Tekashi 6ix9ine recounts abduction for jury at NYC trial

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Tekashi 6ix9ine recounts abduction for jury at NYC trial

2019-09-19 06:22 Last Updated At：06:30

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine described for a Manhattan jury Wednesday details from his life of crime with a violent street gang, including getting abducted at gunpoint amid a dispute between warring factions of the crew.

Testifying as a prosecution witness at the federal trial of two alleged members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, 6ix9ine said that defendant Anthony "Harv" Ellison and another armed man grabbed him out of his car and forced him into a stolen vehicle one night last July. Jurors saw a video shot from the rapper's car showing how his driver gave chase before the gunmen scared him off.

Prosecutors say Ellison, a gang enforcer, was angry at the rapper — also an admitted Nine Trey member — for aligning himself with one of his rivals.

6ix9ine testified how Ellison and his cohort drove him around, stopping at various points to taunt and beat him.

"I'm pleading with Harv the whole time, 'Yo, I'm scared," he said, and told them he would give them $100,000 to let him go.

Instead, the men took him to his Brooklyn home, where they stole a bag full of jewelry before driving him a few blocks away and releasing him, he said.

Earlier, 6ix9ine testified about the mayhem around various beefs with other hip-hop artists. Prosecutors say one of the disputes resulted in a gunshot being fired backstage at the Barclays Center arena and in a robbery in Times Square that was filmed by the rapper.

Ellison and a co-defendant, Aljermiah Mack, have pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges. An attorney for Ellison portrayed the alleged abduction as a publicity stunt.

6ix9ine, 23, was a social media phenomenon with millions of followers on Instagram before becoming an ascendant name in hip-hop. He had a multiplatinum hit song, "Fefe," with Nicki Minaj, which peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts, and "Stoopid," featuring the incarcerated rapper Bobby Shmurda.

The rapper agreed to cooperate after pleading guilty earlier this year. He previously testified that he had joined the gang to increase his street credibility in exchange for bank-rolling its operations.

He was to resume testifying on Thursday.

Blinken, in Shanghai, begins expected contentious talks with Chinese officials

2024-04-25 11:27 Last Updated At：11:40

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday by talking with local government officials in Shanghai.

Blinken discussed local and regional issues with Chen Jining, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai. He also planned to speak to students and business leaders before flying to Beijing for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger the Chinese, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.

China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan, the self-governing island that it regards as a renegade province, and immediately condemned the move as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale.

Still, the fact that Blinken made the trip — shortly after a conversation between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a similar visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs — is a sign the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.

“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken told Chen.

“We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said. “That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.”

Chen agreed with that sentiment and said the recent Biden-Xi call had helped the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relationship.”

“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity” he said.

Chen added that he hoped Blinken was able to get a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai.

Shortly after arriving, Blinken attended a Chinese basketball playoff game between the local Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, with the home team losing in the last seconds in 121-120 nailbiter.