NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Episode Date: July 3, 2025

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs acquitted on most serious charges, but denied bail; Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to Idaho student murders; Seven people missing after explosion at fireworks facility; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, this just in, a judge denying Sean Diddy Combs' bail amid his major victory in court today. The jury acquitting him on the most serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Inside court, Combs falling to his knees in prayer. Outside his family celebrating, despite Combs being found guilty on two lesser counts involving prostitution. The big question tonight, how much longer will he spend behind bars?

Plus, are you pleading guilty because you are guilty? Yes. One by one, Brian Koberger confessing to his crimes, prosecutors revealing in horrifying detail how he killed four University of Idaho students. Koberger even taking a selfie after the murders. In court, his guilty plea before his own father and mother as the family of his victims had to relive the carnage

of their loved ones' brutal murders. Also breaking tonight, seven people are missing in a massive July 4th disaster. A California warehouse full of fireworks exploding after catching fire. First responders now searching for the missing. What went wrong? Missing in paradise, authorities searching for an American tourist who vanished in Turks

and Caicos. The new details how that five-year-old fell overboard on that Disney cruise ship going through a porthole and how her dad risked it all to save her. Our series, The Cost of Denial, a St. Louis business owner says a storm damaged his roof. Now his insurance company is damaging his bottom line. The fight headed to court. And Princess Kate opening up. Kate Middleton speaking publicly about her cancer journey, calling it a roller coaster. What she says she's finding the most difficult. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas.

And good evening. We come on the air with the breaking court cases captivating the country. Sean Diddy combs in court in Manhattan tonight after he was found guilty of two lesser charges in his federal case. Moments ago, a judge denied him bail, so he stays in custody for now. It caps a stunning day, the jury finding him not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. The music mogul held his lawyer's hand tightly as the shock verdict was read, turning emotional, appearing to prey as his children looked on. Weeks of testimony painted a lurid portrait of sex parties that lasted days,

and accounts of intense physical and emotional abuse. But in the end, the jury made up its mind after 13 hours of deliberation. It all played out as across the country in another courtroom, Brian Koberger confessed to the slain of four University of Idaho students, pleading guilty to their murders. We have it all covered with our team, pleading guilty to their murders.

We have it all covered with our team, but we want to begin tonight with Chloe Malas and Chloe, this bail hearing just wrapped and for now, Combs will remain behind bars. Tom, that's right. It was a day of highs and lows for Combs. First, a high when he found out that he was acquitted on the most serious of charges, but then some lows when the judge said he has to return to Metropolitan's detention center in Brooklyn, where he's already been incarcerated for 10 months leading up to his trial. And now he has to wait for a tentative sentencing date in

October. Sean Diddy combs sinking to his knees in the courtroom moments after a jury found him not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking the most serious charges he was facing he was convicted on 2 counts of a lesser charge transportation to engage in prostitution. Today's a great victory. It's a great victory for Sean combs in the courtroom, an emotional scene combs his lawyer wiping away tears as

family members, including his 6 kids clapped and cheered. His mother later blowing a kiss to the crowd she left the courthouse. It's a block party like atmosphere outside the courthouse with dancing and other protesting today's verdict. But one thing for sure we're here for a front row seat to history. The jury of 8 men and 4 women deliberated for a total of 13 and a half hours.

Late Tuesday they sent a note saying that they'd reached consensus on four counts but were split on one. They returned this morning deliberating for under an hour before announcing they had a verdict. During the seven-week trial, prosecutors argued that Combs was the leader of a criminal enterprise and everyone was there to serve him. They called 34 witnesses, including two of combs's former girlfriends, singer Cassie Ventura and another known only as Jane Ventura's lawyer today, sharing her reaction to the verdict. We're pleased that he's finally been held responsible for two federal crimes, something that he's never faced in his life. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office acknowledged the victims, writing,

sex crimes deeply scar victims, and the disturbing reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society. Combs opted not to testify, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses. They said he was put on trial for his lifestyle and didn't commit the crimes he was charged with. This case was never what it was made out to be. This case was ridiculous in so many different ways. He's also facing dozens of civil suits. But tonight comes a spacing far less prison time that he would have if convicted on the most serious charges. And Chloe joins us once again live from outside the courthouse.

