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The United States on Friday ended a tariff exemption for goods shipped from China worth less than $800, dealing a major blow to popular e-commerce sites such as Shein and Temu, whose cheap items consumers have come to rely on.The decision was announced last month, with the White House calling it a “critical step in countering the ongoing health emergency posed by the illicit flow of synthetic opioids” from China to the United States.Starting on Friday, goods shipped commercially will now be subject to new tariffs of 145 percent — the current level of levies imposed on goods coming from China.Items sent through the US Postal Service will be hit with duties of 120 percent of their value, or a $100, which will increase to $200 next month. The elimination of the ‘de minimis’ exemption now subjects even low-value imports to tariffs,” EY chief economist Gregory Daco wrote in a recent note to clients, adding it would squeeze “already-thin margins and driving up end prices.”The measures mark the latest salvo in a burgeoning trade war between the United States and China — the world’s two largest economies.The White House has also slapped additional levies of 25 percent on several sectors including automobiles, steel and aluminum from China.Beijing retaliated with sweeping 125 percent levies on US imports. Most other US trading partners face a baseline tariff of 10 percent, except for Mexico and Canada which face a higher 25 percent tariff on goods not covered by a current North America free-trade deal. The move threatens to hammer the business model of several large firms that ship cheap goods from China — including fast-fashion titans Shein and Temu.However, Chinese e-commerce sites listed on the New York Stock Exchange were largely in the green on Friday, most likely reflecting optimism about trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington, and the fact that many of these changes were already priced into the financial markets.At around 14:40 GMT, PDD, owner of Temu, was up 3.7 percent, while Alibaba was up around 4.0 percent.The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Shein was postponing a long-standing plan to list on public stock markets in London due to the looming de minimis changes.Trump first floated cancelling the exemption in February before backtracking after the move caused logistical disruptions.At the time, Beijing accused the United States of “politicizing trade and economic issues and using them as tools.”burs-da/des

Firefighters installed the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Friday which will emit white smoke to signal the election of a new pope as preparations proceed just five days before cardinals gather for the conclave.Some 133 Catholic cardinals will gather below Michelangelo’s famed frescoes in the 15th-century chapel, situated inside the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, to elect a successor to Pope Francis.Held behind locked doors, the conclave will signal to the world the outcome by burning ballots in a special stove, with the chimney emitting black smoke if no one has been elected, or white smoke if there is a new pope.Cardinals from around the world have been called back to Rome following the death on April 21 of Francis, an energetic reformer from Argentina who led the Catholic Church for 12 years.All but four of the cardinal electors — those aged under 80 — who can vote in the conclave are already in Rome, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.Ahead of the election, cardinals of all ages have been meeting daily at the Vatican to discuss the challenges facing the next head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.Friday’s meeting emphasised spreading the Catholic faith, the need for unity and the risk of “counter-witness” — problems such as sexual abuse and financial scandals — among other issues, Bruni told reporters.Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, Italy’s Pietro Parolin — who served as secretary of state under Francis — and Ghana’s Peter Turkson are among the favourites to be the next pope.But there is an old Roman saying that he who enters the conclave a pope, leaves a cardinal — a warning that the favourite rarely emerges as the winner.”I think the Church is in prayer mode, but it must also put itself in surprise mode,” Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, 82, told reporters as he headed into Friday morning’s meeting.”Remember what happened with Pope Francis — what a surprise!”- ‘Once in a lifetime’ -Among the crowds of tourists and pilgrims in St Peter’s Square on Friday, the installation of the chimney on the Sistine Chapel — a thin metal tube with a capped top — went largely unnoticed.But many were aware that history was in the making.”It definitely is a historic moment and it definitely feels special to be in Rome,” said Glenn Atherton, a Briton visiting from London.”It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he told AFP.There are 135 cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave, but two have withdrawn for health reasons.These were Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, Archbishop emeritus of Valencia in Spain, and Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop emeritus of Nairobi in Kenya, the Vatican confirmed.The conclave is due to begin at 4:30 pm (1430 GMT) on Wednesday, where the cardinals will take an oath to maintain