By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — The R&B singer Cassie returns to the witness stand Wednesday after a day spent recounting grotesque and humiliating details of life with her ex-boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs.

During her first day of testimony Tuesday at Combs’ sex trafficking trial, Cassie described being pressured into degrading sexual encounters with paid sex workers. She also recounted being beaten numerous times by Combs when she did things that displeased him — like smiling at him the wrong way.

Cassie Ventura takes an oath before testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

“You make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she said.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, accused Combs of gaining her submission by threatening to publicly release videos of her with male sex workers.

Combs’ attorneys have acknowledged Combs could be violent but maintain that the sexual acts were consensual. They say nothing he did amounted to sex trafficking or racketeering — the charges that he faces.

Sean Diddy’Combs, far left, and attorney Marc Agnifilo, right, sit at the defense table during witness testimony in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Lawyers for Combs have yet to cross-examine Cassie, a type of questioning that will give them an opportunity to challenge her credibility or poke holes in her accounts of what happened.

The trial is expected to last about two months.

Prosecutors have accused Combs of exploiting his status as a powerful music executive to violently force women into drugged-up sex parties he called “freak offs.”

Cassie met Combs in 2005, when she was 19 and just at the start of a career as a singer, model and actor. She had a hit song, “Me & U,” in 2006 off an album released by Combs’ Bad Boy Records.

Combs, who was 37 when they met, nurtured her career early on and also became her boyfriend for a decade.

Cassie left Combs’ record label in 2019 and then sued him in 2023, accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse. She told jurors during her testimony Tuesday that there were loving moments during their relationship but that Combs was always controlling and often violent.

Cassie said she was 22 when Combs first asked her to do a “freak off,” with the first one occurring in his Los Angeles home with a male stripper that left her feeling dirty and confused, but relieved that Combs was happy.

“It was his fantasy,” she said. “He was controlling the whole situation. He was directing it.”

Combs, 55, has been jailed since September. He faces at least 15 years in prison if convicted.

By JESSICA DAMIANO, Associated Press

For many, the return of the spring garden brings with it a sneezy, itchy, foggy-headed feeling that hits the moment a warm breeze stirs up. I’m fortunate not to suffer much, but my blue car turned a chartreuse shade of yellow last week, and a $32 car wash provided results that lasted only two hours. Sigh.

These seasonal allergies often go by the old-fashioned name hay fever, but it’s not the hay that causes misery for so many, it’s the pollen.

This July 9, 2023, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows a zinnia flower in bloom. (Jessica Damoano Via AP)

And not just any pollen, but the nearly weightless kind that floats up our noses and engages our immune systems. Trees, weeds, grasses and even some of our favorite flowers are culprits.

But pollen isn’t all bad. It’s essential to the reproduction of plants, the survival of insects and the entire food web. We humans could not survive without it, so we absolutely shouldn’t avoid high-pollen plants as a general rule. However, if you’re an allergy sufferer who has had to forgo planting a garden due to health reasons, plants that release the least pollen may enable you to smell the flowers.

Plants that might bring sneezes

Allergy-inducing plants are those that rely on wind rather than bees or butterflies to spread their pollen. Ragweed, which strikes in late summer and early fall, gets the most notoriety, but its springtime counterparts can be at least as irritating.

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Trees most likely to cause symptoms include birch (Betula), catawba (Catalba), cypress (Cupressus), elm (Ulmus), hickory/pecan (Carya), oak (Quercus), sycamore (Platanus) and walnut (Juglans), according to the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS), created by horticulturist Thomas Ogren and published in his 2020 book, “The Allergy-Fighting Garden.”

Palm trees, too — but only the males. In fact, female trees don’t produce pollen at all, so seek them out when possible.

Grasses can irritate eyes and sinuses, too. The scale ranks Bermuda (except sterile male varieties), Johnson, Kentucky, orchard, sweet vernal and timothy grasses among the highest for allergens.

Weeds like ragweed, curly dock, lamb’s quarters, pigweed, plantain, sheep sorrel and sagebrush are also big pollen producers, Ogren found.

Not all plants are irritating to allergy sufferers

On the other hand, plants with “double” flowers or heavier pollen that doesn’t travel far are less likely to release much pollen.

Among trees, apricot (Prunus armeniaca), fig (Ficus), fir (Abies), fruiting pear (Pyrus), fruiting plum (Prunus domestica, Prunus insititia), redbud (Cerus), serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), female ash (Fraxinus), female box elder (Acer negundo), female cottonwood/poplar (Populus), female maple (Acer), female palm (Arecaceae) and female willow (Salix) are easier on the respiratory system.

This June 3, 2023, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows a rose bush in bloom. Roses are among the flowers least likely to cause seasonal allergy symptoms. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

St. Augustine and sterile male Bermuda are safer bets in the grass department.

As for flowers, you’ve got options: Begonia, female clematis, columbine, crocus, daffodil, delphinium, hibiscus, impatiens, iris, bird of paradise, pansy, petunia, phlox, poppy, snapdragon, tulip, verbena and zinnia are friends. Roses, too — especially tightly packed, dense-petaled varieties, which exude even less pollen than those with single or semi-double flowers (rose allergies are more often fragrance-related than due to pollen, according to Ogren).

This March 19, 2024, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows daffodils in full bloom. Daffodils are among the flowers least likely to cause seasonal allergy symptoms. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

And if you suffer from seasonal allergies, keeping windows closed and getting someone else to mow the lawn will also help to nip your symptoms in the bud.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

By CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL, Associated Press

The salt-and-pepper treatment is a Cantonese technique that can be applied to give almost any meat, seafood or tofu a crunchy exterior and tongue-tingling flavor.

