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US rapper Kid Cudi on Thursday described having his home broken into and his car set on fire amid music mogul Sean Combs’s rage over his one-time girlfriend Casandra Ventura’s relationship with the rapper.The highly anticipated testimony from the famous rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, follows last week’s bombshell testimony in Manhattan federal court from Ventura, who said she was physically and psychologically abused for years by Combs.The once-powerful music industry figure is on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering.Mescudi described one day when Ventura called him sounding “scared” and “nervous” as she told him that Combs had found out about their fling.Mescudi said he had thought Ventura and Combs weren’t together any longer when he started seeing her, but took her to the Sunset Marquee hotel for her safety.”I just wanted to put her somewhere she’d be off the radar,” testified Mescudi, who told jurors he knew that Combs abused Ventura.As the pair hid out, Mescudi said they received a call from Combs’s assistant Capricorn Clark, who said she had been forced to ride along to Mescudi’s home where Combs had gone inside.Mescudi called Combs who said “I’m over here waiting for you.”When he arrived, he didn’t see Combs, but he did find his dog, which was usually allowed to roam free around the house, locked in a bathroom.Mescudi said his impulse was to fight Combs but instead he called the police.Shortly thereafter in January 2012, Mescudi said he received a call from his dog sitter who said the rapper’s car was on fire.Jurors were shown six photos of the mangled, ruined car that was found next to a Molotov cocktail.Asked by prosecutors how he reacted to the discovery, Mescudi, who took the stand in a black leather jacket and white tee, said simply “what the fuck.”Ventura previously testified that in his fury over the love triangle, Combs had threatened to blow up Mescudi’s vehicle.- ‘Just so angry’ -Prosecutors say Combs was the kingpin of a criminal enterprise for decades, a ring that wielded its power including through arson, bribery and kidnapping.Combs, 55, is also on trial for sex trafficking; if he is found guilty of the alleged federal crimes, he faces an effective life prison sentence.Ventura told jurors that Combs — who she says coerced her into “freak-off” sex marathons with male prostitutes for years — flew into a violent rage after he learned of her romance with Mescudi, lunging at her with a wine corkscrew and threatening to make public sexually explicit footage of her.”He was just so angry,” she said during her four days on the stand. “He told me about videos that he had that he was going to release, and how he was going to hurt Scott and I.”Mescudi corroborated testimony from Ventura saying that when confronted about the scorched car, the powerful music mogul played dumb.”I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mescudi said Combs told him.Asked by prosecutors what Mescudi took that to mean, the rapper replied: “That he was lying.”

US senators on Thursday blocked California’s landmark mandate phasing out gas-powered cars, dealing a blow to the state’s move towards electric vehicles in a pointed rebuke of Democratic climate change policies.The Republican-led Senate revoked a waiver instituted under then-president Joe Biden that allowed the Golden State to set aside national pollution standards for cars and set its own more stringent regulations.But the Senate’s rubber stamp of a House-passed bill is likely to be challenged in court, setting up a battle royale between California’s left-leaning government and President Donald Trump.California Governor Gavin Newsom warned Trump’s Republicans ahead of the vote against action that would “cede American car-industry dominance to China and clog the lungs of our children.”The West Coast state’s San Joaquin Valley and its biggest city, Los Angeles, historically tolerated persistent smog before decades of efforts to clean up the worst air pollution in the country.Part of that push was a mandate ensuring that a third of new 2026 model cars sold in the state must be zero-emission, rising to two-thirds in 2030 and 100 percent in 2035. Republicans in Washington argue that this is costly, unworkable and anathema to consumer choice.”California got special permission from the Biden administration to ban gas-powered cars. Because of their market share, this would impact the entire nation,” said right-wing Utah Senator Mike Lee.”But Gavin Newsom doesn’t get to ruin 49 other states.”Republicans argue that the Congressional Review Act gives them the right to overturn California’s carve-out on a simple majority vote.But Democrats say Thursday’s move was illegal, as nonpartisan watchdogs including the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian said the CRA could not be applied to waivers.The Senate has only overruled its parliamentarian a handful of times in since the role was launched in the 1930s.Trump harshly criticized electric vehicles (EVs) as he sought reelection, despite significant federal funding allocated to projects in Republican districts, where thousands of jobs are expected to be created.He took aim at the sector as part of his flurry of executive orders on his first day in office in a bid to ensure what he called a “level” playing field for gasoline-powered motors.But he has not been consistent in his opposition — even taking time out of his schedule to promote former right-hand man Elon Musk’s prestige EV company Tesla at the White House.  US EV sales reached 1.3 million units last year, up 7.3 percent from 2023, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book, but automakers have recently scaled back investments, pointing to slowing demand growth. 

