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Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” powers into the Cannes film festival for its premiere on Wednesday on a steamroller of hype, with the world asking if this will be the final curtain for agent Ethan Hunt.With some fans fretting that the $400-million epic — the eighth in the high-octane franchise — could be the last, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie have been teasing up the tension by dropping contradictory clues about its future.What we do know is that Simon Pegg, who has played field agent Benji Dunn in six of the films, is definitely hanging up his Impossible Missions Force badge. But not before the British actor credited the franchise with saving him from depression and alcohol and helping him get sober in 2010 for his role in “Ghost Protocol”.”I felt very taken care of,” Pegg told Variety magazine Wednesday, with Cruise urging him to “get in shape” for the fourth instalment which saw his character promoted from technician to agent.For his part, Cruise, 62, has been sharing heart-stopping behind-the-scenes footage of the stunts he did for the new movie on social media, including a freefall jump from a helicopter at 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). He is seen jumping from the chopper high over a South African mountain range and putting himself into a high-speed spin with a camera strapped to his stomach.The blockbuster is set to ramp up adrenaline levels and promises to lighten the tone at Cannes.- Shadow of tariffs -The festival’s highly political opening day began with accusations that Hollywood was ignoring “genocide” in Gaza, while the conviction of French screen legend Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault in a Paris court on day one also dampened the mood.Even Cruise’s iron-clad optimism has come under stress with the industry shaken by President Donald Trump’s threat to stick tariffs on movies “produced in foreign lands”.With “Mission: Impossible” among Hollywood’s most globalised franchises, shot on a dizzying roster of exotic locations from the Arctic to Shanghai, Cruise shut down questions about the issue at a promotional event in South Korea last week.  Asked about tariffs and the franchise’s globetrotting shoots, Cruise said tersely: “We’d rather answer questions about the movie. Thank you.”In one glimmer of hope, Trump has said he will make an exception for the James Bond movies — which are mostly shot in the UK — because the late 007 Sean Connery once helped him get planning permission for his Scottish golf course.Cruise’s franchise also leans heavily on London studios.- Highly charged -Yet it is likely to be all smiles when the indomitable star bounds up the red carpet at Cannes at 6:45 pm (1645 GMT) on Wednesday for the premiere.A band will be waiting to serenade him with Lalo Schifrin’s iconic theme tune from the original Mission: Impossible TV series — a rather subdued welcome compared to the last time Cruise came to Cannes.In 2022, he was greeted by a flyover of eight French fighter jets billowing red, white and blue smoke to promote “Top Gun: Maverick”.Fans will find out if this really is the end of the road for secret agent Ethan Hunt when “The Final Reckoning” is released in Europe and the Middle East from May 21. The US and several other countries will have to wait two or three days longer. However, Indian, Australian and Korean cinemagoers will be able to see it from this weekend.Director McQuarrie, who wrote the 1995 classic “The Usual Suspects”, will also be giving a masterclass earlier in the day at the world’s biggest film festival.Veteran US star Robert De Niro will be talking about his long, illustrious career after being awarded a lifetime achievement at Tuesday’s often highly-charged opening ceremony.The outspoken Trump critic took the chance to blast the US leader as “America’s philistine president”.  He slammed Trump’s film tariff proposal — which few experts think can be carried through without creating havoc — as he picked up an honorary Palme d’Or from his friend and sometime co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.”You can’t put a price on creativity. But apparently, you can put a tariff on it,” De Niro said in a fiery speech in which he urged “everyone who cares about liberty to organise, to protest. “In my country we are fighting like hell for democracy,” he said, adding that “art embraces diversity. That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists.”

