ICE reportedly targeting businesses and restaurants in DC
Luke Barr/ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement allegedly conducted raids targeting businesses in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
A coalition of activists had warned delivery drivers and restaurants of the planned enforcement one day prior.
“I have heard those reports, I’ve been getting them all morning. I am disturbed by them,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Tuesday. “It appears that ICE is at restaurants or even in neighborhoods, and it doesn’t look like they’re targeting criminals. It is disrupting.”
She also emphasized that the Metropolitan Police Department was not involved.
George Escobar, chief of programs and services at CASA, an organization geared toward improving quality of life for working-class Americans, told ABC News by phone on Tuesday that the organization regularly receives tips about planned raids — but this one was different.
“This one, to be honest, alarmed us a little bit, because it was really specific,” Escobar told ABC News.
The organization has run a 24-hour tip hotline since the first Trump administration.
“We’re experienced. We don’t get alarmed by, like, you know, any old threat, because, you know, they’re frequent, right? And they come in all different, all different types of forms,” he said.
However, in this instance, CASA was warned that ICE would be using President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at the “beautification” of the U.S. capital to justify the raids, Escobar said.
“We received notice about a specific kind of operation on how they were going to be conducted: what the pretense of maybe entering some of these small businesses were going to be, the fact that they were looking specifically at food businesses and possibly delivery workers,” he explained.
ABC News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment but has not yet received a response.
“If ICE wants to snatch up every single immigrant working in food service and delivery, then the entire industry will collapse,” Amy Fischer, a core organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, which supports migrants arriving in the capital, said in a statement.
The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington — which represents the more than 60,000 restaurant workers in the area — said in a statement shared with ABC News that it was “deeply concerned” by the reports of ICE raids and drop-ins across Washington, D.C.
RAMW said it urges “policymakers on a local and federal level to consider the real-world impact on local businesses and communities.”
“Immigrants make up a significant portion of our workforce at all levels. From dishwashers to executive chefs to restaurant owners, immigrants are irreplaceable contributors to our most celebrated restaurants and beloved neighborhood establishments,” the statement said. “The immigrant workforce has been essential to sustaining and growing our local restaurant industry and has been a major contributor to our local economy.”
“At a time when our economy is already fragile, losing even one staff member at a single establishment has a profound impact on the operations of a restaurant and its ability to serve patrons, RAMW added. “Disrupting restaurant staffing across the industry can create a damaging ripple effect felt immediately throughout the entire local economy.”
(COOPERSTOWN, NY) — Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and 15 other deceased baseball players have been removed from MLB’s permanent list of banned players, according to a memo from the league’s commissioner.
The decision allows Rose, who accepted a ban for life from MLB in 1989 for gambling on games, to be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously.
The decision only applies to dead players who have been placed on the ineligible list.
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,” Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. “Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered.”
However, a vote by the Historical Overview Committee, often known as the veterans committee, which considers players who made their greatest impact prior to 1980, will not vote on candidates to be included in the hall again until December 2027.
Rose died last October at 83 years old. Rose petitioned the league to be removed from the list in 1992, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2022 — but either was rejected or received no response each time, including from Manfred.
Rose and Jackson are likely the only two players on the list of players whose body of work would make them likely to be voted to the Hall of Fame.
Rose’s workmanlike attitude and hustle on the field won him innumerable fans. By the end of his 24-year career, 19 of which were with the Cincinnati Reds, he held the record for most career hits, as well as games played, plate appearances and at-bats. He was also a 17-time All-Star, the 1973 NL MVP and 1963 Rookie of the Year.
He also won three World Series — two with Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” clubs in 1975 and 1976, and a third with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
But Rose will always be remembered for being banned for life over gambling on games while he was managing the Reds.
With Rose under suspicion, new MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti commissioned an investigation led by John Dowd, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, in April 1989. By June, the damning report was released, documenting at least 52 bets on Reds games in 1987, his first season as solely a manager after serving as player/manager for three seasons. The bets totaled thousands of dollars per day, according to the Dowd Report.
“While it is my preference not to disturb decisions made by prior Commissioners, Mr. Rose was not placed on the permanently ineligible list by Commissioner action but rather as the result of a 1989 settlement of potential litigation with the Commissioner’s Office,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday. “My decision today is consistent with Commissioner Giamatti’s expectations of that agreement.”
