Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking Wednesday but convicted of a less serious prostitution charge after a high-profile marathon trial in New York.The jury, after 13 hours of deliberation, found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.But the 55-year-old hip-hop pioneer was acquitted of a major racketeering charge and two sex trafficking charges that could have sent him to prison to life.Combs bowed his head, quietly pumping his fists in his lap and bringing his hands together in prayer as the verdicts were read out. At one point, he looked towards the ceiling, appearing to express deep relief.He shook hands with one of his lawyers, who embraced each other — two of them teared up in joy — and mouthed thanks to the eight-man, four-woman jury as they filed out of the courtroom.He later fell to his knees at the defense table, where he had spent two months wondering if he would live out his days in a cell.The relatively quick verdict came after seven weeks of at-times excruciating testimony, in which prosecutors had accused Combs of being the boss of a decades-long criminal enterprise, directing loyal employees and bodyguards to commit myriad offenses at his behest.Jurors announced they had reached a partial verdict late Tuesday and said they were deadlocked on the racketeering charge — but Judge Arun Subramanian instructed them to keep working.Combs, once one of the most powerful figures in the music industry, had vehemently denied all charges.- Family celebrate -Along with racketeering, Combs was charged with sex trafficking two women: singer Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane.Both were in long-term relationships with the entrepreneur, and they each testified about abuse, threats and coercive sex in graphic detail.They both said they felt obligated to participate in sexual marathons with hired men directed and sometimes filmed by Combs.Combs’s lawyers insisted the sex was consensual. They conceded domestic violence was a feature of his relationships — one harrowing example of him beating and dragging Ventura was caught on security footage that has been widely publicized.Yet while disturbing, his actions did not amount to sex trafficking, the defense said. Jurors ultimately agreed.Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, released a statement saying she had made an “indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.””She displayed unquestionable strength and brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion,” read the statement.”We’re pleased that he’s finally been held responsible for two federal crimes, something that he’s never faced in his life,” Wigdor told journalists outside the courthouse.Combs’s family members, present throughout the trial that began in early May, clapped and cheered for him in court.His mother waved at cameras as she left the building with a smile. Influencers and YouTubers have scurried around the court complex throughout the trial, jumping on livestreams to offer hot takes and conspiracy theories.”The mainstream media is so mad right now that a Black man isn’t going down!” shouted one content creator.- Bail? -Combs has been incarcerated at a notorious Brooklyn prison since he was arrested in September 2024.The defense immediately requested that he be released on bond — they suggested $1 million — and be permitted to travel between Miami, Los Angeles, and New York while he awaits sentencing.They said they would hand over his passport to court officials.The judge is expected to rule on the matter during proceedings set to begin at 5:00 pm (2100 GMT). “He would be nothing short of a fool, which he is not, to violate any conditions the court set,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, adding that Combs “treasures” the “opportunity he has been given.”The guilty findings confirm that Combs transported both Ventura and Jane for purposes of prostitution during the sometimes days-long sex parties.Lead prosecutor Maurene Comey opposed Agnifilo’s bond request on that basis, accusing the defense of trying to “downplay the seriousness” of the convictions.In a letter filed to the court, prosecutors calculated that he should serve at least four to just over five years in prison based on federal sentencing guidelines, a range that could increase after taking all evidence into account, they said.He should remain behind bars until his sentencing, they urged, calling him a flight risk with a history of violence and abuse against women and a “habitual drug user.”

