New York
Court filing reveals President Trump spoke to Live Nation CEO before antitrust case was settled
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump spoke personally with the chief executive of Live Nation in the weeks before the Justice Department abruptly settled its longstanding antitrust lawsuit against the entertainment giant and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, the company revealed in a court filing.
Lawyers for Live Nation told the court on Monday that Trump and the company’s CEO, Michael Rapino, spoke about the antitrust lawsuit in February, but didn’t discuss “substantive terms” of any potential settlement.
They also said that White House lawyers were involved in some of the numerous in-person meetings, videoconferences, telephone calls and written communications between the company and the Justice Department in February and March.
Just days into the March trial, the Justice Department announced a settlement that most states refused to join, saying it did not go far enough to curb the company’s dominance over concert venues and ticketing for live events though
Ticketmaster.
The trial continued, and a jury concluded several weeks later that the company was a monopoly that cost concertgoers and sports fans.
The White House declined to comment on Live Nation’s disclosure, referring questions to the Justice Department, which didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The revelation comes as the Justice Department has faced criticism that its independence has been threatened by substantial oversight or interference from the White House and the president.
The Justice Department and dozens of states originally teamed up to bring the antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation.
Among other things, the jury in New York found Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could order the companies to pay back.
State attorneys general who sued Live Nation said the verdict could potentially lead to lower ticket prices for music fans.
The federal government’s settlement deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues — potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster
competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS.
In April, Live Nation said in a statement that the verdict “is not the last word on this matter.”
New York
Prosecutors to drop Harvey Weinstein’s unresolved rape charge; his other convictions stand
NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors said Thursday they’ll drop a rape charge against Harvey Weinstein, instead of trying the former movie mogul for a fourth time in the #MeToo-era case.
Weinstein still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California, and he is still behind bars. But the New York rape charge had remained unresolved after an overturned conviction followed by two hung juries.
The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations.
The rape charge concerned an allegation that he raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
Mann has testified that she also had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with Weinstein, who was married at the time.
But she told jurors she repeatedly tried to leave and said no to any sexual activity as he cornered her in the hotel room. She said he persevered, demanding that she undress and grabbing her arms, until she was afraid to keep protesting.
“After a lot of thought and reflection, I have chosen not to proceed with a fourth trial against Harvey Weinstein,” Mann wrote in a letter that a prosecutor read to the court. “It was clear to me at this last trial I could no longer endure going through this any longer.”
The most recent trial took a visible toll on Mann, 40, who testified for five days and was questioned for the first time about a diary-like, soul-baring note she wrote two days after the alleged rape, which the note did not mention. At one point during her testimony, Mann said she was struggling to focus, prompting court to wrap up early for the day.
The 74-year-old Weinstein, meanwhile, reported chest pains during deliberations, spurring another early end to court.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said Thursday that prosecutors believe Mann and hail her “bravery, strength, courage and inspiration” to other survivors, but given her feelings about proceeding, “dismissal is appropriate.”
Weinstein was one of the movie industry’s most powerful figures, a producer of such tastemakers and hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.”
Then a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him became public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo campaign for accountability and eventually leading to criminal charges.
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of raping Mann. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict for reasons unrelated to her testimony. Jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial, and jurors deadlocked again at another retrial this spring.
The rape charge in this case was a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison — less time than Weinstein already has served. He faces considerably longer sentences on the separate sex crime charges that produced convictions in New York and Los Angeles.
Weinstein didn’t testify at any of the trials, though he complained during and after the 2025 New York retrial that it was unfair; the judge disagreed.
His lawyers have maintained that all his accusers, who were trying to go places in show business, had completely consensual sexual liaisons with a movie studio boss who could help them. Weinstein himself has said he “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to be named, as Mann has done.
Indiana
Man charged after being accused of stalking WNBA player Sophie Cunningham
An Indiana man was charged Wednesday on accusations he stalked WNBA player Sophie Cunningham and sent her threatening and explicit messages on social media.
