(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Badge)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Independence Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that two unidentified women from Clinton, Pennsylvania were the victims and arrestees of a harrassment incident on Monday. This occurred in Independence Township. Two sixty-one-year-old women were arguing in a domestic dispute over property on Hookstown Grade Road. According to police, both parties were cited accordingly.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: People take part in a protest demanding an end to the war and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at the site of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a new 60-day ceasefire with Hamas and that Washington would work with both sides during that time to try to end more than 20 months of war in Gaza.
Neither side has accepted the proposal announced Tuesday by Trump, who has admonished Hamas that if the militant group does not buy into the offer, its prospects will get worse. It’s not clear what conditions Israel agreed to.
The efforts to reach a truce are unfolding in the wake of powerful Israeli and American strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, which has long supported Hamas, and just days before Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
Here’s a look at the situation and the challenges it might present.
Details of the proposed ceasefire are just beginning to emerge. But rather than being completely new, the potential deal seems to be a somewhat modified version of a framework proposed earlier this year by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Trump said Tuesday in a social media post that Qatar and Egypt have been working on the details and would deliver a final proposal to Hamas.
An Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire talks told The Associated Press that the proposal calls for Hamas to release 10 more hostages during the two-month period — eight on the first day and two on the final day. During that period, Israel would withdraw troops from some parts of Gaza and allow badly needed aid into the territory.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. The group is believed to still have some 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them thought to be alive.
The Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said a sticking point over how aid would be distributed had been resolved with Israel.
He said both sides have agreed that the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent would lead aid operations and that the Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund would also continue to operate.
The unraveling of Iran’s regional network of proxies, capped by the blow inflicted on Iran during the recent 12-day war with Israel, has left Hamas weaker and more isolated in the region. Iran was a key backer of the militant group, but its influence has waned, and it’s now preoccupied with its own problems.
At the same time, Trump has made it clear to Israel that he wants to see the Israel-Hamas war end soon. While he has been supportive of Netanyahu, Trump had tough words for Israel in the opening hours of last week’s ceasefire with Iran, when he pressured Israel to scale back its response to an Iranian missile attack. That could help persuade Hamas to embrace a deal.
A diplomat briefed on the talks said there is now a “big opportunity” to reach an agreement. “The indications we’re getting are people are ready.”
He said Trump’s harsh talk toward Israel has “given a bit of confidence to Hamas” that the U.S. will guarantee any future deal and prevent a return to fighting. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes diplomatic contacts.
The Egyptian official said Israel has not yet agreed to a proposal to withdraw its forces to positions held in early March after a previous ceasefire officially expired. Since then, the Israeli army has seized large swaths of Gaza to put pressure on Hamas, and it’s not clear whether Israel is ready to return to those same positions.
An Israeli official characterized the agreement as a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory.
The mediators and the U.S. would provide assurances about talks on ending the war, but Israel is not committing to that as part of the latest proposal, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the details of the deal with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Egyptian official said Hamas will have to review the proposal with other factions before submitting an official response.
One point that does seem to have been ironed out is the question of who will administer Gaza.
Israel has said Hamas cannot run the territory, and the Egyptian official said the proposal would instead put Gaza under a group of Palestinians without political affiliations known as the Community Support Committee once a ceasefire is reached.
Potentially complicating the effort, Netanyahu reiterated his hard-line position Wednesday, vowing that “there will be no Hamas” following the 60-day ceasefire plan.
A previous ceasefire agreed to in January established three phases, but the two sides never made it past phase one.
During that time, however, there were multiple exchanges of Hamas-held hostages for prisoners held by Israel, and critical humanitarian aid was able to reach Gaza.
When phase one expired on March 1, Israel sought to extend it while Hamas argued that phase two should go ahead as planned.
The second phase would have compelled Hamas to release all the remaining living hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
That was always seen as difficult, because it would have forced Israel to choose between its two main war goals — the safe return of the hostages and the annihilation of Hamas.
On March 18, Israel broke the ceasefire with new airstrikes and resumed hostilities.
In Gaza, residents expressed hope that this time, a ceasefire will bring an end to the war.
