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The Mayor of Ithaca, New York, isn't happy with Cornell University's handling of the alleged fraternity gang rape ... and current students are paying the price.

Mayor Robert G. Cantelmo released a statement on Monday ... saying he became aware of the "heinous and sickening allegations" last week, and making it clear that Cornell University administration and police never contacted or coordinated any response with the Ithaca Police Department.

He says Cornell didn't hold the alleged perpetrators accountable ... and adds, "This is a miscarriage of justice and continues to pose a significant threat to students and residents who may be victimized at unsafe and under-monitored on- or off-campus student events."

10:47 AM PT -- Closing arguments have concluded and the jury is now deliberating.

Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn is entering the home stretch of his murder trial ... it's time for closing arguments ... and TMZ is streaming live.

Both sides rested their cases Monday ... prosecutors called 40 witnesses. Flynn did not testify, and his defense did not call any witnesses ... his attorneys argued there was no direct or forensic evidence tying him to his wife's fatal shooting.

Now, prosecutors and the defense will make their final speeches to the jury before deliberations.

A Tennessee Death Row inmate says she feels a true connection with Lindsay Clancy, saying they share "uniquely female issues" as she faces state execution for her crimes this week.

Christa Pike, 48, will be executed by lethal injection Wednesday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville for the brutal 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Recently, Pike sat down for a wide-ranging interview with The Times during which she made the Clancy comparison.

She told the reporter ... “I feel a kinship with Lindsay. We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues. One thing is different, however, is that times have changed a lot on awareness of women’s issues since I was put on trial."

Renée Zellweger can breathe a little easier … she's been dismissed from a lawsuit brought by a house guest who claims she was injured at her boyfriend's rental home ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Tracey Belland dropped the Oscar-winning actress as a defendant in her $10 million lawsuit. The lawsuit against Renée was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled.

Tracey sued Renée and her boyfriend, Ant Anstead, over an alleged 2024 incident that happened at a home he was renting in Laguna Beach, CA. The woman claimed she hurt herself after stepping on a thin rug that was covering a hole, causing her to stumble and fall and injure her knee.

Nevaeh Akira's baby daddy went to court seeking joint legal and physical custody of their kid ... but Blueface isn't the one filing the petition.

Robert Louis Lee -- otherwise known as DJ LetThemKnow -- filed the petition last month, asking a judge to award him joint legal and physical custody of their four-year-old son, Superior.

He's proposing a parenting plan where they split up the week and says it will provide their son Superior with a "predictable routine" for his well-being.

Brad Pitt's daughter, Zahara, has officially erased her famous dad's last name, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, a hearing was held today on Zahara's request and was approved because no objections were filed.

As we previously reported, Zahara filed a petition with Los Angeles Superior Court to drop her famous father's last name.

Jay-Z is asking a court to reconsider his extortion case against Tony Buzbee, the Texas attorney whose former client just recanted her rape allegation against the rapper.

Jay filed a petition with an appeals court in California ... asking the court to reconsider its recent refusal to reinstate his extortion and defamation lawsuit against Buzbee, which was previously dismissed by a lower court ... according to Rolling Stone.

In the docs, Jay-Z says the Jane Doe recently recanting her allegations against him is "explosive new evidence" and should allow his "meritorious claims to proceed."

Hayden Panettiere's ex Wladimir Klitschko is asking a court to name him guardian of his daughter Kaya in order to protect her rights as the sole beneficiary of Hayden's estate ... and saying he's concerned that some of the late actress’s assets may be lost, TMZ has learned. 

In his petition to be appointed as temporary guardian, Wladimir says Kaya is "not a resident of California; this Court has jurisdiction over the guardianship of Kaya's estate because, as such heir, Kaya is entitled to the entirety of the assets subject to Hayden's probate administration in California."

In the petition, obtained by TMZ, he says federal agents accessed Hayden's home as part of an ongoing investigation and removed her property. He wants to be the rep for the estate so he can get the property back when the probe is over. 