the secrecy of the election, on pain of excommunication.That first day they will hold one ballot, with the winner — technically any baptised male, but in reality always one of their own — needing a two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, to win.During the following days they will hold two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon.If a winner is elected, the ballots will be burned in the special stove with the addition of chemicals to emit a white smoke to alert the waiting world to the decision.If no candidate has enough votes during the first morning vote, the cardinals will proceed to a second vote, and only after that point will the ballots be burned.The afternoon session follows the same procedure — if a pope is elected, there will be white smoke, but if not, the cardinals will proceed to a second vote and only after that will the ballots be burned.If no pope is elected, the smoke emitted by the chimney is black.The ancient signalling system — which still remains the only way the public learns whether a pope has been elected — used to involve mixing wet straw with the ballots to produce white smoke, and tarry pitch to create black smoke.But after several episodes in which greyish smoke caused confusion, the Vatican introduced a new system in 2005.At the last conclave, in 2013, the Vatican said it used a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur to produce black smoke, and potassium chlorate, lactose and rosin for white.Two stoves stand in a corner of the chapel, one for burning the ballots and the other for the chemicals, with the smoke from both stoves going up a common flue, it said then.Details for the procedure of next week’s conclave have not yet been confirmed.

Media rights group RSF warned Friday about “an alarming deterioration in press freedom” in the United States under President Donald Trump as well as “unprecedented” difficulties for independent journalists around the world.Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, which has been tracking press freedom for the last 23 years, said its main index had fallen to its lowest-ever level.”For the first time in the history of the index, the conditions for practising journalism are poor in half of the world’s countries and satisfactory in fewer than one in four,” an annual review of media freedom globally by the charity concluded.RSF editorial director Anne Bocande highlighted the role of economic pressures in undermining fact-based reporting, with many independent outlets having to close because of funding difficulties.Although spending on online advertising was still rising — hitting $247.3 billion in 2024, according to RSF — a growing share is captured by online giants Facebook, Google or Amazon rather than media companies. “When journalists are impoverished, they no longer have the means to resist the enemies of the press -— those who champion disinformation and propaganda,” Bocande said in a statement.- ‘Authoritarian shift’ -RSF highlighted how Trump had made difficult conditions worse by axing US financial support for state-backed broadcasters such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), as well as US foreign development aid that assisted media outlets overseas.After a fall of 11 places in 2024, the United States declined another two to 57th place on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, one behind formerly war-torn Sierra Leone in west Africa.The index, calculated according to the number of violent incidents involving journalists and other data compiled by experts, was topped by oil-rich Norway for the ninth year in a row. Estonia and the Netherlands were second and third.”In the United States, Donald Trump’s second term as president has led to an alarming deterioration in press freedom, indicative of an authoritarian shift in government,” RSF said. “His administration has weaponised institutions, cut support for independent media, and sidelined reporters.”Large parts of the United States were now “news deserts,” RSF said.Trump signed Thursday an executive order to cut public funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), accusing the news outlets of being biased.On Wednesday, he announced that he was considering legal action against The New York Times.He is also suing media group Paramount over a pre-election interview last year of his Democratic rival Kamala Harris on its CBS channel.Trump alleges it was edited to remove an embarrassing response, although many legal analysts view the case as baseless and likely to be dismissed or fail due to constitutional protections for freedom of the press.The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a media watchdog, also warned Wednesday that press freedom in the United States was declining and it urged newsrooms to form a united front against the “rising tide of threats” facing them.Other countries that have suffered major declines in press freedom over the last year include Argentina (down 21 places to 87th) under right-wing Trump ally Javier Milei, and Tunisia (down 11 places to 129th).RSF also again highlighted the plight of Palestinian journalists seeking to report on Israel’s devastating bombardment of Gaza.”In Gaza, the Israeli army has destroyed newsrooms, killed nearly 200 journalists and imposed a total blockade on the strip for over 18 months,” it said.Israel meanwhile had dropped a further 11 places to 112th and “continues to repress its own news media”. 

