Category: US

Authorities in Montana say a 911 caller discovered his friend dead in a tent in what appeared to have been a fatal bear attack — but officials soon discovered the camper was actually the victim of a brutal murder.

Dustin Kjersem, 35, was found dead in his tent on Saturday morning along Moose Creek Road north of Big Sky, Montana, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said at news conference Wednesday. A friend who was supposed to have met Kjersem went searching for him when he didn’t show up as scheduled on Friday. 

The friend ultimately discovered Kjersem’s body in a tent at a makeshift campsite and called 911, telling responders the death appeared to have been caused by a bear attack, the sheriff’s office said.

An agent with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency who visited the site, however, found no signs of bear activity, and investigators said they soon found evidence of a “vicious attack,” which is being investigated as a homicide.

Kjersem, who was last seen on Thursday afternoon, sustained “multiple chop wounds,” including to his skull, an autopsy showed.

“He was brutally killed at his campsite and we need your help,” Springer said, adding that his detectives were working “all hours of day and night to find his killer.”

No suspects have been identified, and Springer said the remote area of the crime scene, where there is no cell phone service, was making the investigation more difficult than most cases.

“People have asked me if there’s a threat to this community and the answer is we don’t know. We don’t have enough information to know at this time” he said.

The sheriff urged residents to be careful.

“We do know that someone was out there who killed someone in a very heinous way so if you’re out in the woods you need to be paying attention, you need to remain vigilant,” Springer said.

Kjersem was driving a black 2013 Ford F-150 with a black topper and a silver aluminum ladder rack, and police have asked the public to come forward with any information they might have.

“Think of the whole canyon,” Captain Nathan Kamerman said at the news conference. “If you saw something weird in the canyon area, or in town with his truck, please reach out to us.”

Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price called her brother a skilled tradesman and a loving father.

“I asked our community to please find out who did this,” she said. “There is someone in our valley who is capable of truly heinous things.”

Trump claims to be the “father of IVF”; Biden, Obama, Clinton honor Ethel Kennedy

In a news conference Wednesday in Los Angeles, family members made a plea for the release from prison of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted in the 1989 murders of their parents. The brothers have always claimed the shotgun killings were in self-defense, arguing they were subject to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón said his office is considering new evidence in the case. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

A U.S. Navy jet crashed near Mount Rainier in Washington state and a search was underway for the plane’s two crew members, the Navy said.

The EA-18G Growler aircraft crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday afternoon during a routine training flight, the Navy said in a statement.

As of Tuesday night, the status of the crew members was unknown, the Navy said. Their identities weren’t released.

The jet was based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in northwest Washington.

Multiple search and rescue assets launched from the air station Tuesday for the search effort.

Heavy snow and patchy fog were in Wednesday’s forecast for Mount Rainier, according to the National Weather Service. Between 5 and 9 inches of snow were possible.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a flight ban around the search area, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

The crashed jet is part of Electronic Attack Squadron 130, which boasts being the oldest electronic warfare squadron in the Navy.

According to the squadron’s website, the EA-18G Growler’s sensors and weapons “provides the warfighter with a lethal and survivable weapon system to counter current and emerging threats.”

Last December, a Navy surveillance plane overshot a runway at a military base in Hawaii and splashed into Kaneohe Bay, but all nine aboard were uninjured.

Alex Sundby

Alex Sundby is a senior editor at CBSNews.com. In addition to editing content, Alex also covers breaking news, writing about crime and severe weather as well as everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth hot dog eating contest.

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a New York judge Tuesday to force prosecutors to disclose the names of his accusers in his sex trafficking case.

The lawyers wrote in a letter to a Manhattan federal court judge that the hip-hop music maker needs to know the identities of his alleged victims so he can prepare adequately for trial.

Last week, a May 5 trial date was set for Combs. He has pleaded not guilty.

A spokesperson for prosecutors declined comment.

Combs, 54, remains incarcerated without bail after his Sept. 16 federal sex trafficking arrest. His lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to let him be freed to home detention so he can more easily meet with lawyers and prepare for trial.

So far, judges have concluded he is a danger to the community and cannot be freed.

The request to identify accusers comes a day after six new lawsuits were filed against Combs anonymously to protect the identities of the alleged victims. Two of the accusers were identified as Jane Does while four men were listed in the suits as John Does. The suits claim he used his fame and promises of boosting their own prospects in the music industry to persuade victims to attend lavish parties or drug-fueled hangouts where he then assaulted them.

The plaintiffs in Monday’s lawsuits are part of what their lawyers say is a group of more than 100 accusers who are in the process of taking legal action against Combs.

In their letter Tuesday to Judge Arun Subramanian, attornies for Combs said the case against their client is unique in part because of the number of accusers. They attributed the quantity to “his celebrity status, wealth and the publicity of his previously settled lawsuit.”

That reference appeared to cite a November lawsuit filed by his former girlfriend, Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura. Combs settled the lawsuit the next day but its allegations of sexual and physical abuse have followed him since.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Ventura did.

Combs’ lawyers said the settlement of Cassie’s lawsuit, along with “false inflammatory statements” by federal agents and Combs’ fame have “had a pervasive ripple effect, resulting in a torrent of allegations by unidentified complainants, spanning from the false to outright absurd.”

They said the lawsuits filed Monday, along with other lawsuits, and their “swirling allegations have created a hysterical media circus that, if left unchecked, will irreparably deprive Mr. Combs of a fair trial, if they haven’t already.”

The lawyers wrote that the government should identify alleged victims because Combs has no way of knowing which allegations prosecutors are relying on in their accusations in an indictment.

