US News

DA Reopens "The Cornell 7" Case

Note: This story discusses sexual assault.

What’s going on: Prosecutors in New York reopened an investigation into an alleged gang rape of a former Cornell student in October 2024. On Monday, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he is pursuing criminal charges in the case that'll be presented to a grand jury, per The Washington Post. The announcement comes two weeks after “Jane Doe” filed a civil lawsuit against the university claiming they didn’t do enough to protect her. In the suit, Jane Doe alleges seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her at a fraternity house. One of the suspects is accused of inviting other fraternity members in a Snapchat group to join the assault. No one was ever criminally charged, and the lawsuit claims the university didn’t discipline appropriately. Cornell suspended the Chi Phi chapter and expelled two of the seven accused students, but reportedly doled out lesser punishments to the others. Cornell declined to share specifics about the disciplinary action it took but said, “Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false.” The university said it supports the DA’s decision to reopen the case. In a written statement published Monday, Jane Doe said, the trauma “will haunt me and be part of me the rest of my life.”

Tell me more: Van Houten said what Jane Doe alleges happened in her civil complaint is “dramatically different” from her statement to police two years ago. Jane Doe’s attorney claims university police were not trained to speak with an abuse survivor, and a trained detective never contacted his client. The DA also said he never received the alleged image of the “Chi Phi Actives” Snapchat conversation which is included in the lawsuit, though Jane Doe’s attorney says campus police received this "critical piece of evidence." In 2024, the DA’s office did not “independently investigate” the allegations and instead relied on the university police department’s reporting. The incident has sparked criticism over the handling of sexual abuse cases on college campuses. At a town hall in Ithaca (where Cornell is located), New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) blamed the incident on a “culture of rape” on campus. Actress Florence Pugh also weighed in on Instagram, calling for men to be just “as horrified and as sickened as us” over the allegations.  

Related: A Cocaine Ring at Penn State University Began With Fraternity Hazing (The Wall Street Journal gift link)  

Off the Shelf

Another Thing To Worry About While Grocery Shopping

What's going on: From pizza delivery to flights to concert tickets, we’ve all encountered algorithmically adjusted prices that can vary drastically from day to day and person to person. Seattle is set to become the first US city to ban this practice in grocery stores, as electronic shelf labels (ESLs) are increasingly rolled out in chains, including Whole Foods, Kroger, and Walmart. The policy will go into effect next year and bans grocery stores from using customer data to set individualized prices (also called “surveillance pricing”). New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Maryland passed similar laws earlier this year, and the Federal Trade Commission released a proposed enforcement policy last month. As physical price tags become rarer, customers are wary: A poll from May found that 68% of Americans think surveillance pricing will increase grocery costs, and 65% think ESLs will do the same.

Should I go shopping during off-peak hours?: No, at least not yet. A 2025 study found ESLs didn’t lead to demand-based pricing surges at grocery stores but actually led to slightly more discounts. Plus, some execs say that personalized pricing isn’t currently possible with ESL technology. But after apps like Instacart tested it, consumer advocates want to shelve the idea. There are other concerns, too, with one study finding the tech could eliminate more than 44,000 jobs in the US. Grocery store execs see customers’ hesitation and seem to be trying to assuage it: Last week, Walmart’s CEO published a letter promising not to use surveillance pricing, writing, “We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t.”

Related: Which Supermarket Is Most Affordable? (Consumer Reports)

Friends And Neighbors

It Really Does Take A Village 

What’s going on: We share cabs, gossip, and parenting hacks with our closest friends, but what about meals, living spaces, and babysitting duties? Whether that sounds like utopia or the seventh circle of hell, that’s the reality at Radish, a commune formed in Oakland, California. What started as one apartment building and a single-family home shared by six friends ballooned into seven units that can house up to 20 people. Over the years, the property has welcomed 10 children as residents started their own families. Co-living here comes with perks, like a “baby happy hour” and sharing kitchen duties (imagine only cooking once a month). And even if it’s not your cup of tea, communal co-op living has gone from fringe to a major financial investment. Phil Levin, who started Radish with his wife Kristen Berman, has secured investors and an LLC called Live Near Friends to help others build their own communal living compounds. “There’s a pretty universal desire to live this way,” Levin told The New York Times.

A fuller house: The concept isn’t new. Multigenerational homes (which are on the rise) are built with family. Meanwhile, factors like rising mortgage and childcare costs have led more people to a simple solution: We’re not meant to do this alone, and sharing the caregiving load benefits everyone, especially kids. For many, the choice to live with friends might be a mix of what makes sense geographically, financially, and emotionally. And places like Radish are becoming more common: There's The Embassy in San Francisco and The Bird’s Nest in Texas, plus corporate options like Cohabs — even WeWork took a stab at the idea. But it’s not just cost that has us pooling resources. About half of US adults have reported feeling lonely, according to a 2023 government survey. We could all use a little help from our friends.

Related: How About a Neighborhood Where Everybody Knows Your Name? (The New York Times gift link)

TOGETHER WITH AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

Who Do You Believe?

She was hired to finish someone else’s story. Now she can’t tell where it ends and hers begins. In Verity, Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) moves into the remote estate of bestselling author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) to ghostwrite her final book — and finds pages that read less like fiction and more like an autobiography. As she gets closer to Verity’s husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), the line between attraction and manipulation gets very, very blurry. Who’s telling the truth? You’ll have to pick a side. Based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, Verity hits theaters October 2.

Quick Hits

⚾ The “mom of the year” who went viral for carrying her baby and snacks at a San Francisco Giants game responded with an essay defending her husband. 

🐧 First a wildcat, now a penguin? We’re loving all the new animals being discovered lately. 

💌 After becoming pen pals as Girl Scout Brownies in 1956, two women have managed to stay in touch for 70 years (and have only met in person three times). OK, time to find our old LiveJournal friends.

💍 Thanks to the VMAs, we now have the first hi-res pics of Taylor Swift’s wedding ring. Now, what about the wedding dress? 

🗣️ “Negging” is notoriously hard to call out — but experts explain why it’s important to address it ASAP. 

✨ Rihanna kicked off Paris Fashion Week in a couture look that shines bright like a diamond… or like polished bronze.

🎥 Lindsay Lohan is reuniting with the director of Mean Girls and Freaky Friday for her next Netflix romance. So fetch.

🎁 Our secret to last-minute gifts that are still heartfelt and personal.* 

Tabs I Have Open

Ali, Senior Commerce Director, here, and like any other human being, I exist with about 10 tabs open on my browser at all times. Here are a few I plan to get to by the end of the week:

• Chlorine-free, cotton-lined diapers I want my nephew to test, because his rashes have been unruly recently

• The alarm clock I plan to get my mom for Christmas

• Another order of the throat spray I’ve been using to battle the inevitable September cold I picked up within the last few days

• A new pair of house slippers now that the temperature is starting to drop