US President Donald Trump asked Syria’s new leader on Wednesday to normalise relations with Israel after he offered a major boost to the war-ravaged country by announcing the lifting of sanctions.Trump, on a state visit to Riyadh, became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla and onetime jihadist once on a US wanted list who led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.The interim Syrian president and Trump, wearing matching suits, shook hands as they met jointly with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. and, by video link, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the key supporter of the new government in Damascus.Turkey and Saudi Arabia had both advocated reconciliation with Syria but the move is the latest to put Trump at odds with Israel, which has voiced pessimism over Sharaa and ramped up strikes to degrade the longtime adversary’s military capabilities.The White House said that Trump asked the Syrian leader to normalise relations with Israel by joining the so-called Abraham Accords signed by some Gulf Arab states.Trump also asked Sharaa to deport Palestinian militants and tell foreign fighters to leave the country, as well as to take control of camps for captured Islamic State group fighters, currently run by Kurdish militants opposed by Turkey, the White House said.Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the meeting as “historic”, but did not mention the Abraham Accords. Syrian state media also did not mention normalisation.The foreign ministry said the leaders discussed “avenues for Syrian-American partnership in counterterrorism efforts” and the importance of lifting sanctions and supporting reconstruction. After the longer-than-expected half-hour meeting, Trump said the Assad-era sanctions had been “really crippling” on Syria.”It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance, and it was my honour to do so,” Trump said, addressing Gulf Arab leaders.- Biggest applause -The former reality television host, always attuned to crowd sizes, took note of the rapturous reception when he announced the decision at a Riyadh investment forum Tuesday.”That was the thing that got the biggest applause from the room. We had a very crowded room with thousands of people,” Trump said.After the announcement, Syrians celebrated the easing of sanctions, with dozens of men, women and children gathering in Damascus’s Umayyad Square.”My joy is great. This decision will definitely affect the entire country positively,” said Huda Qassar, a 33-year-old English-language teacher.The Syrian foreign ministry called Trump’s decision a “pivotal turning point”.The United States imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.Trump gave no indication that the United States would remove Syria from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism — a designation dating back to 1979 over support to Palestinian militants that severely impedes investment.A senior envoy of the Joe Biden administration met Sharaa in Damascus in December and called for commitments, including on the protection of minorities.In recent weeks, Syria has seen a series of bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites — the sect of the largely secular Assad family — and the Druze.Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said easing US sanctions would help reintegrate Syria with the global economy by allowing bank transfers from investors and from millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war.”Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.- Qatar plane controversy -Trump later heads to Qatar, which has stirred controversy by offering a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then go to Trump’s personal use.The move raises major constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about a foreign power donating the ultra-sensitive presidential jet.Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move. Qatar has been a key intermediary with Hamas, helping Washington negotiate directly the release this week from Gaza of US-Israeli joint national Edan Alexander. 

Donald Trump became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader on Wednesday after he offered sanctions relief in hopes of offering a new path to the war-battered country.Trump, in Riyadh on the first state visit of his second term, met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla turned interim president after the December of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.The two held brief talks ahead of a larger gathering of Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia during Trump’s tour of the region, a White House official said. No US president has met a Syrian leader since Bill Clinton saw Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, in Geneva in 2000 in a failed effort to persuade him to make peace with Israel.Trump announced on Tuesday that he was lifting “brutal and crippling” Assad-era sanctions on Syria in response to demands from Sharaa’s allies in Turkey and Saudi Arabia — in his latest step out of tune with US ally Israel.Trump said it was Syrians’ “time to shine” and that easing sinctions would “give them a chance at greatness”.Syrians celebrated the news, with dozens of men, women and children gathering in Damascus’s Umayyad Square.”My joy is great. This decision will definitely affect the entire country positively. Construction will return, the displaced will return, and prices will go down,” said Huda Qassar, a 33-year-old English-language teacher.The Syrian foreign ministry called Trump’s decision a “pivotal turning point” that would help bring stability.The United States imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.Trump gave no indication that the United States would remove Syria from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism — a designation dating back to 1979 over support to Palestinian militants that severely impedes investment.- Opening way for investment -Other Western powers including the European Union have already moved to lift sanctions but the United States had earlier held firm on conditions.A senior envoy of the Joe Biden administration met Sharaa in Damascus in December and called for commitments, including on the protection of minorities.In recent weeks, Syria has seen a series of bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites — the sect of the largely secular Assad family — and the Druze.Israel has kept up a bombing campaign against Syria both before and after the fall of Assad, with Israel pessimistic about change under Sharaa and hoping to degrade the military capacity of its longtime adversary.Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said that the easing of US sanctions would allow Syria to reintegrate with the global economy, including by allowing bank transfers from investors and some of the millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war.”Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.- Qatar plane controversy -Trump will also attend a meeting of Gulf Arab states in Riyadh before flying on to Qatar.The Doha visit comes after controversy over Qatar’s offer to Trump of a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then go to his personal use.The move raises major constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about a foreign power donating the ultra-sensitive presidential jet.Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, on Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move. Qatar has been a key intermediary with Hamas, helping Washington negotiate directly the release this week from Gaza of joint US-Israeli national Edan Alexander. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, hammered out a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that came into effect on January 19 — a day before Trump’s inauguration.Israel has ended the ceasefire and vowed a new offensive to finish Hamas. It has blocked all aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, prompting warnings of impending famine.

NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya from Wednesday will look to forge a compromise deal on ramping up defence spending as allies scramble to satisfy US President Donald Trump’s demand to agree to five percent of GDP at a summit next month.The two-day gathering in the sun-baked Turkish seaside resort comes as diplomatic intrigue swirls over a possible meeting across the country in Istanbul between Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.But it will be the internal wrangling over NATO’s spending target that dominates the meat of the debate Thursday among foreign ministers with just over six weeks before leaders come face-to-face with Trump in The Hague. Trump has piled on pressure ahead of the summit by insisting he wants NATO to agree to devote five percent of GDP to defence — a level no member, including the United States, currently reaches.The volatile former reality TV star has rattled European allies worried about the menace from Russia by threatening not to protect countries that, in his eyes, don’t spend enough.In a bid to prevent him blowing up the alliance, NATO boss Mark Rutte has floated a proposal for allies to commit to 3.5 percent of direct military spending by 2032, as well as another 1.5 percent of broader security-related expenditure.That would hand Trump the headline figure he’s demanding while giving enough wiggle room to European allies who are struggling just to reach NATO’s current spending threshold of two percent.”Trump will be able claim victory and say that he got NATO to spend five percent,” one senior NATO diplomat, talking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.”In reality it will be more complicated than that — but that will be the essential political message from the summit.”- ‘Not a grab bag’ -Diplomats say that Rutte’s plan, which hasn’t been made public, envisions ratcheting up direct defence spending by 0.2 percent each year over the next seven years until countries hit the 3.5 target.The other 1.5 percent of more loosely defined spending could include a wide-range of areas including infrastructure, cyber defence, border controls and even support for Ukraine.Diplomats admit it’s a budgetary sleight-of-hand aimed at softening the blow for countries, such as Canada, Spain and Italy, who are still only just limping towards two percent. They say some countries are pushing for more time to reach the new target and to stretch the broader spending parameters as wide as possible. But European heavyweights France and Germany seem on board — especially as Berlin has opened the doors for a major splurge on defence. And the main thing for now appears the United States is already throwing its weight behind the plan — making officials optimistic of reaching a deal. “This new Hague investment pledge or plan is going to include all of the capability targets necessary for NATO allies to deter and defend, but it also includes things like mobility, infrastructure, necessary infrastructure, cyber security,” US NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker said. “It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers, but at the same time, it’s got to be defence-related. It is not a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine.”- Short and sweet? -Looming beyond the discussion on money are warnings from the United States that it could look in the future to pull out forces from Europe to focus on the threat from China. For now Washington says no firm decisions have been taken and it is conducting a review of its deployments worldwide. “We are having ongoing discussions with our allies to make sure that there are no security gaps,” Whitaker said. “We’re asking our European allies to be more capable and to be equal partners.”With a deal in the offing on spending, NATO is keen to avoid any other bones of contention potentially spoiling the summit.There is still no agreement on inviting Zelensky — who has a rocky relationship with Trump — to The Hague and it looks likely to depend on where things stand by then with the US push to end Russia’s war.Meanwhile diplomats say there is only likely to be one full session with leaders and a short declaration that avoids thorny issues such as Kyiv’s membership push. 

