(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Combs is opposing a prosecution request to allow his former assistant — who testified under the pseudonym “Mia” — to deliver a victim impact statement at his sentencing hearing on Friday.
“Simply, she is not a victim of anything,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a letter to the judge on Wednesday.
In July, a jury found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with another ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”
Federal prosecutors conceded that “Mia” — who testified about abuse she said she suffered while working as Combs’ assistant — is not a victim of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
The defense called “Mia” a liar, saying she testified at trial “with a made up voice and demeanor” and now wants to “sully” the sentencing hearing.
“Moreover, that she is so eager to return to court, when she plainly does not have to, and is not even entitled to, puts her proffered fear of testifying at trial into clear relief. This was a show for her,” Agnifilo said.
While the music mogul was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, he was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge. He was also found not guilty of both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion in connection with Ventura and “Jane.”
Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
Federal prosecutors argue Combs deserves at least 11 years in prison, while Combs’ attorneys are seeking time served. Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.
The sentencing hearing comes after Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs’ request to throw out his conviction on Tuesday, saying the defense arguments that prostitution requires a financial motive or participation in the sexual activity “don’t hold water.”
(WASHINGTON) — As the first government shutdown in seven years got underway on Wednesday, tens of thousands of federal workers face the risk of missing paychecks as broader America braces for the absence of some key services.
Starting on Wednesday, 750,000 federal employees are expected to be furloughed, and essential employees will have to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The workers will be placed on leave without pay and will get paid retroactively once the shutdown is over.
“The number of furloughed employees could vary because some agencies might furlough more employees the longer a shutdown persists and others might recall some initially furloughed employees,” the CBO said in a statement.
While Oct. 1 paychecks have already gone out to some 2 million U.S. military troops, they may miss their next payday on the fifteenth of this month if lawmakers can’t reach a compromise to end the shutdown.
Jaime Billert of New York, whose husband serves in the U.S. Coast Guard, told ABC News that she’s already spoken to her children about setting priorities and cutting back on expenses, including dining out.
Billert said she told her children, “Your dad’s not getting paid right now. That’s our sole source of income.”
Other federal employees deemed essential — including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, air traffic control workers and U.S. Border Patrol agents — will be required to continue working without pay.
Jon Zumkehr — a corrections officer at a federal prison in Thomson, Illinois, and president of Local 4070 of the American Federation of Government Employees — said he and his co-workers are concerned about how long the shutdown will last.
The federal government stoppage in December of 2018 lasted 35 days and cost the U.S. economy $11 billion, according to the CBO.
Meanwhile, members of Congress, whose average annual salary is around $174,000, will still collect their paychecks during the shutdown as mandated under Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution.
Other impacts of the shutdown could also affect national parks, which remain partially open but could face staff shortages during the shutdown.
In previous government shutdowns, national parks that remained open but unstaffed experienced vandalism and destruction of wildlife habitats, according to a recent letter signed by 40 former park superintendents and sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
In a statement on its website on Wednesday, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., announced that its museums, research centers and the National Zoo will use prior-year funds to remain open to the public during the shutdown at least through Oct. 6.
If the shutdown goes beyond a week, other government services could be cut off.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which assists 7 million low-income mothers and their children, is expected to run out of funding in about a week.
Some key federal agencies are expected to continue running during the shutdown, including the U.S. Postal Service.
Social Security payments are not expected to be affected by the shutdown. Federal financial aid for students is also expected to keep flowing and and student loan payments will still be due, according to the Department of Education.
(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City and a state assemblyman, said on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday — just days after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams left the race — he was not concerned over recent threats by President Donald Trump to withhold federal funding from New York City if he gets elected.
Trump wrote on Monday on his social media platform, “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has emphasized — including on “The View” on Wednesday — that he does not identify as a communist.
“This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes. Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from,” Mamdani said.
“And what is angering to me is not what Donald Trump does, because we’ve come to expect that from him, but it’s the idea that we have to accept that as the law, the idea that we have to accept that as normal. We have to fight that because we know, not only is it an overreach from a federal administration, it’s an example of what he’s done elsewhere,” he added.
Asked about Trump’s more recent desire to use U.S. cities for military training and how he could stop him, Mamdani responded, “[Trump] wants to do a whole lot of things with this city, and we’re going to fight him every step of the way, as long as it is something that comes at the expense of this city.”
Separately, on why Democratic leaders who have have not yet endorsed him, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Mamdani downplayed the importance of endorsements more broadly.