Jackson, meanwhile, was banned from baseball for life in 1920 by then-Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in connection to the so-called “Black Sox Scandal.”
Jackson and seven other members of the Chicago White Sox were given money by an organized gambling ring to fix the 1919 World Series for the Reds. The players made a paltry sum of money compared to today’s mega-millionaire contracts and were angry about the team owner, Charles Comiskey, paying them a pittance. There was no baseball players union at the time.
All eight of the players — featured in the 1988 movie “Eight Men Out” — have been reinstated: Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams. Gandil was known as the ringleader of the group and allegedly set up the payment, while it’s always been disputed how much Jackson even knew about the plan. He did, however, allegedly admit to accepting $5,000 as part of the scheme, according to testimony from a criminal trial over the case, something he later recanted.
If he did accept money, he didn’t show any signs of throwing games on the field. Jackson hit 12-for-35 (.375) with three doubles, five runs scored and six runs batted in over the eight games in the series. The World Series was a best-of-9 format at the time.
Jackson was one of the best hitters of the early 20th century. Over 13 seasons with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago, the outfielder had a lifetime batting average of .356 with a .423 on-base percentage. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times and led the majors in hits twice, triples twice and total bases twice.
The other former players banned from the league and now reinstated — who are not as widely known — were Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox.
(NEW YORK) — After a week of testimony from star witness Cassie Ventura, federal prosecutors in the ongoing trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday started calling witnesses they believe could corroborate his ex-girlfriend’s allegations of threats, abuse and violence.
Dawn Richard, a former member of the pop group Danity Kane, told jurors that she personally witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura. Ventura’s former best friend Kerry Morgan recounted pleading with Ventura to leave what Morgan viewed as an abusive relationship. And Combs’ former assistant, David James, offered a glimpse of what it was like working for the rap mogul.
“This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom. We’re all here to serve in it,” James recounted one of Combs’ employees telling him when he interviewed for the job.
Across six hours of testimony that played out like a legal tug-of-war, lawyers for Combs tried to cast doubt on prosecution witnesses and highlighted inconsistencies in the testimony, clawing back some of the credibility they might have built up with the jury during direct examination.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and denies allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering, arguing that while he might have committed other crimes – like domestic abuse and illegal drug use – he has not sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone.
Testimony is set to resume Tuesday, when James retakes the stand to explain how he would prepare hotel rooms for Combs – a piece of testimony that prosecutors plan to use to establish what, they allege, is a criminal enterprise with Combs at its center. Such a criminal enterprise is a key to proving the racketeering charges prosecutors have filed against Combs.
Prosecutors are expected to call an escort known as “The Punisher” and to call Ventura’s mother on Tuesday.
Dawn Richard testified about star-studded dinner where Combs allegedly punched Ventura
Dawn Richard began her testimony after Ventura left the witness stand Friday. She resumed her appearance in court Monday morning by testifying about how she witnessed Combs beat Ventura multiple times.
Richard testified that she witnessed Combs punch his then-girlfriend Ventura in the face with a “closed fist” in 2009 before a music festival in Central Park. After Ventura put on sunglasses and makeup to hide the injury, Richard said she put on sunglasses “in solidarity” with Ventura. The jury then saw a photo of Richard, Ventura and another member of Danity Kane wearing sunglasses at the festival.
Richard also testified that the violence extended to other public settings, alleging that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach during a group dinner attended by Usher, Ne-Yo and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Richard mentioned that allegation in her civil lawsuit against Combs, but defense lawyers highlighted that Richard’s prior discussion of the dinner did not mention the high-profile guests.
Richard in 2024 sued Combs for assault, copyright infringement and false imprisonment, alleging — among other things — that he groped her on numerous occasions and forced her to endure inhumane work conditions. Combs denied all of the allegations and his attorneys last week filed a motion to dismiss the case.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Richard’s account of an alleged assault has changed several times, prompting some members of the jury to visibly shake their heads and scribble notes. Westmoreland also suggested Richard agreed to testify against Combs because he ruined her music career by dismantling the music groups she had once been a part of.
“You felt like Mr. Combs ruined your career not once but twice,” Westmoreland said. “Yes,” Richard answered.
Ventura’s former best friend takes the stand
Ventura’s former best friend Kerry Morgan testified on Monday about two instances when, she said, she personally saw Combs assault Ventura.