A small private jet crashed into a military housing complex in San Diego in the middle of the night, killing several people and igniting a fierce blaze that destroyed cars and homes, officials said Thursday.The plane went down around 3:45 am local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), striking the Murphy Canyon neighborhood — an area filled with low-rise homes and known as one of the largest military housing communities in the world.Flames engulfed rows of parked vehicles, leaving behind blackened husks, while more than 10 homes sustained damage or were destroyed.”There are more than one fatality that we found so far, but we’re waiting to get the registered numbers that were on the plane itself,” Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy told reporters. He added that, “miraculously,” no deaths or serious injuries had been reported among residents on the ground.The Cessna 550 jet had originated from the Midwest, where it was also registered, Eddy said. The aircraft, which can carry eight to 10 people, crashed near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.”We had some possible minor injuries from the scene,” but no one was transported from the scene, from any of the housing units, he noted.Emergency crews were continuing to search the wreckage with the aid of drones.”There are multiple homes — upwards of 10 — that are affected,” Eddy said. He added that the jet fuel took out cars on both sides of the street that went up in flames.”That’s why you have the wisps of smoke, because we have one car fire that just will not go out no matter what we put on it.”A power line was also damaged in the incident, and investigators are working to determine whether it played a role.San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria expressed condolences to those affected and praised first responders for their swift actions.

The Republican-led US House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax relief and spending cuts mega-bill that critics warn would decimate health care while ballooning the debt.The “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” — which now moves to the Senate — would usher into law Trump’s vision for a new “Golden Age,” led by efforts to shrink social safety net programs to pay for a 10-year extension of his 2017 tax cuts.”Legislation of this magnitude is truly nation shaping and life changing,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson ahead of the largely party-line vote, which capped a marathon debate that went through the night.”It’s the kind of transformational change that future generations will study one day. They’ll look back at this day as a turning point in American history.”The mammoth package passed along party lines — 215 votes to 214 — after Republican leadership quelled a rebellion on the party’s right flank that threatened its passage.It is the centerpiece of Trump’s domestic policy agenda that could define his second term in the White House, and he took to social media to celebrate “arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed.”But the package had faced skepticism from Republican fiscal hawks who say the country is careening toward bankruptcy, with independent analysts warning it would increase the deficit by as much as $4 trillion over a decade.The White House has made ambitious projections, well outside the mainstream consensus, that the package will spur growth of up to 5.2 percent, ensuring it adds nothing to the $36 trillion national debt.But investors were unconvinced as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note surged to its highest level since February on Wednesday, amid worries over the budget-busting bill’s bottom line.- ‘Devastating’ -Democrats called the bill “devastating” for the middle class, pointing to CBO estimates that its cuts to public health insurance for low-income Americans would deprive around eight million people of coverage. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the bill “the largest cut to health care in American history… in order to enact the largest tax breaks for billionaires in American history.” Trump has seen his polling numbers plummet since his White House return, but success in uniting the normally polarized House Republicans underlined his continued sway over the party.The president had pressured lawmakers to back his signature legislation in a rare Capitol Hill visit Tuesday after it hit a series of roadblocks pitting conservative fiscal hawks against moderate Republicans. The hawks were unhappy that cuts shaving $700 billion from the Medicaid health insurance program did not go deeper — a red line for moderates and possibly for Trump, who told the party in coarse terms not to touch the social safety net.To