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New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Video Taken by Migrant Shows Overcrowded ICE Holding Cell in Manhattan
For weeks, immigrants have complained about overcrowded and unsanitary conditions inside the holding cells of the federal immigration offices in New York City, drawing scrutiny from lawmakers and denials from the Trump administration. On Tuesday, new video footage offered the first glimpse inside one of the four cells on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, where the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has held hundreds of migrants for days at a time since ICE stepped up arrests this summer. Two videos, which were recorded by a migrant who was held there last week and sneaked in his cellphone, show more than a dozen men sprawled on the floor atop thin thermal blankets or sitting on benches built into the room's white walls. In one video, the man, who recorded it near one of the room's two metal toilets, is heard saying in Spanish that the migrants were being held 'like dogs in here.' ICE had traditionally used the cells, which don't have beds, to hold a small number of migrants for a few hours while they are processed and dispatched to detention centers outside the city. But the cells have become crowded since the agency scaled up arrests at its offices and in nearby immigration courthouses in May, forcing migrants to sleep on the floor or to sit upright, sometimes for several days. The video appeared to confirm some of those conditions, which had previously been described by migrants in interviews with The New York Times, and had been highlighted by activists and Democratic lawmakers, who have been denied access to inspect the cells. The video was obtained by the New York Immigration Coalition through a Queens assemblywoman, Catalina Cruz, and first reported by The City, a local news outlet. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that 26 Federal Plaza was not a detention center and that detainees were held there only 'briefly.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Echoes of Versailles at a Downtown Department Store
Good morning. It's Monday. Today we'll look at a $185-a-ticket immersive production whose director sees parallels between Louis XIV's Versailles and 21st-century New York. Tonight, after closing time in a luxury department store in Lower Manhattan, they're going to party like it's 1679. There will be actors and singers in velvety waistcoats and breeches, or in opulent gowns with puff sleeves. The Louis XIV look won't be the only allusion to the Sun King's court during a three-hour immersive performance. Attendees will be given vials of powder. Don't worry, says the director of the event, Andrew Ousley — the vials won't be filled with poison, as they were in a notorious incident at Versailles. These vials will contain nothing more than food coloring and the powder that puts the pastels in Parisian macarons. But the ringleader distributing the powder will be sentenced to death, as the original provocateur was 345 years ago. Ousley built the performance piece, 'The Affair of the Poisons,' around one of the most sensational scandals of 17th-century France, one so overwhelming that Louis XIV shut down the investigation after his favorite mistress was implicated. Ousley is staging the production with opera singers and the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra, which was formed in 2019 for the French premiere of John Corigliano's opera 'The Ghosts of Versailles' in — where else? — the opera house that Louis XIV had commissioned at the palace itself, outside Paris. Now the orchestra is on its first tour of the United States. And, as 'The Affair of the Poisons' unfolds, the audience will encounter members of the Brooklyn dance troupe Company XIV, including a candelabra-balancing belly dancer. Ousley did not know about the scandal until he began doing research for the piece that became 'The Affair of the Poisons.' 'Everything I read about it made me more astounded, not only by how over-the-top wild it was but how relevant it was to the present day,' when New York is struggling with issues of affordability and income disparity, he said. But back to 17th-century Paris. Arsenic — 'untasteable and untraceable' — had come into vogue, and 'people were poisoning their spouses or mistresses,' he said. 'Louis's favorite mistress was plotting to poison him as well as a newer mistress who had gained his favor.' The poison came from Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin, a midwife and fortune teller known as La Voisin who had apparently counted the favorite mistress, Madame Athénaïs de Montespan, as a client for years. Worried that Louis's affection was waning, Montespan had tried to poison the newer, younger mistress, who was a teenage lady-in-waiting at Versailles when Louis noticed her. La Voisin, who will be portrayed in 'The Affair of the Poisons' by the drag opera artist known as Creatine Price, did more than traffic in poison: Ousley said that Montespan would lie nude while La Voisin poured blood over her. After the poison scandal broke, a special tribunal was convened, and more than 30 people were sentenced to death. But Louis suspended the proceedings once Montespan was implicated. 'The scandal got a little close to home,' Ousley said. The setting for 'The Affair of the Poisons' will be Printemps, the French department store that opened in March at 1 Wall Street. Ousley called it '55,000 square feet of some of the most intentional, thoughtful luxury.' The audience members will be served hors d'oeuvres prepared by Gregory Gourdet, the store's culinary director, and wine from Bouchaine Vineyards, whose proprietors, Gerret and Tatiana Copeland, underwrote the tour for the orchestra. (The tour includes another performance on Wednesday at L'Alliance New York, the French cultural center in Manhattan.) Ousley runs a nonprofit called Death of Classical, which puts top-flight performers in unusual places like crypts and catacombs around New York. But he said, 'even by my standards this is one of the most insane things we've done.' It is also one of the most expensive, at $185 a ticket, which, he acknowledged, is a lot of money. 