Donald Trump was set to meet the leader of Syria and the heads of the Gulf states Wednesday in Riyadh before travelling to Qatar where controversy is swirling over the gifting of a luxury aircraft.The US president was set to “say hello” to Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during his last day in Riyadh, after vowing to remove sanctions against the war-ravaged country.”I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said during a speech at an investment forum in the Saudi capital. “What I do for the crown prince,” he added, before being joined on stage by Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman, who along with Turkey has backed the Sunni Islamists who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December.The move comes despite misgivings about the direction of Syria from US ally Israel, which has unleashed military strikes on its neighbour both before and after the fall of Assad, an Iranian ally.Trump will also meet with leaders and representatives from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.The diplomatic sitdowns followed a day dedicated to sealing billions of dollars in commercial agreements, with the United States and Saudi Arabia signing a raft of deals involving energy, AI, weapons and tech. The White House said that Riyadh would purchase nearly $142 billion in arms in what it described as the largest-ever weapons deal.Washington said that Saudi company DataVolt was set to pour $20 billion in artificial intelligence-related projects in the United States. Tech companies including Google will also invest in both countries — likely welcome news for Saudi Arabia which has long faced restrictions securing advanced American technology.- Qatar controversy -Trump was set to head to Doha around midday. The tiny Gulf country that is home to a sprawling US air base has also served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas on ending the devastating war in Gaza. But the stop has largely been muddled by controversy following news that Trump planned on accepting a $400 million luxury plane as a gift from Qatar.The Boeing airplane would serve as a new, more modern presidential jet and then be put to Trump’s personal use once he leaves the White House.The move raises huge constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One.Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, on Tuesday vowed to hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over the move. The visit to Qatar comes just days after Washington negotiated directly with Hamas to secure the release of a hostage with US citizenship, Edan Alexander. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, hammered out a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that came into effect on January 19 — a day before Trump’s inauguration — but failed to end the war.The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to chart a path forward. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip, blocked aid and pledged to conquer the territory.On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days, saying: “There will be no situation where we stop the war.”Trump was set to finish his tour of the Gulf with a final stop in Abu Dhabi later in the week. 

Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have spent more than three decades behind bars for the grisly shotgun murders of their parents in the family’s luxury Beverly Hills home, could soon walk free after a judge on Tuesday reduced their life sentences.The ruling came after an emotional court hearing in Los Angeles during which the men took full responsibility for the 1989 double killing.”I do believe they’ve done enough over the last 35 years that one day they should get that chance” to be freed, Judge Michael Jesic said.Jesic reduced the men’s original sentences of life without the possibility of parole to a term of 50 years to life. The time they have already spent behind bars means they are already eligible to apply for parole, with a hearing scheduled for next month.The pair have spent two years trying to get their sentences reduced, with a public campaign bolstered by celebrity support from the likes of Kim Kardashian and supercharged by the hit Netflix miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”Blockbuster trials in the 1990s heard how the men killed Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion, in what prosecutors said was a cynical attempt to get their hands on a large family fortune.After setting up alibis and trying to cover their tracks, the men shot Jose Menendez five times with shotguns, including in the kneecaps.Kitty Menendez died from a shotgun blast as she tried desperately to crawl away from her killers.The brothers initially blamed the deaths on a mafia hit, but changed their story several times in the ensuing months.Erik, then 18, confessed to the murders in a session with his therapist.The pair ultimately claimed they had acted in self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of a tyrannical father.During their decades in prison, changing social mores and greater awareness of sexual abuse helped elevate the men to something approaching cultural icons, a status that was nourished by a parade of docudramas and TV miniseries. Legal hearings have been so popular that court managers used a lottery system for the public gallery.- ‘Full responsibility’ -On Tuesday, Lyle Menendez, now aged 57, addressed the court via videolink, admitting he had murdered his parents.”I take full responsibility for all my choices… the choice to point a gun at my mom and dad… the choice to reload… the choice to run and to hide and to do anything I could to get away,” he said, according to reporters who were in court.His brother, Erik, 54, told the court he had been wrong to take the law into his own hands and said his actions were cruel and cowardly.”I have no excuse, no justification. I take full responsibility,” he said. “I reached out to my brother for help and convinced him that we couldn’t escape. “I fired five rounds at my parents and went to get more ammunition. I lied to police, lied to my family. I am truly sorry.”The men’s family had earlier pleaded with the judge to show mercy, showcasing the work they have done in prison, including working with terminally ill inmates.Their cousin Anamaria Baralt told the hearing they were reformed and had earned their freedom.”We believe that 35 years is enough,” she said. “They are universally forgiven by our family. They deserve a second chance at life.”Diane Hernandez, niece of Kitty Menendez, said the brothers were “remarkable human beings.””There is absolutely no chance that they would break the law” if released, she said. “Their only desire is to do good.”Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman had opposed the resentencing, insisting that without a full accounting of the lies they had told — he said they gave five explanations for the murders — they should not be allowed out of prison.Under California law, if a parole board recommends the grant of parole for someone convicted of murder, Governor Gavin Newsom has the right to affirm, reverse or modify their decision.

