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(NEW YORK) — Cassie Ventura concluded four days of often painful and intimate testimony on Friday, as she sparred with attorneys for her former boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs, over the consistency of her testimony and the harm she allegedly endured at the hands of the rap mogul.

Ventura’s testimony, coming right at the start of the much-anticipated Combs criminal trial, appeared to lay a foundation for the prosecution’s racketeering and sex-trafficking case against Combs. They allege Combs subjected Ventura to regular violence and blackmail threats to keep her in line so she would fulfill his sexual desires by arranging days-long sex parties called “freak offs” and “wild king nights.”

Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy, and his lawyers, through two days of cross-examination, attempted to reframe Ventura as a willing sex partner who enjoyed a swinger’s lifestyle and contributed to an admittedly toxic relationship. His lawyers have acknowledged that Combs was violent with Ventura but argued his actions do not amount to sex trafficking or racketeering, as federal prosecutors have alleged. They also highlighted episodes when Ventura was violent toward Combs in order to prove their point that the ugliness that marked their relationship went both ways.

Ventura largely maintained her composure across two days of defense questioning, even as attorneys confronted her with text messages and emails replete with graphic sexual details, and some jurors appeared to lose focus during the at-times meandering and disjointed cross-examination. When his attorney Anna Estevao concluded the cross-examination, Combs embraced Estevao in court and appeared to thank her for the intense questioning.

When questioned by prosecutors one final time on Friday, Ventura broke down in response to questioning about how she suffered following the allegedly regular beatings from Combs, telling jurors that she felt “worthless, just like dirt, that I didn’t matter to him, like I was nothing.” Ventura told the jury she would return the $20 million civil settlement she received from Combs in 2023 if it meant she never had to participate in a freak off.

“I’d give that money back if I never had to do freak offs. I would have agency and autonomy,” she said through tears. “I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to get it back.”

Defense lawyers attempt to recast moments of violence at the center of Ventura’s testimony

Defense attorneys focused on two central moments described by Ventura during her direct examination: a 2016 assault at a Los Angeles hotel and an alleged rape near the end of their relationship. During cross-examination, Combs’ lawyers attempted to use those episodes to cast doubt on Ventura’s credibility.

Asked about the 2016 hotel assault, Ventura said she believed Combs was intoxicated during the encounter. On Thursday, during Ventura’s third day of testimony, defense attorneys tried to suggest the drugs he was taking at the time contributed to his violence.

“When you get f—— up the wrong way you always want to show me you have the power and knock me around. I’m not a rag doll. I’m someone’s child,” Ventura wrote in a text message after the incident that was entered into evidence Friday.

Defense attorney Anna Estevao also probed Ventura about her recollection of how her relationship with Combs ended. The once-up-and-coming singer testified earlier in the week that Combs raped her after a dinner she said they planned as their relationship was coming to a close.

“You don’t say anything to the effect of, ‘the last time we saw each other you raped me,'” Estevao said of Ventura’s messages with Combs at the time.

Earlier, the defense showed Ventura transcripts of her interviews with law enforcement agents, pointing out that she told them the night of the alleged rape Combs was acting “nice but strangely.” The defense also pointed out how Ventura wondered whether the alleged attack occurred because of Combs’s bipolar disorder, the first time such a diagnosis was mentioned at trial. Combs has previously said he is not bipolar but has mood swings.

Defense lawyers focus on Ventura’s alleged infidelity

During cross-examination, the defense introduced scores of text messages that contained a mix of affection, sexually-charged banter, domestic negotiation, bickering and jealousy. Jealousy first emerged as a central tenet during the defense’s opening statements, when Combs’ lawyers told the jury the case against their client is about “love, jealousy, infidelity and money.”

Ventura recounted how Combs would grow jealous if he suspected she was seeing another man, and on multiple occasions, took her phone from her to learn about the suspected infidelity.

“Mr. Combs was insanely jealous?” defense attorney Anna Estevao asked. “He was upset with you when he suspected you of cheating?”