'There's no question that New York City is in the midst of a massive affordability crisis, not to mention ever-increasing income disparity,' he said. 'The problem isn't luxury in and of itself, but rather luxury as an end unto itself.' Still, he said, Death by Classical's programs are value propositions. Tonight, he said, attendees will leave with a goody bag. Among the items inside will be 'a small candle by Trudon from, wait for it, their Versailles collection.' The candle sells on Amazon for $70. Weather It's going to be a bright one! Prepare for a sunny day with temperatures nearing 84. Tonight will be clear with a low around 66. ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING In effect until Aug. 3 (Tisha B'Av). The latest Metro news Mamdani travels to Uganda: Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor, took a break from campaigning to fly to Uganda, where he was born. He said he had made the trip to Africa with his wife, Rama, to celebrate their five-month-old marriage with family and friends. Meanwhile, in New York, Mayor Eric Adams criticized Mamdani for taking time off, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been making appearances across the state. Health care union endorses Mamdani: Local 1199, the city's most powerful health care union, rescinded its support of Cuomo and is now endorsing Mamdani. Since his win, Mamdani has continued to gain support from unions who had first endorsed Cuomo. Can Washington warm to Mamdani? While Mamdani has charmed much of New York City, he has yet to charm Washington. National Democrats are grappling with how much to embrace him and whether they should endorse him. Habba's tenure may be running out: Alina Habba, President Trump's choice to run the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey, pursued investigations against Democratic political figures, damaged morale among prosecutors and was declared unfit to serve by the state's two senators. She offered a pre-emptive farewell in a staff meeting last week after acknowledging that the state's district court judges, who have the power to extend her tenure, were unlikely to do so. New York agrees to settle with ex-Cuomo aide: New York State agreed to a $450,000 settlement with the former executive aide, Brittany Commisso, who accused Cuomo of groping her in 2020. The state did not admit wrongdoing. METROPOLITAN diary Mornings with Mom Dear Diary: Our mom, Deborah, died in 2011. She was a New Yorker. After 14 years, upon my leaving the military, my sister and I finally had the time to go through her stuff. Plus, I am studying law at Columbia now, which means we can visit the storage unit in Bedford-Stuyvesant once a week. We call it Mornings with Mom. It's not cheap to keep the unit, so the goal is to empty it out as quickly as possible. But our progress is delayed by nostalgia and curiosity. It's hard to simply save our mom's journals. We get caught up in reading the entries aloud to each other. We reminisce over what we remember: family photographs, clothes our mom loved to wear that still smell like her closet, and other trinkets. We find some gems we never knew existed: Mom's application to law school, newspaper clippings she saved that are still relevant today, some truly fabulous shoes. We reread our favorite children's books and vow to read them to our cousins' children. We save the M.R.I. scans of the masses in her breasts, though we are not sure why. We find names of her friends in a Filofax from the 1980s. Some still live in New York. I call one of the numbers. 'This is Deborah Edelman's daughter,' I say. 'She passed away in 2011, but my sister and I found your contact. Do you remember her? If so, would you like to meet?' We meet for drinks, swap stories and become friends. This summer, box by box, my sister and I are working our way through the collection. When we finish going through enough for the day, we call it quits and get a drink. — Julie Roland Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B. P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Davaughnia Wilson and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@ Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
CNN
02-07-2025
- CNN
Guilty — And Not Guilty - Trial By Jury: Diddy - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Laura Coates 00:00:04 Okay folks, I'm sharing this update from outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, which is why it's kind of noisy, but we want to get you the latest. The jury in the Sean Diddy Combs trial reached a verdict this morning. They acquitted Combs of the two most serious charges he was facing, racketeering conspiracy — that's the RICO charge you heard about — and two counts of sex trafficking. He was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. That means he could face up to 10 years or maybe even 20 in prison if they run that consecutively. But a RICO conviction? That could have put him away for life. I'm Laura Coates, and this is Trial by Jury. I mean the scenes that are unfolding outside this courthouse, quite stark from the composed very, very quiet courtrooms that we've been in for the last seven weeks. There are crowds out here, either jubilant or upset, and the court of public opinion on full display. But we want to get you the latest. Because just a couple of hours ago, the jury foreman stood in the courtroom and read off the following: On the count of racketeering conspiracy, not guilty. On the count sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion pertaining to Cassie Ventura, not guilty. On the count of transportation to engage in prostitution pertaining to Cassie Ventura, guilty. On the count of sex trafficking pertaining to Jane, not guilty. On the count of transportation to engage in prostitution pertaining to Jane, guilty. Now those two guilty charges on transportation to engage in prostitution, those are what's known as the Mann Act, and that essentially prohibits anyone from crossing state lines for the purpose of engaging in a commercial sex act. But those were the two lesser charges that Diddy faced. The really big headline here is that he was cleared of the RICO and sex trafficking charges, each of which could carry a maximum sentence of either life in prison and, in one instance for sex trafficking, even 15 years. Now here's what went down after the verdicts were read. First of all, when we