“We are seriously tired,” said Asmaa al-Gendy, who has been living in a tent camp in Deir al Balah with her two children. The family has been displaced and starved and endured “every form of torture in the world.”
(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
(AP) Kentucky has its first measles outbreak of 2025, as the U.S. case count sits just short of a 30-year high.
There have been 1,267 confirmed measles cases this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. Texas confirmed three more measles cases this week tied to a major outbreak that raged through the late winter and spring.
There are three other large outbreaks in North America. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,212 cases from mid-October through June 24. The province logged its first death June 5 in a baby who got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions.
Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 1,169 as of Wednesday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 2,810 measles cases and eight deaths as of Wednesday, according to data from the state health ministry.
Other U.S. states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah.
In the U.S., two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles this year. All were unvaccinated.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
Texas added three outbreak-related cases Tuesday, for a total of 753 across 36 counties, most of them in West Texas, state data shows.
Throughout the outbreak, 99 people have been hospitalized.
State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — were actively infectious as of Tuesday.
Fifty-five percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 414 cases since late January — just under 2% of its residents. Statewide, officials said Tuesday only two counties — Gaines and Lamar — had ongoing measles transmission.
The state also said Tuesday there are 37 cases across 19 counties that don’t have a clear link to the outbreak now, but may end up added to it after further investigation.
The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.
New Mexico had 94 measles cases Friday. Five cases were confirmed last week in a jail in Luna County, which prompted health officials to urge locals to get vaccinated and halted in-person visits. The jail’s outbreak grew to 13 by Tuesday. All of the cases are in unvaccinated adults.
Seven people have been hospitalized since the state’s outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Sandoval County near Albuquerque has six cases, Eddy County has three, Doña Ana County has two. Chaves, Curry and San Juan counties have one each.
An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care.
Oklahoma held steady Tuesday for a total of 17 confirmed and three probable cases.
The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases.
Arizona has four cases in Navajo County. They are linked to a single source, the county health department said June 9. All four were unvaccinated and had a history of recent international travel.
Colorado has seen a total of 16 measles cases in 2025, which includes one outbreak of 10 related cases.
The outbreak is linked to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport in mid-May. Four of the people were on the flight with the first person diagnosed — an out-of-state traveler not included in the state count — while five got measles from exposure in the airport and one elsewhere.
Health officials are also tracking an unrelated case in a Boulder County resident. The person was fully vaccinated but had “recently traveled to Europe, where there are a large number of measles cases,” the state health department said.
Other counties that have seen measles this year include Archuleta and Pueblo.
Georgia has an outbreak of three cases in metro Atlanta, with the most recent infection confirmed June 18.
The state has confirmed six total cases in 2025. The remaining three are part of an unrelated outbreak from January.
Illinois health officials confirmed a four-case outbreak on May 5 in the far southern part of the state. It grew to eight cases as of June 6, but no new cases were reported in the following weeks, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The state’s other two cases so far this year were in Cook County, and are unrelated to the southern Illinois outbreak.
Iowa has had six total measles cases in 2025.
Four are part of an outbreak in eastern Johnson County, among members of the same household. County health officials said the people are isolating at home, so they don’t expect additional spread.
Kansas added three more case this week for a total of 83 across 11 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with three hospitalizations. All but three of the cases are connected, and most are in Gray County.
Central Kentucky has an outbreak of four cases, the state announced Monday. The cases are in Fayette County, which includes Lexington, and neighboring Woodford County.
The state has confirmed seven total cases this year.
Grand Traverse County in northern Michigan has an outbreak of four cases as of Wednesday.
The state declared an earlier outbreak of four cases in Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, over June 2. The state has had 18 cases total in 2025; eight are linked to outbreaks.
Montana had 24 measles cases as of Tuesday, an increase of one since Friday. Sixteen were in Gallatin County, which is where the first cases showed up — Montana’s first in 35 years.
Flathead and Yellowstone counties had two cases each, and Hill County had four cases.
There are outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
North Dakota, which hadn’t seen measles since 2011, was up to 34 cases as of June 6, but has held steady since. Two of the people have been hospitalized. All of the people with confirmed cases were not vaccinated.