appease his right flank, Johnson moved up the enforcement of work requirements for Medicaid recipients by two years to the end of 2026, and agreed to phase out clean energy tax credits earlier.Meanwhile a group of moderate northeastern Republicans pushing for huge increases in the state and local tax write-off secured a compromise of a four-fold hike, from $10,000 to $40,000.But the bill is likely to undergo at least a month of significant rewrites in the Senate, which plans to get the package to Trump’s desk by July 4.Trump’s iron grip in the House does not always extend to the upper chamber, where members only face reelection every six years and are less susceptible to the president’s cajoling.”In the House, President Trump can threaten a primary,” Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson told Punchbowl News as he railed against cuts he considers too shallow.”Those guys want to keep their seats, I understand the pressure. He can’t pressure me that way.”Fellow Senate conservative Rand Paul told the publication: “Once the Republicans vote for this, Republicans are going to own the deficit.”

Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead at a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested, sparking new international tensions over anti-Semitism.The killings took place just outside the Capital Jewish Museum, a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, late Wednesday as it held an event for young professionals and diplomatic staff.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited “the terrible price of antisemitism” and what he called “wild incitement against the State of Israel.”US President Donald Trump echoed this, posting on social media: “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!”Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple who had been hoping to marry.Police said they detained the shooter, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, from Chicago, at the scene.Video footage showed the bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away.The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide in the wake of Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas.- Tensions over Gaza, anti-Semitism -Tensions are high in the United States and in many other countries over the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza.Britain and France — who have stepped up their condemnation in recent days of Israel’s actions — were among those condemning the shooting, as well as Germany and the United Arab Emirates. But Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, put blame on European governments, claiming there was “a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.””This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe,” he said.French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation “completely outrageous and completely unjustified.”Israel’s consul in New York City sought to draw a link between the shooting and US student protests against the Israeli war in Gaza, which he painted as “unprecedented riots organized by terrorists.”Trump has gone on the offensive against campus protesters, also claiming they are “pro-terrorist,” with punitive measures to slash university funding and deport foreign student activists.-  ‘Call the cops’ -In an incredible mix-up, witnesses reportedly said that security personnel appeared to mistake the gunman for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was initially comforted by bystanders.”Some of the people at the event brought him water. They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘somebody call the cops’,” Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media.Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters that the suspect was seen pacing back and forth outside the museum before the shooting around 9:00 pm on Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday). “He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire,” she said.Smith confirmed the suspect then entered the museum and was detained by security, and said he told them where he discarded the gun. – Marriage plans -The targeted event was an annual reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.Lischinsky was a research assistant at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles.Lischinsky was Christian, according to The Times of Israel, for whom he had previously worked as a blogger. Germany’s foreign minister said he also held a German passport. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, who said he spoke with Trump by telephone, told reporters the young staffers were a couple about to get engaged.”The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” Leiter said.”They were a beautiful couple.”

