A U.S. Marine accused of killing a woman while stationed on Japan’s Okinawa island has been identified and pictured.

Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is based at Futenma Air Station. Japanese authorities detained him Saturday on suspicion of strangling 39-year-old Anna Yagi in a hotel before taking her wallet and backpack.

Yagi was discovered inside a hotel room in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, after staff realized she had not checked out by the scheduled departure time.

A hotel employee became concerned, unlocked the room and found Yagi unconscious inside.

Emergency responders were called at about 4:20 a.m., but Yagi was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe the attack occurred sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

Police later reviewed surveillance footage that they say showed Ballard leaving the hotel carrying Yagi’s belongings. Officers said the wallet and backpack were subsequently recovered in the area around the hotel.

Later that night, an officer searching Naha’s entertainment district found Ballard. Police said his shaved head and tattoos appeared to match the description of the man seen in the security video.

Ballard has denied the allegations.

Japanese prosecutors are reviewing the evidence as they decide whether to file formal charges, CBS News reports.

A conviction could result in a life sentence or, in the most serious circumstance, the death penalty.

The killing has shaken residents and officials. Japan has also submitted a formal protest to the United States, a diplomatic expression of strong opposition to an action or alleged violation of international law.

“The case deals a major shock and adds fear to the Okinawans who have already been forced to live next to U.S. bases,” newly elected Okinawa Governor Genta Koja told reporters afterward.

“It is absolutely unforgivable and we are outraged.”

“I must say, discipline and troop education are not working at all,” she added, criticizing the measures taken by the United States after previous criminal cases in Japan.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also spoke out after the woman was found dead.  

‘The occurrence of the heinous crime is extremely regrettable,’ she posted on X. 

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also summoned George Glass, the US Ambassador to Japan, to his office amid the ‘outrage.’ 

Glass took to X, sharing condolences with the victim’s family. He said the US is cooperating with the Japanese nation and local governments in the case. 

Around 500,000 US troops are deployed in Japan, and half of them are stationed in Okinawa – which had been under US occupation from World War II until 1972.

But in recent years, locals have grown irate over the increasing number of crimes linked to the US military presence on the island – including the heinous gang rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1995.

The number of US military-related criminal cases rose to 101 last year from about 40 in 2020, according to prefectural police.

Many now argue that the 1960 Japan Status of Forces Agreement left US military bases in the country virtually immune to Japan’s domestic laws.

Under the agreement, Japanese authorities are hard-pressed to conduct an on-site probe into alleged environmental pollution inside the bases and regulate low-altitude flights.

Among the most contentious of the issues is Japan’s lack of primary jurisdiction over crimes committed by US military personnel while on duty. 

Even when crimes are committed off-duty, as long as the individual responsible remains on base, their custody won’t be handed over to Japan until they are indicted, according to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.

Amid the outrage, the US military announced on Tuesday it will halt normal operations and ban alcohol at its bases on Okinawa for a 48-hour-long period beginning at noon on Wednesday and ending at noon on Friday.

During that period, service members will participate in ‘discussions on liberty policy, enforcement mechanisms, alcohol awareness, Okinawan culture and alliance responsibilities,’ said Lt Gen Benjamin Watson, III Marine Expeditionary Force Commander.

Alcohol consumption will also be prohibited on and off US military installations for 30 days, during which the military will institute ‘enhanced supervision at the gates across all installations on Okinawa.’

Military leaders will use that time to ‘conduct a more deliberate review of our liberty policies and procedures and make recommendations to the Okinawa Area Coordinating Committee,’ Watson wrote in a memo obtained by Stars and Stripes.

‘Liberty is a mission, and like any other mission it requires discipline, trust and teamwork to complete it successfully,’ he wrote before urging service members to ‘live up to the high standards that come with the uniform you wear.’

Ballard had enlisted on August 8, 2024 and completed recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He then went on to attend the School of Infantry – East at Camp Geiger in North Carolina and the Marine Corps Engineer School at Camp Lejeune before being assigned to Okinawa.

He was promoted to lance corporal on October 1, 2025.

