Diddy verdict, 'Alligator Alcatraz' and Rosie's rant: The week in review
A jury in New York cleared music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs of the most severe of the sex trafficking charges against him but convicted him of lesser prostitution-related crimes after a nearly two-month-long federal trial replete with sordid stories of sex parties and physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Had he been convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering, Combs, 55, could have faced life in prison; instead, the jury found him guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, which carries a maximum 10-year term on each count. Combs was denied bail and ordered to remain in jail until sentencing, possibly in October.
Diddy's life, career in photos: Revisit the rise and fall of Sean Combs
Trump opens the gates to 'Alligator Alcatraz'
President Donald Trump toured the controversial Florida detention facility known as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' joining Gov. Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem to show off the newly opened and refurbished vacant site where the administration plans to detain up to 5,000 migrants. It rests in the Everglades, an area infamously inhabited by alligators, pythons and other exotic and sometimes dangerous wildlife. 'Biden wanted me in here, OK?' Trump quipped to reporters, standing next to the facility's chain-link cages. 'Didn't work out that way.' Opponents have called the facility inhumane and environmentally irresponsible.
Buy now, pay later, then check your credit score
It should be no surprise that those convenient buy now, pay later purchase plans come with strings attached − namely, the "pay later" part − but soon there will be another string: Come fall, those loans will be factored into your credit score. The credit scoring service FICO announced the change as buy now, pay later has become increasingly popular, especially among Gen Zers and millennials. The risks of overusing BNPL are obvious − miss payments, and your credit score could tank − but there's an upside: Buyers who pay on time stand to boost their scores. The experts' advice: Proceed with caution, check your credit score online, and read the fine print.
Rosie did not hold her peace for this union
Rosie O'Donnell has long been outspoken on politics, but she turned an especially harsh lens on the lavish, star-studded wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez in Italy. 'The BEZOS wedding, it turned my stomach. Seeing all these billionaires gathering in the gross excess of it all,' O'Donnell wrote in a poem-style post on Instagram. She called Sánchez the Amazon founder's 'fake fembot wife,' wondered 'why would he choose her,' and suggested Bezos 'sold his soul. … The devil is smiling at all his conquests.' Presumably, Rosie was not on the guest list.
Wimbledon shocker: Coco Gauff falls in first round
Wimbledon 2025 was turned upside down early as No. 2-ranked Coco Gauff, winner of the French Open just weeks ago, was knocked out in the first round by 42nd-ranked Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 7-6(3), 6-1. Gauff joined No. 3 seed and fellow American Jessica Pegula, who lost to No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretta of Italy 6-2, 6-3 in another first-round stunner. It's the first time since 1968 that two of the top three seeds have fallen in Wimbledon's opening round. All told, four women ranked in the top 10 were sent packing in the first round. − Compiled and written by Robert Abitbol, USA TODAY copy chief
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Eight men deported from US arrive in war-torn South Sudan
Eight men deported from the United States in May and held under guard for weeks at a US military base in the African nation of Djibouti while their legal challenges played out in court have now reached the Trump administration's intended destination, war-torn South Sudan, a country the US State Department advises against travel to due to 'crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict'. The immigrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan arrived in South Sudan on Friday after a federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to relocate them in a case that had gone to the Supreme Court, which had permitted their removal from the US. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the US. 'This was a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people,' said Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in a statement announcing the men's arrival in South Sudan, a chaotic country in danger once more of collapsing into civil war. The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the transfer of the men who had been put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan. That meant that the South Sudan transfer could be completed after the flight was detoured to a base in Djibouti, where they men were held in a converted shipping container. The flight was detoured after a federal judge found the administration had violated his order by failing to allow the men a chance to challenge the removal. The court's conservative majority had ruled in June that immigration officials could quickly deport people to third countries. The majority halted an order that had allowed immigrants to challenge any removals to countries outside their homeland where they could be in danger. A flurry of court hearings on Independence Day resulted a temporary hold on the deportations while a judge evaluated a last-ditch appeal by the men's before the judge decided he was powerless to halt their removals and that the person best positioned to rule on the request was a Boston judge whose rulings led to the initial halt of the administration's effort to begin deportations to South Sudan. By Friday evening, that judge had issued a brief ruling concluding the Supreme Court had tied his hands. The men had final orders of removal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said. Authorities have reached agreements with other countries to house immigrants if authorities cannot quickly send them back to their homelands.