The protein typically is deep-fried, but in this recipe from our cookbook “Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we opt to pan-fry pork that we first dust in cornstarch seasoned generously with Sichuan pepper, black pepper and cayenne.

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The starch granules swell when they come in contact with moisture released by the pork as it cooks; as the water evaporates, the starch settles into a rigid, locked network, creating a crunchy coating.

In a classic salt-and-pepper dish, chilies and garlic are quickly fried and tossed with the cooked protein for big, bold, in-your-face flavors. We, however, finish the pork with a fresh, punchy, uncooked mix of sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, minced chilies, rice vinegar and grated ginger. The easiest way to grind the tongue-tingling Sichuan peppercorns for this recipe is in an electric spice grinder.

Don’t use thick-cut or bone-in pork chops for this recipe. Look for boneless pork loin chops that are ¼ to ½ inch thick. They sometimes are called pork cutlets. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Salt-and-Pepper Pork Chops with Spicy Scallions

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for salt-and-pepper pork chops with spicy scallions. (Milk Street via AP)

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 Fresno or jalapeño chili, stemmed, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, finely ground

½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

8 boneless (about 1½ pounds) thin-cut pork loin chops/cutlets (¼ to ½ inch thick), patted dry

⅓ cup grapeseed or other neutral oil

Directions:

In a medium bowl, toss together the scallions, cilantro, chili, vinegar, ginger and ¼ teaspoon salt; set aside. In a wide, shallow dish, mix together the cornstarch, Sichuan pepper, cayenne pepper, five-spice, 2 teaspoons black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Dredge the cutlets in the cornstarch mixture, turning to coat both sides and pressing so the mixture adheres, then transfer to a large plate, stacking or shingling as needed.
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until barely smoking. Add half of the cutlets and cook until browned on the bottoms, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip the cutlets and cook until golden brown on the second sides, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter and tent with foil. Cook the remaining cutlets in the same way, using the oil remaining in the skillet. Spoon the scallion-cilantro mixture onto the chops and serve.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap

By AMANDA SEITZ, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy wanted an assurance from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before he would vote to put him in charge of the nation’s $1.7 trillion health department.

Kennedy’s history of promoting conspiracy theories or misspeaking about vaccines alarmed Cassidy, he said during a confirmation hearing earlier this year.

FILE – Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., votes aye at the final moment as the Senate Finance Committee holds a roll call vote to approve the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

So, the Louisiana senator asked: “Can I trust that that is now in the past?”

Kennedy didn’t give a direct answer that day. Now three months into the job, however, Kennedy’s habit of casting doubts on vaccines has returned in interviews on television shows, public speeches and social media posts.

Kennedy will make his first appearance as health secretary before Cassidy’s powerful Senate health committee on Wednesday, when he’s expected to face intense scrutiny about the thousands of job he’s eliminated at the Department of Health and Human Services, the steep cuts he’s made to vaccination campaigns and his response to a measles outbreak that’s sickened 1,000 people.

He will speak about the agency’s budget request for the year, which includes a $500 million boost for his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative to promote nutrition and healthier lifestyles. The proposed budget also makes deep cuts, including to infectious disease prevention, maternal health and preschool programs.

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The secretary plans to “share his vision on how HHS’ transformation will improve health outcomes, eliminate redundancies to save the American taxpayer, and streamline operations to improve efficiency and service,” HHS said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Kennedy’s supporters, meanwhile, have viewed his first three months in the job as a successful delivery of “MAHA” agenda items: He’s pressured food companies to ditch artificial dyes, promised to study the cause of autism, vowed to reverse fluoride recommendations and earned buy-in from several Republican governors to ban soda from the food stamp program, for example.

But many eyes and ears will be on Kennedy’s dialogue with Cassidy, who extracted a number of guarantees from Kennedy about his approach to vaccines. Those included promises to keep the current childhood vaccination schedule, use the current vaccine monitoring system and not remove statements that say vaccines do not cause autism on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

“I will watch carefully for any effort to wrongfully sow public fear about vaccines between confusing references of coincidences and anecdote,” Cassidy said earlier this year, after voting in favor of Kennedy’s nomination.

Kennedy has since delivered a mixed message on vaccines that public health experts have said are hampering efforts to contain the measles outbreak. He’s offered endorsements of vaccinations but continued to raise questions about their efficacy or safety. He’s said the childhood vaccine schedule will be examined in a study of autism’s causes. He’s called the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — a shot given to children to provide immunity from all three diseases — “leaky,” although it offers lifetime protection from the measles for most people. He’s also said they cause deaths, although none has been documented among healthy people.

At the agency, too, he’s made moves that support the anti-vaccine movement. He hired a man who has published research that suggests vaccines cause developmental delays to oversee a study on autism. And he’s terminated some research and public health funds dedicated to vaccines.

Kennedy, who has rejected the anti-vaccine label, has regularly said that he is “pro-safety” and wants more research on vaccines, although decades of real-world use and research have concluded they safely prevent deadly diseases in children.

“His longstanding advocacy has always focused on ensuring that vaccines, and other medical interventions, meet the highest standards of safety and are supported by gold-standard science,” HHS said in a statement. “As he did during confirmation, Secretary Kennedy is prepared to address questions surrounding this topic.”