Ballard’s awards include the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Letter of Appreciation and a Meritorious Mast.

His current duty status is listed as ‘confined foreign civil authority/IHFA,’ an abbreviation for ‘in hands of foreign authorities,’ according to Stars and Stripes. 

Cornell University has hired former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates to lead an internal review of its response to sexual assault on campus, including its handling of the allegations involving the so-called “Cornell 7.”

The university announced Tuesday that Yates will conduct an independent examination of how the Ithaca, New York, Ivy League institution works to prevent and respond to reports of sexual assault.

According to Cornell, the review will assess its prevention and response policies, student support services, and procedures for handling reports, investigations, disciplinary hearings and appeals.

Yates will also examine the campus police department’s work and its coordination with other law enforcement agencies. Her inquiry will cover the university’s policies and oversight of fraternities, sororities and other student organizations, as well as the Board of Trustees’ oversight of sexual-assault matters.

Beyond reviewing Cornell’s broader protocols, the investigation will include a “detailed review” of the university’s response to allegations outlined in a lawsuit filed by Jane Doe against Cornell and seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity. Doe alleges that the men drugged her with ketamine and sexually assaulted her.

Yates, who was dismissed as acting attorney general by President Trump in 2020, will determine whether Cornell followed its own policies and procedures in responding to Doe’s allegations.

“The questions raised by the Jane Doe matter warrant a rigorous examination of Cornell’s response to that case, but our responsibility is broader,” Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the Special Committee, said in a statement.

In her lawsuit, Doe alleged that one fraternity member “commanded” her to snort ketamine from his erect genitalia while other men sexually assaulted her in October 2024. She also claimed that one member posted a message in the fraternity’s Snapchat group referring to “free p—y” as she lay unconscious.

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The lawsuit further alleges that Cornell failed to properly investigate the incident or impose adequate discipline on the Chi Phi members accused of taking part.

Two of the seven fraternity members were expelled after a Cornell disciplinary board reportedly found them responsible for sexual assault, while several others received lengthy suspensions. No criminal charges were brought against the men.

Cornell has rejected Doe’s characterization of its response, calling it “irresponsible” to suggest that the university did nothing more than require the accused students to write essays as punishment.

The university has faced mounting criticism since Doe’s lawsuit became public, including campus protests and student government hearings calling for stronger action against sexual violence.

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff described the alleged gang-rape case as a “defining moment” in the university’s history last week and said the school “must do better.”

More than 1,000 protesters marched across campus Monday in support of Jane Doe and called for Kotlikoff’s resignation.

Cornell’s newly established Special Committee of the Board of Trustees said Yates would have “full independence” in carrying out the review.

Yates has previously investigated sexual abuse and misconduct allegations. She was hired by the US Soccer Federation to examine the National Women’s Soccer League after two former NWSL players raised allegations of harassment and sexual coercion.

With Post wires

Federal prosecutors said Monday that a Denver man’s roommates transformed their home into a torture site after discovering that he and his family had ties to law enforcement, carrying out a violent ransom scheme allegedly directed by Tren de Aragua (TdA) leaders.

The man endured days of abuse before escaping and arriving at a police station with a finger missing, prosecutors said. His captors recorded the attacks and sent the footage to his wife while demanding that relatives in Venezuela pay a ransom.

Darwin Veliz-Gonzalez, Jefferson Balza-Delfin and Yender Enrique Campos-Malave, all Venezuelan nationals, were each sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the kidnapping and torture, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced. 

Sentencing for a fourth defendant was delayed.

“This is what Tren de Aragua was doing in our community,” U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said. “Colorado is safer with these violent criminals in federal prison for the next 20 years, and we will continue to pursue every member of Tren de Aragua until there are no more left in our state.”

The victim was renting a room in the Denver house when his roommates allegedly learned that he and his father had served as police officers in Venezuela and abducted him, prosecutors said. 

The men bound him with rope and held him for several days, giving him little water and no food.