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to cut public funding for NPR and PBS, accusing the news outlets of being biased in his latest attack on traditional media. Trump has long had an antagonistic relationship with most mainstream news media, previously describing them as the “enemy of the people.”A notable exception is the powerful conservative broadcaster Fox News, some of whose hosts have taken on major roles in his administration.National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (CBS) are only partly funded by US taxpayers through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and rely heavily on private donations.Trump in his executive order instructed the CPB Board of Directors and all executive departments and agencies “to cease Federal funding” for NPR and CBS.He added that “neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”The CPB budget has already been approved by Congress through 2027, which raises questions about the scope of Trump’s order.Politico magazine described the order as “the White House’s biggest escalation yet in its assault on the media” and said it would likely be challenged in court.- ‘Subsidization of Biased Media’ -The White House published on Thursday a fact sheet titled “President Donald J. Trump Ends the Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.”  It said that NPR and PBS “have fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars, which is highly inappropriate and an improper use of taxpayers’ money.”To support this accusation, the document listed a number of claims about the two media outlets, which it said receive “tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year.”For example, that “over a six-month period, PBS News Hour used versions of the term ‘far-right’ 162 times, but ‘far-left’ only 6 times,” the White House said.It cited research — from an unnamed source — that showed that congressional Republicans have received far more negative media coverage than Democrats.The fact sheet also listed an NPR feature about “queer animals,” and on PBS the appearance of a “drag queen” on a kid’s show and a movie “which celebrates a transgender teen’s transition.”PBS and NPR were not immediately available for comment.- Press freedom -More than 40 million Americans listen to NPR public radio each week, and 36 million watch a local television station from the PBS network each month, according to their estimates.NPR director Katherine Maher estimated in March that the radio station would receive about $120 million from the CPB in 2025, “less than five percent of its budget.”Media rights group RSF warned Friday about “an alarming deterioration in press freedom” in the United States and “unprecedented” difficulties for independent journalists around the world.In February, the Oval Office stripped the White House Correspondents’ Association of the nearly century-old power to decide which of them cover US presidential events, with Trump saying that he was now “calling the shots” on media access.It also banned reporters from the Associated Press, the top US news agency, from the Oval Office and travelling on Air Force One.This was because the AP continues to refer to the Gulf of Mexico, an international body of water, and not simply the “Gulf of America” as decreed by Trump.The Trump administration has also begun to dismantle America’s publicly-funded “voices” abroad, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and “Voice of America.”

Tokyo’s envoy for US tariff talks in Washington said Thursday that the second round of negotiations between the two countries had been “frank and constructive.”Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 percent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminum.President Donald Trump also in early April announced “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan of 24 percent, but later put them on pause for 90 days along with those on other countries except China.”We were able to move forward in frank and constructive discussions to reach a mutually beneficial agreement as soon as possible,” Ryosei Akazawa told reporters Thursday.”We were able to advance concrete discussions on, for example, expanding trade between our two countries, non-tariff measures and economic and security co-operation.”Akazawa said he had “strongly proposed” to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials that Trump’s sweeping levies on trade partners be reviewed.The next round of ministerial-level talks will “take place intensively from mid-May onwards,” Akazawa said. Thursday’s talks followed an initial meeting in mid-April.Akazawa said any deal on tariff relief would be in the form of a package, which will be announced when finalized.”We have not yet reached the point where we can find areas of agreement,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters.”However, I have been informed that the discussion was very positive and constructive.”- ‘Firmly defending’ interests – Trump has repeatedly called for a stronger yen to boost US exports, but foreign currency rates were not discussed Thursday, Akazawa said.The yen has risen significantly since Trump’s tariffs were announced, and was trading at 145 for a dollar, compared with 158 in mid-January.Japanese media had said the second round of talks could focus on automobiles and agricultural products, which Akazawa called “very important economic sectors.””We have no intention of negotiating in a way that would be detrimental to the national interest, so we have been firmly defending what needs to be defended and saying what needs to be said,” he said.Akazawa had told reporters at the airport on Wednesday that “Japanese companies are losing money each and every day” because of US tariffs. He said Thursday that he did not discuss China with the US officials, adding that Japan has a “very strong trade relationship with China too.””We will continue to monitor the developments in US-China relations, including the tariff measures against China, with great interest.”Separately, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on a TV Tokyo program on Friday that Japan’s holdings of US Treasuries could be a bargaining chip in the negotiations.”It is natural to discuss everything that is a negotiation card… Whether we use them or not is another matter,” Kato said, according to TV Tokyo.”We don’t keep (the Treasury holdings) to support the US. We will intervene if our country is in trouble.”

