Cornell rape allegations highlight consent laws and Israeli settlers attack family trying to return home: Morning Rundown

In today’s newsletter: Rape allegations at Cornell University have put New York’s laws in the spotlight. A Palestinian family was attacked while trying to return to the West Bank. And an exclusive look at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ cozy prison quarters.

Here’s what you need to know today.

Cornell rape allegations highlight strict New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

New York state’s consent and sexual assault laws are gaining national attention after prosecutors reopened the case of a former Cornell University student who alleges fraternity members raped her in 2024.

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The law defines “mentally incapacitated” as victims who are rendered temporarily incapable of evaluating or controlling their conduct due to the influence of alcohol or drugs administered to them without their consent.

Defending his previous decision not to file charges, Tompkins County Prosecutor Matthew Van Houten said the former student “described her participation in drug use and sexual behavior as voluntary, knowing and consensual.”

Some legal experts say the law effectively raises the bar for prosecutors, and advocates have pushed for changes in recent years. In states like California and Virginia, victims do not need to be given drugs or alcohol without their consent to be considered mentally incompetent.

Read the full story here.

EXCLUSIVE: Diddy’s Pampered Prison Life Includes Massages, Nude Photos and Hennessy

As Sean “Diddy” Combs serves a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related crimes, sources inside the federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey, tell NBC News that the disgraced hip-hop mogul still lives a life of privilege.

Multiple sources claim Combs used a contraband phone to scroll through Instagram and scan sexually explicit photos a former girlfriend sent him. Other inmates cook and clean for him – one even gives him Chinese massages.

Combs spent thousands of dollars at the low-security prison, sources said, with the money flowing from people outside the facility into the commissary accounts of inmates who did him favors.

A spokesperson for the disgraced hip-hop mogul downplayed the details, saying “the only real news is that Sean continues to serve his sentence while awaiting the court’s decision on his appeal.”

But photos and videos taken inside the prison and reviewed by NBC News paint a picture of wealth even behind bars.

Learn more about our exclusive look inside Combs‘ prison experience.

Flight to Israel diverted after pilot stabbed in cockpit

A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia amid reports of a bloody altercation on board.

The mother of a passenger on the FlyDubai plane said her daughter heard screams and someone, who she believed to be a pilot, asking for help.

She said the plane began to lose control and a man pulled out a knife and tried to kill the pilot.

“There was a lot of blood everywhere,” she said, according to her daughter’s account.

The Israeli military told NBC News that the country dispatched at least two jets in response to the incident. They said the army had not yet ruled out the possibility that the incident was linked to terrorism.

Learn more about emergency landing.

Clashes between settlers and Israeli forces to prevent the return of a Palestinian family to the West Bank

The Tubassi family was forced to leave their home in July after a siege by violent Jewish settlers in the West Bank town of Jalud, but after Israeli forces tried to facilitate their return, they faced more violence.

Mahmoud Tubassi said he was told that Israeli officials would accompany him, his wife and their son, but that the settlers began throwing stones at the armed police and the army when they arrived at their home.

After the settlers entered the property, security forces urged the family to go to the roof. The soldiers formed a physical barrier between the family and the settlers, Tubassi said. The family was then asked to get back into an armored car and driven to safety, he added.

This was the second time Tubassi and his wife Aida Ahmed Abdullah suffered at the hands of settlers. On August 28, a group attacked them and the NBC News crew who was interviewing them.

Although the family’s repeated attempts to return home were the result of an order from Israel’s High Court of Justice, the attacks have become a growing concern for the country’s leaders, who are struggling to explain how such a formidable army found itself overwhelmed by hundreds of lightly armed young men.

Read the full story here.

Staff choice: Broken promises: retirement home bankruptcies deprive families of their savings

Moving your aging mom and dad to a retirement community is stressful enough. But imagine learning that the hefty entry fee your parents paid won’t be returned to you, even though their contract promised it would.

This is the story I heard from seven anguished members of the Buckingham Continuing Care Community in Houston, Texas. After the community filed for bankruptcy in late 2025 and was sold to a new operator, the court in the case ruled that current and former residents and their families did not have standing to recoup the $144 million in entrance fees they had paid.

The families I interviewed all said they were speaking to NBC News to warn about the risks residents face from senior living operators. break their promises of repayment. As Emily Ryan said, “Maybe the only thing we get out of this is that we teach other older people in America, all across America, to be careful.” »

— Gretchen Morgenson, senior financial investigative reporter

Read all about it

• Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., falsely accused special counsel Jack Smith of perjury during a hearing on his investigations into Trump.
• After a week of fierce competition, “Backpack” emerged victorious in the rankings. Fat Bear Week Championwinning the title of toughest bear in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.

• Democrats hope sweep both a Senate seat and a House seat Republicans in this solid red state.

• The Trump administration paid for TV ads showing him in a favorable light using money intended for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, sources confirmed to NBC News.

• OpenAI launched a new agent productDots, focused on handling autonomous tasks just days after apologizing for a hack by its own bots.

• Michigan police arrest parent after toddler ends up in daycare pulled a loaded handgun in a holster from his backpackpolice said.

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