American rapper and Hip Hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was found guilty Wednesday, by a jury in New York City on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in his federal trial, but was acquitted of the more severe charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

Combs was convicted of two counts related to transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors estimated a preliminary sentence of 51 to 63 months, or roughly four to five years. He will receive 10 months of credit for time served.

Despite Combs' attorneys' request for release on a $1 million bond, District Judge Arun Subramanian denied bail, emphasizing the need for Combs to remain in custody due to his history of violence, the defense's concession of violence in his personal relationships and the risk he poses to the community. He'll remain in detention until his sentencing on October 3, 2025.

Verdict watch kicked off Monday as the jury headed back for their deliberations. Combs was facing five total felony counts: one of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Tuesday afternoon, the jury sent a note saying they had reached a verdict on counts 2 through 5, but had been unable to reach a verdict on count 1, for racketeering conspiracy. Subraminian sent the jury back to continue deliberating, and they resumed Wednesday morning.

Racketeering was widely viewed as the most complicated and difficult for prosecutors to establish. The Department of Justice has defined the elements of a conviction under federal RICO law as requiring the government to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) that an enterprise existed; (2) that the enterprise affected interstate commerce; (3) that the defendant was associated with or employed by the enterprise; (4) that the defendant engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity; and (5) that the defendant conducted or participated in the conduct of the enterprise through that pattern of racketeering activity through the commission of at least two acts of racketeering activity as set forth in the indictment.”

At 9:52 am ET Wednesday, the jury sent a note that they had reached a verdict. “We have reached a verdict on all counts,” the note read.

The verdicts were not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, not guilty on both counts of sex trafficking Ventura and “Jane,” and guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

After the verdict was read, Subramanian thanked the jury for their service and urged them to be cautious about speaking to the press or other people.

Prosecutors have argued Combs masterminded a decades-long criminal enterprise that abused, threatened, and coerced his victims, including Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend whom he was seen violently assaulting in a now-infamous hotel surveillance video from March 2016, and another ex-girlfriend, pseudonymously referred to as “Jane” during the trial.

Combs' legal team, led by attorney Marc Agnifilo, argued throughout the trial that any sexual encounters were legal and consensual.

The 55-year-old had initially denied Ventura’s accusations against him when she sued him in November 2023 saying Combs had raped, abused, and sex trafficked her for years. The lawsuit was settled out of court one day later; Ventura testified during this trial that the settlement was $20 million. A few days after the hotel video was obtained and published by CNN in May 2024, Combs posted a video on his Instagram account admitting to his “inexcusable” actions and saying he was “disgusted” with himself.

Post-verdict Wednesday, Combs’ defense counsel argued that he “should be released on appropriate conditions” since he was acquitted of the most serious charges. Agnifilo vowed to the court that his client, if released, would return to his house in Miami to be with his family and comply with the court’s conditions.

Last September, the court denied defense attorneys’ motion for bail and ordered Combs to remain incarcerated during the pendency of the trial. An appeal the next day was rejected and the trial court’s denial of bail and pre-trial detention was affirmed. Combs has been held in federal custody since then and throughout the trial.

“Is your proposal that he leave this courtroom and walk outside?” Subramanian asked Agnifilo.

Agnifilo replied yes, and emphasized to the judge that Combs “has been given his life by this jury” by avoiding having to spend the rest of his life in prison and would be “nothing short of a fool” if he were released pre-sentencing and violated any of the court’s conditions.

“He treasures, I assure you, the opportunity that he has been given, and he will not run afoul of anything this court imposes on him,” Agnifilo said.

Prosecutors said the government opposes Combs being released.

Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey highlighted the substantial evidence presented during the trial of Combs’ heavy drug use and abuse, which was not contested by his defense, and argued the defendant had shown a pattern of not respecting the law, that he had “continued to commit a litany of crimes” even after he knew he was being investigated, and therefore could not be trusted not to commit new crimes if he were released.

Comey added that prosecutors will be seeking incarceration for the two counts of which Combs was convicted.

Ventura’s attorney Doug Wigdor made a statement praising his client for having the “courage” to file her 2023 lawsuit that launched this criminal investigation and “paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution.”

“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” said Wigdor, lauding Ventura for the way she showed “exemplary courage throughout this trial” and “brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion.”

“This case proved that change is long overdue,” he added, “and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.”

The SpaceX Falcon 9 at 2104 UTC on July 1, launched Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center. MTG-S1 is the second in a six-satellite series developed by the European Organization for the Exploration of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) alongside European Space Agency(ESA).