The woman who says she was gang raped by a group of fraternity brothers at Cornell University is slamming one of the accused after his lawyer claimed his client "confirmed she was all right" ... she says he could've helped her, but he did nothing instead.

The Jane Doe's attorney -- Thomas P. Giuffra -- tells TMZ ... Scott Kretzschmar doesn't deny receiving the Snapchat group chat which allegedly advertised "Free p***y," and that should've been enough for him to protect her.

Giuffra says, "Instead of helping her, he joined in the abuse of an incapacitated young woman. No claims were ever made that he raped her. However, he did participate in sexual abuse of Ms. Doe."

The woman accusing seven Cornell fraternity brothers of drugging and gang-raping her says she made her allegations clear from the start ... despite the D.A. suggesting otherwise.

The Jane Doe's attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, tells TMZ ... his client reported the alleged 2024 assault to Cornell Police after she had time to process what happened -- and he says the police report includes both the alleged assaults and ketamine.

Giuffra adds ... "The report prepared by the police is not materially different from what is contained in the complaint ... the drug ketamine was certainly mentioned as were the allegations."

One of the seven Cornell fraternity brothers accused in a gang rape lawsuit made an "immature" comment in the group's Snapchat, but that's where his involvement begins and ends ... at least according to his lawyer.

Jeremy Saland, attorney for defendant Scott Kretzschmar, tells TMZ ... Scott was not even present when the alleged assault occurred ... and he had already left after spending only a few minutes in the room and checking whether the woman was okay.

Saland says ... "While Scott responded to and made an immature comment on Snapchat, he did nothing else. Nothing."

The attorney says Scott never saw the woman naked or in distress, never touched her, never engaged in sexual activity, and did not consume ketamine.

Nolan Wells' death was an accidental drowning, and anyone who says otherwise is full of it ... so says the United Cajun Navy, which is firing back at people online.

The grassroots nonprofit organization was active on X over the weekend ... reposting a clip of Nancy Grace talking about the case ... and responding to a series of persistent narratives.

The UCN says nobody opened Nolan's phone after 2:18 PM on the day he disappeared ... until his mom did later that evening ... and nobody deleted anything from it.

The woman accusing seven Cornell fraternity brothers of drugging and gang-raping her claims the alleged attack drove her out of school ... and she says she's terrified the men could retaliate against her if she's identified.

In a sworn statement filed with the court and obtained by TMZ, the Jane Doe says she stopped attending Cornell after the alleged October 2024 assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house.

She says exposing her identity could damage the life she's worked to rebuild, including her career and personal relationships ... and claims the possibility of being publicly named has caused her extreme anxiety, depression and sleepless nights.

The holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder case had "zero doubt" that the mother of 3 was guilty of murder, according to his attorney, who is now pushing back on claims his client didn't follow the law.

Edward Paltzik -- the lawyer for Michael P. Desronvil -- sat down for a recent interview with Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany and defended Desronvil against criticism from fellow jurors in the Clancy triple murder case.

In the short clip, a preview of a full interview that will air today ... Kayleigh asks Paltzik if Desronvil had even a modicum of doubt after the jury foreperson fired off a note to the judge, accusing him of not following the law on reasonable doubt.

"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Dorit Kemsley claims her estranged husband, PK Kemsley, took any questions she had about money as an act of distrust … which she says led to her being naive about their financial situation.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the reality star said flatly that throughout the marriage, "[PK] controlled the family finances."

Dorit said whenever she asked questions to understand their finances and participate in financial decisions, he "treated those requests as distrust," which led her to stop pestering and just rely on him.

Caleb Flynn's murder trial just concluded for its 7th day.

As you know, the "American Idol" alum has been charged with killing his wife earlier this year.

The trial's already been pretty gripping ... because his mistress, Alleigha Botner, took the stand and read their disturbing texts out loud.