Latest news with #C.T.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
SC duo pleads guilty to cyberstalking that led mentally disabled man to take his own life
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Two South Carolinians have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking for a scheme that resulted in someone taking their own life, according to the United States Attorney's Office. Trysten Anthony Cullon, 26, pleaded guilty to the charges on June 2, and Jade Ashlynn Stone, 25, pleaded guilty on April 10. The duo allegedly targeted a vulnerable victim and his immediate family members using extortive and threatening text messages, officials said. According to court documents, from 9/5/24-9/8/24, the suspects engaged in a cyberstalking conspiracy that targeted the victim identified as C.T., who reportedly had an intellectual disability and was classified as Educable Mentally Disabled. Due to his disability, C.T. did not live on his own and worked at a fast-food chain in Charlotte. $15,000 reward offered in Catawba County mass shooting investigation Cullon and Stone admitted they used a stolen phone to send C.T.'s family members several intimidating messages demanding money. The conspirators allegedly threatened to send derogatory and embarrassing information to C.T.'s employer unless they were paid, including claims that he was a pervert, harassed girls, and that he paid girls for sexual pictures. Sadly, the emotional stress caused by the threatening messages led C.T. to take his own life. In Cullon and Stone's guilty plea to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Both are in custody, and a sentencing date has not yet been set. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
2 plead guilty to cyberstalking following death of victim
Two people from South Carolina have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking following the death of the victim from Charlotte. Tysten Anthony Cullon, 26, and Jade Ashlynn Stone, 25, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, targeting a vulnerable victim and his family members, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. FBI Special Agent James C. Barnacle, Jr. identified the victim as C.T. According to reports, C.T. had an intellectual disability and was classified as Educable Mentally Disabled. The victim was supported by his family and did not live on his own, but did have a job at a Charlotte fast-food restaurant, officials said. READ: New video shows moments before police shooting in South Carolina beach town The suspects admitted to cyberstalking C.T. in court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte. The defendants used a stolen phone to send 'harassing and intimidating' text messages to the victim's family members, reports said. They threatened to provide 'salacious claims' to C.T.'s employer unless they were paid. The claims included that C.T. was a pervert, he harassed girls, and paid girls for sexual pictures. Emotional distress caused by the threat resulted in C.T. dying by suicide, prosecutors said. Both of the suspects are in custody and are facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set. WATCH: New video shows moments before police shooting in South Carolina beach town
New York Times
11-03-2025
- New York Times
Your Bag's Hidden Journey From Check-In to Plane
Visuals by Graham Dickie Text by Christine Chung Checking a bag is an exercise in trust. The hope? That you will be reunited painlessly with your possessions after many labor-intensive steps involving heavy machinery and numerous workers, often across multiple airports. While several million bags end up getting lost or damaged by U.S. airlines every year, the overwhelming majority of checked baggage (some 480 million bags in 2023) are returned to their owners. Checking your bag involves a significant amount of human effort: The average checked bag flown with Delta Air Lines is guided by nine people, including ticket agents and a handful of baggage handlers. We recently spent a day at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal C, to get an inside look at the journey of a bag checked with Delta. At the check-in counter Our bag was checked onto DL994, a daily flight departing LaGuardia at 12:59 p.m. and bound for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Ideally, checking a bag takes just a few minutes, barring long lines at the terminal. Customers begin the process at a self-service kiosk or at the counter with a ticket agent. (T.S.A. PreCheck travelers flying Delta can shave off more time by using Digital ID, a document-free process that relies on biometrics.)Bag tags are printed with essential information about your itinerary, including whether you have a tight connection. A chip with radio frequency identification technology is embedded in the tag — about the size of a nickel — and scanned at different points, providing regular location updates to the airline. After the tag is attached to the bag, a ticket agent takes the luggage and places it on the conveyor belt, which transports it to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration. T.S.A. screening Within a few minutes, the bag reaches T.S.A. screening. The agency uses C.T. scanning machines, which allow for 3-D analysis of a bag's contents. T.S.A. agents don't need to be present for this Delta and the overall airline industry, the number of passengers — and checked bags — has risen steadily in recent years. If a bag is flagged, it trundles on the conveyor belt over to a second room for additional screening. Here, T.S.A. agents may open it, breaking luggage locks if necessary, and pore over the contents to ensure there aren't weapons, explosives or other threats. Overstuffed bags can complicate this process, agents said. Duffel bags aren't easy to sift through, either. Agents will leave a notice of baggage inspection, playfully referred to as a 'T.S.A. love note.' The process for pets traveling as checked baggage differs. Pets don't travel on the conveyor belt and are screened by hand, a T.S.A. spokeswoman said. And the animals are loaded into the plane last and unloaded first upon arrival, a Delta spokeswoman said. Oversize luggage continues on the conveyor belt