Kevin Singh, 48, faces felony charges for stalking and intimidation, as well as a misdemeanor harassment charge. He was arrested Tuesday, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Cunningham, a player with the Indiana Fever, told investigators she had been staying at home more and having nightmares because of Singh’s continued messages, according to the affidavit. She was first made aware of Singh’s alleged online conduct in February, she said.
Singh’s online behavior escalated that month and his conduct “became increasingly threatening after he was contacted by team security,” the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.
According to an affidavit, Singh allegedly sent numerous messages — including explicit messages — on the social media platform X in April. One of the messages featured the text, “You’re literally down the street from me!” After Cunnigham’s team sent Singh a cease-and-desist letter on April 30, Singh sent more messages on X, making explicit and threatening comments, according to the affidavit.
In September 2025, Singh hand-delivered a package addressed to “Sophie” at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever’s home arena, containing a letter and a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt sprayed with men’s cologne, according the affidavit.
“The internet has made it easier than ever to target, harass and intimidate others. Threats of violence, whether face-to-face or behind a keyboard, will be taken seriously,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. “Coming forward is never easy, regardless of a person’s position or public profile. The victim is setting an example by speaking out.”
A phone call to a number listed for Singh wasn’t answered. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney yet.
Singh is currently on probation in Hendricks County, Indiana, after he pleaded guilty in July 2025 to two felony counts of invasion of privacy, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The incident comes after Cunningham’s teammate, WNBA star Caitlin Clark, was the victim of stalking and harassing by a different man from Texas who was sentenced last year to 2 1/2 years in prison.
Missouri
Snap sued over rape of minor who connected to adult attacker on Snapchat
The parents of a girl who was raped when she was 12 years old by an adult stranger she met on Snapchat have sued its parent company, Snap, and the attacker in Missouri state court.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims the social media company has refused to disable dangerous features in its app or warn parents about potential harms it may cause.
According to the lawsuit, the girl began using Snapchat in 2021, when she was 11, without her parents’ knowledge. While the app requires users to be 13 to sign up, the lawsuit says the girl does not remember what birth date she entered and that children knew they could easily bypass the minimum-age requirement.
About a year after she began using Snapchat, the lawsuit says the app recommended her and teen girls from nearby high schools as friends to defendant Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, an adult who had no real-life connections to them. It did not warn the children that connecting to strangers might be dangerous.
After the girl and Valentin-Rios connected, Valentin-Rios began sending her unsolicited nude photographs, the lawsuit says. The girl “did not want these photographs and, at first, did not reciprocate but Snapchat’s product design made it impossible for (her) to avoid such explicit content,” it says.
As part of its Snap Maps feature, the app also provided Valentin-Rios with the girl’s home address without her knowledge, according to the lawsuit. Valentin-Rios then groomed the girl, convincing her that he was a 17-year-old local high school boy, not a 25-year-old man. Eventually he got her to meet him in person and raped her.
Valentin-Rios pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Missouri.
The lawsuit claims Snapchat knew that Valentin-Rios had multiple accounts — even though it is against the app’s policies — including one he used to lure teen girls.
The girl has been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages and are asking the court to compel Snap to stop practices that harm children.
“This assault did not happen in a vacuum — it happened because Snapchat’s product design made it easy for a predator to reach and manipulate an unsuspecting child,” said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which brought the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs. “Snap executives have long known that their features create a perfect environment for predators to exploit children, yet they have repeatedly failed to make the platform safe.”
This is not the first such lawsuit against Snap. New Mexico sued the company in 2024, saying the platform’s design features foster sextortion, sexual abuse and unwanted contact from adults to minors. According to the lawsuit, Snap was well aware, but failed to warn parents, young users and the public that “sextortion was a rampant, ‘massive,’ and ‘incredibly concerning issue’ on Snapchat.” A judge denied the company’s motion to dismiss last year.
There are also individual lawsuits pending against the company, including one in Vermont on behalf of two 12-year-old girls who were sexually assaulted by an adult they met on Snapchat.
