May 18, 2024 "Exclusive: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seen physically assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN": Today I found this article by Sandra Gonzalez and Elizabeth Wagmeister on CNN. I saw the video:
A 2016 surveillance video obtained exclusively by CNN shows Sean “Diddy” Combs grab, shove, drag and kick his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura during an altercation that matches allegations in a now-settled federal lawsuit filed by Ventura in November.
The footage, compiled from multiple camera angles dated March 5, 2016, appears to show the rapper, producer and business mogul during an incident that, according to Ventura’s complaint, occurred at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles. CNN verified the location based on publicly available photos of the former hotel’s interior.
In the video, Ventura exits a hotel room and walks to a bank of elevators. Combs, holding a towel around his waist, runs down a hall after Ventura.
He grabs her by the back of the neck and throws her to the floor. Still holding his towel closed with one hand, he then turns to kick her, the video shows.
As Ventura is on the ground, Combs retrieves a purse and suitcase from the floor near the elevators.
He turns around and kicks Ventura again as she lies motionless on the floor.
About four seconds transpire between the two kicks, according to the video.
He then briefly drags Ventura by her sweatshirt toward a room before walking away.
Ventura is then seen slowly standing up. She gathers items from the floor and moves to pick up a phone on the hallway wall near the elevators. Combs, still in a towel and socks, returns.
A mirror directly across from the security camera shows Combs appearing to shove Ventura.
Seconds later, he sits down on a chair, grabs an object off a table and forcefully throws it toward Ventura. Combs is seen walking away, then turns toward Ventura once again when an elevator door opens and someone appears to exit.
Ventura, who reached an undisclosed settlement with Combs, declined to comment on the video obtained by CNN.
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, said: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Combs for comment. Combs has previously denied Ventura’s allegations.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement Friday on the 2016 surveillance video.
“We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles. We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the statement posted on Instagram reads.
“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.
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,” the district attorney’s office said.
The Los Angeles Police Department is “aware of the video” but does not have an open investigation involving Combs, the department told CNN in a statement early Saturday. The LAPD did not respond to CNN’s question on whether a report was ever filed regarding the assault.
When contacted by CNN, a representative for InterContinental Hotels said on Friday, “This hotel is no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage.”
Ventura’s lawsuit
Combs and Ventura, a model and singer known for songs like “Me & U,” were in an off-and-on relationship from 2007 – 2018. The two were photographed together at the Los Angeles premiere of the film “A Perfect Match” on March 7, 2016.
According to Ventura’s complaint, which cited the altercation as occurring “around March 2016,” Combs became “extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.”
After Combs fell asleep, Ventura attempted to leave the hotel room, but he woke up and “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her,” the complaint said.
“He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape,” the complaint alleged.
After Ventura got in the elevator, her complaint states that she took a cab to her apartment.
“Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser,” the complaint claims.
“When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back into a cab and go to her apartment, suggesting that they had seen the security footage showing Mr. Combs beating Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway.”
The complaint alleges Combs paid the InterContinental Century City $50,000 for the hallway security footage, one of a number of allegations made in the November lawsuit in which Ventura claimed she was raped in 2018 and subjected to years of repeated physical and other abuses by Combs.
Ventura, who was formally signed to Combs’ label, claimed in her suit that he “exerted his power and influence” over her throughout the course of their professional and romantic relationship.
According to the complaint, she was 19 when they met and Combs was 37, and their business relationship lasted until 2019.
It detailed claims that Combs was physically violent toward Ventura and forced her to engage in various sex acts with other men during that time.
Ben Brafman, an attorney for Combs, said in a statement to CNN on the day it was filed, “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.”
The suit was resolved the following day.
“A decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” Brafman told CNN in a statement at the time. “Mr. Combs‘ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”
Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Ongoing legal issues
Since November, Combs has faced five other civil lawsuits accusing him of a range of sexual misconduct and other illegal activity. He has denied the allegations, and the cases remain active.
Authorities searched Combs’ homes in California and Florida in March as part of a federal investigation carried out by a Department of Homeland Security team that handles human trafficking crimes, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The investigation stems from many of the same sexual assault allegations put forth in the civil lawsuits, according to a second law enforcement source familiar with the searches.
Aaron Dyer, an attorney for Combs, issued a statement at the time, calling the searches a “gross overuse of military-level force.”
“This unprecedented ambush – paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits,” he said. “There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
CNN’s Kevin Flower, Megan Thomas, Rebekah Riess and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this story.
Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with intimate partner violence, there are resources available, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
A previous version of this story misstated when the searches of Combs’ homes took place. They occurred in March.
This story has been updated with additional information.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/17/entertainment/sean-combs-cassie-ventura/index.html
May 19, 2024 "Diddy Apologizes For 'Inexcusable' Behavior After Assault Video Resurfaces": Today I found this article by Kelby Vera on Yahoo:
Sean “Diddy” Combs has issued an apology, two days after a 2016 video of him violently assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura became public.
The rapper and businessman was bleary-eyed as he addressed the camera in a Sunday morning post which was captioned, “I’m truly sorry.”
In the one-minute clip, he told viewers he was “disgusted” with himself and was taking “full responsibility” for his actions, which he said happened during some of “the darkest times” of his life.
“I was f---- up,” he said in the video, which makes no direct mention of Ventura or the harm she suffered. “I mean I hit rock bottom. But I made no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” the recording artist went on. “I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I am disgusted now.”
In the video, Diddy said he sought out “professional help,” and entered both therapy and rehab after the incident, adding that he also “had to ask God for his mercy and grace,” and was “committed to be a better man each and everyday.”
“I’m not asking for forgiveness,” he said before signing off. “I’m truly sorry.”