learned there was yet another note, they weren't quite sure, was it a note for further clarification? Remember, it hadn't even been 12 hours before that the jury was hung on that first count, and the judge told them to go back and deliberate more. Both the defense wanted that, and the prosecution wanted that, and deliberate they did. This time it wasn't another hung jury. Within an hour of coming back to the deliberation room, they had made up for the hung jury and decided to have a verdict instead, not on four out of five, but on all five counts. Now this was huge given the fact that they thought there may have been a hung jury, and the tension was thick. You had the attorneys for Sean Diddy Combs surrounding him. There were looks of fear, I've been told, and unease. The children, adult children, filtering into the courtroom, along with Sean Diddy Combs's mother, who had been there for the better part of almost two months. The last time they had communicated, we saw them in the court saying to his mother, I'm gonna be alright. Well then, there was the moment when the verdict was read, and a bit of a fist pump from Sean "Diddy" Combs, the bowing of the head, the kneeling almost as if in prayer, and an eruption of celebration by the family members in the courtroom. This was in stark contrast to the last two months where frankly they were all quite stoic, albeit at times emotional. Well hearing that, the defense attorneys immediately went to try to get him released pending sentencing. Now obviously there were two letters that were sent as well from the prosecution and the defense laying out their positions, not the least of which included the conditions of release, meaning he'd turn over his passport. He wouldn't have access to a plane. You'd know who he was staying with. He couldn't commit other crimes, drug testing. It's up to the judge to decide whether or not he is a threat to society or anyone else. We also got a statement from the attorney for Cassie Ventura about this notion of whether Sean should be released, say, 'Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself as well as to the community." After, you also heard from Deonte Nash, a witness and personal friend and stylist of Cassie Ventura, who expressed his own concerns. We're going to be back soon with more details. The possibility that Sean "Diddy" Combs could possibly walk out the front door of the courthouse pending his sentencing, many are surprised.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- The Guardian
‘Let Puffy go': outside court, Sean ‘Diddy' Combs supporters hail verdict
After the jury returned a mixed verdict in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, supporters of the 55-year-old music mogul gathered outside the courthouse on Wednesday in celebration. Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and not guilty of two counts of sex trafficking and a count of racketeering conspiracy. The verdict, delivered by a jury of eight men and four women, is seen by many legal experts as the best outcome Combs could have hoped for outside of a full acquittal. Outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, dozens of Combs's supporters gathered after the verdict was delivered. Many chanted his name and cheered as several members of his family exited the building following the announcement. 'Let Puffy go!' some supporters chanted, putting heir fists in the air. 'Not guilty!' others shouted. Music filled the air as supporters played Diddy Free, a track released during closing arguments on Friday by one of Combs's sons, King Combs, and Ye, formerly Kanye West, who briefly came to support Combs in court during the trial. The crowd outside the courthouse danced and celebrated, with some handing out bottles of baby oil and lathering themselves in it. Baby oil played a prominent role in this trial; many witnesses testified that Combs used copious amounts of baby oil during his drug-fueled sex marathons referred to as 'freak-offs'. Additionally, large amounts of baby oil were found at Combs's home during federal raids. By early afternoon, as the crowd outside the courthouse began to grow, the New York police department increased their presence outside the courthouse. One supporter was seen holding a Sean John T-shirt, a company created by Combs, while others wore T-shirts that read 'Freako is not a Rico'. But while Combs's supporters celebrated, organizations that support victims of sexual abuse and domestic said they were disappointed in the verdict. UltraViolet, a women's rights organization that held a demonstration last week outside of the trial in support of sexual assault survivors, said in a statement that the verdict on Wednesday was 'a decisive moment for our justice system, one which threatens to undo the sacrifice of courageous survivors who stepped forward to share their stories in this trial, as well as to all those abused by Diddy who weren't able to'. 'Today's verdict is not just a stain on a criminal justice system that for decades has failed to hold accountable abusers like Diddy, it's also an indictment of a culture in which not believing women and victims of sexual assault remains endemic,' they added. More than 50 members of the media were also gathered outside the courthouse to cover the verdict and its aftermath. The attorney for Combs's former girlfriend and the star government witness in the case – Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura – told reporters outside the courthouse that his team is pleased that Combs has 'finally been held accountable' but added that 'of course, we would have liked to have seen a conviction on the sex crimes and Rico, but we understand that 'beyond a reasonable doubt' is a high standard'. 'We're just pleased he still faces substantial jail time,' he added. Combs had pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The jury found him guilty of the transportation to engage in prostitution counts, which each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Since his arrest last September, Combs has remained incarcerated without bail in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn. He has a bail hearing that is scheduled for 5pm ET on Wednesday to determine if he will remain in custody or whether he will be released. 'I hope he gets released today!' one supporter yelled.