From doctored photos of sex-fueled parties to a racy AI-generated song, a flood of misinformation surrounding music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs threatens to distort public perception of his closely watched New York trial.The larger-than-life rapper faces a slew of charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking, with his former partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura telling jurors on Tuesday that Combs subjected her to “disgusting” group sex sessions.As allegations surfaced in court, a web of conspiracy theories swirled online — amplified by social media algorithms — threatening to shroud the facts surrounding the high-profile celebrity trial.”Nobody believes the earth is flat when they first hear it, but repeated exposure to conspiracy theories can make them start to ‘feel’ true,” Dan Evon, lead writer for RumorGuard, a site that helps debunk viral disinformation, told AFP.”In that sense, it is possible that a flood of falsehoods about the Combs trial could sway or reinforce public opinion,” he added.A song titled “I Lost Myself at a Diddy Party” and falsely attributed to Justin Bieber recently garnered millions of views across tech platforms, sparking a wave of conspiracy theories about the relationship between the two celebrities.An audio clip of the song, which features lyrics about Bieber losing his innocence after attending one of Combs’s parties, was likely created using an AI tool, according to the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard.Also gaining traction online was a manipulated image of Combs and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sitting next to US President Donald Trump on a couch with young women.In another unfounded claim that went viral, the FBI seized a tape showing Hillary Clinton killing a child at one of Combs’s drug-fueled “freak-off” sex parties.NewsGuard reported that the voice of a supposed whistleblower who made the claim in a widely shared video was AI-generated.- ‘Perfect storm’ -The conspiracy theories lay bare the fragility of a misinformation-filled internet landscape, where views and virality are often mistaken as markers of accurate information.Rampant falsehoods have eroded online trust and turned many social media users into amateur sleuths. In recent months, content creators have pored over videos, photos, and interviews involving Combs and his celebrity associates in search of answers.”Conspiracy theories are as American as baseball and apple pie,” A.D. Carson, associate professor of hip-hop at the University of Virginia, told AFP.But, he said, they tend to merge into a “perfect storm” when a celebrity like Combs becomes the focus of round-the-clock media attention — especially in a criminal case involving sex, power, and politics.Widespread mistrust in the media and public institutions has fueled armies of internet sleuths, who operate on the principle that “there is no truth” and “there are powers that hide information or the real truth from us,” Carson said.”Often the misinformation is in response to what people perceive as misinformation,” he added.Many of these sleuths have drawn parallels between Combs’s case and that of other celebrities convicted of sexual misconduct, including Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and the late financier Epstein.- ‘Global cabal’ -“While there are credible allegations against Combs, conspiracy theories often push beyond the boundaries of what is factually known to allege an even wider and more sinister plot,” said Evon of RumorGuard.”The viral rumors surrounding Combs provide a sliver of proof for other high profile conspiracy theories: That there’s a global cabal involved in sex trafficking.”Diddy’s high profile and the nature of his alleged crimes provide another entry point into this conspiracy,” he added.Combs has pleaded not guilty on all counts, including the racketeering charge that the hip-hop pioneer led a sex crime ring that held drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.The whirlwind of misinformation could distract public attention from the real allegations facing Combs, and in the worst scenario, influence his trial, experts warned.”It’s impossible for people not to be influenced by all the conspiracy theories that are out there,” said Alphonse Provinziano, a family law attorney based in Beverly Hills who often works with celebrities.”This happens with every single high-profile trial,” he told AFP. “The question is: will the jurors follow the rules and not be influenced by that.”

