Police said Wednesday there was “no validity” to reports that explosives had been found near the site of former President Donald Trump’s Long Island rally.
A Nassau County Police spokesman denied the claims circulating on social media — just hours before Trump’s campaign event was set to take place at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale.
Trump supporters wait for the start of his campaign rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on September 18, 2024, in Uniondale, New York.Getty Images
The unconfirmed reports earlier had wrongly claimed that an explosive device was discovered in a vehicle during security checks at the rally site, cops said.
A member of the Nassau County Police Department stands guard outside the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Sept. 18, 2024.REUTERS
“Reports of explosives being found at the site are unfounded,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Police said they were questioning a person “who may have been training a bomb detection dog near the site.
“The individual with the bomb dog falsely reported explosives being found and that individual is currently being detained by police,” the statement said.
The false reports came just hours after Trump arrived at his now-heavily guarded namesake Manhattan tower Tuesday night amid a boost in security following the two attempts on his life in as many months.
Security at Trump Tower is on high alert after two failed assassination attempts have occurred in the last six weeks.Matthew McDermott
The 45th president was struck by a bullet when a would-be assassin opened fire at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pa.
Secret Service agents then foiled a second attempt on his life when they nabbed a suspect who had allegedly set up a sniper’s nest on the outskirts of his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday.
Sean “Diddy” Combs vowed he won’t have women visit his Florida mansion Wednesday as his defense attorneys beg a judge to release him to home detention until he faces trial onsex-trafficking and racketeering charges.
The 54-year-old rapper was set to appear for a second day in a row in Manhattan federal court at 3:30 p.m. — for a hearing where he’ll request to be sprung from the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center on a $50 million bond.
His attorneys argue that electronic monitoring and a slew of other conditions should assure the trial judge and prosecutors that Combs won’t go on the lam or harm others while he awaits trial.
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Prosecutors during that hearing convinced a magistrate judge that no conditions of release could protect the community from Combs and ensure he wouldn’t flee or try to interfere with witnesses.
But Combs’ lawyers filed a letter Wednesday morning adding even more restrictions to their bail proposal which they hope will convince the judge to let him out of jail — including the promise that he won’t have any women visit him, besides his family or the mothers of his children.
The Bad Boy Records founder also noted he’s in the process of trying to sell his private plane — which will be kept in Los Angeles, California, in the meantime — a fact which shows he doesn’t plan to go on the run from the law, he claimed.
Combs has promised to remain on home detention at his $50 million Miami, Florida, estate with GPS monitoring and vowed to restrict his travel to South Florida, New Jersey and parts of New York.
He’s also offering to secure the bond with his Sunshine State mansion and said he and seven family members will all co-sign the bond.
Here's what we know about the allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs
At least four Jane Does and one John Doe have been interviewed by New York prosecutors in connection to sex-trafficking allegations and a RICO case, sources told Rolling Stone.
Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie (Cassandra Ventura) filed a lawsuit against him in November 2023 on several allegations, including rape and physical abuse for over a decade.
In September 2024, Diddy was sued by Dawn Richard, a participant on Combs’ 2004 MTV show “Making The Band,” claiming that he once broke into her dressing room and began groping her breasts and butt.
Combs already turned over his passport to his lawyer in April, as well as the passports for five other family members — all of which they plan to hand over to the court, the attorneys said.
Other assurances Combs is offering include adding his mother’s Miami home to his bond, restricting visitors to family, property caretakers and friends — who aren’t considered co-conspirators in the case — and having his security company keep logs of any visitors to turn over to the courts nightly.
He’s also agreeing to weekly drug testing and promised to refrain from contacting any witnesses in the case.
Combs was held without bail after pleading not guilty to sex-trafficking charges on Tuesday.AP
“Sean Combs has never evaded, avoided, eluded or run from a challenge in his life,” his lawyers said, claiming he wouldn’t run away before trial. “He will not start now. As he has handled every hardship, he will meet this case head-on, he will work hard to defend himself, and he will prevail.”
Combs’ lawyers also took aim at prosecutors for making a show of arresting their client when he’d already been in the Big Apple since Sept. 5 and fully planned to turn himself in.
“We asked them for a time for the surrender. They never got back to us,” the letter says. “The Government withheld this information solely so they could arrest Mr. Combs and not allow him to surrender, which he flew to New York to do.”