Stung by the rocketing price of eggs — and US supermarkets rationing a basic breakfast staple — Yong-mi Kim decided to get some chickens to secure her own supply in southern California.While many people idly muse about backyard farming, for those not ready to take the plunge permanently, there’s a solution: renting a henhouse, complete with egg-laying birds.”I really want to try it out and see whether I like it or not,” the Los Angeles-area resident told AFP as she took delivery of two chickens and all the equipment they need to live a happy egg-laying life.”Some people I know have chickens at home, but it’s a lot of work for them — they had to adjust the whole garden themselves.”So I think renting a chicken is a good start.”Hiring hens began to gain ground in the United States around a decade ago in Pennsylvania when a farming couple set up “Rent The Chicken.” Since then, the project has expanded to more than 40 cities across North America, with local farmers setting up their own offshoots.The service saw an uptick in interest during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when people were stuck at home.But it has skyrocketed in recent months as consumers quail over the soaring cost of eggs, thanks to a bird flu pandemic that has seen the wholesale culling of egg-laying birds.”Especially this year, we have had a much higher interest, I would say, three to four times as much as we were seeing this time last year,” said Victoria Lee, who serves the Los Angeles region from her farm in Agua Dulce.Some Americans have been forking over more than $10 for a dozen eggs, up to three times their usual price, with supermarkets putting daily limits on the number of cartons a shopper can buy.The eyewatering costs were a regular feature of last year’s presidential campaign, with US President Donald Trump pledging to lower grocery bills when he got to the White House.But prices have continued to climb, and in March eggs were 60 percent more expensive than a year earlier, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.Lee is quick to point out, however, that raising chickens at home is not cheaper than buying eggs at the store. Instead, it’s a question of quality.”By the time they get to the grocery store (eggs) are on average 48-60 days old,” she said.”As eggs sit, no matter the quality at the start of that countdown, over time, the protein in the eggs begins to break down.”Backyard eggs, in contrast, are only as old as however long it took the owner to pick them up off the henhouse floor.- ‘Free eggs!’ – “Rent the Chicken” offers different options that range from around $500 to over $1,000 for six months, depending on location and number of birds desired. Packages include the birds, food, waterers and feeders, additional treats and a chicken care guide.But it is the included coop that is most striking — a sort of mini house with what looks like a patio, completely protected by fences.It’s also moveable, thanks to wheels on the bottom. “Every day, our renters will lift this up … and move it forward… with the chickens having access to fresh grass each day.”They’re getting the experience of being on wide-open pasture with that new stimulation, new bugs to look for, new grass to dig through, while still being safe in a predator-proof coop.”The convenience is what made the package attractive to Kim, a university professor living in La Crescenta, near Los Angeles, and when her new coop arrived, she was absolutely thrilled.”Free eggs!” Lee exclaimed while unloading the new backyard tenants and handing over a complimentary dozen laid the previous week.A client with two chickens can expect up to 14 eggs per week, Lee explains. Kim, whose son is an athlete who eats a lot of eggs, says although the supply crisis prompted her to rent the chickens, it’s “bigger than that.” “I really wanted to have something for the kids, also to learn as a way of life, and to compare the taste of the eggs,” she said.