Ventura responded, “When I was with anyone else. I don’t know if I would call it cheating.”

Estevao said, “You understood he thought it cheating?”

Ventura responded, “That’s a technicality. We weren’t married.”

Defense attorneys attempt to show different side of Ventura

Jurors heard a dramatic audio recording of a March 2014 conversation in Atlantic City between Ventura and a man called Sugit, who had told her he had seen her in a sexually explicit video taken during a “freak off.” Multiple jurors appeared attentive and took notes during the testimony, as they heard a markedly more aggressive version of Ventura than had appeared on the stand, who herself seemed amused by the reaction captured on tape.

“Tell me what exactly you saw,” Ventura is heard telling Sugit. “You told me somebody else was in there f——- me.”

A moment later, her voice is heard rising. “You have it? Why didn’t you show me?” Ventura asked.

“Because I’m not disrespectful,” Sugit is heard answering meekly.

“You’ve had it the whole time?” Ventura said. “It’s my f****** life and I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you if you don’t show me. Pull it up. If you have it, pull that s— up or I’m going to kill you!”

Ventura acknowledged the aggressiveness in her voice, having testified on direct examination about a constant fear that Combs might release the sex tapes from freak-offs that would destroy her career and her reputation. Ventura testified that Combs had shown her the videos and used them as blackmail, threatening to release them if she disobeyed him.

“I was just sick about it and was feeling pressure from Sean,” Ventura told jurors, adding that Combs directed her to speak with Sugit.

At the conclusion of her testimony, Ventura, through a statement read by her attorney Douglas Wigdor outside court, thanked her supporters for their kindness and vowed to never forget what she said Combs did to her.

“I hope that my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from abuse and fear. For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember, and the more I can remember, the more I will never forget,” she said in a statement.

Prosecutors call federal agent, Dawn Richard of Danity Kane to witness stand

Federal prosecutors called two additional witnesses on Friday after the conclusion of Ventura’s testimony.

Special Agent Yasin Binda of Homeland Security Investigations told jurors about a search of Combs’ hotel room at the time of his arrest in 2024, when his lawyers said he traveled to New York to surrender to authorities. Binda testified that agents seized $9,000 in cash, substances that later tested positive for ketamine and MDMA, multiple bottles of baby oil, and a device used for “mood lighting,” which Ventura alleged were the kind of items Combs would use during freak offs. Jurors were able to touch and examine some of the materials seized from Combs’ room.

For their fifth witness, prosecutors called Dawn Richard, a singer-songwriter who, in a civil lawsuit, has accused Combs of sexual assault, forced labor and forced imprisonment. A former member of the girl group Danity Kane, Richard allegedly witnessed multiple instances when Combs abused Ventura, including an incident she described in her testimony. Combs had broadly denied the allegations in that case.

Richard testified that she witnessed Combs beat Ventura in Los Angeles in 2009, describing how Combs had a violent outburst while Ventura tried to cook breakfast.

“He came downstairs angry. He said, ‘Where the f—- is his eggs?'” Richard testified. “He took the skillet with the eggs” and took a swing at Ventura, adding that Ventura dropped to the ground, “literally trying to hide her face or her head.”

After a series of objections, the judge adjourned court until Monday while he considers potentially striking portions of Richard’s testimony.

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(FRESNO, CA) — Tiffany Slaton, 28, said she has always had a love of foraging, gardening and outdoor adventures.

But her survival instincts and knowledge of nature were put to the test when she was lost in the mountains of Fresno, California, for nearly three weeks and was finally found alive on Wednesday.

Slaton spoke to reporters during a press conference on Friday about her experience that started out as a three-day solo camping trip and ended as a survival mission.

“I may never do a vacation longer than three days ever again,” she said on Friday.

Slaton, from Jeffersonville, Georgia, was first reported missing by her parents on April 29 after they had not heard from her for nine days, officials said.

At the start of her camping trip, she recounted to reporters how she had fallen off a cliff and became unconscious for two hours, injuring both of her legs in the process. Slaton, who is a trained horticulturist and “pre-Olympian” in archery, then proceeded to splint one of her legs and “pop another knee back into place,” she said.