Falcon 9's first stage(B1085) came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, touching down on the SpaceX drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile the rocket's upper stage continued spaceward, deploying MTG-S1 about 35 minutes after liftoff.

The satellite will now make its way to geostationary orbit (GEO), which lies 35,786 kilometers above Earth. At this altitude, orbital speed matches Earth's rotational speed, meaning satellites there "hover" over the same patch of the planet continuously. This makes GEO a popular destination for weather and reconnaissance spacecraft.

MTG-S1 represents Europe’s first hyperspectral sounding instrument placed in GEO. It is the second of the MTG satellites to take flight. The first was MTG-I (MTG Imager), which launched atop an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket in December 2022.

The Copernicus Sentinel-4 instrument, which will monitor air quality over Europe, sits on board the MTG-Sounder (MTG-S) satellite. Copernicus Sentinel-4 is part of the European Union's Earth-observation program.

The instrument is an ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared light (UVN) spectrometer, which will monitor air quality over Europe and North Africa every hour, according to ESA officials.

"The spectrometer delivers high-resolution data on gases that affect the quality of the air we breathe, including a wide range of atmospheric trace gases and pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde," they wrote in the mission description.

"The mission will complement the Sentinel-5 and Sentinel-5P missions, which provide daily observations of the Earth from their polar orbits."

After undergoing a checkout period, MTG-S1 will use its infrared sounder instrument "to capture data on temperature, humidity, wind and trace gases that are used to generate 3D maps of the atmosphere, improving the accuracy of MTG's weather prediction," ESA officials said in a mission description.

The satellite "will provide coverage of Europe and part of northern Africa on a repeat cycle of 15 minutes, providing meteorologists with a complete weather picture of the region, complementing data on cloud formation and lightning from MTG-I," they added.

Today's launch and landing was the ninth for the Falcon 9 booster B1085, according to a SpaceX mission description. Among the booster's previous flights were the Fram2 private astronaut mission, the Crew-9 flight to the International Space Station for NASA and a January 2025 launch that sent two private landers toward the moon: Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience.

American journalist and conservative commentator Candace Owens revealed that French President Emmanuel Macron personally asked U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene and request that she stop discussing Brigitte Macron, his wife, during a period when peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were reportedly at stake.

The request came after a multi-part investigative series Becoming Brigitte which Owens released earlier in February 2025, where she alleges Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux. This was reported in March 2024, by sources like Faits et Documents and journalist Xavier Poussard. Macron has publicly dismissed the reports as false and disruptive.

These allegations reportedly prompted legal threats from the Macron couple, which Owens defiantly responded to by publishing the letter and vowing to continue her commentary.

According to Owens, Trump called her in February 2025 to convey Macron’s concerns, emphasizing that Brigitte was “old” and that Owens’ remarks were “really, really impacting her.” Trump's aide reportedly framed the request as critical to maintaining diplomatic momentum, warning that Macron was holding up a major international deal unless Owens ceased her commentary.

During the call, Trump reportedly told Owens that he had seen Brigitte Macron “up close” during a dinner at the Eiffel Tower and was convinced she “looked like a woman.” Owens pushed back, suggesting that Brigitte had access to top medical professionals who could have performed transgender surgery on the French president's 'wife.'

Owens revealed that Trump complimented her influence, noting Macron raised the issue during a White House meeting on February 24, 2025, and described her as a “very powerful person.” She said Trump offered to appear on her podcast as an incentive to comply, to which she responded, saying, “Respectfully, Mr. President, it’s not my fault that he[Macron] married someone with a penis.”

Despite Owens’ resistance, Trump stressed the importance of maintaining a cooperative relationship with Macron, who he described as “really good” to work with and essential to the ongoing peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Owens ultimately agreed to a temporary pause out of concern for the Ukraine negotiations but insisted it was not a long-term commitment to stop her Brigitte investigation.

Owens noted that Trump initially seemed open to allowing her to resume the investigation into Brigitte after a few months but appeared hesitant, possibly due to advice from someone in the background urging him to ensure the conversation around Brigitte Macron stopped entirely.

The conservative firebrand also mentioned that Trump offered to appear on her podcast, suggesting that he would be “great for ratings,” a comment she responded to with a remark about her own influence.

Owens suggested Macron’s stance was a significant geopolitical issue, framing it as a reason for him to resign, arguing that prioritizing personal matters over peace talks was unfit for leadership.