During the ordeal, the men allegedly filmed themselves tightening a rope around the victim’s neck until he was nearly unconscious. They also repeatedly submerged his head in a bucket of water for at least 30 seconds at a time, threatened him with a gun and struck him with a pistol.

Prosecutors said the recordings were sent to the victim’s wife as part of a demand for money from his family in Venezuela. The men also shared the videos with TdA leaders abroad and sought their guidance during the kidnapping.

After the family failed to pay, one gang leader allegedly recommended cutting off one of the victim’s fingers to force the relatives to send money. 

The victim overheard the captors discussing the plan. Prosecutors said Balza-Delfin then used pliers to cut off the man’s right pinky finger, with the assault recorded on video.

Denver police went to the South Hazel Court residence on Oct. 16, 2024, after receiving a welfare call reporting a possible kidnapping. Officers carried out a limited visual check but saw no one in apparent distress. The victim was still inside but was too frightened to reveal himself, prosecutors said.

After police left, three of the men fled the house, creating an opportunity for the victim to escape. He arrived at a Denver police station the following morning, reported the kidnapping and assault and showed officers that his finger had been severed.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas commended the victim for coming forward.

“I applaud the victim of this heinous crime, and all victims, regardless of immigration status, for reporting criminal behaviors and helping us arrest those who prey on our community members,” Thomas said.

A federal grand jury has also charged Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas, known by the nickname “Chino San Vicente,” with allegedly taking part in the kidnapping and torture.

He is also accused of participating in a broader TdA criminal operation involving robbery, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and drug crimes between May 2024 and approximately March 2025. 

The FBI’s Denver Field Office and Denver police investigated the case, which FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski cited as part of the bureau’s efforts to dismantle the gang.

“The FBI, alongside our local, state, federal, and international partners, is working to disrupt and dismantle TdA through intelligence-driven investigations like this from our Violent Criminal Enterprise Task Force,” Koldjeski said.

A public meeting in Tennessee descended into disorder Tuesday as anger over Elon Musk’s expanding data center operations boiled over. Furious residents accused Memphis City Council members of being “sellouts,” and punches were reportedly thrown during the confrontation.

The Memphis City Council delayed its third and final vote on a proposed moratorium covering new data center construction. The decision sparked an uproar, with police entering the building as council members were escorted away.

Video from the meeting showed residents shouting toward the council, while demonstrators used bullhorns to lead chants including “bought and sold,” “sellouts” and “no justice, no peace.”

As people in the gallery stood and continued the protest, a council member was heard on a live microphone asking, “Is that a bullhorn?”

Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton was removed from the chamber after a tense exchange involving protesters and fellow council member JB Smiley.

The rest of the meeting was suspended as the police presence reportedly tripled. Outside, advocates linked arms and continued demonstrating in front of City Hall over the delayed vote.

Among them was Indivisible Memphis, which shared a post on Instagram days earlier declaring: ‘Memphis belongs to Memphis, not Elon Musk.’ 

The meeting had begun with expectations that the ordinance would clear its third reading. Instead, council members scheduled a work session for Thursday, October 8, to address unresolved details.

If approved, the moratorium would halt new data center development for as long as one year, or until Memphis establishes a regulatory framework for future projects.

Before the proposal was postponed, Councilmember Michalyn Easter-Thomas suggested extending the moratorium from 12 months to 18 months, according to Local Memphis.

Meanwhile, several committee proposals would replace the temporary moratorium with permanent data center regulations. One measure, written by City Attorney Allen Wade, brings together provisions from multiple proposals in a single ordinance.

At an earlier meeting, Council Chair Jana Swearengen-Washington emphasized that the measure was not a “ban,” but a temporary pause, according to the Memphis Flyer.

She said the proposal was not intended to block economic development. Instead, she described it as a way to give Memphis officials and residents both “time and a voice.”

JB Smiley Jr. said the moratorium would provide the city with time “to study the issues, engage the community, assess potential impacts, and develop permanent regulations for large-scale data centers and high-density computing facilities.”

Musk’s presence in the Memphis area has expanded sharply over the past two years, beginning with construction of the Colossus 1 data center just north of Southaven in 2024.