Due to a recent avalanche, she was unable to get back onto the main road and was unsuccessful in reaching 911 due to a lack of cell service.

Thus, she began her “long arduous journey” of attempting to get back to civilization, which included fighting off animals, surviving on leeks and boiled snow, hiking peaks up to 11,000 feet high and suffering through 13 heavy snow storms, she said.

“Nature is quite terrifying. Once you start finding things that are scary for you, you do your best to keep moving and get over it.” Slaton said.

Although she began her “vacation” with a tent, two sleeping bags and her bicycle, she was only able to hold onto a lighter and a knife for most of her journey.

Throughout her time alone in the wilderness, she kept thinking she would rather “live than have to deal with my parents seeing that I failed in such a dumb way” and that she was determined to be reunited with her family before her birthday, which was on Thursday.

From May 6 to May 10, officials conducted search and rescue efforts looking for the 28-year-old, police said. But with a search spanning nearly 600 square miles and no confirmed sightings of her since April 24, police said they had decided on Tuesday to scale back their efforts.

Then on Wednesday, her parents, Bobby and Fredrina Slaton, received a phone call from none other than their daughter Tiffany, saying, “Dad, I’m alive.”

The missing camper had fought through a blizzard and found shelter in an unlocked cabin at a resort near Lake Edison, officials said.

Officials said resort owner Christopher Gutierrez had “left a cabin unlocked as a precaution for this exact situation where someone who is lost could seek shelter and increase their chances of surviving the outdoor elements and harsh weather.”

When she came across this cabin, Slaton said she thought she was hallucinating and that she had “managed to make it to the North Pole.”

“When the door opened, I saw the best sleeping bag in the world,” Slaton said.

Gutierrez discovered Slaton when he arrived at the resort to open up the place for the summer, he told reporters on Wednesday.

“As soon as I saw her, she didn’t say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug. It was a pretty surreal moment,” Gutierrez said.

Slaton said, “If he hadn’t come that day, they would have found my body there.”

Gutierrez said he knew that there had been a missing hiker in the area and called the sheriff’s office to say he had found Slaton.

Slaton told Gutierrez that “all she wanted was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

Deputies confirmed the woman was Slaton, who was then examined by medics and treated for dehydration, according to officials.

Officials said that Slaton, who they described as a “fighter,” was found approximately 45 miles from where she was last seen.

Slaton, who was wearing sunglasses during the press conference, said she has experienced eye damage due to the snowy conditions along with a few minor cuts and burns. She also said she had lost about 10 pounds after being in the wilderness for 20 days, yet her blood work came back “perfect” due to her foraging skills.

Fredrina Slaton said she is “very proud” of her daughter’s survival, but “will be prouder when she gets a GPS.”

Tiffany Slaton will travel back home to Georgia with her family as she continues to recover. She said she journaled the whole adventure and plans on going through that documentation as she adjusts back to reality.

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(MORRIS COUNTY, NJ) — Drivers riding on Interstate 80 spotted an unexpected present the morning after last Christmas — a sinkhole just feet away from where cars were passing by in suburban New Jersey.

“Look at how far it goes under there,” a man says in police video footage obtained by ABC News on Friday. “They may have to shut the whole [expletive] road down.”

It was a prediction that turned out to be true.

Ever since the sinkhole was spotted along one of the busiest highways in the Northeast on Dec. 26, 2024, parts of I-80 have been closed to drivers on and off.

The closures have angered local business owners and caused congestion on detour routes that frequently paralyzes the streets of Wharton along with surrounding communities in Morris County.

The formation of the sinkhole was quickly linked to the region’s mining heritage, with the collapse of an abandoned mineshaft under I-80 identified as the cause. Additional sinkholes have popped up in the time since December’s collapse.

The video footage, which was recorded by a New Jersey State Police trooper and released in response to a request filed by ABC News under New Jersey state law, shows two drivers standing steps from the sinkhole in shock.