There were 16 cases in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. On the eastern side of the state, there were 10 cases in Grand Forks County and seven cases in Cass County. Burke County, in northwest North Dakota on the border of Saskatchewan, Canada, had one case.
Utah had nine total measles cases as of Tuesday. At least three of the cases are linked, according to the state health department.
State epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen said last week she is aware of at least three different measles clusters in the state. She expects to see more cases because there are other unvaccinated people who were exposed.
At least two of the people infected had to be hospitalized and two are pregnant.
Measles cases also have been reported this year in Alaska, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
Health officials declared earlier outbreaks in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania over after six weeks of no new cases. Tennessee’s outbreak also appears to be over.
Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC said in May that more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year. Most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity.”
Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: In this courtroom sketch, Sean “Diddy” Combs reacts after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Manhattan federal court in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bond after being convicted of prostitution-related offenses Wednesday. He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop’s most celebrated figures behind bars for life.
The mixed result capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs’ affable “Puff Daddy” image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.
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Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, who holds a Ph.D. in criminology, law and society and serves as a human trafficking expert witness in criminal and civil court, said on Wednesday that the sex trafficking charges didn’t stick because Combs did not engage in sex trafficking.
Prosecutors argued that he controlled these women by buying them houses and expensive things, but Mehlman-Orozco said that’s the polar opposite of what a trafficker typically does. Traffickers will deprive you of things and take your money, she said.
Mehlman-Orozco also said prosecutors weren’t able to charge him with assault-related crimes because the statute of limitations had elapsed. And she said that is a problem.
“We have now seen on an international stage what happens when we don’t have a long enough statute of limitations for domestic violence or intimate partner violence charges,” she said. “This should be a catalyst for reform.”
Defense lawyer Nicole Westmoreland cited Combs’ decision to avail himself of his right to a trial.
“He actually battled for his freedom, for his innocence, and he did it. And, you know, a lot of times, people are too afraid to do it,” she observed. “Today is a major win to show what the system can do.”
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said outside the courthouse that the jury “got the situation right — or certainly right enough.”
“Today is a victory of all victories,” he said.
As Combs left the courtroom for a final time, he stood in front of his family, telling them: “I’ll see you when I get out” and “We’re going to get through this.” He also told them, “Be strong, I love you.”
He looked toward his mother and said, “Mama. I love you. Stay strong.”
As soon as Combs was denied bail, he had snapped his head toward his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, and then wrote him several notes as he spoke, finally raising his hand and waving it to get the judge’s attention. But he did not speak after consulting with Agnifilo.
Defense lawyers had pressed Judge Arun Subramanian to reconsider the ruling denying Combs release, but Subramanian stood firm.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lawyer, argued: “He’s not going to flee. He’s been given his life back.”
Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the only thing that’s exceptional about Combs is “his wealth, his violence and his brazenness” and “his continued criminality and his willingness to violate the law.”
“Listening to Ms. Comey makes me appreciate that we have juries,” Agnifilo said, taking a swipe at the prosecutor.
“For present purposes, the defendant is unable to meet his burden” to show by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community,” Arun Subramanian said.
Among other reasons, the judge noted Combs’ violent history: “At trial, the defense conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships.”
The decision came after a jury convicted Combs of federal prostitution-related offenses but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs, 55, has been behind bars since his arrest in September.
The Grammy-winning impresario stands convicted of two counts of a crime — transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of charges that could have put him behind bars for life.
His lawyers argued that the acquittal on those counts changed the legal landscape enough that he should be freed on $1 million bond. Prosecutors said he remained a flight risk.
While the law allows for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, the lawyers in the case have said in court filings that guidelines suggest a sentence that would fall well short of that.
The defense suggested as little as 21 months, minus what Combs has already served. Prosecutors suggested a little more than 5 years, though they cautioned they hadn’t fully evaluated the conviction yet.
The sentence will ultimately be up to the judge.
Combs walked in, put his hands up to his lips in a prayer pose and blew a kiss to his family.