after screening, like other baggage. Ramp agents are constantly monitoring luggage flow on the conveyor belts. Jams can be caused by irregularly shaped or damaged bags and loose straps or zippers. Checked toolboxes, which can snag the belts, are also a culprit, T.S.A. agents said. Last year at LaGuardia, Delta handled four million checked bags on 81,000 flights, a spokeswoman said. Across its entire operations worldwide, Delta handled more than 145 million checked bags in 2024, about five million more than the previous year. The bag room The conveyor belt system at Terminal C is lengthy, clocking in at about three miles. The belts move the luggage from bag drop to screening and then to a carousel in the baggage room. Ramp agents then hoist the luggage into carts driven to the are loaded into carts and organized by whether they're local (to be picked up at the next destination), connecting or 'hot' — at LaGuardia, that refers to a bag that has a connection of less than an hour. Then ramp agents drive the carts to the planes. Agents can heft hundreds of bags daily. They take pride in the neatness and efficiency of their 'stack,' said Jordan Machado, a ramp department manager for Delta at LaGuardia. Stacking bags is 'a whole competition sport' among the ramp agents, Mr. Machado said. Onto the tarmac and onto the plane Ramp agents face a number of challenges inherent to the job: noisy conditions, inclement weather and strain on the body. Delta refers to these employees as 'industrial athletes.' For each departure at Terminal C, there's a handful of agents handling luggage: a pair pulling the bags off the belt and a trio getting the bags loaded onto the plane and prepping it for takeoff. For DL994, ramp agents began loading bags into the plane's cargo hold shortly after noon. The number of bags that can fit depends on the type of plane and on stacking strategy, like a game of Tetris. Each bag is scanned again as it enters the are loaded into different bins depending on factors that include connection time and whether the passenger is in a priority cabin. (Upon arrival, this generally means that elite Delta fliers will get their bags unloaded first.) Graham Dickie/The New York Times
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Xtreme Fighting Championships Heads to Wrestling Mecca Iowa for XFC 52: THE AWAKENING
XFC Partners with UFC Veteran Jeremy Stephens for Event on Friday, March 28 at Xtream Arena at the University of Iowa DETROIT, Feb. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) presented by Xtreme One Entertainment, Inc. (OTCPink: XONI) today announced XFC 52: THE AWAKENING on Friday, March 28th, marking XFC's first visit to Iowa since 2021. XFC 52: THE AWAKENING will take place live from Xtream Arena at the University of Iowa with tickets going on sale today, February 7th at 10 a.m. C.T. through Tickets start at $20; VIP tables with exclusive night of experiences are $2,000 or $350 individually and cage-side seats are $125. Doors will open at 5 p.m. CT with the first preliminary bout starting at 6:00 p.m. CT and the main card beginning at 8 p.m. CT. 'XFC continues to break new ground and set new milestones, and 2025 will be no exception as we head to the Hawkeye state for our first major event of the year,' said Chris Defendis, Xtreme One Entertainment President. 'Iowa reigns as the national leader in high school and collegiate wrestling, with a tradition of producing Olympic champions, UFC champions, and Hall of Famers, and early in our 2025 planning, we targeted Iowa as an important location to include in our 2025 schedule. We love the symbolism of Xtream Arena to bring Xtreme Fighting Championships to the millions of loyal fight fans in Iowa who believed in MMA from the beginning and helped build it into the powerhouse that it is today.' As part of their efforts to bring XFC to Iowa, XFC is partnering with Iowa-native and UFC fan favorite Jeremy Stephens to host XFC 52: THE AWAKENING. 'We are pleased to have the legendary Jeremy Stephens in our corner as we bring XFC back to Iowa,' said Defendis. 'With Jeremy's help, we're hoping to make the Hawkeye state a frequent destination for our XFC arena events.' 'I got to see the XFC in action in Milwaukee, and I'm excited to see them bring top notch, well-produced and highly professional MMA events back to Iowa,' said Stephens. 'This is an amazing opportunity for aspiring fighters who dream to be champions and want to join their fellow Iowans in the Hall of Fame. XFC is the showcase league to prove your skills and heart to get your shot in the majors of MMA. The XFC is where you make your mark, build your name and show you have what it takes to get to the top.' In addition to UFC Hall of Famers Matt Hughes, Pat Miletich and Jens Pulver, Des Moines-raised Stephens is among the many athletes that have topped the MMA rankings using Iowa wrestling as a base. Stephens attended Norwalk High School where he was a wrestling standout. He started fighting at age 16. In 2007, Stephens signed with UFC where he would spend the next 14 years taking on the best lightweights in the division, including Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar, Max Hollaway, Gilbert Melendez and Cub Swanson, among many others. After a successful run of momentum-building events in 2024, such as XFC Grand Prix II and XFC 51:Evolution, the XFC plans to raise the bar in 2025 by providing more action-packed content and expanding the XFC community. Additional details about the XFC 52 fight card and event week schedule will be announced soon. Fans can visit for more information and to purchase exclusive XFC licensed merchandise. About Xtreme One Entertainment, Inc. Founded in 1995 as a consumer and diversified holding company Xtreme One Entertainment, Inc. (OTC: XONI) is now focused on media, entertainment, live sports, and event marketing focused on extreme sports events. Xtreme One, through its wholly owned subsidiary, XFC Global, Inc. is the holder of an exclusive and perpetual license to the brands and intellectual property of Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC). For more information, please contact: Media:Jen Wenkjwenk@ cell/text Investors:Zachary Mizenerzmizener@ in to access your portfolio