She testified she saw Combs hit Ventura in a home Combs rented in Hollywood Hills, and she testified about a second instance when Combs — allegedly in her presence — assaulted Ventura during a trip to Jamaica.
“I heard her screaming and I went to the hallway. The hallway was extremely long. They were coming out of the master bedroom, and he was dragging her on the floor by her hair,” Morgan testified about the Jamaica trip.
Prosecutors also asked Morgan about the aftermath of a 2016 incident when Combs is accused of assaulting Ventura. Ventura has testified this occurred when she tried to leave a “freak-off” at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles. Part of that incident was captured on hotel closed-circuit security cameras.
Morgan’s account matched what Ventura told jurors last week, saying the police arrived after the incident but Ventura refused to cooperate.
Morgan said her relationship with Ventura ended in 2018 after she says Combs tried to choke Morgan and hit her with a wooden coat hanger. Morgan testified that Combs demanded she tell him “who Cassie was cheating on him with” while Ventura locked herself in a bathroom.
Morgan said she later accepted a $30,000 payment from Combs after she threatened to sue. She agreed to a confidentiality deal in return for the money, she testified.
On cross examination, defense lawyers questioned why Morgan has not rekindled her relationship with Ventura. They tried to reinforce the idea that Combs was violent simply out of jealousy and because of the drugs he was taking – not that he was using violence to coerce Ventura and keep her under his control.
“I draw the line at physical abuse,” Morgan said. “The reason I stopped speaking to her was she was not supportive of me after that incident.”
Combs’ former assistant testifies about ‘Mr. Combs’ kingdom’
David James, Combs’ former personal assistant, began his testimony on Monday by telling jurors about interviewing for the job he had with Combs.
As he entered the headquarters of Bad Boy Entertainment in New York, James said an employee remarked about a photo of Combs hanging on the wall. “This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom. We’re all here to serve in it,” James said the woman told him.
James testified about the demanding hours, the weapons Combs’ security staff carried and the time Ventura warned him about Combs.
“She said to me, ‘Man this lifestyle is crazy,'” James testified Ventura saying. “She said, ‘I can’t get out. You know Mr. Combs oversees so much of my life. He controls my music career, he gives me an allowance.'”
James’ testimony is set to resume on Tuesday morning, when he is expected to continue describing the alleged process of preparing hotel rooms for Combs.
That line of testimony could establish the broader enterprise of people who supported and enabled his activities.
Prosecutors release evidence from Ventura’s testimony
After four days of Ventura’s brutal and deeply intimate testimony last week, federal prosecutors Monday released many of the photos they have shown the jury in their effort to convict Combs in their sex trafficking and racketeering case.
Through the evidence, jurors were able to see some of the bruises, gashes and welts that Ventura said she suffered after Combs beat her. They also saw a knife that Ventura said she used to block a door and protect herself from Combs.
“I was getting a lot of unannounced visits from Sean where he was angry, and trying to kill two birds with one stone, to lock it and have a weapon,” she testified.
Prosecutors also released photos from the night Combs was arrested last year, including $9,000 in cash, substances that they said tested positive for ketamine and MDMA, and bottles of baby oil that were allegedly stocked by Combs for use during the sex parties that witnesses have described in court testimony.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — A former United States Postal Service employee in North Carolina was sentenced to 27 months in prison after he allegedly stole over $1.9 million in checks from P.O. boxes, according to federal prosecutors.
Dontavis Romario Truesdale, 28, was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for financial institution fraud after he “stole $1.9 million in business checks from the post office where he worked,” federal prosecutors said in a press release.
Truesdale pleaded guilty in January.
According to court records, from November 2022 to April 2023, Truesdale worked as a processing clerk at the Ballantyne Post Office in Charlotte, where he allegedly used his position to “steal hundreds of checks of businesses that maintained post office boxes at that location,” federal prosecutors said.
Truesdale then “sold the stolen checks to other co-conspirators who committed bank fraud,” federal prosecutors said.
Over the course of this scheme, Truesdale “stole more than 200 checks with a total face value of over $1.9 million,” federal prosecutors said.
Truesdale was released following the sentencing hearing, but will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons “upon designation of a federal facility,” federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the U.S. Postal Service, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the Office of the Inspector General also assisted in the investigation.
Attorneys for Truesdale and the USPS did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