“To the extent Mr. Combs is forced to mount a defense against criminal allegations that the government does not seek to prove at trial, he is entitled to know that,” the lawyers said.

The indictment alleges Combs coerced and abused women for years, with the help of a network of associates and employees, while using blackmail and violent acts including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings to keep victims from speaking out.

Trump campaigns in Georgia as early voting begins; Pandas from China arrive in Washington, D.C.

Former President Donald Trump says he’s not commenting on the question of whether he’s spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since he left office, after journalist Bob Woodward reported in his new book that the former president has had as many as seven conversations with the Russian leader.

At the Economic Club of Chicago Tuesday, Trump, in a conversation with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, was asked whether he’d spoken with Putin. Trump first said he had no comment before going on to defend any conversation with Putin, if it had occurred.

“Well, I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that, if I did, it’s a smart thing,” Trump said. “If I’m friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing, in terms of a country. He’s got 2,000 nuclear weapons, and so do we. China has a lot less, but they’ll catch us within five years. If I have a relationship, I don’t talk about, I don’t talk about —.”

“— That sounds like you talk to him,” Micklethwaite said. 

“No, I don’t talk about that,” Trump replied. “I don’t ever say it, but I can tell you what, Russia has never had a president that they respect so much.”

Micklethwait asked Trump about his economic plans, but he received no detailed answers. He challenged Trump on the feasibility of the high tariffs he talks about on the campaign trail, noting that he has talked about tariffs as high as 100% or 200% “on things you don’t really like,” as well as 10%-20% for other countries. “That is going to have a serious effect on the overall economy,” Micklethwait said, adding, “the overall effect could be massive.”

“I agree — it’s going to have a massive effect, positive effect,” Trump replied, before telling Micklethwait, “It must be hard for you to, you know, spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative, and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong.”

Micklethwait also confronted Trump with an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget that estimated his economic plan would cost twice Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan. Trump dismissed criticism of his economic plan by saying his plan is about “growth” and claiming Harris has “got no growth, whatsoever.” 

Asked if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power, Trump responded, “I went to Florida, and you had a very peaceful transfer.” And Trump, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021 rioting, claimed, “Not one of those people had a gun. Nobody was killed, except for Ashli Babbitt. She was killed. She was killed. She was shot in the head by a policeman … So, I think we should be allowed to disagree on that.” He went on at length, telling Micklethwait that “lot of strange things happened there, a lot of strange things with people being waved into the Capitol by police, with people screaming, ‘Go in’ with that never got into trouble.” He did not answer the question.

For the past 1,640 days, Maryland grandfather Tom Schruben has written a “bad dad joke” on a sign in his front yard. He started this tradition during the pandemic to lift his spirits and it has become a community favorite.

Savannah, Georgia — Opening statements started Monday in the trial of a Georgia woman accused of killing her 20-month-old son and dumping his body in a trash bin two years ago.

Leilani Simon, of Savannah, has been indicted on 19 charges that accuse her of malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another and making false statements in the death of her son, Quinton Simon. She has pleaded not guilty.

Simon called 911 the morning of Oct. 5, 2022, to report her son was missing from his indoor playpen at their home outside Savannah. After police spent days searching the home and surrounding neighborhood, Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said investigators believed the child was dead. He also named Simon as the sole suspect. 

Police and FBI agents focused their investigation on a landfill two weeks after the boy was reported missing. They sifted through trash for more than a month before finding human bones, which DNA tests confirmed belonged to Quinton.

In opening statements Monday, prosecutor Tim Dean outlined the turmoil in Simon’s life at the time of her son’s disappearance.

According to CBS Savannah affiliate WTOC-TV, that included what the State said was a less loving relationship with Quinton than her other two children. “She treated Quinton differently, and not in a good way,” Dean said.

Dean laid out to the jury Simon’s tumultuous relationship with then-boyfriend Daniel Youngkin, which the State alleges was a tremendous strain on her emotional state, WTOC reported.

Dean said Simon spent the late hours of Oct. 4 and into Oct. 5 getting high off cocaine and Percocet, killing her son, putting him in the trash and then going to sleep.

“She killed him, her own son, got in her car with his body, drove to a dumpster and threw him away like a piece of trash,” Dean said.

Videos of Simon’s interviews with police and body camera footage were also shown to jurors. Dean said Simon changed her story about her whereabouts several times. Nearly a week after the interviews, Simon changed her story again to say she might have blacked out and doesn’t remember what really happened.

“I will never touch cocaine again. I become angry and impulsive when I’m on it,” Simon said in the 2022 police interview.

In the almost two hours Dean spent laying out the case against Simon, he never said how prosecutors believe she killed her son. The state has said that the child’s body was too decomposed when it was recovered to tell how he died.

In contrast, the defense took just three minutes for their opening statement, which accused the state of basing its case on rumor and speculation, not hard evidence.

“The core conclusion is that Leilani Maree Simon murdered her child. The evidence will simply not support that bold conclusion,” said defense attorney Robert Persse.

One of the first witnesses for the prosecution was Sgt. Bobby Stewart, the first officer to arrive on scene when the toddler was reported missing. Stewart testified about Simon’s demeanor when he arrived.

“Did you view her demeanor as consistent with that of other parents you’ve spoken to in missing children cases?” the prosecutor asked.

“No sir, I didn’t,” Stewart replied.

More testimony was expected Tuesday from witnesses including more Chatham County Police Department employees and the child’s babysitter and her daughter.

Trump and Harris kick off campaign blitz in key battleground states; Lilly Ledbetter remembered for equal pay activism