He hugged one of the members of his defense team, then sat at the defense table, wearing black-rimmed glasses and reading papers.
Prosecutors are also in courtroom, settled into their seats. Combs’ family and supporters took their seats in the gallery.
Because there’s no jury, sketch artists are allowed in the jury box for this proceeding.
“By its verdict, the jury resoundingly rejected the government’s depiction of Mr. Combs,” the letter to the judge says.
“It convicted him only on two prostitution counts, which were related to the transportation of adults — adults whom the jury clearly found were consensual participants in the sexual activity.”
The letter also complained, again, about housing Combs at the Metropolitan Detention Center, which is infamous for its horrific conditions, rampant violence and multiple deaths.
“It would be unjust to continue detaining Mr. Combs at the MDC even one day longer, especially since — given the sentencing guidelines for these prostitution offenses — he would otherwise be entitled to serve any additional time imposed at a lower-security facility.”
Attorney Dina Doll said prosecutors had to show that his musical enterprise, Bad Boy Records, “wasn’t just a business that he happened to maybe commit crimes under, but that this was a criminal enterprise.”
Doll, who was not involved in the case, said this was too much of a leap, and very hard to prove.
“I think that’s what ended up being, at the end, why they acquitted there,” she said.
Combs’s defense team argued before his trial that he was being singled out as a powerful Black man. But Doll said his fame and celebrity helped him beat the more serious charges that could have put him in prison for life.
“I think the one area where the fame really matters, honestly, is that he was able to retain, like, a dream team of lawyers,” Doll said. “A typical criminal defendant cannot do that, and I think that’s where his fame and celebrity helped him.”
The federal Mann Act used against Combs is an anti-sex trafficking law with a controversial, century-old history.
Over the years, the 1910 law, also originally known as the “White-Slave Traffic Act,” has been applied to prominent convictions, including R&B superstar R. Kelly, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, musician Chuck Berry and more than a century ago, boxer Jack Johnson. The first Black world heavyweight champion was convicted by an all-white jury for traveling with his white girlfriend.
Prosecutors used it against interracial couples and eventually many others in consensual relationships, according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.
Combs’ legal team had tried to dismiss the prostitution-related charges by writing that the Mann Act “has a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect white women from them.” It said Combs was singled out as a powerful Black man, “prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished.”
▶ Read more about the history of the Mann Act
Combs appeared overwhelmed before court adjourned for a few hours to prepare for his bail hearing. He wiped his face, turning and kneeling at his chair, his head bowed in prayer, and then faced his family in the audience as they stood and applauded.
“I’ll be home soon,” he said, and “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, Mom,” he added.
There’s no date yet for sentencing, when the judge will decide on Combs’ punishment for the prostitution conviction.
Douglas H. Wigdor represents Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, Combs’ girlfriend from 2007 to 2018.
“Detention is mandatory post-conviction on these charges, and Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community,” says his letter asking the judge to deny bail.
Cassie testified for four days, saying she felt coerced to participate in hundreds of “freak-off” sex events in which Combs filmed her having sex with male sex workers he hired to satisfy his sexual fantasies. She also testified that Combs beat her on several occasions. Several other trial witnesses described seeing Combs attack Cassie over the years.
Combs remains in custody after the verdict. His attorneys want him released while he awaits sentencing, on a $1,000,000 bond signed by himself, his mother, his sister and the mother of his oldest daughter.
Prosecutors oppose any release, saying he was convicted of crimes of violence.
The court has said Judge Arun Subramanian will return to the courtroom at 5 p.m. to make a decision on Combs’ bail request.
Their letter to the judge says their calculation based on federal sentencing guidelines calls for roughly four to five years in prison — and the term they will suggest in writing before his sentencing may be higher still, because they contend fraud and coercion were involved.
They also argue that Combs was convicted of a crime of violence and therefore should be freed prior to sentencing only if the judge finds “clear and convincing evidence” that he won’t flee or pose a danger to anyone.
Prosecutors say detention is mandatory in these circumstances — they could not find a case in which a defendant was released from custody after such a conviction.