President Donald Trump’s rollercoaster tariff row with Beijing has wreaked havoc on US companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing, with a temporary de-escalation only expected to partially calm the storm, analysts and business owners say.”The only option is to try to keep your head above water and be tossed by the waves, or to go out of business,” said Anna Barker, whose Mississippi-based firm Glo sells luminous toys designed in the United States and made in China.She told AFP that the 90-day reprieve beginning Wednesday is just a mere “blip on the radar.” Placing orders, manufacturing products and shipping them to the United States takes much longer.Trump’s escalating trade war since his return to office saw US duties on Chinese goods — including toys — reach a whopping 145 percent, while Beijing’s countermeasures hit 125 percent.The world’s two biggest economies however agreed at talks last weekend in Switzerland to temporarily lower the levies, bringing US tariffs down to 30 percent and China’s corresponding duties to 10 percent.While cautiously optimistic about the ongoing negotiations, Barker warned the 30 percent rate remains “massive for a small company.”Trump has argued that companies will enjoy zero tariffs if they manufacture in the United States, overlooking costs for any machinery or raw materials that would still need to be imported.”We’re an American company,” Barker said. “Our biggest priority, if it was just up to us, will always be the US market. But it simply can’t be right now.”To stay afloat, she is looking abroad for growth.- ‘Clogged pipeline’ -The pause “may temporarily help unstick” an effective trade embargo since April 9, when steep levies forced many firms to halt imports, said Steve Lamar, president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA).He warned, however, that the residual 30 percent tariff, stacking on duties from past administrations, will “make for an expensive back to school and holiday season.””The tariffs are still so large that you can’t help but pass them along,” said KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk.This means producers, retailers and consumers could all bear some burden, with small businesses hit particularly hard due to their narrower margins.Freight rates could also surge due to shipping disruptions from the tariffs.”There’s a lot of inventory piling up in factories in China that now need to hit the water,” said Josh Staph, chief executive of Ohio-based Duncan Toys Company.Barker said her company was hurrying to join an “already very clogged pipeline of people racing to shipping ports.”Policy shifts have “triggered both panic and paralysis” among companies, said Swonk.”Every time they see a window like what we have for 90 days now, they’ve got to rush,” she said. “In that rush, you have a self-fulfilling prophecy that shipping costs are going to go up.”- ‘Depressed investment’ -The AAFA’s Lamar has called for Trump to strike lasting deals with China and other countries to give businesses more long term certainty.Without a permanent tariff rollback, the United States will likely continue seeing “depressed investment,” said Philip Luck, economics program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.”Firms remain in limbo as they try to plan long-term sourcing and investment decisions,” he added.For Barker’s start-up Glo, born of a school project in Mississippi where she and her business partner were college students, the answer for now may be expanding outside the United States.This means shipping Chinese-made products to countries in Europe or elsewhere, even as it remains based in the southern state with around 30 staff.”As contrary as it might seem,” Barker said, “by shifting our focus international, that is to maintain American jobs.”

Casandra Ventura says she was coerced into sex with male escorts while Sean Combs watched and masturbated. If she ignored his calls, his associates found her. If she didn’t comply with his demands, he beat her viciously.And on Tuesday, when she saw the pop singer known as “Diddy” in court, lawyers say it was for the first time in years.Heavily pregnant with her third child, Ventura, an artist widely known as “Cassie,” took the stand for marathon testimony against her ex as the star witness in the trial in which prosecutors have accused Combs of heading a criminal sex trafficking ring.Wearing a long, turtleneck brown dress, camel coat and heeled boots, Ventura told jurors she first met Combs when she was 19 years old, and signed a contract with his Bad Boy record label for a 10-album deal — only one of which ever got made.Despite a 17-year age difference, Combs kissed her on her 21st birthday, she says, after which she cried and “ran off.”But they would continue to meet to talk about her music career and the relationship eventually turned sexual, she told jurors as Combs, now 55, imprisoned and noticeably aged, watched on.”I wanted to be around Sean for the same reasons as everyone else at the time,” the 38-year-old testified. “He was just this exciting, entertaining, fun guy — that also happened to have, you know, my career in his hands.”In excruciating testimony Ventura detailed how she eventually fell in love with Combs but felt forced to engage in so-called “freak-offs”: sometimes days-long sex performances directed by the one-time billionaire in which Cassie was the star, and according to her, the object.”I was humiliated,” she told the court, her voice breaking with tears as her husband observed from the gallery. “I couldn’t talk to anybody about it.””I just felt like it was all I was good for to him.”Combs would direct her to take drugs before the sex that routinely involved male escorts, and she complied: “I was high so there wasn’t too much feeling,” she told jurors.Asked by prosecutors if she ever asked that the freak-offs stop, Ventura said she tried, but to no avail.”Sean is a really polarizing person, also really charming,” Ventura said. “It’s hard to be able to decide in that moment what you need when he’s telling you what he wants.”