New York Times
27-06-2025
- New York Times
Sean Combs Trial Live Updates: Defense Tries to Dismantle Arson, Kidnapping and Bribery Accusations
Sean Combs in 2018. He has been largely outside public view during his federal trial, captured only by the sketches of courtroom artists. He has shaken his head and fidgeted in his seat during testimony, passed notes to his lawyers and blown kisses to his mother in the courtroom gallery. Sometimes Sean Combs has pulled out chairs for the women on his legal team. He brought a self-help book to court during the prosecution's closing argument. His federal trial has drawn worldwide attention, with minute-by-minute coverage from the press and social media influencers who broadcast live updates from the street outside U.S. District Court in Lower Manhattan. But since federal courts bar cameras, Mr. Combs's demeanor during perhaps them most critical time of his life — Does he smile? Does he seem mad, nervous, sad? — has been largely outside public view, captured only by the sketches of courtroom artists. Over a seven-week trial, Mr. Combs, who is facing sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life, has been an attentive and largely easygoing presence in the courtroom. His expressions of disagreement with witnesses have been subdued, showing no inkling of the volcanic, violent temper often described in testimony. When George Kaplan, a former assistant, described the pace of working for Mr. Combs as 'almost like drinking from a fire hose,' the mogul nodded in approval. When another assistant, using the pseudonym Mia, said she would be punished if she did not do 'everything that he told me to do,' he just scoffed and shook his head. It has been an understated posture for a man whose profile as a chart-topping producer, rapper, reality-TV star and gossip-page fixture was larger than life. Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his lawyers have strongly denied the central allegations of the case, that he coerced at least two women into drug-fueled sex marathons with male prostitutes and used bodyguards and other employees as part of a 'criminal enterprise' to facilitate and cover up the abuse. On most trial days, Mr. Combs, 55, arrived in the morning from the Brooklyn detention facility where he has been held since his arrest in September. Officers from the U.S. Marshals Service brought him into the courtroom between 8:30 and 9 a.m., and he often hugged a few of his nine lawyers and gazed at the attendees in the hushed, high-ceilinged room. His mother, sister and three adult sons were frequently, though not always, in attendance. They often sat in benches near the front of the court gallery and Mr. Combs smiled at them from the defense table, at times flashing heart signs with his hands. Without access to dye, Mr. Combs's hair has been turning ashen white. He wears not the designer suits and Sean John-branded street gear familiar to his fans but a rotating wardrobe of five sweaters, five button-down shirts, five pairs of pants, socks and two pairs of shoes without laces. At times during the trial, Mr. Combs has made eye contact with jurors. Once, while lawyers were conferring with the judge, Mr. Combs rubbed his hands together to keep warm in the chilly courtroom. Then he looked to his right to see a male juror rubbing his arms. 'Cold,' Mr. Combs mouthed with a grin; the juror nodded and smiled. At one point, judge in the case admonished Mr. Combs after he said he saw the mogul nodding at jurors. 'I saw your client looking at the jury and nodding vigorously,' Judge Arun Subramanian told Mr. Combs lawyers out of the presence of the jury. 'That is absolutely unacceptable.' Mr. Combs's lawyers told the judge it would not happen again. Charlucci Finney, who has worked in the music industry for decades and calls himself Mr. Combs's 'godbrother,' has attended the trial every day, often arriving at the same time as members of Mr. Combs's family. He can be seen speaking to Mr. Combs on breaks, and she fully endorsed the notion that Mr. Combs has been actively engaged in his defense. 'He's always been a C.E.O.,' Mr. Finney said in a phone interview. 'He's a C.E.O. of his case as well.'
