Larry Neumeister, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - Blake Lively is seen in New York on Feb. 16, 2025, left, and Justin Baldoni attends a screening in New York on Dec. 13, 2023. (Photos by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Taylor Swift can be deposed, but has no role in Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni litigation, lawyer says

September 12, 2025

A lawyer for Taylor Swift says the singer can answer questions in October — if she is forced — from attorneys involved in the litigation between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni stemming from their roles in the movie “It Ends With Us.” But attorney J. Douglas Baldridge noted in a letter to the New York federal judge presiding over the dispute on Friday that Swift has “no material role in this action.” Lively sued Baldoni in late December, alleging sexual harassment. Baldoni then sued Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. A judge dismissed Baldoni’s claims in June.

FILE - Naason Joaquin Garcia, the leader of a Mexico-based evangelical church with a worldwide membership, attends a bail review hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 15, 2019. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

Longtime head of Mexican megachurch is indicted in New York on federal sex trafficking charges

September 10, 2025

A New York federal indictment has charged the longtime head of a Mexican megachurch with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Authorities announced Wednesday that Naasón Joaquín García and five others were charged in the newly unsealed indictment. García is already serving more than 16 years in a California prison for sexually abusing young followers. The indictment alleges that García victimized members of the church for decades. It said that he and his father, who died in 2014, carried out the abuse of children and women. Attorney Alan Jackson, representing García, called the indictment “recycled claims dressed up in inflammatory language.”

FILE - Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the field during an NFL football workout in Eagan, Minn., Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

Appeals court agrees NFL can be put on trial over claims Black coaches face discrimination

August 14, 2025

A federal appeals court says the NFL can be put on trial over claims that Brian Flores and other Black coaches face discrimination. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. It upheld Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni’s 2023 ruling that Flores can proceed with claims against the league and three teams: the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans. In February 2022, Flores sued the league and several teams, saying the league was “rife with racism,” particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the league disagrees with the ruling and will seek further review.

FILE - Montenegrin police officers escort South Korean citizen, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon in Montenegro's capital Podgorica, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic, File)

Crypto mogul Do Kwon, known as ‘the cryptocurrency king,’ pleads guilty to fraud charges

August 12, 2025

South Korean cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges arising from a $40 billion cryptocurrency collapse. The man some dubbed ‘the cryptocurrency king’ entered his plea Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. Authorities said investors worldwide lost money in Singapore firm Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency crash. The May 2022 collapse came after the company claimed that TerraUSD was a reliable ‘stablecoin.’ Under a plea agreement, the federal government said it won’t seek a prison term of more than 12 years as long as Kwon complies with the terms of the deal, even though federal sentencing guidelines would recommend a 25-year prison term. Sentencing is set for Dec. 11.

Prosecutors seek substantial prison term for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as they oppose bail

August 1, 2025

Prosecutors say they will seek a prison sentence for music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs that is substantially higher than the four to five years they initially expected he might face under federal sentencing guidelines. And they say they oppose the defense’s renewed request for bail because nothing has changed since his conviction last month on prostitution-related charges. He was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. The written submission to a Manhattan federal court judge was filed late Thursday. Earlier in the week, a defense lawyer made a renewed $50 million bail request for Combs, pending his Oct. 3 sentencing.

Gun makers lose appeal of New York law that could make them liable for shootings

July 10, 2025

A federal appeals court has upheld a New York law holding gun manufacturers potentially liable when their weapons are used in deadly shootings. The ruling Thursday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan affirmed a 2022 decision by an Albany judge. The three-judge appeals panel said the 2021 New York state law was not unconstitutional or too vague to implement. A trade association of firearms manufacturers that ship or transport firearms and ammunition into New York had sued to try to stop the law.

Larry Neumeister.