Hochul, James raise heat on Cornell as rape investigation widens

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Cornell rape case now active criminal probe

Trump takes midterm push to Alabama, Ohio

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The Associated Press | Yuki Iwamura | Matt Rourke

Officials in the Empire State are taking a fresh look at the handling of an alleged gang rape at Cornell University in 2024 — and the case is now an active criminal investigation.

New York Attorney General Letitia James , whom Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) recently appointed to serve as special prosecutor in the case, discussed plans to reopen the investigation during a press conference Friday.

Hochul said the victim, identified as Jane Doe , was repeatedly “failed” by the institutions meant to protect her, raising questions about what information Cornell police shared with local prosecutors.

One key detail: The governor noted that Jane Doe told campus police she was “100 percent confident” she had been raped, but those words were not included in the account provided to prosecutors.

Despite the pressure, Hochul stopped short of calling for either Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff or the local district attorney to resign, saying she did not have enough information “at this time.” James echoed the sentiment.

Meanwhile: The governor is pushing state lawmakers to close a loophole in New York’s sexual assault law involving victims who voluntarily became intoxicated.

“Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” she said.

Jane Doe alleges she was drugged and gang raped by seven men at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024, but no criminal charges were filed.

She sued the university, the fraternity and others last month, bringing fresh attention to the case nearly two years later. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten subsequently reopened the investigation.

The case also sparked backlash from lawmakers and advocates for how the initial probe was handled. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) canceled an upcoming appearance at the school over the incident.

The case is unfolding amid a larger conversation about sexual misconduct at Cornell.

The results of a 2025 campus poll found 35 percent of undergraduate women said they had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact since arriving at the university, up from 23 percent in 2023.

Overall, 15 percent of surveyed students reported such experiences, up from 11 percent two years earlier, according to a report from the school.

This really sums up President Trump ’s midterm campaign swing this week through red states he handily won in 2024.

“Campaigns and presidents don’t spend time where they’re not needed, so that is a data point,” Scott Tranter , co-founder and director of data science at Decision Desk HQ, told The Hill’s Julia Manchester .

🚚 Peterbilt truck factory outside Dallas on Thursday afternoon.

🤠 Durant, Okla., for a Thursday evening rally boosting Mike Mazzei, who’s running for governor, and Republican Rep. Kevin Hern , who is running for former Sen. Markwayne Mullin ’s seat in Senate.

No speed limit for the midterms: Trump told the crowd that his handlers told him to cancel the Oklahoma event because weather would not allow him to fly by plane or helicopter.

Trump, arriving about two hours late, said he asked how fast they could drive him to the rally.

“They said, ‘We could go close to 100 miles an hour.’ I said: ‘Get your a–es in that car. We’re going to Oklahoma,” he said as the crowd cheered, NBC News reported .

🐘 Today, Trump rallies in Mobile, Ala., which is divided between the state’s 1st and 2nd congressional districts. He’s slated to speak around 7 p.m. EDT.

House Republicans are targeting Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which is represented by Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.), after it was redistricted to benefit Republicans. The GOP nominee, state Rep. Rhett Marques , is slated to speak at the rally.

🅾️On Saturday, Trump heads to Vandalia, Ohio, hoping to give incumbent Sen. Jon Husted a boost against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown . In the governor’s race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is trailing Amy Acton in most polls.

🌽On Monday, Trump brings his tour to Nebraska for a rally with GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts , who is locked in a competitive race with Dan Osborn , an independent backed by Democrats.

Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he has not ruled out invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a national emergency around the midterm elections in November.

“I’m not committing to anything,” he told Time , when asked about the limits of his presidential power. “We’re going to see how it plays out in court.”

The president has a history of threatening to deploy troops via the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows the president “in all cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws, either of the United States, or of any individual state or territory,” to deploy members of the military or federalize members of a state’s National Guard “for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection.”

The Insurrection Act was last invoked by former President George H.W. Bush in May 1992, in response to the Los Angeles riots.

The Hill’s go-to correspondent on the 2028 Democratic beat, Amie Parnes , has a fascinating dive today into Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and how his fortunes are inevitably tied to “the other” rising progressive star, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

September delivered another lackluster jobs report . The U.S. added just 29,000 jobs, while unemployment edged up to 4.2 percent, according to the data .

The rearview mirror looks worse, too: July numbers were revised from a gain of 21,000 jobs to a loss of 10,000, while August was knocked down from 162,000 to 133,000.

This weak showing complicates the picture for the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates last month for the first time in more than three years. Two competing problems: a cooling labor market and inflation that remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2 percent target, which could open the door for another rate hike later this month.

The report also lands as Trump is already struggling to sell Americans on his economic record heading into the midterms.

A recent AP-NORC poll found just 26 percent of respondents approved of the president’s handling of the economy — a new low in the poll — while only 17 percent were keen on his policies to address the cost of living. Nearly two-thirds blamed those policies, including the energy squeeze sparked by the ongoing Iran war, for higher-than-usual prices.

🤝 Trump’s recent cozy encounters with Chinese President Xi Jinping , New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and Big Tech leaders have some GOP strategists worried he’s dampening MAGA enthusiasm at exactly the wrong time.

🖥️ The president’s AI accord with tech leaders is also facing an early reality check. Critics warn the president’s voluntary safeguards leave too much power with the companies that are developing the technology. Insiders can read more here from The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro .

💉 Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is in critical condition after surviving two failed lethal injection attempts earlier this week, according to her attorneys. The extraordinary ordeal is putting the death penalty — and how states carry it out — back under the microscope.

📱 More than 100 Generation Z candidates jumped into congressional races this cycle, according to Future Caucus — but few made it through their primaries. Fundraising hurdles, outsider bids and the built-in advantages of incumbency are proving tough to overcome. Read The Feed here .

📞 A Massachusetts man is facing a federal cyberstalking charge after allegedly bombarding former Trump official Katie Miller with more than 40 calls and messages. Prosecutors say he also targeted her parents and husband, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller .

The New York Times : The Rich People Democrats Aren’t Talking About

The Washington Post: Trump defies Democrats, diverts aid for Europe to Latin America instead

The Wall Street Journal : Michael Lewis on the Lone Security Guard Who Resisted DOGE

Axios : Wikimedia’s CEO on the AI traffic Armageddon

The House and Senate are out. President Trump will be in Alabama, Ohio and Washington. (All times EDT)

7 p.m.: The president gives remarks in Mobile, Ala.

SATURDAY: Trump travels to Dayton, Ohio, and will speak at 7 p.m. EDT. He will return to the White House in the evening.

SUNDAY: The president holds executive time.

🍬 Celebrate : Today is National Smarties Day . I can still taste the chalkiness of that nostalgic candy.

Time to activate weekend mode — which must include a comfy nap or two. Here is a sleepy puppy for inspiration.