heavily restricted gender-related medical procedures among children.
Quoting the Cass study, he said, "’The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long term outcomes or interventions to manage gender-related distress in kids.’ These are kids who want to switch sex. ‘For most young people, a medical pathway may not be the best way. There’s no clear evidence that social transition in childhood has any positive or negative mental health outcomes."
Providing commentary, he continued, "So, in other words, by trying to be so far ahead, the United States — and this is not just England, this is all the Scandinavian countries, they’ve all pulled back on this – to me, this says a lot about where we went and hopefully, we’re getting back to some place sane."
"Because, yes, I don’t think we should be doing medical interventions on kids before they can figure out who they are," he added, to audience applause.
Guest panelist New York Times columnist Pamela Paul expressed her hope that the U.S. will come to the same conclusions as these European studies, but remarked that "the medical establishment, the major medical associations, are staying mum or digging in."
"Right. They’re afraid," Maher replied.
Fox News Digital's Hannah Grossman, Taylor Penley and Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.
Paul Pierce hospitalized after gruesome, bloody finger injury
If Paul Pierce were still playing, he probably wouldn't be touching a basketball any time soon.
The Hall of Famer posted on his Instagram story a photo of him lying in a hospital bed before revealing the nasty injury.
Pierce, 46, then shared photos that Instagram deemed "sensitive content," and understandably so.
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The top of his right ring finger appeared to be bent sideways and bloodied.
"Just broke a couple fingers gonna have surgery on one," Pierce wrote in a caption.
The finger was then bandaged up.
It's unclear how Pierce was injured. He had posted podcast clips earlier in the day.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021 after 19 years in the NBA, 15 of them in Boston with the Celtics, with whom he won his lone NBA title in 2008 over the Los Angeles Lakers.
It sure isn't the worst injury Pierce has had.
He was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston in September 2000 and underwent lung surgery, just about a month before he was to begin his third NBA season.
Pierce averaged 19.7 points on 44.5% shooting in his career.
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London mayor urges foreign leaders to condemn Trump as racist, sexist, homophobic
London Mayor Sadiq Khan branded former President Trump a racist, a sexist and a homophobe as he urged his own Labour Party to do more to "call him out."
Ahead of the presidential election in November, the U.K.'s Labour Party appears to be working to strengthen its relationship with Republicans should Trump take back the White House. However, Khan, a fierce Trump critic, insists the party "shouldn’t be literally rolling out a red carpet for a state visit."
Khan's remarks on the former president came after foreign affairs chief David Lammy appeared to extend an olive branch earlier this month while insisting Trump is "often misunderstood" when it comes to policy and "wants Europeans to do more to ensure a better defended Europe."
Rejecting Lammy's position, Khan told Politico, "I’m quite clear, I understand, on Trump. He’s a racist. He’s a sexist. He’s a homophobe. And it’s very important, particularly when you’ve got a special relationship, that you treat them as a best mate.
"If my best mate was a racist, or a sexist or a homophobe, I’d call him out, and I’d explain to him why those views are wrong," the London mayor added.
MAYOR SADIQ KHAN RIDICULED FOR BLAMING CELL PHONES WHEN CHALLENGED ON KNIFE CRIMES IN LONDON
Khan, who was recently re-elected to a third term leading Great Britain's most populous city, told the outlet he worries "about a Donald Trump presidency."
"You know, I’ve been speaking to governors from America. I’ve been speaking to mayors from America. Of course, we’ll have a relationship, whoever the president is. But we shouldn’t be literally rolling out a red carpet for a state visit," he said.
"It’s really important that we, of course, have good relations with Democrats and Republicans. But I lost count of the amount of Republicans I’ve spoken to who are also worried about a Trump presidency."
Khan and Trump have a history of feuding and not seeing eye to eye on a number of topics, including immigration.
In 2019, prior to his arrival in London for a state visit, Trump referred to Khan as a "stone cold loser" who is "very dumb."
Responding to those comments in his interview with Politico, Khan said: "I’ve got more latitude as a mayor to just to say what I feel about Trump, and I make this point. He called me a ‘stone cold loser.' I’ve won three. How many has he won?"
Khan's remarks come as the Labour Party is expected to return to power after 14 years in a U.K. general election that will take place in the coming months.
Lammy, who has criticized Trump in the past as a "neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath," recently traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with a number of Democrats and several Trump allies, including Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance and South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham.
"Were his words in office shocking? Yes, they were," Lammy told Politico of the former president. "Would we have used them? No. But U.S. spending on European defense actually grew under President Trump, as did the defense spending of the wider alliance during his tenure."
Lammy also argued Trump helped matters by pushing European nations to increase their own defense spending.
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"When he began his campaign, only four countries were spending their 2% of GDP. The number was 10 by the time he left office. And it is 18 today." Lammy added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Scottie Scheffler gets support from popular golf influencer after arrest
Scottie Scheffler received a ton of support at Valhalla Golf Course on Friday when he returned from jail to shoot a 66 in the second round of the PGA Championship.
At home and on social media, Scheffler received even more support. Golf influencer Grace Charis was among those who showed their love for Scheffler. She posted a photo of herself in a crop top shirt with Scheffler’s mugshot across her chest.
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"#FREESCOTTIE," her shirt read.
Charis has 3 million followers on Instagram, 2.9 million on TikTok and another 880,000 on X.
Scheffler was in the mix for the lead after the second round, finishing only three shots off the leader. Xander Schauffele went into the clubhouse 12-under par.
"As far as best rounds of my career, I would say it was pretty good," Scheffler said after the round. "I definitely never imagined ever going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times."
Scheffler faces second-degree assault of a police officer (a felony), criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic charges stemming from the early Friday morning incident.
He chalked it up to a "big misunderstanding."
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