They also said Combs remains a danger to the community because three months before his arrest and while he was aware he was under investigation, he “brutally assaulted” a woman who testified at his trial under the pseudonym “Jane.” And they say he was in possession of materials for a “freak-off” sex event when he was arrested at a New York hotel in September.
Their afternoon submission to the judge says their calculation of sentencing guidelines would call for about two years in prison.
They argued against a prosecutor’s assertion this morning that Combs is a flight risk or a danger to the community.
And they said Combs has missed some big moments in the lives of his children while behind bars since his September arrest.
They said he has missed the high school graduation of his twin daughters, who didn’t have a parent with them because their mother, Kim Porter, died in 2018. And they said he’s been separated from his 2-year-old daughter and “needs and wants to be with — and remain with — his family.”
Attorney Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor in New York, says the technical maximum is 10 years for each prostitution-related count Combs was convicted of, but federal sentencing guidelines suggest a sentence “measured in months, not years.”
He says the guidelines give the judge a starting point of 15 to 21 months. Epner predicts the defense will argue that the nine months Combs spent in the Metropolitan Detention Center were so horrific that Combs deserves to be sentenced to time-served and freed on bail. Prosecutors, he predicts, will argue that the prostitution convictions involved coercion and merit a lengthy sentence.
Epner’s best guess is a sentence of 24 to 30 months, nothing like 10 or 20 years.
The trial-watching crowd of TikTokers, YouTubers, supporters, detractors and members of the traditional news media outside the courthouse is now waiting for word on whether Combs will be freed pending his sentencing.
In one bizarre celebration, a woman danced around while a man poured baby oil on her, an homage of sorts to an activity at Combs’ so-called “freak-offs” and “hotel nights.”
The crowd spilled into the street at times, prompting police officers to shoo them back to the sidewalk. Officers later added to a maze of barricades as more people gathered.
TV reporters from national networks, local stations and international outlets reported the news from a row of makeshift studios. The 14 tents went up across from a park where men keep working out or shooting hoops, seemingly oblivious or indifferent to the spectacle around them.
Richard told jurors that Combs’ threatened to kill her if she told anyone that she saw him physically abusing his longtime girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
“Today’s split verdict is a disappointment, but the criminal charges are different than the civil claims we filed and have been fighting against Sean Combs,” wrote Richard’s attorney, Lisa Bloom. “We will continue to aggressively fight our case until we obtain full and complete justice for Dawn.”
Combs’s acquittal on the most serious charges comes long after the once-celebrated music mogul’s major business ventures collapsed:
1. He stepped down and later fully divested from Revolt TV, a network that offered programming focused on hip-hop culture, R&B music, social justice and documentaries.
2. He reportedly lost a Hulu reality series deal, watched his once-iconic fashion brand Sean John vanish from Macy’s shelves, and Peloton pulled his music.
3. New York City revoked his ceremonial key, Howard University rescinded his honorary degree, and his charter school in Harlem cut ties.
4. He settled a legal dispute with Diageo, relinquishing control of his lucrative spirits brands, Ciroc and DeLeón.
However:
5. His Bad Boy Records label remains operational, even though it hasn’t announced any major upcoming releases.
6. His music catalog — for now — remains available on major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. None have publicly addressed whether they plan to adjust how his music is featured.
▶ Read more about the verdict’s impact on Combs’ business empire
The court has not released identifying information about the jurors, who were discreetly ushered into and out of the courthouse each day so that the media had no access to them. Trial observers had to remain in the courtroom for about 10 minutes until the jurors were all taken down in a freight elevator, likely to the courthouse garage.
Before dismissing them, the judge spoke to the jury, guiding them on whether and how to speak about the case to the media. He told them not to speak about other jurors’ deliberations.
7. “Diddy beat the Feds that boy a bad man!” — rapper 50 Cent, on Instagram.
8. “I’m tired of seeing us Black moguls get took down like that. … And I’m tired of seeing us Black people go against us Black moguls like that.” — rapper Boosie Badazz, in an Instagram video. “I’m glad he free … The courts spoke.”
