
-
Is Musk's political career descending to Earth?
-
On Mexico-US border, Trump's 'Liberation Day' brings fears for future
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Ally of Pope Francis elected France's top bishop
-
'Determined' Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
US judge dismisses corruption case against New York mayor
-
Left-wing party pulls ahead in Greenland municipal elections
-
Blistering Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
Tesla sales slump as pressure piles on Musk
-
Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok: report
-
Canada Conservative leader warns Trump could break future trade deal
-
British band Muse cancels planned Istanbul gig
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders
-
NATO chief says alliance with US 'there to stay'
-
Myanmar junta declares quake ceasefire as survivors plead for aid
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Around Flanders
-
Tesla first quarter sales sink amid anger over Musk politics
-
World's tiniest pacemaker is smaller than grain of rice
-
Judge dismisses corruption case against NY mayor
-
Nintendo to launch Switch 2 console on June 5
-
France Le Pen eyes 2027 vote, says swift appeal 'good news'
-
Postecoglou hopes Pochettino gets Spurs return wish
-
US, European stocks fall as looming Trump tariffs raise fears
-
Nintendo says Switch 2 console to be launched on June 5
-
France's Zemmour fined 10,000 euros over claim WWII leader 'saved' Jews
-
Le Pen ally denies planned rally a 'power play' against conviction
-
Letsile Tebogo says athletics saved him from life of crime
-
Man Utd 'on right track' despite 13th Premier League defeat: Dalot
-
Israel says expanding Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Certain foreign firms must 'self-certify' with Trump diversity rules: US embassies
-
Deutsche Bank asset manager DWS fined 25 mn euros for 'greenwashing'
-
UK drawing up new action plan to tackle rising TB
-
Nigerian president sacks board of state oil company
-
Barca never had financial room to register Olmo: La Liga
-
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
-
Heathrow 'warned about power supply' days before shutdown
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre 'stable' after car crash
-
Myanmar quake survivors plead for more help
-
Greece to spend 25 bn euros in 'drastic' defence overhaul: PM
-
Maresca non-committal over Sancho's future at Chelsea
-
WHO facing $2.5-bn gap even after slashing budget: report
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tells tax trial did not seek to defraud
-
Chinese tourists pine for Taiwan's return as Beijing jets surround island
-
Singapore detains teenage boy allegedly planning to kill Muslims

A$AP Rocky had only a prop gun in shooting case: lawyer
A$AP Rocky was carrying a harmless prop gun from a music video on the night he allegedly shot a former friend in Hollywood, his lawyer told court Friday, as his trial on assault charges got under way.
The 36-year-old, who has two children with singer Rihanna, faces two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm during confrontations with Terell Ephron on November 6, 2021.
The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested in April 2022 at Los Angeles International Airport after arriving on a private plane from Barbados, where he and Rihanna had been on vacation.
Prosecutors say Mayers pulled a gun on Ephron -- also known as A$AP Relli -- after a heated argument in the heart of Hollywood, firing on one occasion and causing a minor graze.
The two had previously been friends, and had both been part of ASAP, a rap collective from New York, but had fallen out because other members of the group felt Mayers' commercial success had made him arrogant.
Ephron's resentment "is the catalyst for this incident," Mayers' attorney Joe Tacopina said.
"It was Relli who was looking for a fight," he said adding that CCTV footage from the scene showed it was Relli that made the first physical contact.
Tacopina said the gun that Ephron alleges was pulled on him was a prop that was not capable of firing live bullets.
"The video that you saw shows Rocky holding an object that appears to be the gun, and Relli seized on that and manufactured his extortion.
"The evidence will make clear that the object (was) absolutely nothing more than a prop gun... a starter gun, a blank gun, a fake gun. It's used in pop movies and music videos."
Describing Ephron as "a criminal and a perjurer," Tacopina said seven police officers searched the scene of the shooting hours later but found neither shell casings nor a weapon.
Yet, after officers left, Ephron returned to the scene and discovered a pair of 9mm shell casings he said he had picked up from the street where he was shot at, Tacopina said.
With this planted "evidence" Relli set out to extort money from his now-successful former friend.
"The evidence will show you nothing more than a money grab, nothing more, a clear intended extortion by Relli (to fund an) extravagant lifestyle."
The trial continues on Tuesday.
Before the trial began Mayers rejected an offered plea deal that would have seen him serve six months in jail in exchange for admitting one of the charges against him.
A$AP Rocky shot to fame in the first half of the last decade with two mega-selling albums: "Long. Live. A$AP" and "At. Long. Last. A$AP."
In 2019, he was given a suspended prison sentence in Sweden after a fight, in an affair that caused diplomatic tensions between Stockholm and Washington, pushing then-president Trump to intervene.
W.Nelson--AT