We understand that Combs' family is outside there just behind you. Hey there, Tom. So his mother Janice and also six of his children, they're getting into those Sprinter vans right there behind me. Media from all over the world standing right outside. There was some applause when they exited. This was a very emotional day for them. As the day first started, Tom, they were actually praying with Combs and as you know from my piece just now, they clapped after

the verdict. All right, Chloe Molosferos. Chloe, we thank you for that update. Laura Jarrett joins us now live in Studio Solora. Viewers at home are going to be watching this saying Combs beat the major charges. Why is he still behind bars? The judge was very troubled by the extent and the pattern of the violence that came out in this case, Tom, the judge said, look, the defense as much conceded the fact that there was domestic violence here.

We all remember that now, infamous tape, the judge brought it up in court today. It moved him clearly, and it was Combs' burden to say, look, I'm not a threat to the community anymore. We heard from two women today who said they still worry that he would come after them if he was to get out today. Now we should mention, he's been behind bars since September. He's not facing the sentencing till October.

That's why the defense is hoping they can try to speed it up. The judge seemed open to it today. We'll see where it goes. Okay, we'll follow every angle. Laura, we thank you for that. Now to Boise, Idaho, for another stunning moment in court. The man accused in the murders of four University of Idaho students pleading guilty on four counts of first degree murder and one count of burglary.

In a moment, you'll hear how prosecutors detailed the evidence they collected that pointed in their words and Coburger's confession to a premeditated murder of four college students. Liz Kreutz was in the courtroom for it all. Tonight 2 and a half years after the brutal murders of 4 University of Idaho students, the man accused of the crimes Brian Coburger pleading guilty in a Boise courtroom are you pleading guilty because you are guilty. In a chilling moment judge Stephen Hippler one by one

asking coberger this question. Murder in the first degree as it relates to the murder of Madison Mogan, how do you plead guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Haley Gonzalez, how do you plead guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Zana Crono-Crono-Tle, pardon me, a human being, how do you plead guilty or not guilty? Guilty.

Ethan Chapin, a human being, how do you plead? Guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Ethan Chapin, a human being, how do you plead? Guilty or not guilty? Guilty. In the courtroom, families of all the victims, some sobbing and holding hands as prosecutors recounted the disturbing evidence they were ready to present at trial. The defendant's car, the white Elantra, as I've described, circling the 1122 King Road area, that neighborhood, starting around 3.30 or so in the morning. The defendant entered the residence, went to the third floor, and with a knife killed Madison Mogan and Caitlin Gitzal.

The defendant, as he left that room, for whatever reason, ended up leaving or the sheath for a K-bar knife was left on the bed next to Madison Moglen's body. The prosecutor saying before fleeing, Koberger murdered the other two students and then drove home. About 930 evidence taken from the defendant's phone that he took a selfie of himself on his phone in what appears to be the bathroom is full of apartment with a thumbs up. Coburger's plea deal, which takes the death penalty off the table, shocking to even the judge who said he only learned of it Monday. Some of the families of

the victims outraged. Kaylee Gonzalez, his father lashing out at the prosecutor. He only negotiated with the murder of our children. Okay, we'll be ashamed of what happened today. In 2022 after a week's long manhunt the former criminology student was arrested at his parents home in Pennsylvania charged with the murders of gonzales Santa Cronoval Ethan Chapin and Madison Morgan her mother and stepfather tonight saying they found relief in the plea deal. We have closure.

We embark on a path of hope and healing. And with that Liz Kreutz joins us now live. Liz, the families, even the ones upset with the plea bargain will get a chance to speak directly to the man who killed their children. Yeah, that's right, Tom. On July 23rd, family members will be able to read victim impact statements and it's believed at that point, Coburger will then be sentenced to life in prison without parole. And because this isn't going to trial now, it's likely that key questions will never be answered, including where that murder weapon is, how he chose his victims, and why he did

it. Tom? Okay, Liz Kreutz for us. Now to a developing story out of California, just as we're getting close to July 4th. Authorities say seven people are still missing tonight after a massive explosion and blaze at a fireworks facility, all caught on camera. Morgan Chesky has the late details. The building storing commercial fireworks was already up in flames.