9. “Oh, this makes me physically ill. Cassie probably feels so horrible. I’m gonna vomit.” — singer Aubrey O’Day, formerly of the girl group Danity Kane, on her Instagram story.
10. “I guess a jury just never wants to believe that a woman stays because of power and coercion, wow.” — actor Rosie O’Donnell on Instagram.
Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters in violation of the federal Mann Act.
The 1910 law originally prohibited the interstate or foreign commerce transport of a woman or girl “for prostitution or debauchery or for any other immoral purpose.” A 1986 update made the law gender-neutral and effectively ended the Act’s role in trying to legislate morality by changing “debauchery” and “immoral purpose” to “any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.”
▶ Read more about the history of the Mann Act
The statement by federal officials on the verdict in U.S. v. Sean Combs doesn’t mention the verdict, or Combs.
“Sex crimes deeply scar victims, and the disturbing reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society. Victims endure gut-wrenching physical and mental abuse, leading to lasting trauma. New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice,” says the statement by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky Patel, who runs New York’s field office for Homeland Security Investigations.
“Prosecuting sex crimes requires brave victims to come forward and tell their harrowing stories. We and our law enforcement partners recognize the hardships victims endure and have prioritized a victim-centered approach to investigating and prosecuting these cases,” said the statement, which also praises law enforcement offices “for their assistance in this matter.”
A lawyer for the R&B singer, who previously dated Combs and testified that he beat and raped her, lauded her courage despite the verdict.
“Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution,” Douglas H. Wigdor said in a written statement.
“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.”
Overall, the jury deliberated for about 13 and a half hours over the course of three days.
It’s been almost two months since jury selection began on May 5.
The verdict came as the jury faced the prospect of coming into court Thursday, while the courthouse is otherwise closed, or waiting until after the long Independence Day weekend to resume deliberating if they didn’t have a decision Wednesday.
As Combs turned toward his family as he left the courtroom, he smiled as they applauded and said: “I’ll be home soon.”
He added: “I love you, baby” and, “I love you, Mom.”
U.S. Marshals then ushered him out. Combs will remain in custody as the judge considers the defense’s argument that the hip-hop mogul should be granted bail and released until his sentencing.
Combs’ family stood and applauded as Diddy faced them before being led out by authorities. The family also cheered for the hip-hop mogul’s lawyers as the defense attorneys hugged one another.
Combs wiped his face, turned and kneeled at his chair, his head bowed in prayer, as court adjourned. The judge said he’ll reconvene later Wednesday to discuss whether to grant Combs bail.
The charges Combs was convicted of carry a maximum of 10 years behind bars, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey notes.
“Mr. Agnifilo tried to downplay the significance” of the charges Combs was convicted of, “but the record says otherwise,” the prosecutor says.
She said the court has heard testimony of years of illegal conduct, transporting sex workers, drug use and attempting to intimidate witnesses.
Comey argued there’s a “real risk that he will flagrantly disregard orders from this court, that he will commit new crimes and that he will attempt to flee justice.”
“In light of the fact that Mr. Combs is no longer charged with sex trafficking … he should be released,” Marc Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo wants Combs to be released today and allowed to return to his Florida home.
He says the acquittal on the serious charges demands a change in Combs’ conditions of release.
Prosecutors oppose Combs being released on bail.
Combs pumped his right fist subtly, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges. And he nodded his head in agreement as the judge thanked the jury for its hard work over the last eight weeks.
As the verdicts were read, he held up his hands in a prayer motion. Then he was hugging his defense lawyer Teny Geragos.
11. COUNT ONE — Racketeering Conspiracy — NOT GUILTY
12. COUNT TWO — Sex Trafficking of Casandra Ventura — NOT GUILTY
13. COUNT THREE — Transportation to engage in prostitution — Casandra Ventura — GUILTY
14. COUNT FOUR — Sex Trafficking of Jane — NOT GUILTY
15. COUNT FIVE — Transportation to engage in prostitution – Jane — GUILTY
The jury has reached a verdict Wednesday in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York City on the third day of deliberations.
The verdict has yet to be announced in court.