A 30-year-old man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to murdering four students in the US state of Idaho in an agreement with prosecutors that allowed him to avoid the death penalty — and enraged some relatives of the victims.Bryan Kohberger, a former criminology student, was facing trial in August for the November 2022 stabbing deaths that rocked the small town of Moscow and made national headlines.University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were attacked around 4:00 am while they slept in their off-campus group house and stabbed to death.Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder at a hearing on Wednesday in the city of Boise.”Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” Judge Steven Hippler asked.”Yes,” Kohberger replied.The judge also acknowledged that some relatives were upset with the plea agreement reached between prosecutors and defense lawyers that took the death penalty off the table.”This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to attempt to do that,” Hippler said.Sentencing was set for July 23. Kohberger faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Goncalves family, in a statement shared by their lawyer, expressed outrage over the plea agreement.”After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details,” the family wrote.The Goncalves family had demanded the death penalty, and successfully advocated for the passage of a new law in Idaho which allows death row inmates to be executed by firing squad.On a Facebook page, the Goncalves family called the plea deal “shocking and cruel.””Bryan Kohberger facing life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world. Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever,” they said.Kohberger was arrested and charged after investigators found his DNA on a knife sheath recovered at the crime scene.A video showed a car similar to Kohberger’s driving in the victims’ neighborhood around the time of the murders.No motive for the murders was ever established.At the time of the murders, Kohberger was studying for his PhD in criminology at Washington State University, about nine miles (15 kilometers) away from Moscow, across the state border.

Tesla reported another hefty drop in auto sales Wednesday, extending a difficult period amid intensifying electric vehicle competition and backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s political activities.The EV maker reported 384,122 deliveries in the second quarter, down 13.5 percent from the year-ago period. Shares rallied after the disclosure, which was better than some leading forecasts in recent days.The sales figures, which are global, reflect the more contested nature of the EV market, which Tesla once dominated, but which now also features BYD and other low-cost Chinese companies, as well as legacy western automakers like General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen.But Musk’s political activism on behalf of right-wing figures has also made the company a target of boycotts and demonstrations, weighing on sales.In recent days, Musk has revived a feud with US President Donald Trump, dragging Tesla shares lower on Tuesday.The figures portend another poor round of earnings when Tesla reports results on July 23. Analysts currently project a drop of 16 percent to $1.2 billion in profits, according to S&P Capital IQ.Tesla has faced questions about a lack of new retail auto products to wow consumers after Musk’s futuristic Cybertruck proved polarizing. Analysts will be looking for an update on the state of new offerings after Tesla said in April that it planned “more affordable models” in the first half of 2025. The company has begun deliveries of its revamped Model Y in some markets, according to news reports. Tesla launched a long-discussed robotaxi venture in the Texas state capital Austin, lending momentum to Musk’s branding of the company as at the forefront of autonomous and artificial intelligence technology.But reports that the self-driving cars have driven recklessly have prompted oversight from US regulators.Heading into Wednesday’s data release, notes from JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank had forecast bigger drops in second-quarter deliveries, citing poor figures in Europe in particular.The JPMorgan note was especially bearish, setting a December share price target of $115, down more than 60 percent from current levels and citing an expected drag from the elimination of US tax credits for EVs under Trump’s signature domestic policy legislation moving through Congress.Following the results, Morningstar said in a note that Tesla would not see “meaningful deliveries growth without a new lower-cost vehicle aimed at the affordable market.”For the second quarter in a row, Tesla produced more vehicles than it delivered, “raising concerns regarding demand and inventory levels,” said a note from CFRA Research that called the figures “a modest disappointment.”But Wedbush’s Dan Ives said Wednesday’s “better-than-feared” report set the stage for growth.”If Musk continues to lead and remain in the driver’s seat, we believe Tesla is on a path to an accelerated growth path over the coming years with deliveries expected to ramp in the back-half of 2025 following the Model Y refresh cycle,” Ives said.- Political wildcard -A wildcard remains: how Musk’s shifting relationship with Trump could affect Tesla.Musk donated more than $270 million to Trump’s presidential campaign, barnstorming key battleground states for the Republican. After the election, he oversaw the launch of the Department of Government Efficiency, a controversial initiative that eliminated thousands of government jobs deemed by DOGE to be part of a pattern of waste, fraud and abuse.But Musk has broken with Trump over the White House’s flagship tax and spending bill, which Musk has called “utterly insane and destructive.” In response, Trump has threatened to target Musk’s business empire and warned of deporting the South African-born billionaire, sending Tesla shares plummeting.”This high-profile feud introduces political risk,” Briefing.com said in a note Tuesday.”The personal nature of the conflict, amplified by Trump’s comments implying Tesla’s reliance on subsidies for survival, has sparked fears of broader policy shifts targeting Musk’s business empire.”Tesla shares rose 4.7 percent early Wednesday.