Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
Diddy seeks
to have producer’s lawsuit tossed
Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a federal judge Monday to throw out a lawsuit from a music producer who accused the music mogul of a broad pattern of sexual abuse and other misconduct.
The lawsuit filed in February by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones — one of many filed against Combs in the past year — is overrun with “tall tales,” “lurid theatrics,” “legally meaningless allegations” and “blatant falsehoods” whose intent is only to “generate media hype and exploit it to extract a settlement,” according to the motion to dismiss filed in federal court in New York.
The case fails to establish that Jones has standing to sue, does not include essential details including times and places of the incidents described and “fails to make a single viable claim,” according to the motion.
Several lawsuits alleging sexual and other abuse against Combs had already been filed when Jones sued in February, but the circumstances surrounding the hip-hop star have grown more dire since.
In March, simultaneous raids on Combs’ homes in Florida and California led to the revelation that he was the subject of a federal criminal sex trafficking investigation that is ongoing.
And in May, CNN aired 2016 hotel security video that showed him punching, kicking and dragging the R& B singer Cassie, who was his protege and longtime girlfriend at the time. The incident closely matched a description in a lawsuit she filed in November that was settled the following day but set off intense scrutiny of Combs.
A few days after the video’s airing, Combs posted an apology video on social media saying he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable.”
Jones’ sprawling lawsuit, which also names Combs’ son and several of his business associates as defendants, describes a year he spent in the music mogul’s life in Los Angeles and Miami in the process of producing an album in 2022 and 2023.
Jones says he witnessed — and in many cases captured on audio — hundreds of hours of illegal drug and sexual activity by Combs and the people surrounding him. Combs’ Monday motion says it is “replete with farfetched tales of misconduct” but “contains very few allegations relating to Jones other than an allegation that Combs failed to pay the producer for his work.”
The suit is an attempt to turn that commercial dispute into a broad criminal conspiracy run by Combs, without providing evidence of any significance, Combs’ filing says.
Jones also alleges that Combs tried to groom him for sex, groped him, made him solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
But the motion from Combs’ lawyers says “Jones fails to plead the most basic facts, such as where and when any purported instance of assault occurred or what allegedly transpired,” and fails to provide evidence that Jones was coerced in a way that would make him a victim.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Jones and Cassie have done.
Other than what was captured on the hotel security video with Cassie, Combs has broadly denied the allegations in the lawsuits against him.
“Let me absolutely clear. I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a post in December.
Death of woman on first day of Burning Man festival under investigation
RENO, Nev. | Authorities said Monday that they are investigating the death of a woman at the counterculture festival known as Burning Man, which is held annually in the northern Nevada desert.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said emergency personnel responded to a call about a woman found unresponsive around noon Sunday in Black Rock City — a temporary city erected for the festival, about 100 miles north of Reno.
The Burning Man Project’s emergency services personnel were unsuccessful in attempted life-saving measures on the woman.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this loss,” festival organizers said in a statement. “We are cooperating fully with local authorities as they investigate this incident.”
About a half-dozen other deaths have been reported at the festival since it moved from Baker Beach in San Francisco to the Black Rock desert in 1990. Last year, a 32-year-old California man died from suspected drug intoxication after being found unresponsive on the festival grounds.
Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said in a statement that Sunday’s death will remain under investigation until a cause and manner can be determined, which will be updated at the conclusion of an autopsy.
A call to the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office wasn’t immediately returned Monday.
Allen said the woman’s name and age won’t be released until her relatives can be notified.
The festival, which combines wilderness camping with a weeklong celebration of art for art’s sake, kicked off early Sunday after the gates had been closed for 12 hours following rain and muddy conditions.
An estimated 20,000 people were already on the playa before the gates officially opened to all ticket-holders.
Burning Man runs through Sept. 2 . Organizers expect more than 70,000 people to attend this year’s event.
Known for its colorful theme camps, towering sculptures, drum circles, art cars and avant-garde theatrics, it grew from a gathering of about 4,000 in 1995 to 50,000 in 2010 and now temporarily becomes Nevada’s third-largest city after metropolitan Las Vegas and Reno.
In 2023, the 35th annual Burning Man festival was attended by an estimated 73,000 people with an additional 95,000 participating in regional events around the world.
It was disrupted by a protest blockade that was shut down by local authorities and about a half inch (about 1.3 centimeters) of rain turned the playa into mud, making it difficult to drive and pedal bicycles.
Authorities brought in cell towers and asked attendees to stay put until the rain cleared.
Other deaths recorded at Burning Man over the years included a woman who was hit by a bus in 2014 and an attendee who fell under a trailer in 2007. In 1996, a friend of Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey was killed in a collision with a van while riding his motorcycle at night.
A new streaming service peeks into news in 2024 election swing states
NEW YORK | Fans of politics have another way to keep track of what’s happening in the most competitive states in the country through a new service that collects and streams local newscasts.
Swing State Election News, which began operation Monday, lets streamers choose from among 37 local television stations in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. They are primarily local affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX.
Those are the states that pollsters have concluded will most likely decide the presidential contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The service will allow people to test the maxim of “all politics is local” by closely following how the campaigns are being waged there.
“Nobody knows local politics better than the journalists in the local communities,” said Jack Perry, CEO of Zeam Media.
Viewers can choose between live and archived programming
Swing State Election News is an outgrowth of Zeam, a free streaming service affiliated with Gray Television that began last winter. Zeam caters to people who have given up cable or satellite television subscriptions by offering hundreds of local market broadcasts. The bulk of its users follow their local markets but a significant number check in on other areas where they may have had ties in the past, the service said.
Zeam doesn’t reveal how many people use the service.
Swing State Election News allows users to choose between live programming or archived newscasts. A quick click Monday on a tab, for instance, calls up the morning newscast on WMGT-TV in Macon, Georgia.
As the campaign goes on, Perry said the newscasts will offer a window into rallies and other events held in those states, along with details in local House and Senate races that may impact control of those chambers.
It contrasts with national newscasts, Perry said, because “at the local level, you’re going to get a different feel. It’s the people actually living in these communities.”
You won’t see local political commercials, though
One important indicator of how the campaigns are going will be missing, however. A local newscast in the swing states this fall is expected to be filled with commercials for the presidential candidates, which can illustrate some of the campaign strategies and issues they feel are resonating.
Swing State Election News sells its own advertising, however, and will not show what is being seen in the local advertising breaks, Perry said.
In another effort aimed at boosting election news for swing states, The Associated Press said last month it is offering its campaign coverage to a series of small, independent news organizations that can’t otherwise afford it.
—From AP reports