In addition to sex trafficking, Combs is charged with racketeering conspiracy and transporting sex workers across state lines.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers acknowledge he could be violent and may have been a bad boyfriend. But they deny that he’s done anything to warrant the charges against him.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: Brian Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The lead prosecutor tasked with finding justice for four University of Idaho students killed in a grisly quadruple stabbing more than two years ago laid out his key evidence Wednesday at a court hearing for Bryan Kohberger, who agreed to plead guilty earlier this week to avoid the death penalty.
The evidentiary summary — recited by lead prosecutor Bill Thompson before Kohberger entered his pleas — spun a dramatic tale that included a DNA-laden Q-tip plucked from the garbage in the dead of the night, a getaway car stripped so clean of evidence that it was “essentially disassembled inside” and a fateful early-morning Door Dash order that may have put one of the victims in Kohberger’s path.
These details offered new insights into how the crime unfolded on Nov. 13, 2022, and how investigators ultimately solved the case using surveillance footage, cell phone tracking and DNA matching. But the synopsis leaves hanging key questions that could have been answered at trial — including a motive for the stabbings and why Kohberger picked that house, and those victims, all apparent strangers to him.
The small farming community of Moscow, in the northern Idaho panhandle, had not had a homicide in about five years when Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were found dead at a rental home near campus.
Kohberger, now 30, had begun a doctoral degree in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University — across the state line from Moscow, Idaho — months before the crimes.
“The defendant has studied crime,” Thompson said, as the victims’ family members dabbed at their tears. “In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his Ph.D., and he had that knowledge skillset.”
Kohberger’s cell phone began connecting with cell towers in the area of the crime more than four months before the stabbings, Thompson said, and pinged on those towers 23 times between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in that time period.
A compilation of surveillance videos from neighbors and businesses also placed Kohberger’s vehicle — known to investigators because of a routine traffic stop by police in August — in the area.
On the night of the killings, Kohberger parked behind the house and entered through a sliding door to the kitchen at the back of the house shortly after 4 a.m., Thompson said. He moved to the third floor, where Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were sleeping.
After killing both of them with a knife, Kohberger left a knife sheath next to Mogen’s body. Both victims’ blood was later found on the sheath, along with DNA from a single male that ultimately helped investigators pinpoint Kohberger as the only suspect.
On the floor below, another student was still awake. Xana Kernodle had ordered Door Dash not long before, and as Kohberger was leaving, he crossed paths with her and killed her with a large knife, Thompson said. He then killed her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was sleeping in Kernodle’s bedroom.
Kohberger left two others in the house alive, including one roommate who was expected to testify at trial that sometime before 4:19 a.m. she saw an intruder there with “bushy eyebrows,” wearing black clothing and a ski mask.
Roughly five minutes later, the car could be seen on the next-door neighbor’s surveillance camera. speeding away so fast “the car almost loses control as it makes the corner,” Thompson said.
After Kohberger fled the scene, Thompson said, his cover-up was elaborate.
Prosecutors believe he drove backroads to his apartment in Pullman, Washington, to avoid surveillance cameras on the major roads and didn’t turn his cell phone back on until 4:48 a.m. By 5:26 a.m., he was back in Pullman, Thompson said.
Later, Kohberger changed his car registration from Pennsylvania to Washington State — significant for investigators who were combing through surveillance camera footage because Pennsylvania law doesn’t require a front license plate, making it harder to identify the vehicle.
And by the time investigators did catch up with him weeks later, his apartment and office in nearby Pullman were scrubbed clean.
“Spartan would be a kind characterization. There was nothing there, nothing of evidentiary value was found,” Thompson said of Kohberger’s apartment.
The car, too, “had been essentially disassembled inside,” he added. “It was spotless. The defendant’s car had been meticulously cleaned inside.”
Investigators had honed in on Kohberger, but they needed to prove he was their suspect.
With the DNA of a single mystery male on the knife sheath, they worked with the FBI and the local sanitation department to secretly retrieve garbage from the Pennsylvania home of Kohberger’s parents, seeking a DNA match to their suspect.