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By January 2026, two additional data centers had been announced. In July, the billionaire disclosed another facility, called Minihard, in a reply to a post on X.

The moves have sparked an outcry, with residents demanding that the temporary moratorium be passed. 

‘Data centers are churning out emissions, disrupting folks’ quality of life with piercing noise and are drawing millions of gallons of water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer,’ environmental justice advocate Richard Massey previously told the Memphis Flyer. 

He stressed the need for a moratorium to protect marginalized communities, citing Southwest Memphis’ history of environmental racism and arguing that data centers continue a pattern of environmental injustice. 

‘We need a data center moratorium so we can close the floodgates and effectively put real safeguards in place that protect our most vulnerable communities,’ Massey added.

Musk was looking for a location where he could quickly train his AI with abundant electricity and water, and Memphis proved a willing partner, according to Time Magazine.

Because Tennessee does not collect a state income tax, which it phased out in 2021, local governments rely heavily on businesses to generate revenue through property taxes. 

‘Property taxes are the mother’s milk of how government is funded,’ Bobby White, chief government affairs officer at the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, told the outlet.

‘And we have not, historically, had people tripping over themselves to get to Memphis. We have to go get it out of the mud,’ he added.

Meanwhile, resident Easter Knox, 78, who lives three miles down from a data center, told the outlet last year that she began smelling gas in the air and was forced to stop opening her windows. 

‘It smells like rotten cabbage early in the morning,’ she said. ‘It’s been a struggle, breathing this little air that’s coming through.’

Prosecutors said Tuesday that a seventh woman has come forward accusing Ryan Hemphill of subjecting her to a seven-hour ordeal involving sexual abuse and torture at his Midtown apartment.

Hemphill, 44, is being held on Rikers Island under a 116-count indictment alleging that he sexually assaulted six women between October 2024 and March 2025 using cattle prods, shock collars and waterboarding. He now faces additional charges after another woman reported the alleged abuse, prosecutors said.

The latest accuser went to Hemphill’s Midtown apartment in spring 2024 after meeting him on the SugarDaddy dating app. She expected to receive money in exchange for sex, but Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer said Hemphill “was planning something else entirely.”

“He threatened her with a knife to keep her from resisting, tied her to his bed…burned her with a hot object. He forced her to wear an electric shock collar on her neck,” Curzer told the court.

“He also forced her into the bathtub where he repeatedly held her head in the water, pulling her up right before she lost consciousness, and then went to submerge her again and again.”

Prosecutors said the alleged hours-long assault ended after Hemphill forced the woman to record a video saying she wanted to be raped, a tactic they said he used with several other alleged victims.

“The video itself shows how false that is,” Curzer said. “The victim is clearly terrified and [he is] actively abusing her while she speaks.”

According to prosecutors, Hemphill, the son of a prominent neurologist, allegedly used the recordings to intimidate the women and “kept them as trophies.”

He also allegedly sent threatening and erratic text messages, claimed to have ties to organized crime and law enforcement, and paid some of the women with counterfeit money or failed to pay them at all, prosecutors said.

Hemphill, who wore rosary beads around his neck in court Tuesday, persuaded the latest accuser that reporting him would be futile. He also claimed to have government connections that made him “powerful and untouchable,” Curzer said.

The woman reported the alleged abuse after seeing news coverage of the original indictment, prosecutors said.

Hemphill was arrested in March 2025 after investigators allegedly discovered dozens of videos depicting women, surveillance cameras, drugs and high-capacity ammunition.

Hemphill appeared unfazed by the new charges, telling a Post photographer in court, “nice to see you again.”

He pleaded not guilty to the new 41-count indictment, which includes charges of rape, predatory sexual assault and other offenses.

Hemphill previously made headlines after he was acquitted of choking and assaulting his then-girlfriend during a 2013 encounter involving a knife.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the alleged conduct as “absolutely horrific.”

“I am grateful for this survivor’s bravery in coming forward, despite the defendant’s alleged attempts to convince her that a coerced videoed statement would make him impossible to prosecute.”