Court filing reveals President Trump spoke to Live Nation CEO before antitrust case was settled
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump spoke personally with the chief executive of Live Nation in the weeks before the Justice Department abruptly settled its longstanding antitrust lawsuit against the entertainment giant and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, the company revealed in a court filing.
Lawyers for Live Nation told the court on Monday that Trump and the company’s CEO, Michael Rapino, spoke about the antitrust lawsuit in February, but didn’t discuss “substantive terms” of any potential settlement.
They also said that White House lawyers were involved in some of the numerous in-person meetings, videoconferences, telephone calls and written communications between the company and the Justice Department in February and March.
Just days into the March trial, the Justice Department announced a settlement that most states refused to join, saying it did not go far enough to curb the company’s dominance over concert venues and ticketing for live events though
Ticketmaster.
The trial continued, and a jury concluded several weeks later that the company was a monopoly that cost concertgoers and sports fans.
The White House declined to comment on Live Nation’s disclosure, referring questions to the Justice Department, which didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The revelation comes as the Justice Department has faced criticism that its independence has been threatened by substantial oversight or interference from the White House and the president.
The Justice Department and dozens of states originally teamed up to bring the antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation.
Among other things, the jury in New York found Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could order the companies to pay back.
State attorneys general who sued Live Nation said the verdict could potentially lead to lower ticket prices for music fans.
The federal government’s settlement deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues — potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster
competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS.
In April, Live Nation said in a statement that the verdict “is not the last word on this matter.”
New York
Prosecutors to drop Harvey Weinstein’s unresolved rape charge; his other convictions stand
NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors said Thursday they’ll drop a rape charge against Harvey Weinstein, instead of trying the former movie mogul for a fourth time in the #MeToo-era case.
Weinstein still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California, and he is still behind bars. But the New York rape charge had remained unresolved after an overturned conviction followed by two hung juries.
The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations.
The rape charge concerned an allegation that he raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
Mann has testified that she also had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with Weinstein, who was married at the time.
But she told jurors she repeatedly tried to leave and said no to any sexual activity as he cornered her in the hotel room. She said he persevered, demanding that she undress and grabbing her arms, until she was afraid to keep protesting.
“After a lot of thought and reflection, I have chosen not to proceed with a fourth trial against Harvey Weinstein,” Mann wrote in a letter that a prosecutor read to the court. “It was clear to me at this last trial I could no longer endure going through this any longer.”
The most recent trial took a visible toll on Mann, 40, who testified for five days and was questioned for the first time about a diary-like, soul-baring note she wrote two days after the alleged rape, which the note did not mention. At one point during her testimony, Mann said she was struggling to focus, prompting court to wrap up early for the day.
The 74-year-old Weinstein, meanwhile, reported chest pains during deliberations, spurring another early end to court.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said Thursday that prosecutors believe Mann and hail her “bravery, strength, courage and inspiration” to other survivors, but given her feelings about proceeding, “dismissal is appropriate.”
Weinstein was one of the movie industry’s most powerful figures, a producer of such tastemakers and hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.”
Then a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him became public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo campaign for accountability and eventually leading to criminal charges.
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of raping Mann. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict for reasons unrelated to her testimony. Jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial, and jurors deadlocked again at another retrial this spring.
The rape charge in this case was a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison — less time than Weinstein already has served. He faces considerably longer sentences on the separate sex crime charges that produced convictions in New York and Los Angeles.
Weinstein didn’t testify at any of the trials, though he complained during and after the 2025 New York retrial that it was unfair; the judge disagreed.
His lawyers have maintained that all his accusers, who were trying to go places in show business, had completely consensual sexual liaisons with a movie studio boss who could help them. Weinstein himself has said he “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to be named, as Mann has done.
Indiana
Man charged after being accused of stalking WNBA player Sophie Cunningham
An Indiana man was charged Wednesday on accusations he stalked WNBA player Sophie Cunningham and sent her threatening and explicit messages on social media.