On Friday, CNN released disturbing footage of Diddy brutally attacking Ventura in the halls of a now-shuttered InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
The damning video came six months after Ventura accused Diddy of abuse in a federal lawsuit which alleges he sexually, physically and emotionally abused the singer during their decade-long, on-and-off relationship.
Combs and Ventura reached an undisclosed settlement just one day after her filing.
At the time, Combs’ attorney, Ben Brafman, said the decision to settle a lawsuit was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”
The rapper is currently facing five other civil suits, which accuse him of a range of sexual misconduct, coercion and other illegal behavior.
Not long after the post, the legal firm who represented Ventura against Combs released a statement, calling his apology desperate and “disingenuous.”
“Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt,” Meredith Firetog, a partner at Wigdor LLP, told Deadline.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday. That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
https://ca.yahoo.com/news/diddy-apologizes-inexcusable-behavior-assault-163444361.html
My opinion: I accept his apology. He knows and admits that abusing Cassie and other women was terrible. At least he's getting help by going to therapy and rehab.
Cassie and others may not accept his apology and that's fine.
This is from my Mar. 2021 blog post:
"#MeToo movement becomes #WeToo in in victim-blaming Japan"/ "Outrage as women in Japan told not wear glasses in the workplace"
Aug. 17, 2020 Saying: I found this on Facebook:
"You never look good when you are trying to make someone else look bad."- Unknown
Cham: Sometimes people need to be exposed for who they are hahah or maybe I should stop being petty
Tracy Au: There's a difference between trying to make someone look bad, and exposing them for who they are. It's like those #MeToo accusers and victims, they are plainly telling everybody about the perpetrators. They're not trying to make them look bad.
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2020/08/job-articles-wetoo-gender-gap-done.html
"Armie Hammer Accuser Slams Elizabeth Chambers' New Interview Where She Says Hammer Is 'Healing'"/ "Armie Hammer Speaks Out About Cannibal Sex Fantasy Scandal: ‘How am I Going to Be a Cannibal?!’ | Video"
"Kevin Spacey must pay more than $30M US for House of Cards losses"/ "London prosecutor calls Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey 'a sexual bully' who preys on men"
Walmart Canada said on Thursday it invested $53 million to increase hourly wages for about 40,000 of its store associates earlier this month.
The move comes at a time when Walmart has been increasing investments over the last few months for its U.S. store workers to retain more employees.
The retailer raised the annual average salary and bonus for its U.S. store managers from Feb. 1.
Several business owners at Edmonton's Westmount Shopping Centre say they've been given only 30-days notice to find a new location.
Half a dozen shops at the mall are holding closing or moving sales.
"We have until June 6 at midnight, then we're gone," Jaroslav Bossak of Monarch Jewellers told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.
Just as unclear is why the tenants are being forced to move.
Sam Awad thinks a leak in the ceiling above his store, Maximum 20 Clothing, is part of the reason.
"They have a problem with the section above," he said.
"The landlord did take care of the roof two years ago, and they try their best to keep things going the way it's supposed to be. And a month or so ago, we have a leak again."
Awad said the most recent leak correlated with the 30-days notice.
He says a long-abandoned theatre complex in the mall is situated right above his shop.
"I guess for our safety, it looks like they have too many problems with the roof. The landlord said he has to fix it as soon as possible."
Awad says he hasn't been told what's next for the mall.
"I'm sure they will rebuild," he said.
"I don't know if it's going to be a mall or it's going to be a plaza, like a strip mall coming from outside."
I noticed that the Source stores are closed.
Jan. 29, 2024 "Hundreds of the Source Locations To Close After Deal With Best Buy Canada": This is by Kristian Gravenor on CoStar:
About half of the Source's hundreds of stores that sell electronics in Canada are expected to close after the retailer's parent company announced a deal with Best Buy Canada.
Bell Canada Enterprises and Best Buy Canada are teaming up with plans to operate 165 the Source stores that will be rebranded as Best Buy Express and sell consumer electronics and telecommunications products and services from Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile.
The Source has 335 stores in Canada, according to its website, so around 170 locations are expected to close as a result of the partnership. A representative for Bell Canada told CoStar News the remaining the Source stores will close in 2024, with the transition taking several months. The transition plan is still being finalized, and additional details on which stores will close are not known.
Jul. 26, 2024
Adrien Blackwell's: Making Miracles Happen Free Online Event:
Diana Dorell - The Secret to Trusting Your Intuition + Manifesting with Grace
The video on the left: 3 hr 40 min- 4 hr 3 min.
3 hr 44min- 3hr 46 min: She talks about how she needs a cab and calls Archangel Michael. 10 min. later she does get a cab, but this man takes the cab. The cab drives off.
The cab goes to the light and stops. The man gets out of cab. The cab reverses and picks up Diana. She didn't have enough cash.
Driver: It's okay, you're in Michael's cab.
Donate Supplies
Sometimes you want to give a tangible item. You can be confident knowing the supplies you donate go directly to students in need.
All supply donations must be new and unused. To ensure students are not identified as accessing the program, donations of corporate-branded promotional items cannot be accepted.
- Backpacks
- 1”- 2” Binders
- Coiled Notebooks
- Lined Paper
- Pencil crayons
- Washable markers
- Wax crayons
Program Approved Supply Lists
United Way’s Tools for School program distributes school kits in three standardized grade categories, each with a list of required supplies compatible with participating school divisions. Download our printable list!
Drop-Off Locations and Product Drives
School supply donations can be dropped off at United Way’s InKind Exchange at 14710 – 112 Ave, Edmonton, by appointment only. Please call 780-990-1000 to book your drop-off time.
Drop-off bins will also be conveniently available at Staples locations from August 11 – September 22, 2024.
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