Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Sean “Diddy" Combs' lawyer said Tuesday that the searches of the rapper's Los Angeles and Miami properties by federal authorities in a sex-trafficking investigation were ”a gross use of military-level force" and that Combs is “innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.
It’s the first public statement from the music mogul’s team since Monday’s raids of his homes by Homeland Security Investigations agents.
“Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences," said the statement from attorney Aaron Dyer. “There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated.”
The searches were part of an ongoing sex-trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Combs was not detained and spoke to authorities, and neither he nor any family members were arrested, nor has their travel been restricted, according to Dyer's statement.
Dyers said the “unprecedented ambush” has led to a “premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
"There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations," Dyers said. "Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
Combs’ sons, Justin and Christian “King” Combs, were handcuffed during the raid at their father’s residence in Los Angeles. King, 25, is a music artist whose song "Can't Stop Won't Stop" with Kodak Black topped Billboard's Mainstream R&B Hip-Hop charts in 2022.
Law enforcement conducted the raid Monday at Combs' multimillion-dollar mansion in the affluent Holmby Hills neighbourhood in Los Angeles and his Miami waterfront home. Along with a heavy presence of officers, command trucks were parked outside both properties.
The criminal investigation is a major escalation in the scrutiny of Combs, who has been the defendant in several sexual abuse lawsuits in recent months.
In a lawsuit Combs settled the day after it was filed in November, his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape. The lawsuit said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
Combs and his attorneys have denied all of the lawsuits' allegations.
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie did.
Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he built one of hip-hop’s biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Quebec will invest $603 million over five years to counter the decline of French in the province, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced Sunday.
A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war woke up in tents at college campuses across the United States Sunday morning planning more protests demanding that schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies accused of enabling the conflict.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”