The Republican-led US House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax relief and spending cuts mega-bill that critics warn would decimate health care while ballooning the debt.The “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” — which now moves to the Senate — would usher into law Trump’s vision for a new “Golden Age,” led by efforts to shrink social safety net programs to pay for a 10-year extension of his 2017 tax cuts.”Legislation of this magnitude is truly nation shaping and life changing,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson ahead of the largely party-line vote, which capped a marathon debate that went through the night.”It’s the kind of transformational change that future generations will study one day. They’ll look back at this day as a turning point in American history.”The mammoth package passed along party lines — 215 votes to 214 — after Republican leadership quelled a rebellion on the party’s right flank that threatened its passage.It is the centerpiece of Trump’s domestic policy agenda that could define his second term in the White House, and he took to social media to celebrate its success.”‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ has PASSED the House of Representatives!” Trump posted. “This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!”But the package had faced skepticism from Republican fiscal hawks who say the country is careening toward bankruptcy, with independent analysts warning it would increase the deficit by as much as $4 trillion over a decade. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted it would boost the incomes of the richest 10 percent while making the bottom 10 percent poorer, through hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to health care and food aid.The White House Council of Economic Advisors has made hugely ambitious projections, well outside the mainstream consensus, that the package will spur growth of up to 5.2 percent.And Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the bill “does not add to the deficit,” and would actually save $1.6 trillion through spending cuts.But investors were unconvinced as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note surged to its highest level since February on Wednesday, amid worries over the budget-busting bill’s bottom line adding to the $36 trillion US debt burden.- ‘Devastating’ -Democrats called the bill “devastating” for the middle class, pointing to CBO estimates that its cuts to public health insurance for low-income Americans would deprive 8.6 million people of coverage. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the bill “the largest cut to health care in American history… in order to enact the largest tax breaks for billionaires in American history.” Trump has seen his polling numbers plummet in his early months back in office, but success in the House for his signature legislation underlined his continued sway over the party’s quarrelsome and deeply polarized lawmakers.The president had pressured the party to back the controversial  package in a rare Capitol Hill visit Tuesday after it hit a series of roadblocks pitting conservative fiscal hawks against moderate coastal Republicans. Speaker Johnson was only able to lose three members in Thursday’s vote. Multiple conservatives initially appeared ready to reject the bill, but a follow-up meeting with Trump on Wednesday was credited with persuading some of the holdouts to fall into line.Fiscal hawks were unhappy that proposed cuts of more than $700 billion to the Medicaid health insurance program were not deeper — a red line for moderates and possibly for Trump, who told the party in coarse terms not to touch the social safety net.To appease his right flank, Johnson moved up the enforcement of work requirements for Medicaid recipients by two years to the end of 2026 and agreed to phase out clean energy tax credits earlier.Meanwhile a group of moderate northeastern Republicans pushing for huge increases in the state and local tax write-off secured a compromise of a four-fold hike, from $10,000 to $40,000.But the bill is likely to undergo at least a month of significant rewrites in the Senate, which plans to get the package to Trump’s desk by July 4. 

Two Israeli embassy staffers, one of them an American, were shot dead outside a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, both of them blaming anti-Semitism.”Blood libels against Israel are paid in blood — and they must be fought relentlessly,” Netanyahu said in a statement, ordering a boost in security at Israeli embassies around the world.Shots rang out on the sidewalk outside the Capital Jewish Museum, a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, late Wednesday as it held an event for young professionals and diplomatic staff.Emergency vehicles remained at the scene in the early hours of Thursday after police taped off the area in the heart of the US capital.Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple who may have been planning to marry. Lischinsky was a research assistant at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Lischinsky was Christian, according to The Times of Israel, for whom he had previously worked as a blogger. Germany’s foreign minister said he also held a German passport. Washington’s police chief identified the shooter as a 30-year-old from Chicago,  Elias Rodriguez, and said he was in custody. Video of his arrest by police showed the bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away.The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide since Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas.- ‘What happened? -Witnesses reportedly said that security personnel appeared to mistake the man for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was comforted by bystanders before claiming responsibility for the attack.”Some of the people at the event brought him water. They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘somebody call the cops’,” Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media.Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters that the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum before the shooting around 9:00 pm on Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday). “He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire,” she said.First responders found a man and a woman unconscious and not breathing. Despite life-saving efforts, both were pronounced dead.”After the shooting, the suspect then entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Smith said.She said the man told them where he discarded the gun.- ‘Despicable’ -“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.”We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and the wild incitement against the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in his statement.”My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and woman, whose lives were abruptly cut short by a despicable antisemitic murderer.”Britain and France — who have stepped up their condemnation in recent days of Israel’s actions in Gaza — as well as Germany were among those condemning the shooting. Israel’s foreign minister accused European governments of “incitement.””There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder,” Gideon Saar told a press conference.”This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”The targeted event was an annual reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement that the organization was “devastated” by the shooting.Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, who said he spoke with Trump by telephone, told reporters the young staffers were a couple about to get engaged. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” Leiter said.”They were a beautiful couple.”