“We just went by and were like, ‘holy [expletive],’” one man tells the trooper while steam appears to be rising from the sinkhole in front of them.

“I’ve never seen nothing like this,” another man says.

Within a few minutes, troopers shut down two of the eastbound lines of the highway.

“The entire shoulder seems to have collapsed,” a trooper says over his police radio.

This stretch of I-80 is frequently used by both local commuters along with long-distance drivers traveling between the New York metropolitan area and Pennsylvania, Upstate New York or the Midwest.

Commuters impacted by detours were encouraged to ride New Jersey Transit trains since the agency has a station in Mount Arlington, west of the area where the sinkholes formed, but rail service is currently suspended due to a strike by engineers.

In a press release issued Friday, the New Jersey Department of Transportation announced that two eastbound lanes on I-80 may reopen as soon as May 21, with the entire highway slated to reopen by June 25.

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(ST. LOUIS) — At least 23 people were reported dead across several states in an expansive outbreak of severe weather from the Heartland to the East Coast.

State officials reported 14 people were killed in Kentucky, seven in Missouri and two in Virginia.

Over 600,000 customers are without power across multiple states, stretching from Michigan to Tennessee.

Remnant storms from Friday’s severe weather outbreak are continuing into Saturday morning.

At least 26 tornadoes were reported from Friday’s storms in Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois and one from New Jersey.

Softball-sized hail was reported in Barlow, Kentucky, and near Sullivan, Indiana, with greater than tennis-ball-size hail reported locally from Texas to Ohio.

In total, 15 states have reported storm damage from hail, winds and tornadoes from Missouri up to Michigan and out to New Jersey as severe storms continue tracking through the East-Central United States from Arkansas to Virginia.

Strong thunderstorms continued across portions of South early Saturday morning, stretching from Arkansas to the Carolinas.

Quarter-size hail, as well as downed trees and roof damage have already been reported with these storms.

For the Northeast, the highest threat is centered over portions of upstate New York, western Massachusetts, most of Vermont and western New Hampshire, including Burlington, Vermont; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Albany, New York, with the primary risks being damaging winds and large hail and a few isolated tornadoes also possible.

For the South-Central Plains, the highest threat is centered over portions of central Texas that includes Dallas and Arlington, Texas.

A larger but lesser threat also exists for other areas of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas and includes Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Wichita, Kansas.

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(WASHINGTON) – Hundreds of parents and children separated under the “zero-tolerance” border policy during President Donald Trump’s first term — who were later reunited and protected by a 2023 settlement — are at risk of being separated again due to a lapse in legal services, lawyers argue.

Under the 2023 court-approved settlement agreement, reached as a result of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018, the federal government agreed to provide certain services to an estimated 5,000 people — families and children separated under the 2017-2018 “zero tolerance” policy — including behavioral health services and immigration legal services.

However, the ACLU says a recent decision made by the Trump administration to gut and then abruptly terminate a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice violates that agreement, leaving hundreds of migrants in legal limbo. The nonprofit organization is the main contractor that oversees services provided to separated families, such as helping them apply for parole and other benefits they’re “mandated” to receive at the government’s expense, the American Civil Liberties Union argues.

An estimated 414 migrants who are eligible for benefits are at risk of deportation because their legal status is set to expire by the end of the month if they don’t receive the help Acacia was offering them, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt argued during a federal court hearing Friday in the Southern District of California.

“If they don’t have parole, they’re subject to arrest, deportation and re-separation,” Gelernt said during the hearing.

The Trump administration argues that it wants to provide those services on its own — through the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Helpdesk, “or a separate similar program” and that it is not prohibited by the 2023 agreement from doing so.

An attorney representing the Trump administration said they had already emailed more than 52,000 individuals on their list of pro bono providers to see if they could represent some of the people covered under the settlement.

As of May 15, however, only 71 had “expressed interest,” so far, according to documents submitted in court.

