Crime

Cornell has agreed to an independent investigation that will look into the way the University handled the alleged 2024 gang rape of a female student.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for the probe, and she tells ABC News the Ivy League school is on board.

She told the outlet ... "I wanted to make sure they knew how important this was, and they absolutely agreed. And they're acting on this this afternoon."

Hochul says the point of the investigation is to determine whether or not the University did all it could to protect its student.

Christa Pike is a cold-blooded murderer who should be put to death ... at least according to prosecutors fighting her request to pump the brakes on her scheduled execution.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds are asking the court to deny Christa's recent request to send her case to another court for further proceedings about whether she received ineffective assistance of counsel at her sentencing … but prosecutors insist this is just another effort to relitigate a previously rejected claim.

In their filing, the prosecutors make their position clear, writing, "On January 12, 1995, Christa Gail Pike beat, tortured, and killed Colleen Slemmer because Pike 'just felt mean that day.'"

They go on ... "Pike cut Colleen's throat six times, struck her in the back with a meat cleaver, and crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt."

Kyrsten Sinema's ex-boyfriend says he threw 22 of her paintings into her pool because he was frustrated by the former senator's alleged ties to A.I. and the war in Gaza.

Matthew Ammel told AZ Central ... "I was pissed at the system, and I took it out on her art. The American people have no idea how (f***ed) up our government is and, like, what our politicians spend their time doing."

At the time of the incident ... Ammel said he had been staying at her Cave Creek property while she was away in Phoenix.

Gillio Lopes, one of the fraternity brothers accused of drugging and raping a fellow Cornell student, is trying to clear his name ... with his lawyer denying all the allegations against him.

His attorney, Tara J. Davis, tells TMZ ... "Cornell previously investigated this matter and developed an extensive factual record. The allegations now being made publicly differ in significant respects from the accounts provided during that investigation and do not reflect the complete record."

Lopes' lawyer adds ... "Those inconsistencies will be tested through discovery and addressed in the litigation."

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was supposed to be executed this morning ... but her execution was paused just an hour before her scheduled lethal injection.

According to a court notice obtained by PEOPLE, Pike was granted a stay "until further order" by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The court reportedly said it needed time to consider Pike's latest filing, where her attorneys claim the state had reversed its position that she'd fabricated her claims of sexual abuse.

A shocking twist in the Cornell rape investigation ... the D.A. says campus police never forwarded the alleged victim's full statement, which reportedly included her statement, "I can say with 100% confidence, I was raped."

CBS News obtained the transcript of Jane Doe's interview with the Cornell Campus Police during its investigation in November, 2024. During the interview, she also says at some point she was "completely and totally incapacitated."

Tompkins County D.A. Matthew Van Houten says he never saw the full transcript of her 2-day interview with Campus Police ... he only saw the results of the investigation, which included a summary in which campus cops say she told them the encounter with the fraternity members was voluntary, conscious and consensual.

The lawyer defending 1 of the 7 frat brothers accused of gang raping a Cornell student in 2024 is claiming that while his client did react to the infamous "free p***y" Snapchat group message, he did not rape her.

Attorney Jeremy Saland, who represents defendant Scott Kretzschmar, told CNN that his client merely went upstairs following the "free p***y" group message ... after asking himself "what the heck does this mean?"

Saland claims that Kretzschmar just joked around and talked with the Jane Doe -- who he claims was conscious -- for 5 minutes.

15 dogs are dead after a Florida man allegedly turned his own home into a death trap ... with authorities saying the man admitted to soaking the place in gasoline and setting it ablaze while the animals were still inside.

Cops say Terrance Banks told them he poured gas across the floors of his Geneva home Monday, lit a piece of paper, and used it to ignite the fuel -- with the fire starting in the kitchen.

The ugliest part ... investigators say some of the dogs were locked in crates and had no shot at escaping the flames or smoke.

Phoenix Suns player Dillon Brooks' legal issues just got worse ... he's been charged with driving under the influence ... TMZ has learned.

On Monday, prosecutors in Scottsdale, Arizona, filed a criminal complaint with the misdemeanor DUI charge ... stemming from Brooks' arrest back in March.

Cops say Brooks was pulled over by officers in Scottsdale and, after investigating, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

LaMelo Ball's baby mama, Ana Montana, has found herself in some legal trouble in North Carolina ... TMZ has learned she's facing felony drug charges.

Montana -- real name Analicia Chaves -- was arrested Monday in Mecklenburg County, according to booking records obtained by TMZ.

She was hit with two felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery, plus two misdemeanor counts of simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance.

TikTok stars Dakota Harper and Felicity Eatmon are facing criminal charges after allegedly trying to burn down an abandoned home ... and authorities say it was all caught on camera.

Dakota and Felicity -- a West Virginia couple whose joint TikTok account is popular on social media -- were arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree arson and conspiracy to commit arson ... according to WCHS-TV.

The fire initially broke out Sunday night in Charleston ... and investigators say they have since obtained surveillance video allegedly showing Felicity handing Dakota a lit piece of paper before he placed it inside the home.

Lindsay Clancy could be headed for another courtroom showdown in Massachusetts ... but a former prosecutor says the District Attorney should think twice before running it back.

Jakson breaks down the case on TMZ's YouTube series, "In The Know," with former prosecutor Margaret McLean weighing in on what comes next after Clancy's 11-to-1 mistrial in her murder case.

McLean says the defense's push to have the judge find Clancy not guilty outright is a "real long shot" ... but says prosecutors should seriously reconsider another first-degree murder trial.

Shemar Moore says the woman who showed up at his home with luggage after being duped by a catfish almost got into a catfight with the real woman in his life ... because his significant other was ready to protect her territory ... by any means necessary!!!

We got the "S.W.AT." star in New York City on Tuesday, and he told our photog Jesiree Dizon was ready to throw down when a woman they didn't know rolled up to their pad ready to move in.

Shemar says Jesiree had her boxing gloves ready ... but he actually feels bad for the woman, telling us she got catfished and conned into believing he wanted her to live with him.

Diddy just got another chunk shaved off his federal prison stint ... his release date moved up another month ... and he could be a free man just three weeks into 2028.

According to Federal Bureau of Prisons records, Sean "Diddy" Combs is currently scheduled to be released from FCI Fort Dix on Jan. 21, 2028.

That's another move in Diddy's favor. As TMZ previously reported, his release date had most recently been set for Feb. 5, 2028, after previously landing on Feb. 20.

His projected release has bounced around several times since initially being listed in June 2028.

Sunny Hostin is doing some cleanup after internet sleuths dug up old newspaper clips that seemed to blow a hole in her story about being the holdout juror who helped acquit a cannibal in a famous NYC murder trial.

The 'View' cohost sat down with executive producer Brian Teta for the show's "Behind the Table" YouTube series to explain exactly what happened during the 1991 trial of Daniel Rakowitz -- the man charged with murder for killing, dismembering, and cannibalizing Monika Beerle.

Sunny claimed last week she had been the holdout juror who pushed the panel toward finding Rakowitz not criminally responsible by reason of insanity -- saying she slowly won over the other jurors after initially facing major resistance.

A 6-month-old baby girl was found dead in a dumpster in South Los Angeles ... and her mother is in custody as police investigate the infant's death as a homicide.

The baby was discovered in the trash receptacle late Monday night in South L.A. ... though LAPD says the child had been left there sometime in the previous 24 hours.

Cops say firefighters responded to the scene and took the baby to a nearby hospital ... where she was pronounced dead.