Combs is accused of sexually abusing women, in part by forcing them to take part in elaborate group sex, called Freak Offs.Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs
In a bombshell indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors claim that Combs carried out a “decades-long pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims.”
Combs allegedly orchestrated elaborate, drug-laced “Freak Off” sex sessions — which sometimes lasted for days — where he forced women into sex acts with male prostitutes while he masturbated and secretly filmed, prosecutors allege.
Combs used his wealth, power, violence and threats of violence to lure the women into abusive scenarios, and he used the videos of the Freak Offs as leverage to force them into participating in further sex sessions, prosecutors claim.
One of Combs’ main accusers is his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.Getty Images
At the Tuesday hearing, Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo claimed only consenting adults took part in the sex romps.
And in the Wednesday letter, Combs’ attorneys said the indictment actually only identifies a single victim, “Victim-1” — Combs’ former long-term girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Combs was seen in a disturbing video released earlier this year beating Ventura up.
His lawyers argued the pair had a decade-long relationship and that they “were very much in love for a long time.”
And when they split due to mutual cheating and jealousy, Ventura tried to extort Combs with embarrassing sexual assault allegations, the lawyers claimed in the Wednesday letter.
“There was no sex trafficking, there was no sex crime of any sort, and we will conclusively prove that at a trial,” the letter says.
A spokesman with the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Since the last FOMC meeting on July 31st, a lot has happened- growth scares, Jackson Hole, weak data, strong data, and endless FedSpeak - but most notably, the market has practically convinced itself that it needs 50bps of cuts but a recession is not imminent. Bonds and Gold have dramatically outperformed while oil has been a big loser (along with the dollar)...
Source: Bloomberg
Stocks and bonds are in worlds of their own since the last FOMC meeting with the former unchanged (no recession) while the latter has seen yields puke 40-50bps (recession)...
Source: Bloomberg
US Macro data has surprised to the upside dramatically since the last FOMC (perfect time to cut rates?)
Source: Bloomberg
And both growth and inflation data has surprised to the upside (screw the inflation data, we're cutting!!)
Source: Bloomberg
Overall rate-cut expectations have soared since the last FOMC meeting (adding 60bps of cuts to expectations to the end of 2025), with a heavy waiting to 2024 cuts...
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, before we get to the actual decision, we note that the odds of a 50bps cut today had drifted lower intraday (to 57% from 75%)...
Source: Bloomberg
Today will be not just about the size of the cut, but most focus will be on the messaging for what happens next, especially given the new DOTS, which will likely adjust dramatically more dovish (to catch down to the market's expectation)....
Source: Bloomberg
At the last refresh of the SEP (dot-plot), 4 FOMC members expected no rate-cuts in 2024, 7 members expected 1 rate-cut in 2024, 8 members expected 2 rate-cuts.
So what did The Fed do?
Wow! The economy is so great, it needs an crisis-level rate cut 2 months before the election
Federal Open Market Committee votes 11 to 1 to lower benchmark rate by 50 basis points to target range of 4.75%-5.0%, the first rate cut in more than four years
Fed governor Miki Bowman dissented in favor of a smaller 25 bps cut. It's the first dissent by a governor since 2005.
Statement adds language to say the committee is “strongly committed to supporting maximum employment” in addition to returning inflation to its 2% goal
Statement says that “in considering additional adjustments” to rates, officials will assess incoming data, evolving outlook and balance of risks
Fed tweaks language to note job gains “have slowed;” says inflation “has made further progress toward the committee’s 2% objective but remains somewhat elevated”
The Fed Dots tumbled to meet market expectations, with 2024's median dot slashed from 5.125% to 4.375%, 2025 cut from 4.125% to 3.375%, and 2026 from 3.125% to 2.875%...
Nine of 19 officials penciled in 75 basis points of cuts or less...
Close up on 2024 and 2025 - The Fed members literally abandoned all of June's expectations...
But amid that massive easing adjustment in the dots, The Fed did not change its 2025 GDP forecast at all, it sees 2025 unemployment up just a fraction, from 4.2% to 4.4% and 2025 core PCE dip from 2.3% to 2.2%...
... and that justifies the FOMC predicting an additional 3 rates cuts from June to September...