He praised endorsements from figures such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, but added, “but also the fact that I wouldn’t be sitting here with you if it was endorsements that made all the difference. It was the people of the city.”
Mamdani has faced pushback over some of his comments and stances on the Israel-Hamas war and Israel more broadly, including framing Israel’s conduct in the war as a “genocide” and declining to support Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, although he has said he supports Israel’s right to exist as a state. The Israeli government has pushed back against claims it is committing genocide.
Asked by co-host Sara Haines why should voters who see that as a moral red line should trust his clarity and judgment, Mamdani said that New York City would be the main focus of his administration.
“And also, millions of New Yorkers, myself included, care deeply about what’s happening in Israel and Palestine,” he added.
“And so, to be very, very clear, of course, I condemn Hamas. Of course I’ve called October 7 [the attack on Israel by Hamas] what it was, which is a horrific war crime. And of course, my belief in a universality in international law is also the same set of beliefs that have led me to describe what’s happening in Gaza as a genocide.”
He added soon after, “I can’t stop that as the mayor of the city. I can make clear my own values, my own commitments, and it is a value and a commitment to humanity, to safety, to justice for all people, that extends to everyone, Israelis, Palestinians, and everyone else.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the members of the media during a press conference, following Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 30, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Wednesday — the first day of a government shutdown — once again failed to pass bills aimed at funding the government as congressional leaders continue to trade blame for the shutdown.
The Senate held two votes on funding bills that mirrored the failed votes they took on Tuesday, resulting in a government shutdown that took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Both failed — resulting in the government shutdown continuing.
The first vote was, once again, a procedural vote on the Democrats’ government funding proposal that includes the health care provisions they’ve been seeking. It failed by a vote of 47-53. As was the case on Tuesday night, every Democrat voted for it and every Republican voted against it.
The second vote in the series was a procedural vote on the clean, House-backed Republican stop-gap funding bill that failed Tuesday night. Democrats continued to hold the line during Wednesday’s vote, leading it to fail with a vote of 55-45.
Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and John Fetterman, as well as Independent Angus King, voted — as they had Tuesday — with Republicans to advance the GOP funding solution. But no additional Democrats broke ranks during the vote series. Republican Sen. Rand Paul voted no, so Republicans would have needed to pick up at least five more Democrats to advance this bill, which needed 60 votes to pass.
Majority Leader John Thune said that Republicans are on the hunt for those few additional Democrats to support their clean, short term funding bill.
In floor remarks ahead of the Wednesday votes, both leaders opened by blaming the other party.
“Here we are, Democrats have bowed to the far left and they’ve shut down the federal government,” Thune said on the floor. “As of this morning critical federal employees including members of the military, border patrol agents and air traffic controllers are working without pay and a number of government services are unavailable or at risk.”
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, said “Donald Trump and Republicans have barreled us into a shutdown because they refuse to protect America’s health care.”
Schumer, in his speech, said Republicans won’t be able to “bully” Democrats into stepping down from their demands that health care be addressed as part of government funding.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, Thune said Democrats “have taken the American people hostage in a way that they think benefits them politically, at the consequence of the cost of what’s going to happen to the American families if this government shutdown continues.”
Speaker Mike Johnson slammed Democrats during the Wednesday morning press conference.
“Every single bit of this was entirely avoidable,” Johnson said, adding that Democrats should pass the clean CR as they did in the House.
“Democrats in Congress have dragged our country into another reckless shutdown to satisfy their far-left base,” Johnson said. “Whether or not the government remains open or reopens is entirely up to them.”
Democrats hit back during a press conference of their own Wednesday morning.
“Republicans control the Senate, the House and the White House. They need Democratic votes to fund the government, so it’s on them to talk with us,” House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Pete Aguilar said.
On Tuesday, Schumer urged Republicans to come to the negotiating table.
“So, we want to sit down and negotiate, but the Republicans can’t do it in their partisan way, where they just say ‘It’s our way or the highway,’” Schumer reiterated at a news conference following Senate votes Tuesday night.
Schumer rehashed the failed votes on the Senate floor — placing the blame on Republicans who “have failed to get enough votes to avoid a shutdown.”
The Senate is expected to take votes on other matters in the afternoon and then they’re expected to depart for Yom Kippur. Though things could always change if some sort of deal is struck. The Senate is not expected to hold any additional votes on government funding until Friday at the earliest, all but assuring this shutdown stretches on at least until Friday.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Munich’s famous Oktoberfest event briefly closed on Wednesday following a bomb threat linked to a fire at a residence in the north of the city, police said.