Our Sacramento station covering it live when the blaze triggered a massive explosion. That warehouse turning into an inferno. I can say I have not seen anything like this. This is obviously an incident of great magnitude. And tonight, authorities say seven people are still missing at the fireworks company in this rural community outside Sacramento. Authorities say the first call came in at 550 last night. Everyone within a

one mile radius was evacuated. The flames consuming several nearby homes and igniting spot fires, hampering authorities efforts to get close. We know that the risk is high in that area, so we maintained a wide perimeter of that leaves little information for loved ones of the missing who came to tonight's press conference looking for answers. First priority is that he's okay. We're gonna go on to the next Siana Ruiz's 18 year old boyfriend. Jesus is still unaccounted for. We have a baby on the way and I can't things like that right now.

He had so much coming for him. And Morgan, as we cover this story, we're now learning about another fireworks incident this time in Cape Cod. Yeah, Tom, that's right. Authorities say it appears a vehicle that was delivering fireworks at a golf course caught fire, causing the entire battery of fireworks to explode. And Tom, we've learned at least one person there was injured. Tom.

Morgan Chesky on those two developing stories tonight. Morgan, we thank you. We're also following breaking news right now out of New Jersey. Take a look where a small skydiving plane has crashed in the town of Monroe in South Jersey, not far from Philadelphia. You can see several people being put into ambulances there.

Local emergency management calling it a mass casualty incident and saying about 15 people were aboard. Multiple people were airlifted to local hospitals. Okay, we turn now to President Trump's legal battle with CBS over a 60 minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS's parent company Paramount announcing they have now settled with the president for several millions of dollars.

Here's Stephanie Goss. Tonight, a $16 million settlement. Paramount, the parent company of CBS, announcing it will pay President Trump's legal fees and give money to his future presidential library. The president sued CBS over this interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on 60 Minutes during last year's presidential campaign. We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.

The suit accusing the show of manipulating the editing in Harris' favor, a claim CBS News denied. In June, 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley was asked what effect a settlement and apology would have. It will be very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies. Paramount is not issuing an apology, but says it has agreed to release written transcripts of future 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates. The Trump legal team calling the settlement another win for the American people, holding the media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit.

The announcement comes as Paramount is looking to merge with Skydance Media, a deal worth $8 billion. It has been stuck, waiting for FCC approval for nearly a year. Paramount previously saying the lawsuit is unrelated to the Skydance merger and the FCC approval process. Following a string of lawsuits this year, media companies and social media platforms have reached settlements with the president worth more than $60 million. In January, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million over on air comments made by George Stephanopoulos, the terms

similar to CBS, though in that case, ABC News did issue a statement of regret. Stephanie Goss, NBC News, New York. And when we come back, the business owner suing his insurance company. Why he says even though he paid his premiums, he can't get what he believes he's owed. Our series, The Cost of Denial, after this short break. We're back now with our series, The Cost of Denial, and the small business owner who reached out to us after seeing our series. He's in a years long fight with his insurance company and says his successful furniture

business is now at risk. Here's Christine Romans. When the storm hit, Martin Goebel thought he'd be okay. You had insurance. I was fully covered and I was up to date with all of my payments. Making all your payments. You thought you'd be covered. Yes.

So you don't think it's fair? Everything going on here is not fair. This is video Goebel shot recently. Water drenching the floor of his St. Louis furniture shop. This is our workshop. All because he says of a storm that tore a hole through his roof back in 2021. What we're dealing with is not the disaster of the storm. It's the disaster of the insurance that's supposed to protect us from the storm. Building coverage, a million. Now he's suing Cincinnati Insurance Company for what he believes he's owed

from his more than $1 million policy. You can't afford to just fix this roof yourself. No, that's why I have insurance. But the insurer, he says, has only provided money for tarps to replace some machinery and other temporary fixes, far from enough to repair the roof of machinery damaged by hail, rain and wind. Every time it rains it gets a little bit worse and a little bit worse and there's a new leak

somewhere else. Now his daily routine, clearing out that water, protecting his machines. Time taken away from furniture making. I haven't paid myself a regular salary in more than a year because I need to make payroll every two weeks. I need to pay suppliers. He's made benches for Washington University, workspaces for Nike, even a throne for a chieftainess in Zambia.

