NATIONAL NEWS

The Latest: Cassie now faces cross-examination after exposing Diddy’s violence

May 15, 2025, 5:44 AM

FILE - Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of "Can't S...

FILE - Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of "Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story" at the Writers Guild Theater, June 21, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP File)
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The R&B singer Cassie is facing cross-examination Thursday after two days of testimony recounting tumultuous details of life with her ex-boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Prosecutors allege Combs used his fame and fortune to orchestrate an empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties. His lawyers argue that all the sexual acts were consensual, and although he could be violent, he never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering.

Combs’ team of seven attorneys is led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo and also includes Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a lengthy trial before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges.

Here’s the latest:

The cross examination of Cassie will soon be underway in Manhattan federal court. Defense lawyers say they’ll be scrutinizing how infidelity fueled the combustible nearly 11-year relationship between the R&B singer and the music mogul who controlled her career.

Defense attorney Teny Geragos suggested yesterday during a discussion between lawyers and the judge that the gameplan for today was changing on the fly out of necessity.

She didn’t get into particulars but she told Judge Arun Subramanian that the questioning of Cassie by prosecutors over two days “has gone much differently than I expected.” She added: “So we are kind of changing our strategy.”

Agnifilo later told the judge that questioning Cassie about infidelities is important. “Everybody knows that we are going to bring up infidelities, that we’re going to want to bring up text messages of infidelities, and these text messages are often in colorful language,” he said.

Defense attorney says infidelity will highlight cross-examination

After the jury was sent home for the day, lawyers squabbled over ground rules for the cross-examination of Cassie, which is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.

Agnifilo said infidelity would be the featured subject of the questioning that is expected to stretch until day’s end Friday.

“We have worn our defense on our sleeves since the first bail hearing,” Agnifilo said. “Everybody knows we are going to bring up infidelity and text messages of infidelity.”

What to know about Cassie

Cassie sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of rape and abuse. The suit was settled within hours, but was followed by dozens of similar legal claims and touched off a criminal investigation.

A singer, actor, dancer and model, Cassie’s professional ambitions began in adolescence, when she signed to the top-tier talent and modeling agency Wilhelmina. Her music career launched shortly thereafter, when she left her home state of Connecticut for New York, where she signed with manager Tony Mottola and first met Combs.

Cassie met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating.

▶ Read more about Cassie

National News

This photo provided by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia shows KJ Muldoon after a follow up d...

Associated Press

Gene editing helped a desperately ill baby thrive. Scientists say it could someday treat millions

A baby born with a rare and dangerous genetic disease is growing and thriving after getting an experimental gene editing treatment made just for him. Researchers described the case in a new study, saying he’s among the first to be successfully treated with a custom therapy that seeks to fix a tiny but critical error […]

15 minutes ago

FILE - Barbie Dream Besties, from Mattel, are displayed at the TTPM 2024 Holiday Showcase event in ...

Associated Press

Under of a cloud of tariffs, Walmart is the latest retailer to announce price hikes

NEW YORK (AP) — Volley after volley of tariffs — and at times on-again, off-again trade actions — have put companies around the world on edge. And a handful of major retailers have already raised prices across the U.S., or warned of future hikes. President Donald Trump has slapped new import taxes on nearly all […]

1 hour ago

U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher responds to questions during an interview with The Associated ...

Associated Press

UN aid chief defends using ‘genocide’ in Gaza remarks to the Security Council that Israel rejects

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations’ humanitarian chief has defended using the term “genocide” to describe what aid workers are trying to prevent in Gaza, saying the world should not make the same mistakes seen in past violations of international law, when it wasn’t “called out soon enough.” Tom Fletcher, in an interview with […]

2 hours ago

Protesters outside of Alabama's capitol opposing a slate of bills introduced by the Republican legi...

Associated Press

More Republicans push to criminalize bringing immigrants in the US illegally across state lines

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers have passed legislation that would make it a felony to knowingly bring someone into the state who is in the U.S. illegally, echoing similar bills nationwide that could restrict domestic travel for some immigrants. The legislation given final approval Wednesday protects “not only the citizens of Alabama but also […]

2 hours ago

FILE - The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)Credit: ASSOCIAT...

Associated Press

Supreme Court revives lawsuit over fatal Texas police shooting during traffic stop for unpaid tolls

WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday revived a civil rights lawsuit against a Texas police officer who shot a man to death during a traffic stop over unpaid tolls. The justices ordered the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take a new look at the case of Ashtian Barnes, […]

3 hours ago

An electronic display advises commuters of potential NJ Transit service disruptions at the Secaucus...

Associated Press

New Jersey Transit issues warning for riders ahead of potential rail strike

New Jersey Transit urged riders to reach their destinations before the end of the day Thursday or risk being stranded as talks continued in a bid to avert a rail strike by train engineers that would affect some 350,000 commuters who work in New Jersey and New York City. The advisory provided riders with details […]

3 hours ago

The Latest: Cassie now faces cross-examination after exposing Diddy’s violence