Kevin Singh, 48, faces felony charges for stalking and intimidation, as well as a misdemeanor harassment charge. He was arrested Tuesday, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Cunningham, a player with the Indiana Fever, told investigators she had been staying at home more and having nightmares because of Singh’s continued messages, according to the affidavit. She was first made aware of Singh’s alleged online conduct in February, she said.
Singh’s online behavior escalated that month and his conduct “became increasingly threatening after he was contacted by team security,” the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.
According to an affidavit, Singh allegedly sent numerous messages — including explicit messages — on the social media platform X in April. One of the messages featured the text, “You’re literally down the street from me!” After Cunnigham’s team sent Singh a cease-and-desist letter on April 30, Singh sent more messages on X, making explicit and threatening comments, according to the affidavit.
In September 2025, Singh hand-delivered a package addressed to “Sophie” at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever’s home arena, containing a letter and a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt sprayed with men’s cologne, according the affidavit.
“The internet has made it easier than ever to target, harass and intimidate others. Threats of violence, whether face-to-face or behind a keyboard, will be taken seriously,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. “Coming forward is never easy, regardless of a person’s position or public profile. The victim is setting an example by speaking out.”
A phone call to a number listed for Singh wasn’t answered. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney yet.
Singh is currently on probation in Hendricks County, Indiana, after he pleaded guilty in July 2025 to two felony counts of invasion of privacy, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The incident comes after Cunningham’s teammate, WNBA star Caitlin Clark, was the victim of stalking and harassing by a different man from Texas who was sentenced last year to 2 1/2 years in prison.
Missouri
Snap sued over rape of minor who connected to adult attacker on Snapchat
The parents of a girl who was raped when she was 12 years old by an adult stranger she met on Snapchat have sued its parent company, Snap, and the attacker in Missouri state court.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims the social media company has refused to disable dangerous features in its app or warn parents about potential harms it may cause.
According to the lawsuit, the girl began using Snapchat in 2021, when she was 11, without her parents’ knowledge. While the app requires users to be 13 to sign up, the lawsuit says the girl does not remember what birth date she entered and that children knew they could easily bypass the minimum-age requirement.
About a year after she began using Snapchat, the lawsuit says the app recommended her and teen girls from nearby high schools as friends to defendant Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, an adult who had no real-life connections to them. It did not warn the children that connecting to strangers might be dangerous.
After the girl and Valentin-Rios connected, Valentin-Rios began sending her unsolicited nude photographs, the lawsuit says. The girl “did not want these photographs and, at first, did not reciprocate but Snapchat’s product design made it impossible for (her) to avoid such explicit content,” it says.
As part of its Snap Maps feature, the app also provided Valentin-Rios with the girl’s home address without her knowledge, according to the lawsuit. Valentin-Rios then groomed the girl, convincing her that he was a 17-year-old local high school boy, not a 25-year-old man. Eventually he got her to meet him in person and raped her.
Valentin-Rios pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Missouri.
The lawsuit claims Snapchat knew that Valentin-Rios had multiple accounts — even though it is against the app’s policies — including one he used to lure teen girls.
The girl has been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages and are asking the court to compel Snap to stop practices that harm children.
“This assault did not happen in a vacuum — it happened because Snapchat’s product design made it easy for a predator to reach and manipulate an unsuspecting child,” said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which brought the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs. “Snap executives have long known that their features create a perfect environment for predators to exploit children, yet they have repeatedly failed to make the platform safe.”
This is not the first such lawsuit against Snap. New Mexico sued the company in 2024, saying the platform’s design features foster sextortion, sexual abuse and unwanted contact from adults to minors. According to the lawsuit, Snap was well aware, but failed to warn parents, young users and the public that “sextortion was a rampant, ‘massive,’ and ‘incredibly concerning issue’ on Snapchat.” A judge denied the company’s motion to dismiss last year.
There are also individual lawsuits pending against the company, including one in Vermont on behalf of two 12-year-old girls who were sexually assaulted by an adult they met on Snapchat.