But now he says he's lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, had to cut staff and take on a second job to make ends meet with a newborn at home. The assumption is the storm is the worst day of your life. But in reality, the worst day of your life is the next storm. And you don't know how bad that damage is going to be. That must be frustrating because if it had just been fixed back in 2021, you wouldn't have these cascading problems. It's extremely frustrating.

Cincinnati Insurance says it believes in paying claims quickly and fairly and that the company pays billions in claims each year. The insurer telling NBC News, it can't comment specifically on Goebel's case, but in a court filing said, based on their experts inspections, the existence of hail or wind damage is an open question of fact. A question

Goebel calls laughable. He says it was a storm. We checked and a hail storm did hit St. Louis at the time. Where there is water coming in right now, where there are beams sagging, where there is roof missing, none of that was a problem. His case now set to go to court next month. I think that every small business owner out there should look at this and say to themselves, what do I do when this happens? Because it's not a question of if, but when.

To protect yourself, experts say first read the fine print of your policy and know what the exceptions to coverage are. Second, document your business with photos now and then again if there's damage. And third, hire your own expert if you need for a written evaluation, Tom. A lot of great tips there, Christine. We thank you for that. We're back in a moment with Princess Kate now speaking out about her cancer journey, calling it a roller coaster.

What she said was the hardest part. That's next. We're back now with Princess Kate's emotional new recounting of her recovery from cancer. The Princess of Wales visiting a hospital in Essex today, shaking hands with patients and hospital staff, but also sharing more about her own journey with cancer treatment, saying getting back to her life afterward was also difficult. You're not necessarily in the clinical team any longer, but you're not able to function normally at home, as you perhaps once used to.

The princess also calling a cancer diagnosis life-changing for both patients and their families. Also tonight, police in the Turks and Caicos are searching for an American tourist who went missing while he was traveling with his wife. A private investigator tells us this surveillance video shows 51-year-old Brian Terrence near their resort early in the morning one week ago.

And an update to that dramatic rescue, a little girl going overboard from a Disney cruise ship. According to the sheriff's office, the five-year-old was sitting on a railing when she lost her balance and fell backwards through a porthole. Her mother alerted her father who then jumped into the ocean to save her treading water until they were both rescued. When we come back, winter wonderland for one little girl. Why one neighborhood created Christmas in June to spark a young girl's holiday joy in the heat of summer. That's next. Finally, there's good news tonight for a town in Maryland where Christmas came

early. Our Priscilla Thompson on how they rally together to make a little girl's wish come true when she needed it the most. Oh my gosh it looks so good. It began as most Christmas wishes do with a letter. This community has been incredibly supportive of our family over the last four years. Alyssa and Joe Zachman writing not to Santa but their Maryland neighbors about their nine-year-old daughter Casey wanting to celebrate Christmas on June 28th, the date she was diagnosed with brain cancer four years ago. So equally incredibly hot and not the best climate for putting up lights, but we are sure how much time we have with just

days to prepare says his helpers went straight to their workshops all the neighbors were out there just sweating as we hung Christmas lights. She ran like she hasn't ran in years that you want to be right in the middle of it. More than 2 dozen fire trucks and hundreds of homes decorated just for her. Oh my gosh.

June 28 for us has been diagnosis day has been a heavy day for us to now be able to think about June 28th as Christmas in June especially next year we're so thankful. A priceless gift from the community that made Christmas come early. Priscilla Thompson, NBC News. And we will be keeping Casey in our prayers. That's Nightly News for this Wednesday. I'm Tom Yama. Thanks so much for watching.

Tonight and always, we're here for you. Good night.