- ‘Humiliating’ – Defense attorneys indicated they intend to show that Ventura was acting as a free adult engaging in what they’ve cast as unconventional, but consensual, sexual activity.But Ventura described highly orchestrated performances at the behest of Combs, who she said demanded rooms be stocked with baby oil and lubricant and mood lighting.He insisted Ventura dress in sheer outfits and platform heels purchased at sex shops, she said.At one point, he instructed she get in an inflatable pool filled with lube and oil while wearing lingerie, she said.Ventura said the choreographed sex parties took place in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta as well in Ibiza and Turks & Caicos.”Honestly you name it, we probably did it there,” Ventura said.The drugs were a “buffer” to withstand the “humiliating” and often-filmed sexual encounters, she said.Near the end of testimony on Tuesday — just the first of several in which Ventura is expected to take the stand — her voice quavered as she recounted a violent encounter at a Los Angeles hotel in which Combs attempted to drag her back to a freak-off she tried to leave.The disturbing footage — jurors have now seen it some half-dozen times in just the second day of testimony in the government’s case — is but one example of the physical abuse Ventura says she withstood over more than a decade of their relationship.When he was upset, she says, his eyes would “go black — the version of him I was in love with was no longer there.””Make the wrong face,” Ventura told jurors, “and the next thing I knew, I was getting hit in the face.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former partner Casandra Ventura told jurors at the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial Tuesday how he subjected her to “disgusting” and “humiliating” drug-fueled, marathon group sex sessions.Ventura also detailed beatings and abuse at the hands of Combs in bombshell testimony that underpins much of the prosecution’s case against the music industry figure, who is alleged to have used violence and blackmail to manipulate women over many years.Ventura, who is visibly pregnant, said of the so-called “freak-off” sex parties that she was “just in love and wanted to make (Combs) happy — to a point I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”Ventura, who is 17 years younger than Combs and first met him at 19 years old, described how the mogul would sometimes urinate on her, or he would instruct one of the numerous sex workers he engaged to do so. The escorts, almost always men, were paid upwards of thousands of dollars in cash after encounters.”It was disgusting. It was too much. It was overwhelming,” she said, adding that the hotel rooms used for the marathon sex sessions were often trashed, with establishments charging sizable cleaning and repair bills including for blood and urine-stained sheets.Asked if she enjoyed anything about the curated encounters that Combs allegedly instructed her to coordinate, Ventura wept openly.”I was just in love and wanted to make him happy,” she said of their on-and-off relationship that lasted more than a decade.Combs’s defense team indicated that during cross-examination, which is expected as early as Wednesday afternoon, they would seek to emphasize that Ventura took drugs of her own free will, and behaved erratically.Ventura said that during the encounters she took drugs including ecstasy, ketamine or cocaine, and that the “drugs honestly helped” her meet Combs’s demands to stay awake for days on end.The drugs also had a “dissociative and numbing” effect, she said, “a way to not feel it for what it really was.”- ‘He would mash me’ – Ventura said “Sean controlled a lot of my life — whether it was (my) career, the way I dressed.”And much of that control turned violent, she said, her voice quavering at points: “He would mash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me on the head if I was down.”In a hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday and again Tuesday, Combs is seen brutally beating and dragging Ventura — widely known as “Cassie” — down a hallway.The prosecution played parts of the clip while Ventura was on the stand.When asked why she didn’t fight back or get up, Ventura answered simply that curled up on the ground “felt like the safest place to be.” Former security officer at a Los Angeles InterContinental hotel, Israel Florez, told the court Monday that he was first on the scene after that incident and that Combs sought to pay him off.Florez’s testimony provided the foundation for the prosecution to introduce the security footage that was published by CNN last year.The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates responsible for determining Combs’s fate have started hearing of the famed artist’s explosive outbursts, exploitation of his partners and an attempt to preserve his own reputation and celebrity through bribery.But the 55-year-old’s defense team insist while some of his behavior was questionable — at times constituting domestic abuse — it did not meet the evidence needed to prove racketeering and sex trafficking charges.Combs has pleaded not guilty on all counts.Combs’s defense lawyer Teny Geragos called Combs’s accusers “capable, strong adult women,” and said his situation with Ventura was a “toxic relationship” but “between two people who loved each other.”Florez’s testimony was followed by a male dancer who engaged in a sexual relationship, often in exchange for money, with Combs and Ventura from 2012 to approximately the end of 2013. He concluded his testimony Tuesday.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in bringing hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks, and Combs was joined in the courthouse by family members as well as former lovers including Misa Hylton.