Donald Trump once clashed with Marco Rubio in bitter and vulgar terms. Nearly a decade later, the president has crowned Rubio with the rare dual role of the two top US foreign policy jobs, putting the hawkish former senator at the forefront of a proudly disruptive administration.Trump on Thursday made Rubio, his secretary of state,the interim national security advisor, a powerful White House role tasked with coordinating foreign policy across the administration.Just 101 days into his second term, Trump removed national security advisor Mike Waltz, who faced criticism over a leaked group chat on war plans, and pledged to nominate him as US ambassador to the United Nations.No person has run both the State Department and National Security Council at the same time since the legendary Henry Kissinger, who did so for two years as former president Richard Nixon was being brought down by the Watergate scandal.It remains doubtful that Rubio can amass as much influence as Kissinger, a ruthless tactician both in Washington and overseas.Trump, who sours quickly on aides, has already given some of the most sensitive assignments — from Russia to Iran to Gaza — to special envoy Steve Witkoff, his longtime golfing partner and business friend with no previous diplomatic experience.But Rubio has found a politically winning formula, not by fighting for turf, but by seizing on his own issues that endear himself to Trump’s base — starting with deportations.- Winning over base -Rubio has been cheered on by much of Trump’s base, some of whom after his nomination derided him as an establishment “warmongering” hawk.It is an even further shift from the 2016 presidential race when Trump mocked him as “Little Marco” and Rubio questioned the size of Trump’s genitals.Rubio, the first Hispanic secretary of state, on one of his first stops reached a deal to send migrants and possibly even Americans to El Salvador, whose President Nayib Bukele has championed mass incarceration to curb crime.Rubio at a 100th day cabinet meeting with Trump repeatedly said he was unapologetic about seeking more such prison deals overseas, despite a court order that the Trump administration has resisted to bring back a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported.Rubio has shown similar gusto in deporting foreign students over protests against Israel, insisting that he alone can revoke visas despite US constitutional protections of freedom of speech.”Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,” he said.- ‘Normal’ cabinet member -Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants fiercely opposed to communism, has always held conservative views.But on Capitol Hill, he was known as an affable player with mainstream views and, unusually in such partisan times, was unanimously confirmed by fellow senators.Foreign interlocutors still largely see him as the most understandable person in the Trump orbit.”We feel that he’s one person who is still ‘normal’ and will at least listen to our concerns and say he’ll take them back,” said one diplomat from a US ally involved in a meeting with Rubio, granted anonymity to speak frankly.But Rubio has been careful not to break publicly with Trump.He disagreed during a closed-door White House meeting with Elon Musk, the billionaire who has imposed sweeping cuts in government, according to a person familiar with the encounter.But Rubio, who championed foreign aid as a senator, has watched as the US Agency for International Development was demolished.In a scene that drew wide parody, Rubio appeared to silently sink deep into the White House couch as Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a stunning February 28 meeting.At least two Democratic senators afterward said they regretted voting for Rubio, with Chris Murphy saying he had expected Rubio to “stand up” to Trump on issues dear to him such as Ukraine.Making clear his affinity with Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, Rubio in April gave an interview to a podcast by the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., in which he agreed that foreign aid had been turned “into a tool to export our domestic policies of the far left.”Describing former president Joe Biden’s policy on Venezuela, the once bipartisan-sounding senator said undiplomatically, “It’s really both weakness and stupidity.”