A 57-year-old German man who police said was behind the threat was found near the residence with a backpack containing an explosive device that had to be defused. He died by suicide, according to Munich police.
Oktoberfest resumed Wednesday afternoon following a search of the grounds involving explosive detection dogs, authorities noted.
“The threat has not been confirmed,” Munich police said.
The man allegedly set fire to the residence during a family dispute in the Lerchenau district of northern Munich early Wednesday before taking his own life near a lake, police said.
Two other people — the suspect’s 81-year-old mother and 21-year-old daughter — were injured during the incident and subsequently hospitalized, according to police.
Officials said they discovered “explosive devices” in the building and that special forces were called in to defuse the bombs.
Police said they also found a letter written by the suspect containing an unspecified threat of explosives related to Oktoberfest, prompting authorities to temporarily close the fairgrounds in the vast Theresienwiese public space for several hours to conduct the searches. The grounds opened at 5:30 p.m. local time.
The investigation is ongoing, officials noted.
In a video statement posted to X, Munich police spokesman Thomas Schelshorn said the “major operation” in Lerchenau had been underway since 4:45 a.m. Wednesday.
“We’ve discovered a burning house, a single-family home, burning cars nearby and a dead man at Lerchenau Lake, which may also be related to this,” Schelshorn said.
“We also have an unspecified threat of explosives for the Theresienwiese,” he added. “That’s why cordoning off and searching measures are taking place here. And that’s also why the Oktoberfest isn’t opening on time today.”
Police said there is no indication of any threat at other Munich locations.
(NEW YORK) — Stocks ticked higher in midday trading on Wednesday, just hours after a government shutdown began, defying fears among some observers about the economic risk posed by a potentially prolonged impasse.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 71 points, or 0.15%, while the S&P 500 jumped 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.1%.
The uptick extended a period of resilient performance for markets, which shrugged off the looming impasse a day earlier. Each of the major indexes ticked up on Tuesday, including a record high for the Dow.
The shutdown coincides with a rough patch for the U.S. economy, at least by some key metrics. A recent hiring slowdown has stoked recession fears, while inflation has proven difficult to fully contain.
Fresh hiring data on Wednesday morning deepened concern about the labor market. Private sector employment declined by 32,000 jobs in September, registering well short of economists’ expectations of 45,000 jobs added, according to data firm ADP research.
A government shutdown typically risks only modest damage for the U.S. economy, stemming mainly from furloughed public workers, who temporarily lose out on pay and put a dent in U.S. consumer spending, analysts previously told ABC News.
The impact of a shutdown could be more significant this time around, however, since the wobbly economy may strain under the weight of a potentially prolonged interruption, while a halt in the release of key economic data could make it more difficult for policymakers to steer the economy, they added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Here are some frequently asked questions about how a government shutdown impacts travel:
Will TSA work in a shutdown?
Transportation Security Administration workers at airport checkpoints will continue to work — without pay — during the shutdown.
According to Department of Homeland Security documents, 58,488 employees out of the total TSA workforce of 61,475 will be retained during a shutdown.
Will my flight get canceled?
No. Commercial flights will continue to operate and airline employees will not be impacted.
How will air traffic controllers be impacted?
Over 13,000 air traffic controllers will continue to work — without pay — during a shutdown, according to the Department of Transportation’s shutdown plan.
Air traffic controller hiring and training would continue during a shutdown, as would air traffic control modernization, according to the DOT’s shutdown plan.
During the 2018-2019 government shutdown, ATC training was stopped. NATCA, the union representing air traffic controllers, previously told ABC News that the shutdown in 2018-2019 “eroded critical layers of safety necessary to support and maintain the [national air space]. Many of the safety activities that proactively reduce risk and increase the safety of the system were suspended during that shutdown.”
What happened to air travel during the 2018-2019 shutdown?
During the 2018-2019 shutdown, which lasted for 35 days, TSA officers called out of work at an increased rate due to financial hardship, a TSA spokesperson told ABC News at the time. Those staffing shortages caused some TSA lines to close, which led to an increased wait time for passengers to get through security.
ABC News reported that air traffic controllers called out sick at the centers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Jacksonville, Florida, leading to a staffing-related ground stop at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and flight delays at some New York and Florida airports. Hours after flights were stopped, President Donald Trump ended the shutdown. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., credited the controllers with ending the shutdown, The New York Times reported.
What about train travel?
Amtrak said in a statement that its operations will continue as usual.
