A look at the charges and potential sentencing Sean ‘Diddy' Combs faces in his sex trafficking trial
Prosecutors say Combs coerced women into abusive sex parties involving hired male sex workers, ensured their compliance with drugs like cocaine and threats to their careers, and silenced victims through blackmail and violence that included kidnapping, arson and beatings.
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Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, portrayed the Bad Boys Records founder as the victim of overzealous prosecutors who exaggerated elements of his lifestyle and recreational drug use to bring charges that resulted in what he called a 'fake trial.'
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What is racketeering conspiracy?
The most serious charge in this case, it alleges that Combs ran a criminal enterprise for two decades that relied on bodyguards, household staff, personal assistants and others in his orbit to facilitate and cover up crimes.
It's commonly used to tackle organized crime, with prosecutors using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act, or RICO, to take on the Mafia in the 1970s.
To prove the charge, prosecutors must show that an enterprise existed and was involved in a pattern of racketeering activity. In this case, the alleged activity includes kidnapping, arson, bribery and sex trafficking.
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What is a partial verdict?
The panel of eight men and four women said in a note that 'unpersuadable' views on both sides kept them from reaching a unanimous verdict on the racketeering charge. The jury has made a decision on the other charges, however that remains under wraps.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian agreed with prosecutors and Combs' defense team that it was too soon to give up on reaching a verdict on all counts after less than 13 hours of deliberations.
What sentence could Combs face?
Racketeering conspiracy carries a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. The sex trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. Transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
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Taylor Swift on New Heights: 6 things we learned from her appearance on Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast
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Taylor Swift's first football question for Travis Kelce was adorably bad Swift has been a mainstay at Chiefs games for two seasons now, but she entered the relationship with plenty to learn: 'Jason, on our first date, I legitimately asked him what it was like when the Chiefs played the Eagles in the Super Bowl, and he looked across the field across the line of scrimmage and saw his brother standing on the other, like five feet in front of him on the field. 'He didn't even look at me. Like, I now know what an insane question that was … I thought everyone was on the field at the same time. I thought it was like Jared Goff is here, and Josh Allen is here, and they blow a whistle, and they go at each other, and they're like, who's going to win?" We all have to start somewhere, and let's just say Swift has put in the work since then. 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Travis Kelce had to help Taylor Swift calm down after she got her masters back One of the biggest stories of the music industry in the past year has been Swift's nine-figure deal to reacquire the masters of her first six studio albums from the private equity firm Shamrock Holdings. It was a personal thing for Swift, who said, "I thought about not owning my music every day." When she finally got the call that Shamrock had accepted her offer, she quickly went to tell Kelce: "I just, like, very dramatically hit the floor, for real. I started bawling my eyes out ... I'm like 'Get yourself together, get your s*** together, just go tell Travis in a normal way.' I knock on the door, he's playing video games. I'm trying to say it in a normal way, and I'm just like '... TRAVIS!' He puts his headset down. He's like, 'Guys, gotta go,' and I think he thought something was wrong. "You come up, and I'm just like, 'I got all my music back.' 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"We have discussed maybe carrying around cans of sardines just in case we run into one. It's better in principle than it is in practice." On a related note, Swift confirmed she was aware of Kelce's "I just gave a squirle a peice of bread" tweet. The man is an animal lover. Jason Kelce wasn't sure about bringing his beer to meet the Royal Family We also learned plenty about the impression Jason Kelce has made on Swift, specifically when she asked if he would like to meet the Royal Family with her at the Eras Tour: "I knew you were serious when I went, 'Jason, do you want to go meet them?' I watched him have this moment with his beer where he was just like, 'But I want to take it, but I know that I probably should not take it.' I watched this happen ... 'If I don't have my beer, what do I do with my hand now?'" Kelce said she was correct: "I like that you picked up on it, because that's exactly what was going on in my head." 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Taylor Swift on New Heights: 6 things we learned from her appearance on Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast
After around two years of dating Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift made the podcast appearance heard 'round the world. The 14-time Grammy Award winner joined the Kansas City Chiefs tight end on an episode of his "New Heights" podcast with his brother Jason and discussed their relationship, her career and her ongoing football education in an hour-plus discussion first published Wednesday. More than 1.3 million people were watching concurrently at one point in the episode, in which Swift unveiled the cover art of her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl," which comes out Oct. 3. The appearance was a long time coming. The relationship's beginnings were documented on the same podcast, which has seen enough crossover attention to garner a nine-figure deal with Amazon's Wondery network. Or as Swift said: "This podcast has done a lot for me. I owe a lot to this podcast. This podcast got me a boyfriend, ever since Travis decided to use it as his personal dating app about two years ago." 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Travis Kelce had to help Taylor Swift calm down after she got her masters back One of the biggest stories of the music industry in the past year has been Swift's nine-figure deal to re-acquire the masters of her first six studio albums from the private equity firm Shamrock Holdings. It was a personal thing for Swift, who said "I thought about not owning my music every day." When she finally got the call that Shamrock had accepted her offer, she quickly went to tell Kelce: "I just, like, very dramatically hit the floor, for real. I started bawling my eyes out ... I'm like 'Get yourself together, get your s*** together, just go tell Travis in a normal way. I knock on the door, he's playing video games. I'm trying to say it in a normal way and I'm just like '... TRAVIS!' He puts his headset down, he's like 'Guys, gotta go,' and I think he thought something was wrong. "You come up and I'm just like "I got all my music back.' 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And then the otter's like, "Thank you forever." with its little paws. "We have discussed maybe carrying around cans of sardines just in case we run into one. It's better in principle than it is in practice." On a related note, Swift also confirmed she was aware of the "I just gave a squirle a peice of bread" tweet. The man is an animal lover. Jason Kelce wasn't sure about bringing his beer to meet the Royal Family We also learned plenty about the impression Jason Kelce has made on Swift, specifically when she asked if he would like to meet the Royal Family with her at the Eras Tour: "I knew you were serious when I went, 'Jason, do you want to go meet them.' I watched him have this moment with his his beer where he was just like, 'But I want to take it, but I know that I probably should not take it.' I watched this happen ... 'If I don't have my beer, what do I do with my hand now?" 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South LA street gang members charged in Figueroa Corridor sex trafficking case, DOJ says
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