Once hip-hop’s flashy impresario, Sean “Diddy” Combs now sports unruly, gray hair and only appears publicly in court, where he will be a regular starting Monday as his federal sex crimes trial gets underway in New York. Jury selection will kick off the blockbuster proceedings, the next chapter for the once-powerful mogul, whose efforts in recent years to rebrand as “Brother Love” were thwarted by a criminal indictment and a mountain of civil suits alleging he committed harrowing sexual abuse.The 55-year-old founded the Bad Boy record label in 1993, with proteges including the late Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, and is frequently credited with moving hip-hop into the mainstream.Combs, who has used various monikers over the years including Puff Daddy and P Diddy, amassed vast wealth, not least from his ventures in the liquor industry.But despite his efforts to cultivate an image of a smooth party kingpin and businessman, the federal criminal case and multiple civil suits describe Combs as a violent predator who weaponized his fame to victimize men and women.He has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault, dating back to the 1990s.One of the key elements in the New York trial will be his relationship with singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura. The pair met when Ventura was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.In late 2023, she opened the floodgates against Combs with a litany of allegations against him, including a 2018 rape.Though that case was quickly settled out of court, a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims followed — including one in December by a woman who alleged Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17.Combs has denied every accusation against him, but the case has left his reputation and legacy in tatters.- Dark shadow over global fame -Born Sean John Combs on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, the artist entered the industry as an intern in 1990 at Uptown Records where he eventually became a talent director.He gained a reputation as a party planner, which would be central to his brand as his fame rose.In 1991, he promoted a celebrity basketball game and concert at the City College of New York that ended in a stampede, leaving nine people dead.The event was over-capacity by the thousands and resulted in a string of lawsuits, with Combs blamed for hiring inadequate security.He was fired from Uptown, and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records.Thus began his quick ascent to the top of East Coast hip-hop.His disciple The Notorious B.I.G. became the genre’s king following the release of his landmark debut album “Ready to Die” in 1994, up until his shock murder in 1997.Combs boasted a number of major signed acts and production collaborations with the likes of Blige, Usher, Lil’ Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.He was also a Grammy-winning rapper in his own right, debuting with the chart-topping single “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” and his album “No Way Out.”The single “I’ll Be Missing You” was a tribute to Biggie and an instant hit, with other major tracks including “It’s All About The Benjamins” and “Been Around the World.”He built an image as a brash hustler with unapologetic swagger, a major producer who also ventured into Hollywood, reality television and fashion and had high-profile romantic links with the likes of Jennifer Lopez.For more than a decade beginning in 1998, his lavish White Parties were the toast of the showbiz A-list party circuit.As recently as two years ago, he hammed it up for cameras at Manhattan’s flashy Met Gala, where he was a regular.The high-profile fundraiser coincidentally will take place on Monday, the same day that lawyers start questioning the prospective jurors who will determine Combs’s fate.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in New York in the blockbuster trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who dramatically fell from grace following his incarceration on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.Combs, 55, has been awaiting his day in court since last year on accusations of leading a crime ring that prosecutors say coerced victims into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, insisting that any sex acts were consensual. At a recent hearing, his attorney Marc Agnifilo offered a preview of his team’s defense by describing the artist’s free-wheeling “swinger” lifestyle.The prosecution said in court it had offered Combs a plea deal — the specifics were not disclosed — but that he had rejected it.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in ushering hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison.Over the decades, the artist — who has gone by various stage names including Puff Daddy and P Diddy — amassed vast wealth for his work in music but also his ventures in the liquor industry.The jury selection start date is notably the first Monday in May — which annually marks New York’s Met Gala, a glittering celebrity charity bash where Combs was once a red carpet mainstay.Just two years ago, he posed for the cameras at that event uptown — but on Monday, he will be in downtown in federal court, as the panel of citizens tasked with determining his fate face a barrage of questions from lawyers on both sides.Jury selection is expected to wrap up in about a week, with opening statements tentatively scheduled for May 12.Combs was arrested by federal agents in New York in September 2024 and denied bail multiple times. He is being held at Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility plagued by complaints of vermin and decay as well as violence.High-profile inmates there have included disgraced R&B star R. Kelly, Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur convicted of fraud.During pre-trial hearings, Combs has appeared in court looking remarkably aged, his once jet-black, styled coif now overgrown and gray.