NEW YORK – Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to one count of a criminal sex act in the first degree after he was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month. Weinstein, who was present in the New York courtroom on Wednesday in a wheelchair and wearing a suit, was medically cleared to attend the hearing after recovering from an emergency procedure on his heart and lungs in recent weeks.

The indictment was announced during a court hearing last week and unsealed on Wednesday. It had remained sealed at the time because Weinstein, 72, was not yet able to attend court due to his health. Weinstein is accused of forcibly engaging “in oral sexual conduct” with a woman at some point between April 29, 2006 and May 6, 2006 in New York, according to a copy of the indictment obtained by CNN. An attorney for the woman whose grand jury testimony served as the basis of the new indictment said she intends to testify at trial.

“Ms. Doe has not shared this story publicly before, nor does she want to be identified at this time. She will be fully prepared to speak her truth at trial to hold Mr. Weinstein accountable before a jury of his peers,” Lindsay M. Goldbrum, an attorney for Jane Doe, said in a statement. “Thanks to this survivor who bravely came forward, Harvey Weinstein now stands indicted for an additional alleged violent sexual assault,” said New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Prosecutors in New York began presenting the case to the grand jury in August.

Weinstein was previously convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison. His conviction was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals in April, citing violation of Weinstein’s constitutional rights at trial. A retrial on the 2020 charges is tentatively set to begin on November 12. Prosecutors on Wednesday moved to consolidate this latest indictment with the upcoming retrial, which Weinstein’s attorneys have opposed.

“We are prepared to go to trial and defend Harvey for the original remaining charges,” Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said in a statement sent to CNN on Wednesday. Yet, we will vociferously and legally challenge any effort to defend this new charge until we fully understand it, can research and investigate the claim, and boldly defend Harvey against (it).” Weinstein remains in prison while he appeals a separate 2022 conviction in Los Angeles, where he was found guilty on three sexual assault charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Weinstein is due back in court for next hearing on October 2. (CNN)…[+]

NEW YORK – Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain in federal custody after his lawyers on Wednesday failed in their appeal of the decision that denied him bail. In his ruling, Judge Andrew Carter said there were no conditions that reduced the risk of witness tampering or obstruction. The hip-hop artist and music mogul, who is facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, will continue to be held in custody pending his trial. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday. Combs faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted. His next court appearance was scheduled for October 9.

Combs was being held by himself at the Special Housing Unit in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after Tuesday’s hearing, according to a law enforcement official. Prosecutors allege Combs, 54, created and ran a “criminal enterprise” through his business empire that engaged in crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice, according to the federal indictment. US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky ruled Tuesday that Combs stay in custody while he faces charges.

Prosecutors opposed releasing Combs on any grounds, telling Tarnofsky he has attempted to tamper with witnesses and saying “the risk of danger is acute.” They pointed to an alleged cache of weapons found in the closet of Comb’s bedroom and his access to millions of dollars in bank accounts and cash that make him a flight risk. To try to sway a federal judge to release Combs while he awaits trial, his lawyers submitted a new bail package Wednesday that proposes to restrict all female visitors to his home who are not family members.

Combs’ defense team suggested the court restrict any females other than his family or mothers of his children from visiting his home and limit all visitors to his Miami properties “except for family, property caretakers, and friends who are not considered to be co-conspirators,” according to a new letter submitted to Carter, who is expected to preside over Combs’ case until the end. (CNN)…[+]

COLOMBIA – Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has warned that an attack on a military base in eastern Colombia “practically closes” peace talks. Petro late on Tuesday blamed the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group for the attack in Puerto Jordan, in the northeastern Arauca province, earlier in the day, which killed two soldiers and injured at least 21. “This is an attack that practically closes a peace process, with blood,” he said during a ceremony in Bogota.

The ELN fired rockets from a cargo truck loaded with explosives in what the military called the most serious attack since a bilateral ceasefire between the government and the rebel group ended in August. The ELN, which has an estimated 6,000 fighters, is the biggest of the armed groups active in Colombia’s six-decade conflict, which has left more than 450,000 dead. The government sealed a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016. Petro, the country’s first left-wing president, restarted peace talks with the ELN at the end of 2022 as part of his efforts to deliver “total peace”.

However, the talks have been in crisis for months as the group continued to conduct kidnappings and tax civilians in areas under its control. The ELN has also expressed frustration that the government has opened separate talks with a splinter ELN unit in the southwest of the country. In August, Defence Minister Ivan Velasquez said the military would resume operations against ELN after the ceasefire ran out. The ELN accuses the government of failing to meet the terms of agreements signed during previous rounds of peace talks. The group is also demanding that the government remove it from its list of organised armed groups. (Aljazeera)…[+]

NEW YORK – The White House reiterated Wednesday that the United States was not involved in a series of attacks that saw booby-trapped devices explode this week in Lebanon.

“What I can tell you is we were not involved in yesterday’s incidents or today’s in any way, and I don’t have anything more to share,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a White House press briefing.

Pressed in a follow-up exchange with another reporter, Kirby wouldn’t say if Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin received a heads up on Wednesday’s attack, which saw scores of walkie-talkies explode across Lebanon, during a Tuesday call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Kirby repeatedly declined to confirm on the record that Israel was behind the electronics attacks, telling reporters, “I’m not going to get into intelligence assessment, estimates and assessments from here.

CNN has reported that Tuesday’s pager explosion attacks, which have heightened tensions in a region already on edge, was a joint operation between Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, and the Israeli military. The Lebanese government condemned the attack as “criminal Israeli aggression.”

But Kirby acknowledged the administration is concerned over the prospect of tensions escalating in the region, saying the US does not believe “additional military operations” are the solution. He pointed to diplomacy instead.

United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has condemned the pager blasts in Lebanon on Tuesday that killed at least 12 people and injured around 2,800. Türk called the attacks a violation of international humanitarian law and called for an “independent, thorough and transparent investigation.” CNN has learned that the Israeli military and intelligence service were behind Tuesday’s attack, but Israeli officials have not publicly commented on it, or on Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions.  Türk also did not comment on Wednesday’s walk-talkie blasts, and his comments were only in reference to the Tuesday pager blasts. (CNN)…[+]