“On the record before the court now there’s not enough to show a breach, and I can understand why the court is directing the parties to provide more information,” the government attorney said. “But again, right now, it is speculation and as the government noted in its response to the plaintiff’s motion, they have not provided one class member who has been deprived of services required under the settlement. So again, I think we’re getting way ahead by speculating on things that may or may not happen.”

Gelernt countered by saying even if those 71 providers eventually offer to help, it’s not enough to deal with the thousands of cases that are now in limbo because of Acacia’s absence.

“We spent two years working through this and the government understood that the only way to do this and provide people real, meaningful help was this structure,” Gelernt said, referring to the years of negotiation leading to the 2023 settlement. “This can’t be a sort of sideshow for the government. They’ll get to it when they get to it. Acacia woke up every morning with all its subcontractors, and all day long, worked on this as a full-time matter with their subcontractors.”

Judge Dana Makoto Sabraw set another hearing for May 30 and asked both sides to provide additional information about what services the government could reasonably provide.

“If Mr. Gelernt is correct in his assessment, in his understanding of the full landscape of these class members, the services they need, the services that were provided by Acacia, in his view, that there’s simply no way in the real world that 71 or a few more volunteer pro bono attorneys can pick up this caseload that Acacia was addressing, that, too, could lead to a finding of breach of the settlement agreement. But I need additional evidence in order to make those determinations,” the judge said.

Gelernt said that if the government now seeks to provide these services, affected class members may not trust them enough to reach out.

“I don’t know whether people will reach out to the government, because it’s the same government, obviously, that separated them,” he said.

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(WHITE CASTLE, La.) — A devastating fire destroyed the Louisiana’s historic Nottoway Resort, the largest antebellum mansion in the South, officials confirmed Friday.

“The fire has been contained now, but there’s no more Nottoway. The house is completely destroyed,” Iberville Sheriff’s Department Capt. Monty Migliacio told ABC News on Friday.

Emergency calls came in around 2:10 p.m. Thursday, reporting the fire, Migliacio told ABC News. The Iberville Sheriff’s Department arrived first, followed quickly by firefighters who fought the blaze at the White Castle mansion for hours.

“It was the biggest fire I’ve seen in my entire 20-year career,” Migliacio said.

Ten fire departments from surrounding areas worked together to contain the blaze and protect nearby buildings, according to officials.

Louisiana Fire Marshalls are investigating the cause of the blaze, authorities said.

Officials confirmed that no one was injured. It is unknown if anyone was touring the mansion at the time of the fire, they said.

Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle highlighted the mansion’s historical significance of the loss in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Nottoway was not only the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the South but also a symbol of both the grandeur and the deep complexities of our region’s past,” Daigle said.

He noted that it was built in 1859 and had been open to visitors since the ’80s.

“The loss of Nottoway is not just a loss for Iberville Parish but for the entire state of Louisiana,” he said.

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(NEW ORLEANS) — Eleven adult men escaped from a New Orleans jail on Friday and should be considered armed and dangerous, officials with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office warned.

One of the inmates, Kendall Myles, has been apprehended in the French Quarter, a tourist hot spot less than 3 miles from the Orleans Justice Center, the Louisiana State Police said.

Ten remain at large, including Gary Price, who was charged with attempted first-degree murder, officials said.

The men were unaccounted for during a routine headcount at the Orleans Justice Center at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson told reporters.

Hutson asked the public to remain alert, adding the sheriff’s department is working with local, state and federal law enforcement on a “full-scale search operation.”

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said a “group of people” believed to be victims of the inmates were immediately removed from their homes and “taken to safety.” She appealed to witnesses of the inmates’ crimes to do the same.

Kirkpatrick said its “more than likely” the inmates had help and have changed out of their jail clothes.

“We don’t want panic, but we do want people to be mindful,” she told reporters.

The sheriff called the escape “very serious and unacceptable.”

“We are launching a full investigation to determine how this escape occurred, including reviewing facility protocols, staff performance and physical security measures,” the sheriff said.

Anyone who helped the inmates escape will be held accountable, the sheriff vowed.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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