Saturday, October 3rd

What happened

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul removed Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the Cornell rape case and appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. The criminal case was closed in 2024 without charges, then reopened after Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit last month. The investigation centers on Doe’s allegation that she was drugged and gang-raped at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. Hochul said new information and flaws in the original handling cost her confidence in Van Houten. Van Houten supported James’s appointment and said Cornell did not give him the full picture. Cornell said police followed protocol and shared information. James said her office will gather evidence, interview witnesses and pursue charges if warranted.

What happened

Tennessee’s attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection failed, leaving her alive after two doses of pentobarbital. Pike is in critical condition at a hospital, where court filings say she is unconscious, intubated, and on a ventilator. The case is the first known modern instance of a prisoner surviving after lethal-injection drugs were administered. Pike was condemned for the 1995 torture and murder of Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer. Gov. Bill Lee halted Tennessee’s remaining executions for the year and ordered an outside review. Pike’s lawyers are asking him to commute her sentence, saying another attempt would be cruel and unusual punishment.

What happened

Captain Smit Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi he made “one last push” during a Flydubai cockpit attack because he could not let the passengers die. The Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, carrying about 182 people, had been forced into an emergency landing in Tabuk after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed Machchhar and the plane entered a steep dive. Machchhar unlocked the cockpit door while wounded, letting passengers and crew rush in and subdue the attacker. He said he recited the Hanuman Chalisa during the struggle. Indian and Israeli leaders praised the rescue. Investigators are examining terrorism or radicalization, while Flydubai’s Tel Aviv flights remain suspended.