Latest news with #Hersh
Los Angeles Times
03-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
For survivor advocates, Diddy verdict is ‘a huge setback' as accused artists prep comebacks
When Lauren Hersh, the national director of the anti-sex trafficking activist group World Without Exploitation, heard Wednesday that Sean 'Diddy' Combs was convicted only on the two least serious charges against him, she felt grief for his former partner Casandra Ventura and his other accusers. 'I think this is a travesty,' Hersh said. 'It shows there is culturally a deep misunderstanding of what sex trafficking is and the complexity of coercion. So often in these cases, there's an intertwining of horrific violence and affection.' Hersh, the former chief of the sex trafficking unit at the Kings County district attorney's office in Brooklyn, said that Combs' verdict — guilty on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted on one for racketeering and two for sex trafficking — is a mixed message about Combs' conduct. But it will likely be felt as a step backward for the movement to hold powerful men to account for alleged sex crimes. In a cultural moment when other music stars like Marilyn Manson and Chris Brown have mounted successful comebacks after high-profile abuse investigations and lawsuits, Hersh worries the Diddy verdict may deter prosecutors from pursuing similar cases against powerful men and chill the MeToo movement's ability to seek justice for abuse victims. 'It's a huge setback, especially in this moment when the powerful have continuously operated with impunity,' Hersh said. 'It sends a signal to victims that despite the MeToo movement, we're still not there in believing victims and understanding the context of exploitation. But I'm hoping it's a teachable moment to connect the dots with what trafficking is and understanding the complexity of coercion.' The charges against Combs were not a referendum on whether he had abused Ventura or the myriad other women and men involved in his 'freak-off' parties, where group sex and drug use intertwined into an allegedly decadent and violent culture around Combs. Combs' defense team freely admitted that his relationship with Ventura was violent, as seen in an infamous 2016 videotape of Combs beating Ventura in an elevator lobby at the InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles. Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs' lawyers, said in closing arguments that Combs has a drug problem but described his relationship with Ventura as a 'modern love story' in which the hip-hop mogul 'owns the domestic violence' that plagued it. 'The defendant embraced the fact that he was a habitual drug user who regularly engaged in domestic abuse,' federal prosecutors wrote in a hearing about Combs' possible bail terms. The jury decided that Combs' conduct, however reprehensible, did not amount beyond a reasonable doubt to a criminal racketeering organization or sex trafficking. Yet the case's impact on movements within music and other industries to hold abusers to account is uncertain. Many civil suits against the music mogul are still moving through court and could affect his depleted finances. Combs' reputation has been thoroughly tainted by the lurid details of the trial and strong condemnations from his many accusers. Still, for victim advocates, the verdict was a bitter disappointment. Reactions within the music world were swift and despairing. 'This makes me physically ill,' said Aubrey O'Day of Danity Kane, the band Diddy assembled on his popular reality TV show 'Making the Band,' on social media. 'Cassie probably feels so horrible. Ugh, I'm gonna vomit.' 'Cassie, I believe you. I love you. Your strength is a beacon for every survivor,' wrote singer Kesha, who in 2014 sued producer Dr. Luke, accusing him of assault. Kesha has frequently altered the lyrics of her hit single 'TikTok' in performances to lambast Combs. Even longtime Diddy antagonist 50 Cent seemed to acknowledge his partial victory. 'Diddy beat the feds that boy a bad man,' 50 Cent wrote on Instagram, before referencing a famous mobster notorious for evading convictions. 'Beat the RICO he the gay John Gotti.' Mitchell Epner, a former assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey who prosecuted numerous sex trafficking and involuntary servitude cases, said that despite some recent high-profile sex trafficking cases that ended in convictions, Combs' charges were never going to be easy to prove. 'In recent years, we've seen prosecutions of Ghislaine Maxwell in the Jeffrey Epstein case, Keith Raniere of NXIVM and R. Kelly, where they are trafficking in order to feed the traffickers' sexual desire,' Epner said. 'But this indictment was all about Sean Combs sharing women with people he was paying. He wasn't receiving money, he wanted to be a voyeur. That technically fits the definition of sex trafficking, but it wasn't the primary evil Congress was thinking about.' The hurdles for accusers to come forward with claims against powerful men, and for juries to discern between transgressive sexual relationships and criminally liable abuse beyond a reasonable doubt, make such cases difficult to prosecute. In the absence of convictions, some recently accused artists have already mounted successful comebacks. Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson had been under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since 2021, when several women accused him of rape and abuse including 'Westworld' actor Evan Rachel Wood and 'Game of Thrones' actor Esmé Bianco. Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in January that the statute of limitations had run out on Manson's domestic violence allegations, and that prosecutors doubted they could prove rape charges. 