A gunman who killed two people outside a Jewish museum in Washington on Wednesday was initially mistaken for a victim of the shooting and allowed into the building, witnesses said.”We heard gunshots and then a man comes in and he looks really distressed. People are talking to him and trying to calm him down,” Katie Kalisher, who said she was inside the Capital Jewish Museum when the attack happened, told US media.”Eventually, he comes over to where I was seated, and I was literally like ‘do you need any water? Are you OK?'”Witness Yoni Kalin said that a security guard “happened to let this guy in” the building.”I guess they were thinking that he was a victim,” he said.”He was in shock, and you know, some of the people at the event brought him water. They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘somebody call the cops’.”The man was then detained after he produced a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf from his bag and claimed responsibility for the shooting, the witnesses said.”‘I did it. I did this for Gaza’,” Kalisher quoted him as saying.  Police identified the suspected shooter as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago.Israel’s foreign ministry named the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, who both worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington.Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter told reporters the young staffers were a couple and that Lischinsky was planning to propose to Milgrim.

As Google races to lead in artificial intelligence, it faces the challenge of making sure the technology doesn’t slow its profit-pumping advertising engine.The internet giant is dabbling with ads in its new AI Mode for online search, a strategic move to fend off competition from ChatGPT while adapting its advertising business for an AI age.”There’s no question that AI is becoming more commonplace as a source for answers,” IDC advertising and marketing technology research director Roger Beharry Lall told AFP.”That will inevitably result in a shift in terms of search and the opportunities to promote a brand.”The integration of advertising has been a key question accompanying the rise of generative AI chatbots, which have largely avoided interrupting the user experience with marketing messages.However, advertising remains Google’s financial bedrock, accounting for more than two-thirds of its revenue.”Google certainly needs to find a way to monetize AI search in the way that it has monetized its past versions of search,” Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart told AFP at the tech giant’s annual developers conference this week.- AI-fueled ads -A new AI Mode enables conversational interaction with Google during search queries, providing answers in diverse formats, such as video, audio or graphs.The internet giant said it is testing integrating ads into AI Mode responses, building on insights gained from AI-generated summaries, or “Overviews,” introduced to search results a year ago.These Overviews display comprehensive AI-generated summaries of results above traditional website links and ads.”The future of advertising fueled by AI isn’t coming — it’s already here,” stated Vidhya Srinivasan, Google’s vice president of Ads & Commerce. “We’re reimagining the future of ads and shopping: Ads that don’t interrupt, but help customers discover a product or service.”Google is extending ads in AI Overviews to desktop in the US, following successful mobile implementations.More than 1.5 billion users see AI Overviews monthly, according to the company.”Google’s doing very good job of adapting,” Beharry Lall said.”The move right now is to experiment and to gain traction, just as they have.”Google’s aggressive push into generative AI intensifies its competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which added search engine capabilities to its popular chatbot.- AI ad tools too -Google announced it is making AI tools available to streamline the creation of online ads, mirroring similar initiatives by Facebook-owner Meta, Google’s primary rival in online advertising.New features, available in the United States, will enable merchants to leverage AI for effective marketing campaigns and to “power an algorithm capable of targeting new searches and generating additional conversions,” Google said.”AI helps a lot in advertising as far as targeting customers more precisely,” Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi told AFP.Google should have opportunities to charge for AI tools for ad campaigns, and even for insights from data the tech firm has about its users’ lives.”When you have AI agents doing things for you, those agents are going to need data,” Milanesi said.”To get access to that data, you’re going to have to pay.”For example, Google knowing the kinds of restaurants or places someone has searched for online would have value for targeting ads, she said.Making money from AI tools and data could help Google diversify revenue sources at a time when its ad business is under pressure from regulators, according to Milanesi.”There could be entirely new business models around how a brand connects into those AI results,” said Beharry Lall.”In the long run, it’s going to be additive and beneficial to Google.”How Google and other platforms make clear the difference between paid messaging and organic results generated by AI “is going to be the $64 million question,” Beharry Lall said.”It’ll be incumbent on regulatory bodies to develop guidelines,” the analyst said.

