Month: June 2025

Prosecutors are streamlining their case and have moved to drop some of the charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs a day before closing arguments are set to commence. Combs, 55, is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Those charges were not affected by the prosecution’s letter, but the jury will now have fewer predicates to consider during deliberations. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian filed on the morning of Wednesday, June 25, prosecutors said that they will not instruct the jury to consider attempted kidnapping, attempted arson and aiding and abetting sex trafficking prior to deliberations: “The Government understands the Court’s desire for streamlined instructions. Specifically, the Government has removed instructions from the charge relating to (i) attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law, (ii) attempted arson under California law, and (iii) aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary.”

In addition to dropping parts of their argument of the first count—one count of racketeering conspiracy—the letter sought to clarify Combs’ two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The letter notes that it is “imperative” the jury understands that “earlier consent is not determinative” of whether a victim was sex trafficked, adding that the same is true of forced labor, which is part of Combs’ sex trafficking counts. Additionally, the letter requests that “the Court instruct the jury that sex trafficking/labor and payment to the victim for that conduct are not mutually exclusive.”

Prosecutors called 34 witnesses over 29 days of testimony, while Combs’ team rested their defense after only 20 minutes on June 24, having called no witnesses and only introducing a series of text messages into evidence. Combs —who has been in federal custody since his September arrest—also waived his right to testify. In a rare statement addressing the court, he said: “We have discussed it thoroughly, that is my decision. That is totally my decision, I am making it.”  He also expressed gratitude for how Judge Subramanian has handled the case thus far: “I’m doing great, your honor, wanted to tell you thank you, you’re doing an excellent job.”

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President Donald Trump held a news conference in The Hague after the conclusion of the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, stating that U.S. and Iranian officials would meet next week on how to move forward following U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites. Leaders at NATO announced that they have agreed to increase their defense spending target to 5% of their gross domestic product by 2035.

Speaking at the conference, Trump, who appeared alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said, “It was a tough 12 days, but we believe it’s come to a close. I don’t think either side is looking to restart things anytime soon. I spoke to leaders on both sides — they’re worn out. It was brutal, but I think they’re ready to pull back. Could it flare up again? Sure, anything’s possible, maybe even soon. But for now, they’re stepping back.”

Trump continued to claim the strikes decimated Iran’s nuclear program, contrary to a U.S. intelligence assessment that the damage set the program back only by several months. He also suggested that a formal agreement with Iran might be possible in the future. However, he downplayed its importance, claiming Iran’s nuclear infrastructure had already been decimated. Trump told reporters: “We’ll be sitting down with Iran next week. Whether we have a signed agreement or not doesn’t really matter to me. Our stance hasn’t changed — we don’t want them to have nuclear weapons. But those nuclear sites? We took care of that. They’ve been destroyed. Completely.”

The president’s comments came amid cautious optimism following a 12-day flare-up between Iran and Israel, which ended with a ceasefire reportedly brokered by the Trump administration. The brief conflict resulted in 28 fatalities in Israel and several hundred casualties in Iran.

Per AP News, Iran has not acknowledged any talks taking place next week; however, U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran had been scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but was cancelled when Israel attacked Iran.

Per CBS News, Pres. Trump also met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who complimented the president on his efforts to boost other countries’ defense spending and on his efforts in the Middle East. Rutte said: “You are a man of strength and also a man of peace.”

In addition, Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with Zelenskyy writing on X that they discussed “how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace deal. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace close Details will follow.”  The president alson said of his conversation with Zelenskyy, “I took from the meeting that he’d like to see it end. I think it’s a great time to end it. I’m going to speak to Vladimir Putin and see if we can get it ended.”

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President Donald Trump departed early Tuesday for the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, coming just one day after Iran carried out retaliatory strikes at a U.S. base in Qatar, and hours after he announced a ceasefire in the Israel-Iran conflict. The NATO summit will be the first time Trump will face European U.S. allies since returning to the White House in January.

Per CNN, Israel accused Iran of firing several missiles and vowed to respond “with force,” while Tehran denied violating the truce. A visibly agitated Trump told reporters as he left for the summit that both Israel and Iran had violated the ceasefire, several hours after it was to take effect. Trump said:  “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing,” however the President indicated he did not believe the ceasefire was broken. Trump said he is “not happy” and that “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and dropped a boat load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen, I’m not happy with Israel. OK, when I say now you have 12 hours, you don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So, I’m not happy with him [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu]. I’m not happy with Iran either.”

Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire with Iran, in coordination with Trump, after the country achieved all of its war goals, including removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. In a televised statement late Tuesday, Netanyahu said that Israel took out top generals and nuclear scientists and destroyed nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan and the Arak heavy water reactor.

Trump later posted on Truth Social stating the ceasefire was saved: “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly “Plane Wave” to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!”

Upon his arrival in the Netherlands on Tuesday night, Trump attended a formal dinner at the Netherlands Royal Palace alongside the King and Queen of the Netherlands. On Wednesday, Trump will attend the NATO summit where he will participate the first plenary session with NATO leaders. The president will then spend a few hours engaged in bilateral meetings with several world leaders, a senior U.S. official told reporters on a conference call, and will later hold a news conference before leaving the Netherlands to return to the U.S.

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Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., will be the House Democratic Party’s top member on the House Oversight Committee, after beating Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch in a 150-63 caucus vote made on Tuesday.  Lynch, 70, is one of the most senior members of the Oversight Committee who had been serving as acting ranking member after the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. took a leave of absence in April.

Politico reported that Garcia, 47, won a first-ballot majority after winning the backing of the caucus’ powerful Steering and Policy Committee.  Garcia said following the vote: “We’ll get immediately to work,” adding that first on the agenda was meeting with the Oversight Committee staff “to let them know that we’re ready for consistent leadership. It is an opportunity for us to continue holding the corruption of Donald Trump accountable and also doing incredible work on government reform. Efficiency is not DOGE. Efficiency is actually making government work better for our constituents across the country, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee oversees federal government activities and has the power of subpoena to compel witnesses to appear before the committee during investigations. Garcia would be in line to chair the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee if Democrats win control of the House in next year’s midterm elections. If that were to happen, Garcia would work to hold President Donald Trump accountable for “corruption” while working to reform the federal government, he told media after the caucus vote.

Garcia is in his third term in the House; before coming to Washington, he made history as the first Latino and first openly gay mayor of Long Beach, California. Garcia served as Long Beach mayor from 2014 until 2022, when he won election to succeed Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., who did not seek re-election.

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