'While we are unable to bring charges in this matter,' Hochman said in a statement then, 'we recognize that the strong advocacy of the women involved has helped bring greater awareness to the challenges faced by survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault.' Bianco told The Times that, 'Within our toxic culture of victim blaming, a lack of understanding of coercive control, the complex nature of sexual assault within intimate partnerships, and statutes of limitations that do not support the realities of healing, prosecutions face an oftentimes insurmountable hurdle. Once again, our justice system has failed survivors.' Manson has denied all claims against him. He has since released a new album and mounted successful tours. Meanwhile, R&B singer Chris Brown was recently the subject of 'Chris Brown: A History of Violence,' a 2024 documentary that shed new light on a 2022 lawsuit where a woman accused Brown of raping her on a yacht owned by Combs in 2020. That lawsuit — one of many civil and criminal claims made against Brown over the years, beginning with the infamous 2009 incident in which he assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna — was dismissed. In 2020, Brown settled another sexual assault lawsuit regarding an alleged 2017 incident at the singer's home. Brown currently faces criminal charges around a 2023 incident where he allegedly assaulted a music producer with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub. Brown denied the claims in the documentary, and his attorneys called the film 'defamatory.' He sued Warner Bros. Entertainment for $500 million. He is currently on a stadium tour that will stop at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in September. Combs, meanwhile, may still face a range of criminal and civil consequences. He could be sentenced from anywhere up to the maximum of 10 years apiece on each prostitution charge, or to a far lesser sentence. Some experts said it's possible he may be sentenced to time served and walk away a free man soon. Though it's too soon to know what kind of future awaits Combs should he return to public life, it's hard to imagine a return to the heights of influence that defined his '90s tenure at Bad Boy Entertainment, or his affable multimedia-mogul personality in the 2000s. A fate similar to the former hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons seems most likely — reputationally tarnished and culturally irrelevant. Still, his supporters thronged outside the New York courtroom waving bottles of baby oil — an infamous detail of the trial — in a pseudo-ironic celebration of his acquittal on the most serious charges. If Combs wants to ever return to music, he'll have at least one ally in Ye, the embattled Nazi-supporting rapper who showed up in court to bolster Combs. Ye featured the incarcerated mogul on his song 'Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine,' and released clothing featuring the logo of Combs' old fashion label Sean John. President Trump, another convicted felon and alleged sexual assailant who quickly returned to the heights of power, has said he is open to pardoning Combs. 'It's not a popularity contest,' he has said, regarding a Combs pardon. 'I would certainly look at the facts if I think somebody was mistreated.'
CNN
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Israeli Assessment: U.S. Strikes Damaged Ford Less Than Expected - Anderson Cooper 360 - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Israeli Assessment: U.S. Strikes Damaged Ford Less Than Expected Anderson Cooper 360 49 mins New reporting on how much damage American airstrikes did, or did not do, to Iran's nuclear program. CNN has learned that a preliminary assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency suggests it may be far less than the President and others said it was immediately after the attack. Plus, the work toward a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Anderson speaks to Rachel Golberg and Jon Polin, whose son Hersh was taken hostage on October 7th and executed by Hamas.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
US strikes Iran: How legendary 88-year-old reporter Seymour Hersh scooped that Donald Trump would attack Iranian nuclear sites
In an age where news breaks on social media feeds faster than newsroom alerts, it wasn't CNN, BBC or The New York Times that first reported the United States' military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It was Seymour Hersh. Yes, that Seymour Hersh—the 88-year-old Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter, best known for uncovering the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam and the Abu Ghraib prison abuses in Iraq. And now, in the summer of 2025, the veteran journalist has done it again—beating major media outlets and intelligence briefings by publishing details of the Trump administration's plan to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, nearly 48 hours before the world knew it had actually happened. The Scoop On June 19, Hersh published a detailed report via his Substack newsletter, claiming that US B-2 bombers and naval platforms were preparing a "coordinated assault" on Iran's underground nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The piece cited unnamed sources in the intelligence community who warned that the operation was imminent and being conducted with minimal oversight from Congress or America's NATO allies. At the time, most dismissed it as another speculative post from a journalist long estranged from the legacy media. But by June 22, when US President Donald Trump went on record confirming the strikes—calling the targets 'obliterated'—Hersh had already been vindicated. The Attack The strikes, launched late on June 21, targeted three high-profile Iranian nuclear facilities. While initial reports from state media in Iran downplayed the damage, satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts suggested precision airstrikes had indeed hit deep underground bunkers at Fordow and Natanz, as well as key infrastructure in Isfahan. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Yet despite the intensity of the operation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported no significant radiation spikes, prompting speculation that either: Iran had preemptively moved or buried sensitive material, or The sites were largely non-operational or decoy facilities. Either way, it challenged Trump's claim of having 'wiped out' Iran's nuclear capability. Déjà Vu: From Nord Stream to Natanz Hersh's report bore eerie similarities to his controversial 2023 scoop on the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which he attributed to US covert operations. At the time, mainstream outlets largely ignored the piece, but subsequent leaks from German and Nordic investigations lent circumstantial credibility to his claims. The Iran story followed a similar arc: initial media silence, public disbelief, and then abrupt confirmation—except this time, the stakes involved possible nuclear escalation in the Middle East. The Media Gap Hersh's scoop once again spotlights the widening chasm between traditional journalism and independent reporting. A 2023 study by the Reuters Institute found that 62% of US adults now rely on social media, newsletters, and independent platforms for breaking news—often citing speed, authenticity, and ideological distrust of legacy media. Hersh, for his part, has long been critical of what he calls the 'lapdog press'—journalists too embedded in officialdom to question military narratives or dig beneath the surface. His latest work only reinforces that critique. Even defenders of legacy media recognize the challenge. In late 2024, Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, penned a stirring op‑ed titled 'The hard truth: Americans don't trust the news media,' in which he conceded: 'Reality is an undefeated champion. … We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing on the second requirement.' Bezos's admission—calling out both accuracy and credibility—served as a tacit acknowledgment that even powerful legacy outlets are circling back to the same core demand: fearless, truthful reporting, just as Hersh delivers time and again. What Next? Iran, for now, has not confirmed the full extent of the damage but has vowed to retaliate 'at a time and place of its choosing.' Meanwhile, in Washington, Trump faces minimal political backlash, with key GOP figures framing the strike as a 'preemptive blow' to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. But the bigger story might be this: Seymour Hersh, nearly nine decades old, once again scooped the world. In an era of TikTok pundits and algorithm-fed outrage, his dogged reliance on old-school sourcing—combined with new-age platforms like Substack—has given him a second act few journalists ever get. Legacy vs Longevity While major networks scrambled to confirm what Hersh had already written, one truth remained clear: in the information war, experience still matters. Hersh's longevity in investigative reporting—not in spite of, but because of his outsider status—continues to disrupt the cosy, slow-moving machinery of legacy media. The attack on Iran may or may not spark a wider conflict. But Hersh's scoop has already ignited a different kind of reckoning—one about where we get our news, and who we still trust to tell us the truth.
Montreal Gazette
27-05-2025
- Montreal Gazette
‘Flood the world with goodness,' parents of hostage killed by Hamas say at Montreal event
News By The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American who Hamas took hostage and later killed, urged Canadians to push back against misinformation and 'flood the world with goodness' during a public appearance in Montreal. Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin spoke at the Montreal Holocaust Museum Monday at an event moderated by community member Lisa Singer and organized by Federation CJA. The couple shared their son's story with the hundreds of people who turned out, highlighting the 58 hostages still believed to be held in Gaza. During the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 2023, which killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — their son Hersh was taken from a bomb shelter. Part of his arm was severed from a rocket blast. Held in Gaza for nearly 11 months, Hersh was confirmed dead in August 2024. When his body was recovered, it showed signs of close-range gunshot wounds to the hand, neck, shoulder and head. He was one of six hostages Hamas executed shortly before their remains were found. On Monday, the couple spoke about their lives before and after the Oct. 7 attack, who their son was, and what gives them the strength to carry on. They described Hersh as a friend to everyone and full of life. Born in Berkeley, Calif., and raised in Richmond, Va., Hersh moved to Israel with his family in 2008. He had recently returned from travelling in Europe and was planning to explore more of the world when he attended the Re'im Music Festival near the Gaza border. 'He was a normal person. Not perfect, but the perfect son for me,' Goldberg-Polin said. 'I feel like God was very wise, saying, 'Rachel's going to have one son — this is the one she's getting.'' Goldberg-Polin stressed the need to not shy away from what happened to Hersh and others. Even the forensic details, she said, such as gunpowder embedded in his hair from being shot at close range, should not be hidden. 'It's the truth, and it's testimony, and I think that's critical. … In a world where so much can be manipulated, where there's AI and disinformation, truthful testimony matters.' They described a meeting with another released hostage who had seen Hersh weeks into captivity. Despite his injuries, they said he stayed mentally strong and often repeated the phrase: 'He who has a 'why' can bear almost any 'how.'' The couple has been travelling the globe to share Hersh's story and rally international support for the remaining hostages. Asked when she misses him most, Goldberg-Polin replied: 'When I'm breathing.' 'I had a son, and I loved him, and he knew it, and he loved me, and I knew it. I was blessed — and I am blessed.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Community Corner: Tickets still available for TedxSavannah 2025!
This Friday, May 16, you're invited to be a part of important conversations that have the power to affect positive change in our returns featuring a dozen local thought Hersh and Karla Jennings are both TEDxSavannah board is also a former TEDxSavannah speaker and a current speaker sat down with WSAV's Kim Gusby on today's Community Corner to talk about the 14th annual event. Click the arrow in the video box above to watch the interview. TEDxSavannah 2025Friday, May 169 a.m. to 2 Arts Auditorium, Georgia Southern University's Armstrong Campus, 11935Doors open at 8 a.m. Get tickets here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