“They conducted what’s called a trash pull during the nighttime hours,” Thompson said, and “took trash that had been set out on the street for collection” and sent it to Idaho’s forensics lab.
The pile of garbage yielded investigative gold: A Q-tip that contained DNA identified “as coming from the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath that was found by Madison Mogen’s body on the bed,” he said.
With that, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he had gone for the holidays, and ultimately was extradited to Idaho for prosecution.
Even while prosecutors detailed that night, a key question remains: Why did Kohberger target that house and those victims? Did he know them? And what was his motive?
“We do not have evidence that the defendant had direct contact with 1122 or with residents in 1122, but we can put his phone in the area on those times,” Thompson said, referring to the house number where the murders took place.
Some of that evidence may have come out at trial, and may yet be contained in documents related to the case that have been sealed by the court until after a July 23 sentencing hearing. A gag order in place for all attorneys in the case is still in effect as well.
Those documents include witness lists, a list of exhibits, an analysis of the evidence, requests for additional discovery, filings about mitigating factors and various unsuccessful defense motions that sought to introduce alternative suspects, among other things.
With the case solved, families remain divided over its resolution.
The deal stipulates that Kohberger will be spared execution in exchange for four consecutive life sentences. He also waived his right to appeal and to challenge the sentence.
Chapin’s and Mogen’s families support the deal.
“We now embark on a new path. We embark on a path of hope and healing,” Mogen’s family said in a statement.
The family of Kaylee Goncalves publicly denounced the plea deal ahead of Wednesday’s hearing and her father refused to attend the proceedings.
Goncalves 18-year-old sister, Aubrie Goncalves, said in a Facebook post that “Bryan Kohberger facing a 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,” she wrote.
(File Photo of the Allegheny Health Network Logo)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) Allegheny Health Network will not be accepting cash of payments and checks for services that are medical as of July 7th, 2025. The change to a cashless service will affect centers for urgent care, offices for doctors and hospitals of Allegheny Health Network. You can still use major credit cards and debit cards to pay Allegheny Health Network. Facilities at AHN locations that are not medical like cafeterias, gift shops, parking areas, and vending machines may still take cash.
(File Photo: Caption for Photo: police car lights at night in city with selective focus and bokeh background blur) Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto/z1b)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that an unidentified man from Aliquippa was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Beaver on Sunday. A sixty-year-old man was stopped by police after committing a vehicle violation on 3rd Street in Beaver Borough. According to police, that man was then subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
(File Photo of fifth grade Baden Academy Charter School student Skylar Wesley’s coloring contest submission drawing, Source for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Baden Academy Charter School and Edgar Snyder and Associates)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) A Baden Academy Charter School student is one of five students to recently win the Edgar Snyder and Associates coloring contest this year called “How to be a Hero.” According to judges, a fifth-grade student named Skylar Wesley drew a picture of her and her mom headlined “My Mom is a Hero.” She will get $1,000 to help her school expand its visual arts electives program by buying resources for it as well as getting her art displayed on a regional billboard. Skylar gave this quote when asked about how her mom is a hero and when she was asked about her work: “She always takes care of me and my siblings, even when things are really hard. I look up to her because she’s strong, kind, and she never gives up on us.”
(File Photo of a Dollar Sign)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, Governor Josh Shapiro signed House Bill 1103 into law this week. This act amends the Mortgage Licensing Act known presently as Act 16 of 2025. This bill will go into effect in 60 days from July 2nd. This bill will also make a clarification that the collection of discount points may happen on first and secondary loans of mortgage made by non-bank mortgage lenders. The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities license those lenders. The Mortgage Licensing Act gives a license to mortgage companies and mortgage originators and regulates theservicing activity and origination for people in Pennsylvania. Under the law which will be amended, the monthly payment for borrrowers will help to be reduced by the interest rate for borrowers being bought down on their first and second mortgage loans.
(File Photo of Handcuffs)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Fallston Borough, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that an unidentified man from Darlington was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Fallston Borough on Saturday. A thirty-five-year-old man was stopped by police after committing a vehicle violation on a block of Constitution Boulevard. According to police, that man was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.