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Diddy Juror Has Strong Message for Critics of Verdict
Disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs' eight-week trial ended with him being convicted of two prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs remains behind bars awaiting sentencing after being denied bail. He faces up to 10 years in prison, but avoided the possibility of life behind bars thanks to the jury's verdict, which has been highly scrutinized. One of the jurors who deliberated on Combs' case has now publicly fired back at the idea that the Bad Boy Records founder's celebrity status influenced the jury's decision. In an interview with ABC, the juror, who remained anonymous, called such accusations "highly insulting and belittling to the jury and the deliberation process" "We spent over two days deliberating. Our decision was based solely on the evidence presented and how the law is stated," the juror told ABC. "We would have treated any defendant in the same manner regardless of who they are. I have nothing else to say." During the much-publicized trial in New York City, prosecutors argued that Combs had presided over a massive and long-running criminal enterprise, which included prostitution, forced sex trafficking and other wrongdoings. However, jurors were not convinced enough to find Combs guilty of the more severe charges, allowing him to escape potentially being jailed for the rest of his life. Instead, Combs, who has been behind bars since his arrest in 2024, will remain there pending his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for October 3. However, the 55-year-old former entertainer and record producer's lawyers are attempting to get the date of his sentencing moved up. Diddy Juror Has Strong Message for Critics of Verdict first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 3, 2025
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Supreme Court lets Trump admin. deport migrants held in Djibouti to South Sudan
Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport a group of migrants with criminal records held at a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, clarifying the scope of its earlier order that lifted restrictions on removals to countries that are not deportees' places of origin. Shortly after the ruling, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin announced, "these sickos will be in South Sudan by Independence Day," calling it a "win for the rule of law." In a social media post Thursday evening in response to the ruling, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote, "Yet another rogue district court judge has been rebuked by the Supreme Court thanks to the tireless work of dedicated DOJ attorneys. @POTUS will continue to exercise his full authority to remove killers and violent criminal illegal aliens from our country." The high court's follow-up ruling came after it paused a federal judge's April injunction that prevented the Trump administration from deporting migrants to so-called third countries without first giving them notice of the destination and a chance to contest their deportation there by raising fears of torture, persecution or death. Soon after that order by the Supreme Court last month, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts said that a decision he issued in May requiring the Trump administration to provide interviews with U.S. asylum officers to the men detained in Djibouti before removing them to South Sudan remained "in full force and effect." Those men — who hail from Latin America and Asia, and have been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S. — have been held at the Djibouti base for weeks after Murphy ordered the Department of Homeland Security to retain custody of them. The Trump administration has described deplorable and dangerous conditions faced by the personnel sent to guard the men in Djibouti, including concerns about malaria, rocket attacks, inadequate security protocols and triple-digit outdoor temperatures. Murphy issued his order in May after finding that the Trump administration violated his initial injunction when it attempted to swiftly remove the migrants to South Sudan with less than 24 hours' notice and no chance to raise fear-based claims. The world's youngest country, South Sudan remains plagued by violence and political instability, with the State Department warning Americans not to travel there. According to the Justice Department, the State Department has received "credible diplomatic assurances" from South Sudan that the migrants will not be subject to torture. The Supreme Court on Thursday said Murphy's May order "cannot now be used to enforce an injunction that our stay rendered unenforceable," referring to the April injunction from Murphy that the high court paused last month. Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a concurring statement that, while she opposed the Supreme Court's initial pause, "I do not see how a district court can compel compliance with an order that this Court has stayed." In a dissent that was joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the high court's majority was effectively allowing the Trump administration to pursue "unlawful ends," expressing concern about the safety of the deportees. "What the Government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death," Sotomayor wrote. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss of the District of Columbia briefly paused the deportation of the eight men to South Sudan, issuing an administrative stay in response to a last-ditch emergency motion filed by their attorneys. However, in a subsequent hearing later Friday, Moss said he would allow his stay to expire at 4:30 p.m. ET. He also said he would transfer the case back to Judge Murphy. Murphy subsequently denied the migrants' request to block the deportation, writing in his order Friday: "This Court interprets these Supreme Court orders as binding on this new petition, as Petitioners are now raising substantially similar claims, and therefore Petitioners motion is denied." The deportation flight to South Sudan had been scheduled to depart from Djibouti at 7 p.m. ET, the Justice Department told Moss during the earlier hearing. It was unclear on Friday night if it departed at that time. The legal fight The Supreme Court's original order last month was a significant legal victory for President Trump and his mass deportation campaign. As part of that effort, administration officials have sought to convince countries around the globe, including in far-flung parts of Africa, to accept deportees who are not their citizens. Several countries — including El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Kosovo — have already agreed to host migrants from other nations who have been deported from the U.S. The high court's decision in June was unsigned and did not contain any reasoning, prompting questions as to whether the Trump administration could move to deport the migrants being held in Djibouti to South Sudan, as it was initially trying to do. The three liberal justices — Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented. After Murphy clarified that the Department of Homeland Security could not yet remove the men without first providing them additional process, Solicitor General D. John Sauer sought further word from the justices. Sauer, who represents the government before the court, argued that the justice's decision meant there is no injunction in place barring the deportation of the migrants in Djibouti. Murphy's ruling, he wrote, "is a lawless act of defiance that, once again, disrupts sensitive diplomatic relations and slams the brakes on the executive's lawful efforts to effectuate third-country removals." "This court should immediately make clear that the district court's enforcement order has no effect, and put a swift end to the ongoing irreparable harm to the executive branch and its agents, who remain under baseless threat of contempt as they are forced to house dangerous criminal aliens at a military base in the Horn of Africa that now lies on the borders of a regional conflict," Sauer said. Immigration attorneys disagreed and told the Supreme Court in a filing that Murphy's May order "is the only shield that preserves and protects their statutory, regulatory, and due process rights to seek protection from torture in South Sudan." They said that the judge's order requiring the government to retain custody of the eight deportees and provide them reasonable-fear interviews was simply a remedy that was issued to address the Trump administration's violation of his injunction. Plus, the immigration attorneys said that when the Justice Department first sought the Supreme Court's intervention to resume third-country deportations, it did not seek relief from that follow-up order regarding the attempted removals to South Sudan. "Because the district court's remedial order is not before the court, it remains in effect," they argued. "Any other conclusion would reward the government's defiance of the district court's orders." The back-and-forth over the third country removals before the Supreme Court has played out on its emergency docket, where the Trump administration has requested relief while legal proceedings play out. Decisions on those requests are typically made only with written briefing and no oral argument, and the court's decisions often do not include its reasoning or how its members voted. The Trump administration has filed more than a dozen emergency appeals with the Supreme Court, many arising from its efforts to curtail illegal immigration into the U.S. The high court has allowed the government to end two programs protecting nearly 1 million migrants from deportation while the challenges move forward. But it has also said that migrants facing swift deportation under a 1798 law known as the Alien Enemies Act must receive notice and an opportunity to challenge their removals in court. Several people missing from Texas summer camp amid deadly flooding, officials say What a new DOJ memo could mean for naturalized U.S. citizens July 4 holiday week expected to set record for travelers