“Passengers planning to travel on Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor and across the country in the coming days and weeks can be assured that Amtrak will remain open for business,” Amtrak said.
A 13-year-old child with an 11-year-old in the passenger seat is accused of driving a stolen vehicle and crashing it while intoxicated in Flagstaff, Arizona. AZDPS Highway Patrol
(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.) — A 13-year-old girl drove drunk and crashed a stolen car while an 11-year-old was in the passenger seat, officials in Arizona said.
Both children were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the early Tuesday morning crash, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
The joyride was reported around 1 a.m. in a car that had been stolen from the Flagstaff Police Department, DPS said.
The driver went the wrong way across the median on Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, and then self-corrected and drove off at over 100 mph, officials said.
The teenager then allegedly drove onto the guardrail, causing the car to roll over multiple times and crash into a tree, DPS said.
“The impact was so severe that the steering wheel broke off while the vehicle was rolling, and was ejected approximately 50 feet from where the vehicle landed,” the department said.
The 13-year-old’s blood alcohol concentration was recorded at 0.183, DPS said. In Arizona, drivers 21 and older can be charged with a DUI if their BAC is above .08%. Drivers under 21 must have a BAC of 0.00%.
The 13-year-old will face DUI charges, a DPS spokesperson told ABC News.
“We’re thankful the kids are okay, but this could’ve ended way worse,” DPS said in a statement. “Juvenile joyriding and underage drinking are extremely dangerous. Talk to your kids about the dangers of drinking and unlicensed driving.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the members of the media during a press conference, following Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 30, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate returned to Capitol Hill Wednesday — the first day of a government shutdown — and is taking votes on government funding bills that mirror the failed votes they took on Tuesday as congressional leaders continue to blame the opposing party for the shutdown.
The Senate is voting Wednesday morning on two votes on bills aimed at funding the government. The government shutdown took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The votes are on the same two bills that the Senate failed to advance on Tuesday.
The first is, once again, a procedural vote on the Democrats’ government funding proposal that includes the health care provisions they’ve been seeking. It needs 60 votes to pass and is expected to fail in the GOP-controlled Senate.
The second vote in that series will be a procedural vote on the clean, House-backed Republican stop-gap funding bill that failed Tuesday night. Three Democrats voted for that Tuesday and all eye will be on the Democrats to see if any others defect from their party position to support that bill during Wednesday’s votes. It would also need 60 votes to advance.
Majority Leader John Thune blamed the Democrats for the shutdown during a press conference Wednesday morning.
“They have taken the American people hostage,” Thune said of Democrats.
Thune said that Republicans are now in the hunt for those few additional Democrats to support their clean, short term funding bill.
“There are others out there, I think who don’t want to shut down the government, but who are being put in a position by their leadership that should make them, ought to make all of them very uncomfortable,” Thune said after Tuesday night’s failed votes. “So we’ll see.”
Democratic Sens. John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto and Angus King (an independent who caucuses with Democrats) bucked their party leader Tuesday night and voted with Republicans on a short-term funding bill aimed at keeping the government open for seven more weeks.
Speaker Mike Johnson slammed Democrats during the Wednesday morning press conference.
“Every single bit of this was entirely avoidable,” Johnson said, adding that Democrats should pass the clean CR as they did in the House.
“They have dragged us into a another reckless shutdown to appeal to their far-left base,” Johnson said.
“The longer this goes on, the more pain that will be inflicted,” he said.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Republicans to come to the negotiating table.
“So, we want to sit down and negotiate, but the Republicans can’t do it in their partisan way, where they just say ‘It’s our way or the highway,’” Schumer reiterated at a news conference following Senate votes Tuesday night.
Schumer rehashed the failed votes on the Senate floor — placing the blame on Republicans who “have failed to get enough votes to avoid a shutdown.”
The Senate is expected to take votes on other matters in the afternoon, around 2 p.m., and then they’re expected to depart for Yom Kippur. The Senate will likely be out on Thursday, but return on Friday and into the weekend as negotiations continue.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday moved to allow Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to remain on the central bank board into 2026, saying it would take up President Donald Trump’s appeal seeking to remove her for cause during a hearing in January.
The Court did not explain its decision. There were no noted dissents.
The decision to let Cook stay on the job pending the outcome of the case marks a sharp break with how the justices have handled other cases involving Trump’s removal power at independent federal agencies. In those cases, a majority of the Supreme Court showed deference to Trump’s firing power, at least on an interim basis, while the litigation plays out.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
