Key events
New York governor to provide update on Cornell gang-rape case after appointing special prosecutor
The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has named New York attorney general Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang-rape at Cornell University in ۲۰۲۴, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.
Both Hochul and James are due to speak today to provide an update on the investigation following the attorney general’s appointment.
Hochul said newly released information raised questions about the investigation conducted by Cornell police and the decision by Tompkins County prosecutors not to file charges.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the district attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time,” she said in a statement.
James will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury, Hochul added.
Matthew Van Houten, the Tompkins County district attorney, declined at the time of the alleged assault to file charges, saying his office chose not to prosecute because the victim’s testimony did not establish a lack of consent.
But with renewed attention on the case and mounting public pressure, Van Houten said on Monday that his office would reopen the investigation.
A woman, known as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging she had been drugged with ketamine and raped by a group of men at a fraternity house near Cornell University’s campus in October ۲۰۲۴. She reported the incident to the Cornell University police department several weeks later, but no criminal charges were filed.
James said her office would “fully and fairly” investigate the allegations.
You can read our latest report on this story here:
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Donald Trump is heading to Alabama today as part of his near month-long midterm campaign blitz. He began the ۳۲-day tour yesterday in safe Republican territory, starting with Texas and Oklahoma and continuing to Ohio this weekend and Nebraska on Monday. The US president is expected to campaign almost daily ahead of November’s midterm elections, as the Republicans wrestle to retain its slim majorities in both the House and Senate.
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The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish its employment report today, with Reuters reporting that US job growth likely slowed in September while the unemployment rate held steady at ۴.۱% for a third month in a row.