Donald Trump on Thursday will host a private event for hundreds of top investors in his crypto memecoin, in an unprecedented melding of US presidential power and personal business.The gala will take place at Trump’s Virginia golf club near Washington, where the 220 biggest purchasers of the $TRUMP memecoin he launched in January will have dinner with the president.The top 25 investors, according to an event website, will get a private session with Trump before dinner, and a White House tour.Critics argue this arrangement creates a concerning loophole in political influence rules.Foreign actors, legally barred from contributing to Trump’s political causes through official channels, can now potentially buy access and influence through the cryptocurrency.Data analytics firm Inca Digital has confirmed that many transactions occurred through international exchanges unavailable in the United States, suggesting foreign buyers.Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun claims the top investor position, having committed $20 million to the memecoin as part of his $93 million total investment in Trump-linked crypto ventures. Sun, founder of top 10 cryptocurrency TRON, was under investigation by US authorities for market manipulation, but regulators, now controlled by Trump appointees, agreed in February to a 60-day pause to seek a settlement.According to the website Popular Information, a few weeks before that decision, Sun purchased $30 million in digital assets from a venture backed by Trump and his family.”Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation to attend President Trump’s Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!” Sun wrote Tuesday on X, adding he was eager to “discuss the future of our industry.”fe- More regulation? -Some Republicans have raised red flags about the dinner, but most criticism has come from Democrats.Senator Chris Murphy on Wednesday blasted the exclusive dinner as an opportunity for the world’s wealthy including “foreign oligarchs” to get a “secret meeting” with the US president as they seek favors and influence.”It’s fundamentally corrupt — a way to buy access to the President,” Murphy posted on X.The White House ripped into those who have made insinuations of impropriety.”I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week.”He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service.”The dinner comes as the Senate is pushing through legislation to more clearly regulate cryptocurrencies, a long-sought request of the industry.Senators on Monday advanced a landmark bill known as the GENIUS Act that proposes a regulatory framework for stablecoins — a type of crypto token seen as more predictable for investors as its value is pegged to hard currencies like the dollar.That legislation had faced roadblocks in part because of Trump’s dabbling in cryptocurrencies — a rising sector he once dismissed as a scam.His stance reversed during the 2024 presidential campaign when crypto tycoons, frustrated by perceived unfair treatment under the Biden administration, became major contributors to his campaign.The cryptocurrency industry struggled with significant scandals during Biden’s presidency, most notably the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange and the 25-year fraud sentence for founder Sam Bankman-Fried.As the stablecoin bill gains momentum in the Senate, Bitcoin reached a record high Wednesday of nearly $109,500.- Expanding empire -Trump’s newfound enthusiasm for digital currencies has expanded into multiple ventures led primarily by his eldest sons.Their growing portfolio includes investments in Binance, a major crypto exchange whose founder seeks a presidential pardon to re-enter the US market.This investment flows through World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed venture launched last September with significant Mideast deals. The company’s founding team includes Donald Jr. and Eric Trump alongside Zach Witkoff, son of Trump’s diplomatic adviser.President Trump has taken concrete steps to reduce regulatory barriers, including an executive order establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” for government holdings of the leading digital currency.