- ‘Freak-offs’ -Central to the case is Combs’s relationship with his former girlfriend, the singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who is expected to be a key trial witness.A disturbing surveillance video from 2016, which was aired by CNN last year, shows Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel.Prosecutors say the encounter occurred following one of the “freak-offs” they argue were a feature of his pattern of abuse.The so-called “freak-offs” were coercive, drug-fueled sexual marathons including sex workers that were sometimes filmed, according to the indictment.It’s unclear how much of the CNN video will be shown to jurors as evidence in court — the footage’s quality has been a sticking point between the opposing legal teams — but Judge Arun Subramanian has ruled that at least some of it will be admissible.Combs has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault, dating back well into the 1990s.The floodgates against the Grammy winner opened after Ventura filed a civil suit alleging Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.That 2023 suit was quickly settled out of court, but a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims from both women and men followed — and the federal criminal indictment dropped after a raid of his luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles.The indictment includes a charge of racketeering conspiracy, the federal statute known by its acronym RICO that was once seen as primarily targeting the mafia but in recent years has also been wielded frequently in cases of sexual abuse.It allows government attorneys to project a long view of criminal activity rather than prosecuting isolated sex crimes, and requires proving “predicate acts” — the crimes elemental to the wider pattern of illegal wrongdoing.In 2021, it was successfully used to convict R. Kelly, the fallen R&B hitmaker who was sentenced to more than 30 years of prison including for child sex crimes.Industry watchers are also monitoring Combs’s case as a potential inflection point in the music world which, beyond the case of Kelly, has largely evaded the #MeToo reckoning that has rocked Hollywood.

Apple on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above expectations but warned that US tariffs could cost the company and were disrupting its supply chain.Apple expects US tariffs to cost $900 million in the current quarter, even though their impact was “limited” at the start of this year, chief executive Tim Cook said on an earnings call.Cook said he expected “a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin,” adding that Apple’s products were exempt from Trump’s most severe reciprocal tariffs for now.”We are not able to precisely estimate the impact of tariffs, as we are uncertain of potential future actions prior to the end of the quarter,” Cook said. “Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add $900 million to our costs.”Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen hefty US levies imposed on China, with Beijing setting retaliatory barriers on US imports.High-end tech goods such as smartphones, semiconductors and computers received a temporary reprieve from US tariffs.Although completed smartphones are exempted from Trump’s tariffs for now, not all components that go into Apple devices are spared, said independent tech analyst Rob Enderle.”The more components are crossing borders, the most cost flows through to the device,” Enderle explained.”In the end, this all adds up to an expensive mess,” he said of the tariff situation.Canalys research manager Le Xuan Chiew said Apple built up inventory ahead of the tariffs going into effect.”With ongoing fluctuations in reciprocal tariff policies, Apple is likely to further shift US-bound production to India to reduce exposure to future risks,” he said.While iPhones produced in mainland China still account for the majority of US shipments, production in India ramped up toward the end of the quarter, according to Canalys.Cook said Vietnam would be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPod products sold in the US.China will continue to be where most Apple products are made for sale outside the US, he insisted.”What we learned some time ago was that having everything in one location had too much risk with it and so we have, over time with certain parts of the supply chain, opened up new sources of supply,” Cook told analysts.”You could see that kind of thing continuing in the future.”- Sales slip in China -Apple’s revenue of $95.4 billion in the recently ended quarter was driven by iPhone sales, with the company reporting $24.8 billion profit for the quarter.”Apple saw strong growth in the Americas and Japan,” said CFRA Research equity analyst Angelo Zino, noting part of the reason could have been ramped up orders to get ahead of US tariffs.”China revenue declined 3 percent, but the hope was for growth as subsidies were put in place to help stimulate demand in the region.”Apple shares were down more than three percent in after-market trading.”The real story is in Tim Cook’s plans to navigate these unprecedented trade challenges,” said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne.Apple’s plan to shift manufacturing to India “raises pressing questions about execution timeline, capacity limitations, and potentially unavoidable cost increases that will shrink margins, be passed to consumers, or have a mix of consequences,” Bourne added.